Pakistan is bearing a loss of about Rs 900 billion per year owing to environmental degradation as unfortunately it is among the most vulnerable countries due to climate change. Environment and Women Development Minister Samina Khalid Ghurki said this while chairing a meeting held to review the functioning of the ministry’s Environment Wing on Tuesday.
She said rapidly increasing trend of environment degradation had alerted the world community for making affective measures.
Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries due to global warming and climate change, however, the ministry was utilising its maximum resources to meet the environmental challenges, she added.
She further said the rise in sea level, rapidly melting glaciers, rapid change in weather patterns and recent heavy floods were the main causes of climate change and global warming. “Our socio-eco systems directly relate to this core aspect and collective efforts are needed to bring green environmental revolution in the country,” she said.
She further said that different action plans were being implemented at national and provincial levels so that the implementation of different policies might be ensured. She said, “We have to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) by increasing the forest cover area by 6 percent till 2015.”
Earlier, Environment Director General Jawaid Ali Khan briefed the minister about main functions of the Environment Wing and talked about different policies like the Climate Change Policy, Clean Drinking Water Policy, and Wetlands Policy initiated by this wing. Environment Secretary Khawaja Muhammad Naeem, Climate Change Deputy Secretary Syed Mujtaba Hussain, Environment Director Irfan Tariq, Water and Sanitation Director Ejaz Ahmed, Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Expert Syed Amjad Hussain and other officials of the ministry were present on the occasion.
