Prime Minister’s Coordinator on Climate Change, Romina Khurshid Alam on Wednesday said the country had envisioned restoring 100,000 hectares (ha) of degraded land and intended to achieve 6 percent forest cover of the total area.
She was addressing the World Environment Day seminar titled Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience: Our Land, Our Future jointly organized by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).
In her keynote address, Romina Khurshid Alam said the theme for World Environment Day 2024 was a timely reminder of the crucial importance of protecting and conserving our environment.
She said due to galloping impacts of global warming and environmental degradation 3/4th of the country’s land would be affected by land degradation.
“Pakistan only utilizes 16 million ha of land for irrigation and many of its parts are impacted by land logging and salinity,” Romina said.
The incumbent government has shown unwavering resolve in addressing climate change under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif whose vision was instrumental in shaping and driving the government’s policies, she added.
“We need to build resilience across our systems and communities. The National Adaptation Plan further sheds light on addressing land degradation and rehabilitation of degraded lands which is important for sustainable livelihoods and production of our agriculture sector. Local communities, civil society organizations, academia, and governments would have to fight collectively to heal the land,” the Prime Minister’s Coordinator said.
In his opening remarks, Executive Director SDPI, Dr. Abid Qaiyum Suleri said the current World Environment Day was more relevant than ever in the context of climate change. He noted that the spring season has almost vanished from our seasonal calendar as from winters there was a direct transition into sizzling summers.
“It’s impacting our entire ecosystem, world, and our region. Climate change manifestation is visible in the form of erratic and intensive rainfall, whereas 2022 floods spots of rain in Balochistan were of biblical proportions that were not manageable by any nation on earth due to its massive magnitude,” Dr. Suleri said.
He commented that drought had a slow onset and its impacts were observed when it was too late, as with changing weather, there were two phenomenons mainly floods that were visible and the other was slow like a silent killer invisible mainly drought, lack of rains, desertification and dropping crop yields.
The Coordinator in her article wrote that it was the governments and citizens that had to join hands and act in a manner to control the impacts of climate change which was very pertinent and the way forward.
Pakistan, he said was rapidly coming up as a water-scarce country that demanded the country to change its economic practices and water usage habits to cope with depleting water security.
National Technical Advisor, UNEP, Arshad Samad Khan said climate change has aggravated land degradation. ” World Environment Day is a call for all government, private sector, students, common citizens, and others to restore degraded land and ensure bright future for coming generations,” he said.
He added that land is the foundation of food security water resources and livelihoods and demands a national pledge to make Pakistan a land of thriving biodiversity and ecosystems.
During the panel discussion, Dr. Mazhar Hayat, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Climate Change said the country can learn from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia aggressively working on degraded land restoration under the Green Saudi Initiative and Middle East Green Initiative.
He said Pakistan has a comprehensive policy framework under the National Adaptation Plan that collectively addresses land degradation, water, and others.
“Pakistan’s major focus has always been on adaptation, afforestation, drought resilience, and deforestation,” he said.
Climate change is a water challenge for Pakistan that demands efficient water use at the urban level and less water usage at the farm level, he added.
Maryam Shabbir, Climate Expert, University of Vermont said land degradation was mainly due to overgrazing of animals and chemical usage during agriculture.
She said livelihood and food security issue emerges after the drought onset, whereas the right plantation, capacity building, and relevant experts to ensure effective strategies.
She added that overpopulation was the mother of all crises, whereas local communities were part of the problem and solution as well as their inclusion could help address the challenge.
Chairman Federal Flood Commission, Ahmed Kamal said there was a lack of urban planning and poorly planned infrastructure development was aggravating climate crises amid recurring natural disasters.
The legislation implementation was at the third tier of the governance that needs to be addressed, he said.
Humaira Jahanzeb, Team Lead of Living Indus Initiative said biodiversity loss, pollution, and climate change were creating serious crises. However, the River Indus is the most vital ecosystem the country has which irrigates 80 percent of the country’s total arable land and homes most of the population across it.
She added that the Living Indus Initiative would restore 30 percent of the basin by 2030 that revolves around key right areas of governance, livelihoods, wastewater management, and integrated solid management.
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