Semi-arid regions in Pakistan are witnessing drastic environmental changes with increased rainfall and climate induced disasters. Beside effective adaptation and policy planning, there is need to strengthen economic resilience of local communities to cope with adverse effect of climate change.
This was discussed in a consultative workshop on "Climate Resilient Economic Development in Semi-Arid Regions "organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here on Thursday. Consultation marked the start of a project by SDPI and Oversees Development Institute (ODI)-UK to scale up climate-compatible economic development in semi-arid regions of Central Asia, East Africa and West Africa.
Speaking at the occasion, Shamsul Mulk, Former Chairman Wapda suggested expediting work on 'institutional capacity building' of related institutions to cope with emerging challenges of climate change. He said that floods in Pakistan are regular phenomenon which are causing damages worth billions of rupees every year and the only way to address this problem is through 'preparedness' and 'structural planning'. He was of the view that business as usual is no more an option as Pakistan cannot afford more damages to the scale of 10-15 billion dollars as witnessed in 2010-11 floods in Pakistan.
Talking of improving capacity of public institutions, he stated that in sixties, Wapda had no capacity to steer large projects, but with firm commitment it was able to bridge capacity gap within short time and completed the biggest ever water development structures of those times under Indus Water Treaty including Tarbella, Mangla and other canals.
Dr Azmat Hayat Khan, Director, Pakistan Meteorological Department presented recent climatic models and revealed that rainfall patterns in Pakistan are changing, where instead of Kashmir and Northern Areas, semi-arid regions particularly in KP and Punjab are now getting more extreme rainfalls events.
He further informed that average rainy days and precipitation have increased in Sindh whereas it is gradually decreasing in Kashmir and GB which are water lifeline for Pakistan. "Water availability is also likely to be affected by westward shift in monsoon which has started to miss the catchment areas of Tarbela and Mangla, along with the fact that we don’t have any water catchment mechanisms in these semi-arid areas which are receiving more rains," he added.
Dr Azmat said that this climatic shift pose serious threat to semi-arid zones by increasing their vulnerability and affecting agriculture, livelihood, and economics of the region. He said that situation demands immediate policy actions to mitigate floods in new vulnerable areas along with measures to protect agriculture and conserve additional rain water where no water conservation structures are present.
In his welcome remarks, Dr Vaqar Ahmed, Deputy Executive Director, SDPI called the need for further research on climate induced vulnerabilities that not only resonates with ordinary publics but can also influence policy discourse. He informed that SDPI is building partnerships with relevant institutes and supporting new breed of researchers to bridge this research policy gap particularly in area of environmental governance.
Earlier, briefing participants about the project, Kashif Majeed Salik, Research Associate, SDPI said that project seek to strengthen economic resilience of communities living in semi-arid regions from climate induced vulnerabilities and disasters .
During consultation, there was consensus among the participants that semi-arid regions are receiving heavy damages due to climate change which are further aggravated by poor-adaptation and lack of institutional governance.
Debating sector specific economic development, participants suggested preparing a comprehensive inventory of semi- arid regions in Pakistan. They also demanded for collection of decade-wise data on change in rain fall patterns to properly gauge adverse impacts on livelihoods sources with possible adaptation strategies.
The participants underscored the need to protect people’s livelihoods and assets which are directly linked with their resilience and contribute towards economic development of the region. It was observed that another way to adapt to climate changes is diversification of livelihoods sources, with maximum policy level support along with support from developed countries.
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