Grappling with climate change

In a press statement issued on Thursday Federal Minister for Climate Change Mushahidullah Khan dealt with the issue of extreme weather conditions, like the heatwave wreaking havoc in Karachi and some other parts of Sindh. Pointing out that climate science has already established that because of global warming such events would be more frequent and intense, he said he has decided to "set up an experts study and investigative groups of scientists and planners, including officials of national and provincial disaster management authorities, who will examine the situation from all angles and propose strategy for tackling similar situations in the future." Seeking expert advice to address environmental issues is a laudable step, indeed. Recommendations of the experts and the proposed action by the ministry need to be made public so progress can be monitored to ensure better results.
Pakistan is one of the countries most at risk of facing the impact of global warming. As a result, it is to experience recurrent floods and droughts, and ultimately perennial water shortages due to the melting of the Himalayan glaciers feeding our river system - the lifeblood of this agrarian economy. Countering climate change therefore must become one of the top priorities of policy planners. Unfortunately, the trend so far in almost every field is to cope with issues and problems on an ad hoc basis. That should change. The government must act effectively to address changing weather patterns before it gets too late. First and foremost is the need to promote responsible behaviour.
As is common knowledge greenhouse gas emission from fossil fuels are the cause of warming, and the best known defence against the problem are trees. Pakistan has a negligible carbon footprint within the global context - due to low industrial growth rather than green policy choices- but concern for cleaner environment figures nowhere in governmental actions. While CO2 emissions from vehicular traffic in big cities are increasing with increasing population, the green belts around urban centres keep getting torn down to be replaced by commercial projects, and forests denuded of trees. An example is the gradual destruction of mangrove forests along the Karachi coast. Spread over about 604,870 hectares in 1932, the mangroves shrunk to 86,000 in 2005, and at present cover just over 70,000 hectares. Yet more forest land is to go to various schemes, like the construction of an LNG terminal and an oil and chemical manufacturing facility. And as if out of spite, a coal-fired power plant - the key culprit in global warming - is to be built on 200 acres of land by clearing a tract of the mangrove forest. Similar is the situation with inland forests countrywide. The area under forests is only around 2.13 to 2.2 percent of the total land. Since trees are the best bet against global warming, the minister for climate change can do a lot of good if he focuses on expanding the forest cover to catch up with the internationally prescribed standard.