Climate Change expert Pervaiz Amir said 90 per cent of climate change is going to impact agriculture sector and uneducated of the country unaware of drastic environmental hazards looming in the future.

Climate Change expert Pervaiz Amir said 90 per cent of climate change is going to impact agriculture sector and uneducated of the country unaware of drastic environmental hazards looming in the future.

He was of the view that the uneducated youth inhabiting in the rural and urban areas needs due attention of the stakeholders which is being neglected. It is the most important factor while the highly qualified have set their targets in abroad for a better future, he added.

Pervaiz Amir was addressing a seminar on "Youth Driven Climate Action" organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here on Tuesday.

"When you touch nature, it responds in multiple times", he remarked while claiming that climate change impacts are the outcome of our drastic actions destroying natural resources.

The researches made earlier were limited while the models presented were not holding water in current scenario, he maintained.

He referred to develop climate change adaptation and mitigation measures particularly focusing on changing life style, food patterns and youth life style.

According to a global study, 2019-2022 would witness unprecedented temperature rise in our region, he said, adding all of the glaciers were melting due to increase in our resource.

He said The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) study revealed that youth’s major issue in Gilgit Baltistan and in its surroundings was suicide as climate related influence in the area has made explicit effects on the life of the natives. The study researchers claimed that people visiting northern areas were posing serious mental stress on the residents.

Amir claimed that the government should focus to develop five new cities in the coastal area of Balochistan other than Gwadar which 1046 Kilometers (km). He said the overpopulated Karachi, Lahore and other mega cities cannot cater the massive youth bulge. It would be a US$1 trillion investment in the future which should not be given to Chinese for development rather other international partners to be involved in the project, he said.

"Pakistan needs to grow trillion of trees to overcome the gruesome impacts of climate change", he added. The next bigger challenge would be plastic pollution particularly polyethylene causing deep environmental effects.

"If colleges across the country are closed to involve the youth of the country to clean plastic pollution then there is no harm in it", he said. Youth is the ultimate factor that can prove to be fruitful in attaining sustainable solution to our environmental pollution and its hazards and to curb climate change issue.

He said we need to mobilize, educate and train our youth on modern trends to meet this global challenge as its not a decade rather entire generations on stakes.

Member of National Assembly (MNA) and former Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Climate Change, Romina Khurshid said we have developed certain behavioural changes since the last many decades that to an extent contributed in our deteriorated environment and ecological system. The contemporary youth considered as lethargic and social media freak cannot be blamed for everything. The modern technology developers have set certain parameters and limits pertaining to the usage of the gadgets. She said we have vast knowledge and expertise pertaining to climate change as it only requires mobilizing that valuable material in the form of experts and precise policies.

Speaking on the occasion Executive Director, SDPI Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri said we are at the crossroads today amid vulnerability of climate change that badly affecting our agriculture, livestock and ecosystem. He urged the need for adopting proper mechanism to mitigate adverse impacts of climate change on the rural livelihood. He said that Demand Driven Policy making by the government to focus the required steps and policy measures as demanded by the youth which would help reach sustainable solutions. We have to focus sustainable production, consumption and natural resource management through youth which has to lead the country in the future.

Source: https://www.urdupoint.com/en/pakistan/climate-change-to-badly-affect-agriculture-se-419885.html