SDPI’s organized a
consultative seminar on “Making use of Natural and human capital”,
where  senior researchers Mome Saleem, Sadia Ishfaq, Shakeel Ramay and
Salman Ata with guest speakers Ambassador Shafqat Kakakhel, Mohsin Iqbal
and Nasir Mehmood participated. The third installment in a series of
seminars emphasized that climate change means a direct break down within
the economy. Human capital entails any characteristic regarding skill
of labor, knowledge education and training.

Researchers
at SDPI highlighted that human capital contributes as a production
factor, where human is a creator in terms of innovation and invention as
well. Thus protecting, sustaining and nourishing human capital is
necessary, and its conflicts with climate change must be accounted for, a
one degree rise of temperature results in a loss of nine points in GDP
per capita.

Human
health is directly impacted by climate change, indirectly effecting
quality of food, ecology, industry etc. In this context health and
poverty are interlinked with one another. It has been observed and
assessed that climate will intercept all sectors of society, in areas of
production, income and development and will only further marginalize
the already marginalized communities.

Adaptation
strategies for health have been submitted by World Bank, UNFCCC and
IIED by improving infrastructure, evaluation studies, preventative
measures and regulatory bodies. Focused energy must be channeled towards
weak governance, quality of education and marginalization and
demographic dividends.

Damages
from floods of 2010 incurred a cost of 49.26 million dollars, and a
loss of 332 million dollar in education infrastructure alone.
Displacement of populations due to floods strains the capacity of urban
sectors as well. From policy formulation to implementation, the will is
lost within the process. Just building infrastructure is not enough
rather improving the very quality of institutional structures id
required.

Natural
capital comprises as stock of natural resources comprising of ecosystem
services, such as flood control, erosion control to name a few. Natural
capital connects directly to employment livelihood and income,
especially in poor semi-arid lands. The dilemma lies is the limitation
on natural capital, due to the never ending and increasing demand to
produce. Imbalances in ecosystems threaten to destroy forestry and
livestock distribution. Three sectors of focus water, forest and land,
Declining quality and quantity of water, where Pakistan is under severe
water stress relative to the world.

Gaps
that need to be built on are institutional roles, gender aspects, socio
economic implications, linkages between resource degradation, poverty
and climate resilience, people’s adaptive and coping strategies in the
midst of climate change and environmental degradation.

Dr.
Mohsin Iqbal, stressed the improvement of health, environment training
and skill, and educating general public of the vulnerabilities they are
exposed to in order to contribute to development. Human security must be
a pre-requisite of development, to prevent creation of ‘new poor,’ as
certain populations are more susceptible to climate change, such as
children, women and rural areas.

Nasir
Mehmood, IG forest, commented on human capital, social capital and
natural capital which must take into accounts rain lands as well.
Inclusion and cooperation with nomadic population incorporates them into
the system. Floods can be managed to contribute as a boom and not as a
disaster, as they play a role in cleaning water and revitalizing aquatic
life. Cooperation and sharing of information between research think
tanks and government ministries is a step in the right direction. There
is a need for real and quantifiable data with regards to ecosystem
monitoring.

Ambassador
Shafqat Kakakhel concluded with the seminars success in reaching a
better understanding of pathways to resilience. According to him
response to risk should be urgent as they affect the very quality of
life. We are further hoping to create a synergy more inclusive and
transparent with involvement of all stakeholders to facilitate
sustainable and climate resilient development, he added.