Pakistan shares details of Indus Basin project at COP26

Islamabad: Pakistan has shared the details of an ambitious project with the participants of UN Climate Change Conference COP26 that aims at transforming the Indus basin with climate resilient agriculture and water management.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam while speaking at the conference being held in Glasgow said this project has an estimated lifespan of 20 years and it would transform agriculture in the Indus Basin by increasing resilience among the most vulnerable farmers and strengthening government capacity to support communities at all levels.

“The project will develop the country’s capacity to use the information it needs to adapt to the impacts of climate change on agriculture and water management by putting in place state-of-the art technology. It will build farmers’ climate resilience through skills, knowledge and technology enhancement activities and also create a wider enabling environment for continuous adaptation,” he said.

He informed the participants that the project would directly benefit an estimated 1.5 million out of total 90 million rural population that helps provide 90 percent of the country’s food supply.

“The project will help shift the Indus Basin agriculture from its current situation of high vulnerability towards an alternative paradigm wherein better information and farming practices will significantly increase resilience to the climate change,” he said.

Malik Amin Aslam further stated that “The project will help improve capacity building of the institutions to cope with the impacts of the climate change on agriculture and water management.”

He said that it would also help continuously monitor and assess climate change risks and adaptation needs by installing information services technology and training national experts to translate these insights into action on the ground.