Japan to provide technical assistance to Pakistan for controlling drought, floods: Envoy

ISLAMABAD, May 2 (APP):Japanese Ambassador Takashi Kuai Wednesday said Japan would provide technical assistance and support to Pakistan for eco-watershed mitigation to control floods and drought.
Addressing the ‘International Workshop on Collective Community Action for Eco-Watershed Mitigation to Floods and Drought’ here, the ambassador said water related disasters were about 80 percent of the total disasters and Japan was one of the countries which frequently suffered from such disasters.
He said Japan shared the experience learned from the natural disasters and on how to mitigate their effects with other countries, including Pakistan.
The ambassador also commended the role of United Nations Educational and Scientific Cooperation (UNSCO) in strengthening early flood warning capacity of Pakistan and also appreciated technical advancement made by all the partner agencies.
The two-day event was organized by UNESCO in collaboration with Soil and Water Conservation Research Institution (SAWCRI), which was aimed at to share the common integrated flood and drought management issues and to introduce eco-watershed management practices for collective community action.
Speaking on the occasion, Director, UNESCO Regional Science Bureau for Asia and the Pacific Dr Shahbaz Khan thanked the Japanese ambassador and government of Japan for extending generous financial and technical support for the project.
He mentioned that UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme (IHP) was one of the largest inter-governmental programmes in the world, which had more than 160 countries being its part.
He said before the project, there were lots of technical gaps in the early flood warning system in upper Indus catchment as it did not have full understanding of catchment. “We did not have required hydro-meteorological data, and as well as there were not many trained professionals for GIS/RS based flood modeling.”
Yasuhiro TOJO, Chief Representative of JICA, said climate change was recognized as one of the most serious challenge being faced by humans. According to Global Climate Risk Index, he said Pakistan was one of the ten countries most affected by extreme weather events during 1995-2014.
Federal Flood Commission Chairman Ahmad Kamal said the project was initiated seven years ago and “we are now harvesting its fruits.” He commended efforts of UNESCO to strengthen the flood management system of Pakistan.
PARC Chairman Dr Yousaf hoped that the project would contribute to foster floods and droughts management capacities of the country.