ISLAMABAD, Dec 3 (APP): Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman on Saturday urged the development sector and partners to enhance projects and resources on climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Addressing the International Summit on Higher Education and Workforce Development in the 21st Century organised by USAID’s Higher Education System Strengthening Activity, the Minister said ecology was based entirely on scientific models that demanded stakeholder intervention to understand its complex issues.
Sherry Rehman said there was need to convene such forums frequently to work on climate mitigation and adaptation models whereas the climate change mitigation and adaptation projects needed to focus on land issues.
Commenting on the flood devastation, the Minister said the floods had changed the demographics and geography of Pakistan’s cities and villages, adding, the affected communities would take a long time to recover.
“Climate change has adversely affected economic, educational and health sectors in the country. The flood affected families have lost their homes, livestock and crops. It is now up to our education and development sector to help people reclaim their dreams,” Sherry Rehman said.
The Minister expressed her concerns over less public awareness and education on climate change. “We need to make climate change as a part of the curriculum at every level and it needs to be part of education. There is a need to build climate change departments in our universities,” she added.
Senator Sherry Rehman underscored that there was a desperate need of environmentalists and scientists as even today government departments were working in isolation. However, all sectors and partners needed to work together for coping with the overarching challenge of climate change, she ended.
