The recent flood and heat wave in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa created problems for the people as the monsoon rain not only took lives but left around thousands of houses damaged, according to the report of Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA)
According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) around 282 people were killed due to rain and flood across Pakistan as most of them were children and women while more than 5, 600 homes were destroyed.
In the recent flood in K-P the most affected areas were district Tank, Karak, Nowshera, Swabi, Mardan, Chitral, Dir Upper and other districts were affected where not only diarrhea and other disease but as well as shortage of food were also facing the people. Earlier in March 2022 the PDMA alerted the heat wave in K-P as well as directed the Deputy Commissioner of all the districts of K-P that the temperature may rise up to eight degree and there was a chance of a heat wave.
The recent report of German Watch as Pakistan placed the fifth in the list of countries facing most vulnerable to climate change. The report said that Pakistan lost 9,989 lives, suffered economic losses worth $3.8 billion and witnessed 152 extreme weather events from 1999 to 2018.
Pakistan spends 6 per cent of GDP annually as it becomes one billion daily as it inflicts on our economy as an environmental cost. Pakistan has 5 per cent forest while K-P alone has 20.3 per cent of its area under forest while K-P represents 7 out of total 9 forest ecosystems possessed by the entire country. These forests constitute 33 per cent of natural resources, have 52 per cent productive forest and fulfill 40 per cent of the market demand.
Due to negligence, low investment, narrow focused mismanagement and over use the forest of K-P have excessively been degraded , rendering 78 per cent of forest under stocked and 74 per cent with no regeneration. The “Billion Tree Afforestation Project “(BTAP) was announced in 2014 in the first government of PTI in K-P. Initially the BTAP project was planned for five years with a cost of Rs. 28 billion and the final approved project cost was Rs.19.44 billion for all three phases .Under BTAP, 1.208 billion seeding have been raised at a total cost of Rs.14.363 billion.
The project has achieved 1208 million seedlings through plantation of all categories, Afforestation /Reforestation, Farm Forestry, sowing /dibbling and assisted natural regeneration through establishment of forest enclosure on an overall area of 593,292 hectare.
According to the Global Climate Index (CRI -2018 Pakistan was the 7th most vulnerable country and exposed to the ill impact of climate change , which resulted in the perpetual/ catastrophic flood of 1992, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2019. The climate Change is causing retreat of glaciers in the Hindu Kush and Himalayan region.
A joint study of Asian Development Bank and World Bank” Climate Risk Country Profile” Pakistan faces increases in average temperatures significantly above the global average with a potential rise of 1.3°C-4.9°C by the 2090s over the 1986-2005 baseline.
The study further said that Pakistan faced “some of the highest disaster risk levels in the world, ranked 18 out of 191 countries by the 2020 Inform Risk Index”. The global average by 2080-99 is estimated at about 3.7°C under the highest emission estimates.
Pakistan is co-signatory of different convention /obligations, protocol against the climate change vagaries , including Kyoto Protocol , COP-10, cop-21agenda, Aichi Biodiversity targets, SDGs Goal No 13and 15 (UN-Summit 2015) .
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa out of its total area of 7.45 million hectare has forest extending over 1.51 million hectare area .Thus 20.3 per cent area of the province is covered by forest only 22 per cent of forest of K-P have density cover up to 50 per cent while the rest of the forest were reported as under stocked, which is 78 per cent of the total forest cover and 74 per cent has sparse natural regeneration.
Dr. Muhammad Asif Khan an environmentalist while talking with The Express Tribune said that that the rising temperatures were causing the rapid melting of glaciers in the country especially in northern mountain ranges, including Hindu Kush Himalayas and Karakorum.
He further added that changing of weather patterns and increased temperatures as there were more than three thousands glaciers in K-P and GB as in these more than 30 glaciers were vulnerable to flood.
According to the Forest Department K-P under the 10-BTTP project in 2019 -20, 81.16 million plants were targeted while 97.08 million plant were planted, in 2020-21, 179.14 plants were target while 98.85 were planted, In 2021-22, 177.78 plants were target while 92.43 plants were planted as the total plants were target was 438.09 million while 288.35 million plants were planted in K-P as one billion were the target while 566.27 million plants were planted in the province.
