Tag Archives: Pakistan

Government budget cuts threaten Pakistan’s climate change efforts

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Saleem Shaikh
Thomson Reuters Foundation – Thu, 11 Jul 2013 01:35 PM

The Leh Nullah river, which flows from Islamabad to Rawalpindi, is dangerously clogged with debris and garbage as the rainy season starts. Photo/Muhammad Javaid

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A sharp cut in government funds for Pakistan’s main climate change agency may mean little to thousands of people in homes perched along a flood-prone river in the city of Rawalpindi. But it could tip them into crisis during the monsoon season that has just begun.

The natural river – known as Leh Nullah – doubles as a drain, and is now contaminated with rubbish and sewage. It has burst its banks several times in the past, severely damaging houses. The last time this happened was in July 2001, when flooding cost 35 lives and swept away several slum areas.

The Leh Nullah winds 30 km east from Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, down to low-lying Rawalpindi. It has six major tributaries, three originating in the foothills of Islamabad’s scenic Margallah Hills.

Amid economic woes and a fiscal squeeze, Ishaq Dar, the finance minister of Pakistan’s new government, announced in last month’s budget speech a massive cut of over 62 percent in annual spending for Pakistan’s government department charged with tackling climate change.

A few days earlier the country’s climate change ministry – which had only existed since April 2012 – was downgraded to a division. The Climate Change Division is part of the Federal Cabinet Secretariat which functions under the oversight of the prime minister.

The moves have drawn strong criticism from climate scientists, as well as local and international organisations working to boost the country’s resilience to climate impacts.
They warn that the spending cuts may be felt on the ground as early as this year’s monsoon season, which runs from July to September.

In Rawalpindi, the Leh Nullah brims over during monsoon, posing a risk to thousands of families in the settlements it snakes through. Weeks before, government authorities usually remove debris and garbage dumped in the channel so floodwater can flow through unimpeded.

But no such activity has happened this year, according to Joseph Jacob, a local fruit vendor who lives with his family on the drain’s right bank. “We are in a state of fear, and will be compelled to fend for ourselves during the forthcoming monsoon season,” he said.

Thousands of natural flood drains in urban areas are vulnerable to surging waters during the monsoon. But local newspapers report that most have not been cleared as the government has not provided the necessary financial support.

“We have written so many letters to the government for the release of funds and apprised them of the looming threats if the Leh Nullah is not cleared of debris before monsoon season. But such pleas seem to have fallen on deaf ears, because there has been no response as yet,” said Saqib Zaffar, Rawalpindi’s district coordination officer.

‘CAR WITHOUT FUEL’

The finance minister has earmarked just 59 million Pakistani rupees (around $590,000) for the Climate Change Division for the 2013-14 financial year that began on July 1, compared with Rs135 million in 2012-13.

Nearly two thirds of this year’s spending is for four ongoing projects. Only two new initiatives – the development of an information system to manage water and sanitation and the establishment of a high-tech climate monitoring centre – were granted funds, according to budget documents.

Pakistan’s total outlay for the new financial year is Rs3.6 trillion, while it faces a fiscal deficit of Rs1.6 trillion.

As a part of government austerity measures, the finance minister announced a 30 percent cut in non-salary expenditures for all federal ministries and divisions.

The government also slashed the number of federal ministries from 40 to 28 last month, including converting the climate change ministry into a division.

Dar told parliament these “unavoidable” budgetary measures would save about 40 billion rupees.

“It is like you are given a car but there is no fuel to drive it,” said a senior official at the Climate Change Division who did not want to be named. “This will scuttle our mitigation and adaptation initiatives launched last year,” he added with disappointment.

The official told Thomson Reuters Foundation the division had requested a budget of around Rs100 million. The Planning Commission of Pakistan, which approves development programmes weeks before the new budget is unveiled, had principally agreed to it before the budget announcement on June 12, he added.

“But to our sheer surprise, no such (amount) was granted,” he said, adding that the commission had also dropped four new climate schemes relating to water, agriculture and renewable energy.

