An IUCN expert has cautioned that Pakistan is on the borderline of water scarce nation and the situation would further be exacerbated by the impending climatic changes.
"This situation is needed practical measures to avert the impending dangers", Ghazanfar Ali, the IUCN expert, underlined while addressing a seminar on climate change held at Muzzafarabad recently under the auspices of IUCN Pakistan.
Speaking on the occasion, Advisor Infrastructure and Development (DFID), Andrew McCoubrey of UK said that acting in advance to avert dangers from climate change UK had passed a law aiming to reduce carbon emission there. He said Azad Kashmir would face future danger unless it adapted climate change protection measures.
AJK Environment Minister, Chaudhry Muhammad Akbar Ibrahim presided over the seminar said that the climate change is no longer a debatable issue and its impact was being felt everywhere, specially in his own region.
He said Rs 300 million had been allocated during 2007- 08 for projects in the sectors of forestry, watershed management, wildlife and fisheries, along with federally sponsored projects under the PSD programme for reducing poverty.
Muhammad Bashir Khan, Director, Environmental Protection Agency, AJK, counselled adoption of practical action plans, with incorporating costs into economic development policies and plans.
He asked for IUCN's support to the government to prevent landslides in natural disasters prone areas, saying such a step was important in the context of the 2005 earthquake.
The IUCN Pakistan director, Cheema, emphasised the importance of conducting scientific research on climate change, with special reference to development of policies primarily to integrate climate change concerns in all government policies and plans which would enable the government to address the problem in a comprehensive manner.
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