Similarly in 10-BTTP from 210 to 2022 around 50 million enclosure, 2.7 million plants, 3 million sowing and 2 million free plants were distributed.
Project Director 10-BTTP Muhammad Ibrahim Khan while talking with Express Tribune said that the 10 BTTP project proposed extension for further two years up to June 2025.
On a question that as the K-P government claim for billion Tree Tsunami project and claim that they were planted millions of plants were planted then why the temperature has been rise , he reply that it’s a global phenomena and climate change affect all over the world.
On the carbon emission commitment Ibrahim Khan added that although we planted millions of trees but have not so far satisfied the global community and in that sector we should work more to get the carbon emission fund from the Global community and foreign donors.
According to National Forest Policy 2015, Pakistan has only five percent area under forests against 25 percent as per international requirement, which is losing about 27,000 hectares forests per year mostly in community and private-owned lands due to climate change susceptibility, encroachment and high population growth.
Environmental experts said that “More than 5,000 glaciers exist in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and K-P in which at least 33 were identified as potentially dangerous which can cause hazardous glacial lakes outburst flooding (GLOF) as it can also release millions of cubic meters of water and debris leading to the loss of lives, property and live hoods.
The official data of Transport Department K-P said that nearly 850,000 motor vehicles were registered in 2020 in Peshawar while petroleum usage in transport has seen consistent increase with more than 92 per cent use in vehicles while provincial data for 2021 suggest petroleum retail crossed 2 million metric ton in 2021.
The recent report said that the Peshawar Air quality with annual PM 2.5 as the city was declared the ninth most polluted city across Globe. Peshawar district covers an area of 1.518 KM and is home to approximately 5 million people (2020 estimate) The Air Quality life Index estimates that citizens of Peshawar can add up to 2.3 year to their life expectancy if expectancy if PM 2.5 level WHO guideline.
Pakistan energy year book report said that nearly 14,000 ton of liquefied Petroleum Gas and 12.500 million cubic feet of natural gas is consumed in the domestic, commercial, industry and transport sector in Peshawar, In addition to this an estimated 13,500 tons of brown coal (lignite) is also used in the region while 200,000 tons of waste is generated in the city annually.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has one of the highest proportions of wood fuel usage in the world, especially in the rural areas where precious wood was just used for domestic use.
According to the census 2017 about 138,000 households in Peshawar used wood as fuel for heating, according to a Bailis al (2015) reported that Pakistan has one of the highest proportions of wood use as a fraction of non-renewable Biomass (FNRB) at 79 per cent while two regions including K-P stood at 90 per cent which was the highest in the World.
The Global Forest Watch Report said that in 2010, Pakistan had 648kha of tree cover, extending over 0.74per cent of its land area. In 2021, it lost 63.2ha of tree cover, equivalent to 23.5kt of CO₂ emissions while From 2001 to 2021, Pakistan lost 9.75kha of tree cover, equivalent to a 1.0per cent decrease in tree cover since 2000, and 3.56Mt of CO₂e emissions.
Similarly the report added that In Pakistan, the top 2 regions were responsible for 90per cent of all tree cover loss between 2001 and 2021.K-P had the most tree cover loss at 4.49kha compared to an average of 1.22kha.
Dr.Muhammad Nafees professor at University of Peshawar Ph.D in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Pollution Control Technology (PCT), Cleaner Production (CP) while talking with Express Tribune said that Pakistan has only 4 per cent forest while for every Pakistani four trees must be planted while if fuel consumption if were added then 30 tree each person is needed, adding that we were contributing 980 kg CO2 and with contribution of carbon then for each person 47 trees were required in Pakistan.
He further added that most of the time people grow foreign plants which need more protection than our local plants, adding that every government criticized the previous government but there is no Climate Change Diplomacy as presented by Pakistan in the developed countries.
“Pakistan not get benefits in Carbon emission in the developed countries although Pakistan has part of carbon emission and has an important part in climate change “, added Dr. Nafees.
He further added that although the government is responsible for environment and climate change to contribute more as Pakistan has affected the Climate Change, adding that people individually should also contribute for the environment.
Wisal Yousafzai is a freelance writer. All information and facts provided are the sole responsibility of the writer.