News
President for early finalisation of climate change strategy
ISLAMABAD, Oct 22 (APP): President Asif Ali Zardari Friday directed ministry of environment for early finalization of the “Climate Change Strategy and Action Framework” to combat the adverse impacts of climate change.Addressing the concluding session of the “International Conference on Climate Change and Development” at Aiwan-e- Sadr the President said “the issue of climate change is not the concern of any single country, it is a global issue and concerns the whole of mankind.”Briefing journalists, Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar quoted the President as saying that the international conference was an important milestone showing joint efforts of the government and people of Pakistan to face the challenges of climate change.
The President said that climate change has emerged not only as a major environmental issue, but also a multi-dimensional development issue and has posed challenge to all thinkers, planners, policy-makers and professionals from all countries and all nations.
According to the speech text the President said that though Pakistan contributes minimally to world’s total greenhouse gases emissions, yet it was faced with severe climate change.
He said these were impacting sea level rise, extreme weather, melting of glaciers, fluctuation in monsoon and droughts and floods besides stress on Pakistan’s agriculture and livestock.
The President said the impact of monsoon has come as a hard reality for Pakistan this year, as massive floods, that might have been caused by climate change, brought widespread devastations across the country.
President Zardari said Pakistan being one of the early signatory of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has undertaken a number of steps to address the issue of climate change.
These includes setting up of Task Force on Climate Change, establishment of Prime Minister’s committee on climate change and development of national policies on environment, conservation of forests, energy and drinking water.
A comprehensive “Climate Change Strategy and Action Framework” was being developed by the government with consensus of all the stake holders, the President said.
The President said it was not for the first time that the government was formulating environmental strategies but actually it was the PPP government under the leadership of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto that gave the country environmental laws to safeguard the future generation from harmful effects of environment.
“We will take it forward to the coming generations,” he added.
The President said that discussion on climate change sometimes becomes too technical with focus on what goes on in the atmosphere and very little attention is paid to its impact on the poor people.
The spokesperson quoted the President as saying “We are here to recognize the human face of climate change. It is the face of dying animals and ecosystems and members of our own species “It is our face.”
The President while commenting on the damages brought by the massive floods in the country said that the recent floods have devastated infrastructure, agriculture and economy. More than 1,700 people died and over a million lost their homes, he said.
The President while referring to the measures undertaken for rehabilitation of flood victims said that the task of rehabilitation and reconstruction was too big for the government to tackle on its own. While the government, international humanitarian agencies and local charities continue are doing all they can but we need greater international assistance to meet the challenge confronting us, he said.
The spokesperson quoted the President as saying “I have often said that our well to do people have to come forward and help in the task of rehabilitation and reconstruction. That is why I have proposed to the federal and provincial governments to impose a one time flood surcharge on well to do people. The International community will help us but we must first help ourselves,” he said.
The President said that the vulnerability to flood damage was largely the consequence of human actions and choices instead of acts of nature. He said that there was a need to focus on decisions that will contribute to climate preservation and added that we need to take decisions on issues of urban planning, on conservation of forests and on development of marginal lands.
The President while referring to the severe impact of climate change on national economy said “climate change was adversely affecting social well being of our people, our economic development, our water availability, our food security and human health.”
He said that agriculture is the mainstay of the economy as Pakistan was basically an agricultural country. The President said, “agricultural productivity in Pakistan is being affected due to changes in land and water regimes.”
He said dry land areas are highly vulnerable, as these regions are already facing significant water shortages and temperatures are rising. This was negatively affecting agricultural productivity by altering cropping seasons, changing irrigation water requirements, altering soil characteristics, and increasing the risk of pests and diseases.
President Zardari said the government has taken a number of steps to curb deforestation in Pakistan, in particular the conversion of forest land to other uses.
The President said that he has already asked the government that all illegally occupied forest lands in flood affected areas be retrieved and rehabilitated as forests. These measures will ensure that these forest lands serve as carbon sinks, he observed.
The President said that the conference was aimed at bringing together researchers, practitioners, civil society and policy makers from different backgrounds in order to rethink, debate and reframe development and sustainability issues.
Climate change was by definition an international problem requiring a global response, the President said and added “we need to answer the most basic questions of what climate change will mean for the most vulnerable countries and communities like ours. We need to identify, beyond the environmental impact of climate change, the specific social and economic impacts that will follow.”
The President emphasized the need for access to world-class expertise and technology by the developing countries to build climate resilient economies and societies.
He said confronting climate change is a shared challenge and needed to be tackled with concerted joint efforts by all.
Federal ministers, parliamentarians, federal secretaries and delegates besides senior officials were also present on the occasion.
Courtesy www.app.com.pk