Javed KHAN
PESHAWAR
As the anticipated general elections approach, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) takes center stage as one of Pakistan’s most climate-vulnerable provinces, propelling major political parties to make commitments to environmental protection in their manifestos.
In the pre-poll debates, the Awami National Party (ANP) and Jamat-i-Islami have not only acknowledged the looming climate crisis but have actively embraced it as a key focus area for governance in KP.
The ANP’s election manifesto is promising to seamlessly integrate climate actions into provincial development planning.
Khadim Hussain, provincial cultural secretary and member of the manifesto committee, said ANP’s key focus lies on ensuring the robust enforcement of environmental protection laws, covering a spectrum of issues from afforestation initiatives to the safeguarding of freshwater resources.
“The party aims to address the erosion of mountains, the depletion of fountains, and stop the contamination of water channels and rivers. A significant commitment is the introduction of laws for climate-resilient urban development in the province, signaling an intention to future-proof urban landscapes,” he said.
Furthermore, he said, the manifesto pledges to implement waste-to-energy strategies through recycling infrastructure and support eco-friendly indigenous industrialization.
The ANP leader emphasized the party’s dedication to securing crucial resources such as electricity, minerals, gas royalties, and a fair share in National Finance Commission (NFC) awards from the center.
The leader added that funds for education, health, and environment projects would be ensured from the royalty’s channels and implementation would be ensured through institutional reforms.
Jamat-i-Islami, historically conservative, has taken a progressive step by incorporating climate change strategies into its election manifesto for the first time.
The party’s commitments range from a gradual transition to electric vehicles to the enactment and implementation of laws for environmental protection.
The Jamaat-i-Islami manifesto seen by the Lead Pakistan aims to escalate the country’s economic dependence on renewable and alternative energy resources, displaying a commitment to a greener future.
The manifesto notably emphasizes projects for increasing forest cover, showcasing an understanding of the economic significance of forests and promising wildlife protection.
It is pertinent to mention here that two major political parties of KP like Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI and Jamiat Ulema Islam Fazal (HUI-F) have not even yet released their manifestos.
PTI in 2013 general elections formed a government in KP and initiated major plantation drives. The party also secured majority seats in 2018 general elections and kept its focus on plantations campaigns across the province. When contacted for comments on climate change pledges on their manifestos for upcoming general elections, their leadership avoided questions.
Dr. Shala, a professor at the University of Peshawar, who teaches policies and laws on the environment, said that political parties’ focus on addressing environmental concerns in the manifestos is a positive development.
She, however, said there is a higher need for professional and technical human resources to take bold and creative steps to address the challenges posed by environmental degradation in various sectors of the province.
She underscored the positive impact such initiatives have on public awareness, drawing parallels with PTI’s Billion Tree Tsunami project that sensitized the public and government departments to environmental issues.
The professor stressed the need for elected parties to implement the provincial climate change policy, updated in 2022 with a comprehensive action plan, urging them to allocate adequate resources for adaptation and mitigation measures across various sectors of the economy, especially agriculture.
Highlighting the broader political impact, Dr. Shala said that the manifesto should embody a political party’s understanding of the root causes of environmental degradation and serve as a roadmap to tackle the climate crisis.
Muhammad Iqbal Uddin Arif, who holds a doctorate in environmental governance from the University of Massachusetts Boston, delved into the need for a unified approach to integrating climate concerns into the broader political discourse.
In a nuanced statement, he cautioned against myopic approaches, urging political parties to work collectively on climate-friendly policies and the green economy.
He highlighted the economic opportunities associated with such policies, stating that failure to recognize them might hinder a nation’s ability to capitalize on sustainable development initiatives.
According to Muhammad Iqbal, climate change often exacerbates existing social inequalities.
Failure to address this issue in political manifestos may perpetuate social injustices, as vulnerable communities may bear the brunt of climate impacts without sufficient support and adaptive measures, he said.
Muhammad Iqbal deemed it imperative for political parties and leaders to position climate change as a priority issue in their governance.
He emphasized that public awareness and advocacy play a crucial role in holding political leaders accountable for addressing this critical global challenge.
Manzoor Ali, Dawn’s senior reporter in Peshawar, said that finally political parties of the province have become alerted that climate change is a threat to the province’s social and economic stability.
“These climate change related manifestos are deficient but still an encouraging sign,” Manzoor said.
However, as far as 2024 polls were concerned, he said that the ongoing political turmoil would focus the shift from such issues.
He said jobs, health, prices of essential commodities and petroleum are the overriding concerns for the vast majority of people in the country.
It is true that main political parties are offering climate change combating plans in their manifestos and some of them for the first time but there is little voter pressure on climate and environment policy.
Given the vulnerability of KP to climate change related impacts, Ali said that addressing climate change or environmental degradation truly requires a war-footing and whole-of-political parties approach.
KP is struggling to cope with natural disasters as it is still bearing the cost of climate-driven flash floods that hit the province between June and August of 2022.
According to statistics released by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) of KP, nearly 4.3 million directly affected and above 1.9 houses were damaged by last year’s floods.
The report estimates the long term losses to livestock, poultry and wildlife sectors at around Rs2.97 billion.
Around 0.15 million acres of crops and orchards were affected by the flash floods in the province, it said.
Moreover, 1,575 KM of road infrastructure has been inundated, 107 bridges collapsed.
“Climate Change-related disasters such as riverine floods, storm water, glacial bursting, heat strokes, droughts, and other vector-borne diseases are expected to become more common in the coming decades,” says provincial climate change policy 2022.
The policy, however, pinpointed that all challenges posed by the climate change to human and non-human things in the province can be addressed through bold and creative climate actions.
