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Climate change is an ever-growing concern in the world. Melting glaciers and ice sheets, rising pollution levels, deforestation, etc., all contribute or are reflective of the very fact that global warming and/or climate change is, after all, very much real.
Last year saw the leaders of the world come together in Paris for the summit on climate change, where, various proposals were agreed upon to cut down on each country’s respective carbon footprint.
However, the effects of climate change are not just limited to the melting of glaciers. They reach out far and wide and even affect food production.
So much so, that the effects of climate change on food production could lead to the deaths of more than half a million adults in 2050, according to researchers’ estimates.
Major environmental issues currently confronting Pakistan include climate change, water, energy, pollution and waste management, salinity and water logging, irrigated agriculture, biodiversity and more that are too numerous to count.
Environmental hazards have become a major global issue this century. These hazards are impacting the national, social and economic landscape. Ozone layer of atmosphere is also being affected due to climate change.
Pakistan has become 8th country in the world, which is being affected by climate change. Earlier Pakistan was the 10th country in the world now it has reached at 8th number.
During the recent years, floods have been playing havoc with life and property from the hilly areas of the north to the plains of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and KP.
Pakistan had the highest annual deforestation rate in Asia and forests covered only 5.2 percent of the total land. There was an urgent need of initiating massive plantation drives to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change.
Federal government was favoured towards development, but not at the expense of the environment. The environmental projects are at the heart of government’s political manifesto.
The government in its manifesto has promised that it will give high priority to ecologically sound development, policies to preserve and develop the country’s natural and forest, resources to counteract the impact of global warming and fight the cancer of water-logging and salinity.
The manifesto further states that there is need for a coherent strategy across all our provinces to deal with the climate change threat facing Pakistan.
Prime Minister Green Pakistan Programme:
Last year saw the leaders of the world come together in Paris for the summit on climate change, where, various proposals were agreed upon to cut down on each country’s respective carbon footprint.
However, the effects of climate change are not just limited to the melting of glaciers. They reach out far and wide and even affect food production.
So much so, that the effects of climate change on food production could lead to the deaths of more than half a million adults in 2050, according to researchers’ estimates.
Major environmental issues currently confronting Pakistan include climate change, water, energy, pollution and waste management, salinity and water logging, irrigated agriculture, biodiversity and more that are too numerous to count.
Environmental hazards have become a major global issue this century. These hazards are impacting the national, social and economic landscape. Ozone layer of atmosphere is also being affected due to climate change.
Pakistan has become 8th country in the world, which is being affected by climate change. Earlier Pakistan was the 10th country in the world now it has reached at 8th number.
During the recent years, floods have been playing havoc with life and property from the hilly areas of the north to the plains of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and KP.
Pakistan had the highest annual deforestation rate in Asia and forests covered only 5.2 percent of the total land. There was an urgent need of initiating massive plantation drives to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change.
Federal government was favoured towards development, but not at the expense of the environment. The environmental projects are at the heart of government’s political manifesto.
The government in its manifesto has promised that it will give high priority to ecologically sound development, policies to preserve and develop the country’s natural and forest, resources to counteract the impact of global warming and fight the cancer of water-logging and salinity.
The manifesto further states that there is need for a coherent strategy across all our provinces to deal with the climate change threat facing Pakistan.
Prime Minister Green Pakistan Programme:
- As promised made in manifesto Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has approved the launch of “Green Pakistan Programme”. The prime minister will lead the Green Pakistan Programme on the pattern of “Green Wall Programme” of China.
- Under this venture, over 100 million trees will be planted over the next five years all over the country along canals and roadsides as well as in the forest areas of KP, Fata, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir, Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh.
- The Green Pakistan Programme contains a few other dimensions that make it more than just a massive tree plantation drive, such as regular stocktaking of forests and their degradation which have a meaningful impact on the ecology of Pakistan.
- To achieve the desire objectives of forest preservation and wildlife protection, all relevant federal and provincial ministries and agencies are facilitated to fulfill the task.
- The federal government would provide 50 percent of the funding requirement while the provinces are to meet the rest of the cost.
- Locations under the “Green Pakistan programme” include:
One thousand avenue miles of Canal Side & Roadside Plantations in Punjab, KP and Sindh
Plantations in Changa Manga, Darphar, Bahawalpur and Chichawatni
Mangroves forests in Karachi and Badin along with hill forests of Khirthar Range in Sindh
Juniper forests of Ziarat and Chilghoza forest in Suleiman Ranges of Balochistan
Areas in GB, AJK, Muree, Hazara, Kotli Sattian, Malakand, Fata (Orakzai, North Waziristan, etc) are some of the locations for plantations.
Plantations in Changa Manga, Darphar, Bahawalpur and Chichawatni
Mangroves forests in Karachi and Badin along with hill forests of Khirthar Range in Sindh
Juniper forests of Ziarat and Chilghoza forest in Suleiman Ranges of Balochistan
Areas in GB, AJK, Muree, Hazara, Kotli Sattian, Malakand, Fata (Orakzai, North Waziristan, etc) are some of the locations for plantations.
- Under the Green Pakistan Revival, protection and management of internationally recognized wildlife habitats wildlife, also the main aspects of the programme which include:
Khunjrab National Park (GB),
Khirthar National Park (Sindh),
Hingol National Park (Baluchistan),
Chitral Gol National Park
National Park and Salt Range area (Punjab),
Machiara National Park (AJK)
Margalla Hills National Park (ICT).
Khirthar National Park (Sindh),
Hingol National Park (Baluchistan),
Chitral Gol National Park
National Park and Salt Range area (Punjab),
Machiara National Park (AJK)
Margalla Hills National Park (ICT).
- For the Green Pakistan program Ministry of Climate Change has consulted the federating units including the Provinces, GB, AJK and FATA, prior to development of the roadmap.
- The initiative will ensure far-reaching reform in forestry and wildlife sectors of the country. Assessment of forest resource depletion, use of modern technology, and development of immediate and long term forest resource expansion plans would be devised for the purpose.
- The PM directed the Ministry of Climate Change to develop a proposal for strengthening Zoological Survey of Pakistan so as to immediately undertake inventory of endangered wildlife species and habitats across the country.
- The institutional and administrative steps for the protection of habitat and inventory for endangered wildlife species will help a great to deal to achieve the desired goals.
- Government believes that the preservation and management of forest and wildlife resources of the country need to be adequately developed in line with the best international practices.
- Government has taken number of steps during the last three years (2013-16) to mitigate the impacts of climate change in the country.
- The Prime Minister’s initiative to plant 100m trees across the country over the next five years under the “Green Pakistan programme” is a welcome step.
- Political ownership of such efforts would help check fast depleting flora and fauna of the country.
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