World Bank keen to lend $100 million for Green Pakistan Program

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank on Friday expressed its interest in extending $100 million loan to help the country develop forest resilient infrastructure and for forestry economic management under Green Pakistan program.

“The mission is willing to support in financing for initiatives related to livelihood improvements under Green Pakistan Program in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhawa provinces initially,” Jiang Ru, a senior environmental specialist at the Bank said in a statement.

“The bank can provide support for capacity building at national level through ministry of climate change.”

The bank’s delegation met with Minister for Climate Change Zahid Hamid and discussed the financing option and institutional arrangements for Green Pakistan Program under which 100 million trees are to be planted across the country.  

Ru said the bank will also explore possibility of seeking grant from green climate fund and green environment facility of the United Nations. “Our focus would be on forest resilient infrastructure, landscape management and forestry and economic management,” he added.

The environment specialist advised that the ministry of climate change should provide some sort of incentives to provinces to increase their forest cover. He said the World Bank is also working on a project on watershed management in Balochistan.

Minister Hamid said the council of common interest has approved the new forest policy in consent with provinces. “We are also declaring marine protected areas in Pakistan.”

Rizwan Mehboob, Prime Minister’s focal person on Green Pakistan Program said the government wants to discover additional funding for this project from international donor agencies.

Mehboob said on the request of economic affairs division, a scoping mission of the World Bank visited Pakistan and held meetings with representatives of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa forest departments and secretary ministry of climate change.

Meanwhile, the National Coordination Committee held a meeting on Minamata Convention, which deals with the protection of environment and human health from anthropogenic emissions and release of mercury and mercury compounds.

Pakistan signed the convention in 2013 in Japan but has not ratified yet. The meeting discussed the pros and cons of ratification of the convention.

Zaigham Abbas, a climate ministry’s official said one significant achievement of Pakistan in reducing mercury use is Import Policy 2016. Under this policy, an approval is required by ministry of climate change for import of mercury and its products.

The meeting discussed the cost and benefits of ratification of Minamata Convention.

The country will get fund if it ratifies this convention. The drawback of this funding is that green environment facility supports it but in this funding less amount will be paid by green environment facility and more by the countries.

The meeting told that the convention has stringent rules that will be binding on Pakistan. This convention talks about scaling down mercury from products before 2020 and phasing out till 2025. It also binds the member countries to phase out mercury within 10 years on existing coal plants and within five years for new plants.

A statement said Syed Abu Ahmad Akif, secretary ministry of climate change decided to write to all stakeholders that an inventory would be formulated with the advantages and disadvantages. All stakeholders must give their input on pros and cons associated with this convention.

Currently, 128 countries have signed and 55 ratified the convention.