With a financial assistance of $564,000 from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Ministry of Environment (MoE) would carry out projects for controlling desertification and ozone depletion.
These projects were 'Sustainable Land Management to Combat Desertification in Pakistan' and 'Institutional Strengthening of the Ozone Cell' within the ministry for looking after matters pertaining to phasing out ozone depleting substances (ODS) under the Montreal Protocol.
The UNDP would also provide $31,500 for 'Promotion of Energy Efficient Housing Technology' to the Aga Khan Foundation.
Sources in the environment ministry said that $340,000 has been provided by the Global Environment Facility through UNDP for 'Sustainable Land Management to Combat Desertification in Pakistan', adding it has been prepared by the Ecosystem Management and Natural Recourses Conservation programme of the Neap-Support Programme under the forestry wing of the ministry.
They said the project would aim at combating land degradation and desertification in the country. It would focus on mitigating the causes and effects of land degradation on the structural and functional integrity of dry-land ecosystems through capacity building, institutional strengthening and on-the-ground interventions for sustainable land management, they added.
Sources said the prime objective of this project would be the implementation of national action plan (NAP) for combating desertification and mitigating impacts of drought, which has been prepared to fulfil Pakistan's obligation to implement United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD).
The second agreement was about the extension for Phase-III of the project for 'Institutional Strengthening for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol to phase out Ozone Depleting Substances' costing $224,467, the sources said.
They said the ozone cell would continue to follow up and implement all related activities, such as legislative, licensing, data reporting, providing technical and financial assistance to local industry to convert to the use of non-ozone depleting substances technology, public awareness, and co-ordination amongst implementation of various amendments to the Montreal Protocol, implementation of Refrigeration Management Plan, Solvents and Halons Management Plans, etc.