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ISLAMABAD, Nov 04 (APP):Bangladesh’s Advisor to the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Syeda Rizwana Hasan on Tuesday echoed the concerns, warning that multilateralism is “losing ground” amid growing political unrest in South Asia.
She was speaking at the inaugural plenary of the 4-day 28th Sustainable Development Conference organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute in collaboration with Allama Iqbal Open University here.
Alongside this mega event, 16th South Asia Economic Summit (SAES), 3rd Sustainability Investment Expo (SIE), and 9th South and South-West Asia Subregional Forum on Sustainable Development (UNESCAP) were also the part of the conference.
She said worsening natural disasters, soil degradation, and regional disputes — particularly between upper and lower riparian nations — threaten millions of lives. “Pakistan has seen actions by upper riparian that violate international law,” she noted.
In his welcome address, SDPI Executive Director Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri said: the conference serves the region’s intellectual purpose where research meets policy, ideas meet responsibility, and optimism meets realism.
This year’s theme captures the mood of our times, he said, adding that today, uncertainty has prevailed across every front. “The familiar pillars of progress such as trade integration, multilateralism, and predictable growth are weakening.
Geopolitical alignments are shifting faster than our institutions can adapt. Climate extremes have become more frequent, costly, and political.”
From the Himalayan glaciers to the Bay of Bengal, the climate crisis, debt stress, and digital divides have become our shared realities. Yet South Asia also possesses something more powerful — a remarkable capacity to adapt, Dr Suleri added.
SDPI Chairperson of Board of Governors Ambassador Shafqat Kakakhel said complex threats to peace, prosperity, and human well-being — such as the impacts of climate change — have grown exponentially, even as our collective will to counter them has receded. He added that the international community has been jolted by the open defiance and outright rejection of scientific findings by countries that were once at the forefront of scientific inquiry, research, and development.
Support for developing countries’ efforts to protect their fragile and vulnerable economies from the adverse consequences of global warming and climate change has remained woefully inadequate.
Mohamed Yahya, UN Resident Coordinator and humanitarian coordinator, Pakistan said that “The era of small projects is over” adding, “We can support governments technically, but we cannot replace them.”
AIOU Vice-Chancellor Dr Nsir Mahmood called upon the world to shift from fragmented projects to bold, regional programmes to tackle shared environmental challenges. He said the private sector has often seen as a bystander to policy, which is proving to be a partner in transformation — from climate-resilient infrastructure and renewable energy ventures to digital inclusion and sustainable production.