Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Center for Science and Environment (CSE) with the support of Heinrich Boll Stiftung (HBS) is organizing a seminar titled “Pakistan-India Track II Dialogue on Climate Change” on Monday.
The seminar will provide a platform for people across the border to come and discuss the possibilities for cooperation and sustainable development under climate change regime in the region with joint research-policy-action and sharing of technology, knowledge and experiences.
The event will instigate the collective efforts by developing an actionable agenda for climate change in Pakistan and India in the areas of water, energy, gender, and livelihood.
It would also aim at reducing tension between India and Pakistan by providing an opportunity to engage representatives of both countries in Track-2-consultations on issues of mutual concern.
The possible responses to the impacts of the changing climate are not only a growing concern among the scientists but a greater issue at hand for the policy and the decision makers.
Some potential impacts of climate change such as glacier melting, decreasing crop yields, variability in monsoon and sea-level rise are estimated to have a strong regional presence.
These impacts increase the risk of food insecurity, malnutrition and are a danger to the human settlement due to increased frequency of floods, droughts, cyclones and tsunamis.
Pakistan and India, being the big nations in the region have responsibility to sustain the depleting shared precious natural resources directly or indirectly.
Therefore, robust regional policy responses for adoptions and mitigation to vulnerabilities and impacts on various sectors such as water, agriculture, energy and livelihoods will need to be devised.