Experts Urge Anticipatory Climate Adaptation Measures

News Desk

Islamabad: The experts at a high-level roundtable called upon the government and policymakers to come up with an inclusive and holistic approach to meet the exacerbating climate crisis through anticipatory adaptation.

The roundtable titled “Foresight and Futures Thinking for Anticipatory Adaptation in Pakistan” was organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in collaboration with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) to address how various stakeholders are thinking of future risks and how these risks could be integrated into existing plans and policies.

In his opening remarks, Dr Babar Shahbaz, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Agricultural Extension Education and Rural Development, laid the groundwork for the participants to deliberate on pertinent issues precisely. To become future-fit, he said, it is important to understand future risks and take anticipatory actions.

Amina Maharjan, Senior Specialist Livelihoods and Migration, ICIMOD, briefed the participants on foresight and future thinking for anticipatory adaptation in the region, methods to explore future pathways in terms of foresight, scenario development, the development of efficient strategies, and understanding foresight beyond predictions.

She briefed the participants on the emerging concept of foresight as the method of scoping, sensitization, participatory scenario development, integration into plans and policies, gender-inclusive steps to address data gaps, and other shortcomings hampering climate-resilient future development through a futuristic approach.

Sultan Mehmood, the World Food Programme (WFP) representative, mentioned the climate adaptation-related interventions being implemented through the WFP collaboration, particularly the Living Indus Initiative.

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He underscored the need to address water management, governance, land cover area protection, and multi-hazard vulnerability risk assessment (MHVRA) as crucial components to successfully meet the challenge of climate foresight.

Muhammad Farooq, Senior Joint Secretary, Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, briefed the roundtable about the steps taken by the Ministry in the aftermath of the rising magnitude of climate catastrophes.

He shed light on the development of baseline data based on modern techniques, with MHVRA being done for high-resolution data work underway on climate mapping and prediction by 2090.

Farooq also pointed out lacunae in existing strategies, particularly the lack of linkage between adaptation and NDCs, which has been done by developed countries.

Pakistan has submitted its national adaptation plan to the UNFCCC and is the 40th country to do so. Moreover, adaptation cells have been created in the ministries, including climate change, planning, and provincial ministries.

It is losing 8 percent of its GDP due to climate-recurring catastrophes, and it has crossed the tipping point of the climate crisis and entered into a new normal, he added. SDPI Dr Shafqat Munir said the stakeholders and partners are working in silos that need to end, whereas risk governance and financing need to be looked at with an anticipatory approach.

United Nations Environment Programme representative Arshad Samad Khan presented a brief view of the climate vulnerability of the region and mentioned glacial melt in the north and sea level rise at the coasts in the south as major climate crises faced by the country.

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He maintained that the lack of awareness at the community level was the problem that needed to be addressed as a priority. Obaidur Rehman Zia from SDPI proposed the roundtable to shift from a deterministic to a probabilistic approach.

Shameen Raza, UNDP-Pakistan, briefed the forum about the success of the GLOF project, which significantly reduced losses of human lives and infrastructure in the glacial lake outburst flood-prone areas. She mentioned that it was a promising intervention because of its localised nature and approach.

A representative from the PARC briefed the roundtable that there was a need to review the hotspots of the country facing a water shortage crisis, and those regions’ contribution to the GDP through their agriculture output also needed to be studied for better strategies.

He added that there was a need to learn and adopt new information and technology related to climate science and mitigation.

A representative from the Zarai Taraqiati Bank noted that there are green climate finance solutions, but farmers are mostly unaware of such initiatives.

He demanded that the quarters concerned share the most modern research and such scientific solutions in lucid and clear language.

Dr Farrukh Rashid from the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) informed the participants about the measures taken by the PMD to strengthen its hydrometeorological infrastructure across the country.

He suggested addressing the demographic issues of countries like Pakistan in the region that were having bulging populations and churning up most of the natural resources, which was unsustainable.