Romina Alam for using climate smart agri-technologies

ISLAMABAD, Feb 26 (APP):Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change Romina Khursheed Alam on Monday stressed the need
for introducing climate smart agriculture technologies in order to produce staple food crops for tackling
the increasing domestic demand, besides protecting natural environment to overcome climate change
challenges.
Addressing a a two-day 4th Climate Change Adaptation, Policy and Science Conference (CCAPS),
she said that climate change was a global phenomena and has gained a special attention in policy
formulation agenda across the glob.
The event is being hosted by Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARDC) in collaboration with
International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and LEAD Pakistan, aiming
building a platform for climate change adaptation and resilience, research in the region and
create synergies with actions currently conducted or proposed by the other stakeholders.
Despite the fact that the Pakistan’s share in green house emission was at the loser level,
where as it was among top seven countries in terms of climate vulnerability and facing serious
challenges of depleting ground water table.
Romina Khursheed said food security of the country was directly linked with availability of
water, adding per capita water was recorded at 800 cubic meter, which was lower as
compared the international standard.
She stressed the need for investing in rural economies for infrastructure developing creating
awareness about climate change and food security for sustainable mountain development and
mitigating the climate impacts.
She said government had prepared a climate change policy by taking all the stakeholders on
board, besides establishing a climate change authority for the adaptation of climate change
action plan for the protection of natural climate.
She hoped that the outcomes of the conference will help to devise an holistic approach to
protect the mountains and glaciers, which were the major sources for water for irrigation
to produce food.
She said the government was also taking steps to reach over 6 million people by investing
about US$ 1.6 million to overcome malnutrition under Prime Minister Programme in rural
areas of the country.
Addressing the conference High Commissioner of Canada said the climate change was
the central policy of his government and it was assisting all the developing countries
for achieving the Paris Climate Conference agenda and provided about US$ 300 million.
He said his government was supporting and advocating the bilateral and multilateral
climate change approaches and provided over US$ 2.76 million to achieve the goals
of climate change.
Speaking on the occasion Chairman of PARC Dr Yousuf Zafar said the conference
would facilitate to exchange knowledge and ideas on science, policy and good practices
related to climate change adaptation in Hindu-Kush, Himalayan (HKH) Region, especially
in across Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra River Basins.
He informed that renowned international researchers, policy makers and thought
leaders from USA, Canada, Netherlands, India, Bangladesh and Nepal are attending
the conference as it was being sponsored by the Government of Canada and United
kingdom and it was 4th in series.
He said Pakistan was the most vulnerable in terms of climate change and had faced
severe circumstances including droughts, flash floods and weather shifting, which
had damaged the growth of agricultural national economy.
Despite that the share of Pakistan was below to nominal in green house gas emission,
but it had taken serious steps to fulfill its commitments made in Paris Convention to
mitigate the climate change issues and challenges.
The government had established an resource center in PARC, where as a mountain
center in Gilgit, besides establishing 12 center in different ecologies and developed
an glacier inventory to intimate other stakeholders, he added.
He said the country was focusing on climate smart agriculture practices in order to
protect the natural environment as well as for tackling with the growing domestic
demands of the staple food and livestock.
Speaking on the occasion Director General ICIMOD Dr David Molden said the consortium
of eight countries and several universities was working to prevent the mountains and
glaciers by involving the local community on board.
He said climate change was a serious challenge for mountains and glaciers and the
conference would help to prepare a policy to prevent these as well as mountain water
and make the people more resilient about climate change.