And the need for regional cooperation
Climatic changes are increasingly expressing themselves in eccentricities of weather. Large areas in Pakistan where rainfall has been scarce are being lashed by heavy downpours while those dependent upon abundant rainfall face drought. This has disturbed conventional sowing practices, drastically impacting the livelihood of the people and the national economy. In April a heavy spell of rains with hailstorm and strong winds caused losses during harvesting and threshing of wheat. Climate change related factors caused problems for other crops as well across the country, reducing the overall growth in the crop sector to one per cent with some of the major crops missing the target for the year.
A report from the Ministry of Climate Change underlines the growing threat. According to the report’s projections, the average temperature over Pakistan will increase in the coming decades at a pace faster than that of the average global temperature and may exceed by about 1C° during 2010-2039. Further, the temperatures in the northern parts of Pakistan will rise more than in southern areas. Among other things, this would imply fast melting of the glaciers causing long term water scarcity in the country.
One expects the government to go beyond pointing out the problems. The issue of climate change had already been highlighted by the previous government which approved a National Climate Change Policy in early 2013. It was pointed out then that the implementation will remain the biggest challenge. What continues to be ignored is to devise a national action plan and put together the required administrative structures to implement the plan.
Climate change is not the problem of Pakistan alone. It is an issue faced by the entire South Asia. The challenge can be dealt with only through mutual cooperation. In the absence of this, the region can face food and water shortages that could lead to wars. There is a need on the part of the military and political leadership to look beyond narrow institutional or party interests and realise the need for regional cooperation.
