ISLAMABAD
\nFederal Minister of Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman stressed the need to set in motion the work on improving drought preparedness and building drought resilience.
\nThe minister, in her message on the World Desertification and Drought Day being observed on Friday, said \u201cDroughts and desertification are critical issues worldwide. For the last two years, Pakistan has been amongst the top 23 countries facing a major drought emergency.\u201d News By 2025, she said, droughts might affect estimated three-quarters of the world\u2019s population. \u201cPakistan will certainly be in its crosshairs.
\n Desertification is a global phenomenon caused by environmental and climatic factors and human activities but has left Pakistan scarred by its multiple impacts, including environmental degradation, loss of soil fertility, loss of biodiversity, and reduction in land productivity, which has exacerbated and amplified the vulnerability of fragile local communities.\u201d
\nSherry Rehman said, \u201cDroughts aren\u2019t some new phenomenon that we aren\u2019t familiar with, they have always been a part of nature and human experience, however, with massive deforestation, and anthropogenic activities a noticeable change in climate conditions have accelerated the fallout.
\n\u201cIn Pakistan, we see water stress and dry rivers all over the country due to prolonged heat waves and delayed rains, poor distribution of water. This worsens especially because the country is predominantly arid.
\n\u201cIn addition, Pakistan\u2019s per capita water availability has dropped from 5060 cubic meters per annum in 1951 to only 908 cubic meters now.
\nUNDP (United Nations Development Programme) states that Pakistan will dry up by 2025 if no urgent action is taken today. Our livestock is critically affected by the rising heat and lack of water in already water-stressed areas of Sindh and South Punjab.
\n\u201cThe challenge is a big one. Pakistan has embarked on its Green Initiative programme set to plant 3.29 billion plants over an area of one million hectares. Currently, we have achieved the target of 1.5 billion plants, which has resulted in 250,000 green jobs in rural areas that continue to experience droughts and desertification.
\n\u201cIn Sindh, the Indus Delta, lifeline of many living near coastal areas, is depleting at an alarming rate. According to a US-Pakistan Centre report at the Mehran University, the Indus Delta has shrunk by a massive 92% from 13000 square km in 1833 to only 1000 sq km now. The new ambitious \u201cLiving Indus\u201d initiative spearheaded by the UN and MOCC is currently underway and is working towards restoring the health of the Indus Basin.
\n\u201cPakistan has also launched an Ecosystem Restoration Initiative under the theme of \u201cNature-Based Solutions\u201d to tackle critical issues like desertification, loss of fertility, and droughts. \u201cOn this World Desertification and Drought Day, we need to set in motion the work on improving drought preparedness and building drought resilience.
\n Pakistan is one of the countries on the frontlines of the climate emergency. We cannot stop droughts from happening but we can prepare for them by conserving our water. The country is striving to achieve the voluntary Land Degradation Neutrality Targets by 2030 and the aforementioned efforts will lead the way to achieve these targets.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Federal Minister of Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman stressed the need to set in motion the work on improving drought preparedness and building drought resilience. The minister, in her message on the World Desertification and Drought Day being observed on Friday, said \u201cDroughts and desertification are critical issues worldwide. For the last two years, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252473,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[8602,5257,365],"class_list":{"0":"post-266572","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-building-resilience","9":"tag-preparedness","10":"tag-sherry-rehman"},"yoast_head":"\n