Jawaid Ali, a former director-general at the climate change agency, slammed the “abysmally low” budget allocation, saying it reflects how climate change mitigation and adaptation remain at the bottom of the new government’s priority list.

Even the division’s day-to-day functioning will be severely hampered, he said, not to mention its joint ventures with U.N. agencies.

INTERNATIONAL CASE UNDERMINED

Officials at the Climate Change Division who look after partnerships with international organisations fear the cut in spending could affect Pakistan’s efforts to highlight its climate change vulnerability at the global level.

Tauqeer Ali Sheikh, Asia director for the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) and head of LEAD Pakistan, an environment and development organisation, said Pakistan is among the top 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change, but the meagre budget allocation reflects the government’s poor understanding of this.

“Because of official apathy, Pakistan is also losing its representation at international forums for highlighting its vulnerability to harsh weather patterns,” he said.

Qamar-uz-Zaman Chaudhry, a lead author of the National Climate Change Policy, said Pakistan may face international isolation if it does not take far-reaching measures to cope with climate stresses.

Azeem Khoso, deputy director for regional planning, echoed his concern. “If the country does not participate in international activities for want of funds, the global community will think Pakistan is not serious in coping with the vagaries of climate change and improving national resilience,” he cautioned.

Pervaiz Amir, a member of the Prime Minister’s Task Force on Climate Change, told Thomson Reuters Foundation that officials from India and Bangladesh effectively fought their case for receiving international funding at climate talks in Bonn this year. But there was no representative from Pakistan to argue the same – which he described as “unfortunate”.

Still experts say Pakistan can still improve its resilience to climate impacts even with a lower level of government spending.

Sheikh said Pakistan should continue to draft workable mitigation and adaptation plans across a range of social and economic sectors.

“Such plans can help win foreign funding for the country and substantiate its urgency and seriousness in tackling climate change – particularly in the water, agriculture, health and energy sectors,” he said.

“But all government ministries, divisions and departments have to work collaboratively with the Climate Change Division to achieve this,” he emphasised.

Saleem Shaikh is climate change and development reporter based in Islamabad.

Weblink: http://www.trust.org/item/20130711133533-z7p9x/

Pakistan wilts under record heat wave

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A farmer transplants rice after previously planted seedlings were damaged by a blistering heat wave in May 2013, in Taxila, 23 km (14 miles) northwest of Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital city. THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION/Saleem Shaikh

Saleem Shaikh
Thomson Reuters Foundation – Tue, 4 Jun 2013 12:15 PM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Zulekhan Mumtaz has seen her livelihood as a seller of camel milk turn sour because of a brutal heat wave that left Pakistan sweltering for three weeks in May with temperatures up to 51 degrees Celsius.

“My customers say they can no longer buy spoilt milk and squander their money,” the 31-year-old said, looking at the clotted yellow liquid.

“How can I buy fodder for the camel and food for my two children if the heat wave damages my milk?” she asked, resting with her animal in the shade of a tree in an upscale residential neighbourhood of Islamabad.

Pakistan in recent weeks has suffered its most severe heat wave in decades, with temperatures reaching as high as 51 degrees Celsius (124 Farenheit) on May 19 in Larkana, a city of two million people in southern Sindh province. This was the highest temperature for that month recorded there since 1998, when the mercury had peaked at almost 53 Celsius (127 Fahrenheit).

Lahore, Punjab province’s capital of about 15 million population, was the hottest city in the country on May 24 at 47.4 Celsius (117 Fahrenheit), hotter than any May since 1954.

Such extreme temperatures – which are becoming more common as a result of climate change – are an enormous health threat. They also make almost every function of daily life a nearly intolerable struggle – including, for millions, trying to earn a daily living.

The camel milk vendor Mumtaz, who lives in a shanty village on the outskirts of Pakistan’s capital, walks about four miles (6.5 km) daily to set up her roadside stall. Most of her customers are diabetes patients, among whom camel milk is very popular because it is a good source of insulin to help deal with the illness.

