Project on the cards to store floodwater in wetland sites

Islamabad : The government is going to initiate ‘Recharge Pakistan' project to store floodwater in wetland sites, said adviser to the prime minister Malik Amin Aslam Khan.

"Protecting nature is our shared goal. Therefore it’s better to work in collaboration with other institutions to build synergies for achieving desired objectives," the adviser said.

He said Pakistan was blessed with multiple varieties of wildlife, flora and fauna but unfortunately, due to the indifferent attitude of the authorities concerned, a lot of species were on the verge of extinction.

The adviser said the government would take every possible measure to protect and conserve nature and its resources for being the custodian of the natural wealth.

He said provision of clean environment to the people was imperative so the government was devising comprehensive short, medium and long-term plans for protecting environment from further degradation.

Meanwhile, the adviser said conserving and protecting the environment was not just the responsibility of governments and instead, it was the collective social responsibility, which everyone had to shoulder.

He was talking to a International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) delegation, which called on him here to discuss mutual areas of collaboration for environmental protection. The adviser said Pakistan had abundant natural resources from Himalayan glaciers to lush green plains to the fascinating wilderness to golden-sand beaches along with its coasts.

He added that Pakistan was also a rare country, which hosted 10 agro-ecological zones. Country representative of the IUCN Pakistan Mahmood Akhtar Cheema apprised the adviser of key projects being executed by his organisation in Pakistan.

"We have a successful collaboration with the ministry of climate change, Balochistan government, Pakistan Navy, National Institute of Oceanography, WWF-Pakistan, and many other departments on conservation and biodiversity projects and are willing for further collaboration with the ministry of climate change in mutually agreed areas," he said.