Seminar informed Pakistan, India urged to cooperate on climate change

Speakers at a seminar have stressed the need for cooperation among India, Pakistan and other South Asian countries on climate change, saying Pakistan and India must explore vistas of mutual benefit on climate change as both have integrated ecological system.
Different speakers from South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) giving their opinion at a seminar titled 'Pakistan-India Track II Dialogue on Climate Change for peace' organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Center for Science and Environment (CSE), India with the support of Heinrich Boll Stiftung (HBS) here on Monday, said that only regional cooperation help address the existing threats of climate change.
There was consensus that bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and India can turn the climate change threat into opportunity for ensuring peace and prosperity in both the countries alongwith South Asian region.
They stressed for continuous dialogue to devise a regional strategy for dealing with the existing threat of climate change and to provide a participatory assessment of environment, natural resources and their implications for South Asia. The event prompts to develop an actionable agenda for climate change in Pakistan and India particularly on water, energy, gender, climate change adaptation and livelihood aiming at normalisation of relations between both the neighbours by engaging experts and civil society from both sides in Track-2-consultations on climate.
Chairing the opening session, Dr Ishfaq Ahmad, Advisor Planning Commission of Pakistan on Climate Change and Development emphasised that India and Pakistan are facing common adversaries in the shape of climate change that needs collective response to deal with it. He said, we must at least narrow down the gap particularly on water, if not on all issues, and institutionalize and devise appropriate strategies for climate change adaptation.
Britta Peterson, Country Director, HBS Pakistan urged the delegates to take the advantage of the platform and come up with new and practical ideas. "Gravity of situation needs concrete efforts to carve out a realistic roadmap for Indo-Pak collaboration to combat climate change by providing comprehensive, policy-relevant, science-based assessment of environment in South Asia to policy makers," she added.
Shafqat Kakakhel, Senior Advisor SDPI, and Former Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said water availability in the region is highly susceptible due to climate change, which affects glacial melt and monsoon system that feeds the rivers in sub-continent. He was of the view that Saarc can be instrumental and must serve as principle vehicle for sub-regional cooperation on issues related to environment, climate change and socio-economic development in the region.
However, there is a negligible progress on translating the Saarc commitments made at Dhaka and Thimphu Summits into practical actions, mainly due to lack of political will, weak environmental cooperation in the region and absence of a serious attitude of countries towards Saarc," he maintained. Axel Harneit Sievers, Country Director, HBS India, said dialogue on climate change between two countries is essential to systematically improve relations and particularly discuss issues where both countries have a common position.
Shakeel Ahmad Ramay, Senior Research Associate, SDPI briefed participants about the objectives and goals of conference and maintained track-II dialogue aimed at providing platform for experts and people across the border to come and discuss the possibilities for cooperation under climate change regime with joint research-policy-action and sharing of technology, knowledge and experiences. Sanjay Vashist, Programme Advisor Climate Change, Heinrich Boll Foundation, India Office said, climate change threat can be converted in to an opportunity through effective bilateral talks and coordination between the two countries, adding that climate change poses serious threats to development process in South Asia and we must need to move ahead leaving behind minor differences in mutual benefit of billions of people in South Asia.
Earlier, a documentary on climate change was screened, which is produced by Sustainable Development Television (SDTV) team and its Editor, Tahir Dhindsa. The documentary gave an overview of state of environment, depleting natural resources, developmental challenges while underlining the need for SA regional cooperation in general and between India and Pakistan in particular on issues of common interest.