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ISLAMABAD, Nov 24 (APP):Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Dr Musadik Malik on Monday met a delegation of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) led by Lifeng Li, Director of the Land and Water Division, to discuss avenues of cooperation in sustainable land use, water management and climate-resilient development.
During the meeting, Li highlighted Pakistan’s high vulnerability to climate change and stressed the centrality of food systems and natural resource governance in mitigating its impacts.
He briefed the minister on FAO’s ongoing initiatives, including programmes aimed at preventing land degradation, improving the management of Indus Basin resources and strengthening national water governance frameworks.
He also presented the Country Programming Framework (2023–27) along with the Aqua Portal — an inter-agency information-sharing platform.
Dr Malik appreciated FAO’s technical support and called for prioritising areas with low public returns, particularly institutional strengthening and capacity building.
He also discussed the government’s plan to facilitate the establishment of Green Clusters that would connect young Pakistani entrepreneurs working on green startups with international investors.
The minister further underscored the need for a formal collaborative mechanism encompassing administrative coordination, capacity enhancement and public–private partnerships.
He warned that climate-related projects should not rely on the diversion of development loans meant for education, health and human capital, arguing that such practices undermine progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr Malik emphasised the importance of active ministerial involvement and stronger alignment among federal, provincial and international partners to ensure coherence and sustained long-term impact.