But “the heat wave has eroded my livelihood and made my camel sick because of frequent dehydration,” Mumtaz said, adding that the animal’s milk capacity had dropped by 70 percent. She sees her only remaining option as leaving the capital to return to her ancestral village.

Other livestock owners in Chak Shahzad, an area on the edge of the city popular with cattle farmers, report similar problems.

FEARS OF HUMAN, LIVESTOCK DEATHS

In the final week of May, Jamal Khan sold all 19 of his buffalos to a slaughterhouse in the city for about 2.1 million Pakistani rupees ($21,000), because his herd’s daily milk production had declined by 60 percent.

“I had no choice but to sell them, for fear of suffering heavy losses if they die of hyperthermia or repeated bouts of dehydration,” Khan said.

Deaths have not been limited to animals. Although officially confirmed figures of heat-related deaths are not available, local newspapers in Pakistan reported over a hundred deaths since early May.

Residents in most cities, towns and villages have been forced to stay indoors, leaving typically bustling shopping areas and business centres closed, and roads and highways deserted between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Left with limited options to cope with the heat, people have increased their consumption of cold beverages and fresh juices to try beat the sizzling heat and avoid dehydration and heat stroke.

Government hospitals across the country remained on emergency alert throughout much of the last month because of the heat wave.

“We have been advising the visiting patients (to increase) consumption of fresh water, juices, fruits and vegetables”, said Altaf Hussain, executive director of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital in Islamabad.

On May 27, rainfall finally brought a significant drop in temperatures to below 38 Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) in the Pakistani provinces of Khyber-Pakhtunkhuwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Punjab and Balochistan.

But the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) predicted dry and very hot weather across the plains of Sindh province, in the south of the country, for the first week of June. Temperatures in Islamabad have rebounded by 10 degrees to 40 Celsius  (104 Fahrenheit) since the end of the month.

According to a meteorological department advisory, the heat wave is unlikely to completely loosen its grip until the beginning of the first monsoon rains, expected in the first week of July.

Qamar-uz-Zaman, vice president for the Asia region at the World Meteorological Department, said that extreme summer temperatures, which have become common during the last few years in Pakistan, can largely be attributed to climatic warming.

CROP LOSSES

Data gleaned last year from 56 meteorological stations throughout Pakistan show a marked increase over recent years in the frequency of heat waves and rising temperatures particularly in the southern plains and coastal areas, according to Ghulam Rasul, a senior weather scientist at the meteorological department.

Reports of severe damage to cotton crops and paddy rice nurseries have come from around the country.

Ibrahim Mughal, chair of Agri Forum Pakistan, said in a phone interview that the heat wave had struck when cotton and rice sowing were at their peak.

“Farmers will have to quickly re-sow their cotton and paddy crops to avoid further harvest losses,” Mughal said.

Pervaiz Amir, an agro-economist and member of the government’s Task Force on Climate Change, said that the heat wave increased the evaporation rate by 20 to 25 percent compared to normal summers. He advised farmers to irrigate their crops more frequently, at least once or twice a week, and to adjust the timing of irrigation to early mornings and late evenings.

He also urged planting of shade and fruit trees along water channels, to cut evaporation of water.

Pakistan’s Environment Protection Agency warned that people in urban areas are at greater health risk from heat waves than those in rural parts of the country, in part because urban areas often absorb more heat.

Saleem Shaikh is climate change and development correspondent based in Islamabad.

Weblink: http://www.trust.org/item/20130604105605-6fcrq/

Pakistan must secure her natural resources,minimize water loss and the factors responsible for climatic change.

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Pakistan conservation manager speaks on CC 07’07’2013Pakistan has a large amount of water which must be conserved and water loss must be minimized.She has one of the largest irrigation system of the world.Where a large amount of water is lost.The water stored in the glacier form which is lost due to climatic change must be conserved by minimizing the factors responsible for climatic change and global warming.The WWWf Pakistan conservation Manager Muhammad Zafar Khan said in an interview with Radio Pakistan Gilgit representative that Pakistan can minimize water loss and conserve it through public private partnership.Pakistan must conserve her natural resources and make its use sustainable to meet her future necessities.The northern areas like Gilgit,Hunza and Baltistan are prone to climatic change and other calamities.
Pakistan northern areas did not come out of Atta Abad lake saga which was formed due to glacier melting and land sliding ,and resulted in the submersion of a large portion of K.K. highway.

