Civil society, experts join hands to address climate change and coastal vulnerabilities

Climate change is seriously threatening the coastal belt of Pakistan and posing a serious threat to livelihoods, health, economy and ecosystems as a whole, experts said and called for public action involving youths, women, grassroots level activists and frontline communities to lead the fight.

They said mankind has only 10 years left to radically shift economies and societies to deal with a climate emergency that is threatening to push millions into hunger and poverty. They added that climate crisis is already here and now, and it is disproportionately affecting the world’s poorest people, youth, women, indigenous people and other marginalised groups.

Public action was the key for unlocking greater ambition on climate change and the engagement of the youth had a critical part to play as they were future leaders, they said while speaking at a seminar on the engagement of the youth in addressing coastal climate vulnerability held at Karachi University.

The event was jointly organised by Oxfam and WWF-Pakistan as part of a nationwide campaign called the “CLIMATE project”. This is a people-powered movement, agile communications lead campaign that connects with and amplifies the voices of women, grassroots activists and frontline communities leading the fight against climate change. The mobilisation will create change in key climate justice actions during the current pandemic and demonstrate public support for systemic change.

Welcoming the guests, Oxfam’s Climate Campaign Lead Shirin Abbasy said, “Climate change-associated destruction is a powerful story of inequality and injustice in both causes and impacts. It’s a crisis that touches almost every aspect of life, providing opportunities to connect to our work on hunger, poverty and the food system, as well as connecting to land rights, rights in crisis, and access to health care.

“We know first-hand that the crisis is here and now, and we’re already responding through our humanitarian work and emergency responses. We are here to celebrate and support the women who stand on the frontlines of this crisis as climate heroes. We stand for climate justice and for equitable climate action, not just against climate crisis.”

Dr Tahir Rasheed, director wildlife, WWF-Pakistan, said that severe impacts of climate change were being felt in the Indus Delta, which was a rich biodiversity hotspot and home to seventh largest mangrove forests in Asia. He said the delta was now at greater risk due to an inadequate freshwater supply from the Indus River, climate change vulnerabilities, pollution and other anthropogenic pressures. The fallout of climate change impacts was also leading to biodiversity loss in the deltaic region, he added.

Dr Rasheed highlighted the key outcomes of the joint initiative of WWF-Pakistan and Oxfam GB in the Indus Delta and shared that two sectoral Local Adaptation Plans of Action (LAPAs) had been developed on the basis of Vulnerability Risk Assessment (VRA). This will serve as guiding mechanisms for policymakers to support in building the resilience of natural resource-dependent communities.

The youth, who can inspire hope, should come forward to reverse climate change and protect the mangroves ecosystems in the deltaic areas of Sindh, he added.

Abdul Rahim Soomro, secretary agriculture, supply and prices department, Government of Sindh, appreciated the efforts of Oxfam and WWF-Pakistan towards engaging the youth and enhancing awareness of the issue of climate change and its impacts on the coastal communities.

The role of youth, he added, is critical in addressing climate vulnerabilities in the future. This generation will also be witnessing some of the grim impacts of climate change and hence enhancing their capabilities and knowledge of this issue would be instrumental for future adaptation plans and strategies.

Waqar Hussain Phulpoto, additional director of the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa), gave an overview of the agency and said they were working to mitigate the effects of climate change by adopting the 3R (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) concept.

Sugara Hajani, a 70-year local from Kakapir, Karachi, who is taking care of a mangroves nursery at Sandspit, shared that coastal women were well aware of the fact that their survival depended on the mangrove forests which protected them from natural calamities and were an important source of fisheries.

Other women from the coastal belt of Sindh shared their stories and experiences of supporting the conservation of the mangrove forests and improving their livelihoods through small-scale interventions at the community level.

Arif Ali Khokhar, conservator at the Sindh Forest Department; Aamir Alamgir, Professor Environment Sciences, Karachi University; Shoaib Kiyani, Professor Marine Sciences at Karachi University; Khalid Mahmood, Director Fisheries Development Board; Hamera Aisha, Manager Conservation, WWF-Pakistan; Jawad Umair Khan, Coordinator WWF-Pakistan; Shabina Faraz, environmental writer’ and Kalsoom Siddique, Youth Leader UNEP, also spoke on the occasion.