Ahmad Kamal (Former Chairman Federal Flood Commission): Pakistan calls for international support for its climate related issues because Pakistan, for the last three decades, has been facing and seeing the effects of climate change, which are very prominent on the ground. In other countries, they are saying and predicting that this and that will happen due to climate change, but in Pakistan, it is happening, and people are being affected by it. In 2010, the monsoon from the northern side impacted us. But in 2022, it reversed, and the process went up from the northern side. This is a type of climate change for which we are not responsible. Our glaciers are melting very fast due to the carbon deposits on them, which resulted in the increase of heat contents in the glaciers. This increase in the temperature increases the underground melting of the glaciers, which causes the phenomena of glacier Lake outburst. Similarly, we have observed a very important thing in the monsoon of this year, that the low in the monsoon season, which came from Bay of Bengal, diverted and converted into cyclonic activity in the Arabian Sea, where the sea temperature was high. These are those dangerous things which will impact Pakistan and will keep impacting. So it is very important to raise our voice globally and resort to pragmatic solutions to the problem at national level.

There are two major plans ready by government to this effect, one is national adaptation plan of Ministry of Climate Change, and the second is national self-protection plan of Federal Flood Commission. These are those plans through which we will implement measures on the ground and will ascertain how to protect communities in the shore areas, as well as to know which tools and technologies should be brought to be used in case of wildfire incidents. Through these plans, if we devise a roadmap and then move forward, we will get long-lasting results. Government has also given this issue a consideration, and there is also a hope of getting funds from Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. Due to increasing urbanization, 20 cities have been selected where disaster risk measures are needed urgently. Government already has made preparations to enlarge its projects to deal with climate change. Water Conservation will be our very important area in which we have to pay attention in the future. This is the high time to implement water conservation strategy and get it approved in the meeting of National Water Council.

We also need a ground water regularity framework in which work is already being done in Islamabad, but in the provinces, it has to be done at a mass level. I request everyone, especially radio Pakistan, to start a series of programs for awareness and knowledge management to impart the details, among the people about how to deal with the climate change, and how to protect the people who are being affected.