WWWf

to listen to Muhammad Zafar khan click on the link or down load from the link ;

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B87OgyFMP4RgREFDakZsd0tVbWM/edit?usp=sharingz

PCSIR Labs are promoting green technology through technology business incubators.

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PCSIR Laboratories are promoting the green technology through their technology business incubators .They are trying to convince the public to invest in the technology on demand and requirement basis in Khyber Pukhunkhwa. They help the investor to to produce products look for markets and establish business on the research and findings of the scientists of the Labs.This step will be very helpful in promoting green technology which is environment friendly.
For details plz click the link to listen;

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B87OgyFMP4RgZXlfRV9KTXFxX3c/edit?usp=sharing

The suspended particles present in air on motorway form atmospheric nuclei which by combination with water lead to fog formation.

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Vehicular pollution is responsible for fog formation on the motorway in Pakistan.Scientist in Peshawar say that particles coming from vehicular pollution form nuclie which in turn on combination with water present in the air for fog.This fog is a big hurdle for traffic on the motorway in Pakistan.This fog is also responsible for throat irritation,drop in visibility and results in accidents and closure of the motorway.

Principal Scientific Officer Shahid Faruq informed in his radio interview that the chemicals present in the fog in the presence of light rays react and lead to photochemical reactions and their products are skin sensitive. These vehicular pollutants and their products also contribute to green house effects and climatic changes.
to listen the interview please click the link

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B87OgyFMP4RgR3B4ZHFFa2VycXc/edit?usp=sharing

2005 and 2010 floods in Pakistan due to climate change

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Pakistan saw a flood in 2005 due to ice melting and another one in 2010 due to climatic change but still has done nothing to face such a situation in future.There is no advance flood warning system,says Engineer Abdulwali Yousafzai.

Engineer Abdul Wali Yousafzai, a specialist and expert in hydrology said that Pakistan witnessed two devastating floods in 2005 and 2010 due to climatic change and global warming.In 2005 excessive melting of ice cape due to sudden rise in temperature and another in 2010 due to combination of other factors.He said the country must take adaptive measures to meet any other such type of emergency.He said we requested gov. of Pakistan several times but there is no response to install advance flood warning system.He revealed that if such systems are installed in the hilly and mountanous areas of Chitral, Dir ,swat and other areas we will have 12 to 21 hours time for Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and more than a week for Punjab and Sindh to make preparations and meet the crises and move public to safe sites.But still we are waiting for Gov. response.
He further said that we have made the request repeatedly but in vain and if the floods of intensity like that of 2005 or 2010 occur we will witness more horrifying results than the lost one.

Click on the link to listen full interview.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B87OgyFMP4RgV0tSR21xbHYyTEE/edit?usp=sharing

Medicinal Plants depleting in Northern Pakistan due to Climatic Change and anthropogenic activities.

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Principal Scientific Officer of PCSIR Labs. Peshawar Mr. Shahid Faruq  revealed in his radio interview that in Pakistan there are more than 10010 species of Medicinal plants in Pakistan.More than 300 are these high altitude areas.Some of the plants are depleting due to their high value and are exported to other countries.

Mr.Shaid Faruq is a Botanist and has co-authored  a book on medicinal plants of Pakistan and is carrying research on medicinal plants.He was invited  to our live programme “Climatic Change and its effect” broadcast live from PBC Peshawar on NBS(NCAC) Network for three days.

Mr.Shahid Faruq also revealed that 9 species are endemic to northern Pakistan and are exploited too much.One specie is used for antimalarial drug in China.

Global warming and excessive anthropogenic  activities ,over population and floods are the main cause for the depletion of these species.He said that anthropogenic activities are the main cause for this world heritage loss.

PLease listen to programme on the link