Huddle reviews efforts to restore Indus River’s ecological health

ISLAMABAD:

A huddle of public and development sector stakeholders discussed ongoing efforts and proposed interventions to restore the ecological health of the Indus River under the Living Indus Initiative.

According to a statement, Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman chaired the first meeting of the steering committee of the Living Indus Initiative at the relevant ministry.

“The Living Indus Initiative is an ambitious project that has the full support of the federal cabinet, and we look forward to working together with all the relevant stakeholders to fulfill this dream of ours,” she said at the outset.

The committee, she said, will guide this initiative to recharge this lifeline which is responsible for the livelihoods of 80 per cent Pakistani population.

The minister was joined by Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Minister for Industries & Production Syed Murtaza Mahmud, UN Resident Coordinator Julien Harneis, FAO Representative in Pakistan Florence Rolle, and officials from the environment ministries of all four provinces and Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.

The statement also stated that the committee discussed next steps on how financing can be unlocked for the projects to be initiated under the initiative.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2022.