According to an official report compiled by the Ministry of Climate Change, rising temperature resulted in enhanced heat and water stressed conditions leading to reduced agriculture productivity. There are threats to our coastal areas due to the projected rise in the sea level and increased cyclonic activity due to higher surface temperature, in addition to stress between upper and lower riparian regions in relation to sharing of water resources. Pakistan is among the most vulnerable countries as far as climate change is concerned – more so because it has very low technical capacity to adapt to its adverse impacts.
Climate change does not only threaten the country’s food security, it poses a threat to its economic survival as well. Adapting and mitigating the impacts of climate change is a matter of economic survival since agriculture is the foundation of our economy. One of the best strategies to combat this is developing climate zones and introducing supplementary irrigation for sustainable agriculture because our land is arid and rain fed. The government should prioritise its response to climate change in order to mitigate environmental threats and prevent future calamities. Failure to do so would jeopardise national security. The historic Paris agreement provides hope for global response to this threat. The agreement made it clear that responsibility for climate change lies with all nations.
Khan Faraz
Peshawar