EDITORIAL: Speakers at a recent seminar on “Engagement of Youth in Addressing Coastal Climate Vulnerability”, co-hosted at the Karachi University by Oxfam and WWF-Pakistan, warned of climate change disproportionally affecting marginalized groups. The coastal belt of Sindh, pointed out one of the participants, is particularly vulnerable, with serious ramification for food security and loss of local livelihoods— mainly fisheries and agriculture. Rural communities are being pushed towards poverty and hunger, and eventually displacement. Oxfam representative aptly described climate change-associated destruction as “a powerful story of inequality and injustice in both causes and impacts.” The WWF director told the seminar that a severe impact of climate change is also being felt in the Indus Delta region, which is a rich biodiversity hotspot and home to seventh largest mangrove forests in Asia. And that the delta is now at greater risk due to inadequate freshwater supply from the Indus River, pollution, and anthropological pressures.
On the one hand, climate change is manifesting itself in the frequency of natural disasters and shifting weather patterns; on the other hand, provincial authorities’ actions and policies show little respect for biodiversity. A large part of mangrove forests— a rich habitat of various species of fish and fauna as well as a food source for humans— have been destroyed at an alarming rate to make way for industrial and agricultural projects without a care for the effect on the ecosystem or food security of coastal communities. Some in-land forests areas are being used for agricultural purposes or encroached upon by commercial concerns. And wetlands bird sanctuaries are getting more and more polluted. There clearly is no interest in preserving ecosystems. Integrating biodiversity in social and economic policies is a far cry. That lends urgency to the need to address climate vulnerability issues. Campaigns like the present seminar can be hoped to help make the relevant authorities put climate change on their list of priorities.
A real hope for betterment comes from Prime Minister Imran Khan’s initiative to establish 15 national parks in different parts of the country and one in Islamabad with proper ecological management. The project is part of the PM’s “Green Stimulus” project aimed at covering land area of over 7, 300 sq km, stretching from the mountainous region in the north to the scrub forests in the plains and a marine protected area in the south. He has also launched a five-year campaign to plant 10 billion trees. Not only do trees, of course serve as carbon sinks, protect from landslides and other environmental hazards, they also constitute reliable sanctuaries for birds and provide livelihoods to marginalized communities. Such natural solutions are imperative for mitigating climate vulnerability.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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