PESHAWAR: Emerged as a silent killer, the erratic weather variations by climate change have started posing serious threats to humans beings, wildlife and aquatic resources in developing countries including Pakistan due to its geographical placement, emissions of hazards gases, deforestation and rapid population growth.
Losing about 27,000 hectares of forests per year especially in the community and private lands of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan has witnessed substantial changes in the weather patterns including untimely rainfall, increase in temperature, heatwaves, drought and floods in recent years causing an adverse effects on human life, wildlife and aquatic resources besides converting fertile lands into deserts affecting agriculture productivity.
According to National Forest Policy 2015, Pakistan has one of the lowest forest covers in the world where only five percent of its areas were under the green gold, and was losing about 27,000 hectares forests per year due to deforestation, urbanization and rapid population growth.
The yesterday’s flash floods at Shishikoh valley in Lower Chitral and Balochistan that claimed many lives, destroyed standing crops and orchards besides irrigation and communication channels were apparently caused by the climate change.
The devastation of 2010 flood, worst drought during 1999-2003, cyclones in Karachi and Gawdar coasts in 2008, Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GOLFs) including Atabad Lake in Gilgit Baltistan, Chitral and July 28, 2021 flood in Islamabad, Murree’s snowfall tragedy 2021 and human losses in recent floods in Balochistan have testified that Pakistan was most vulnerable to climate change.
Muhammad Mumtaz Malik, former Chief Conservator Wildlife Department told APP that Pakistan was among 10 countries mostly vulnerable to climate change.
Terming climate change as a silent killer, he said it was converting fertile agricultural lands into deserts, drought, water scarcity and flash floods owing to the weather’s vulnerabilities in the region.
He said thousands acres of lands barren caused by desertification and drought could be seen at Swabi and Mardan while travelling on Islamabad-Peshawar motorway and Kohat, Karak, Lakki Marwat, Bannu and DI Khan districts while moving on Indus highway.
The environmental and weather variations were making an adverse effect on around 786 wildlife and biodiversity due to loss of their habitats and flora in the country, he added.
Former wildlife chief said climate change had endangered about 90 different wildlife species include siberian crane, white backed vulture, long-billed vulture, red-headed vulture, saker, peregrine falcons, hawksbill sea turtle, Kashmir grey langur, indus dolphin, finback whale, Baluchistan bear, musk deer, hog deer, pangolin, egyptian vulture, green turtle and narrow-headed turtle.
“Torrential rains, floods and drought destroy wildlife’s flora at their grazing habitats especially in wet lands and high alpine pasture areas. Resultantly, they come down to lower areas for food thus exposing themselves to illegal hunting.”
“The rapid increase in human population was exerting extraordinary pressure on forest and converting agricultural lands into housing societies, thus habitats of indigenous wildlife including jackals, monkeys, foxes, ducks and doves were adversely affected.”
Dr Mumtaz said opening of abundance of poultry forms was making negative effects on the population of jackals, foxes and mongoose due to eating of infected dead chickens.
“The enhanced discharge of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in our outer atmosphere due to fossil fuel combustion leads to a rise in earth’s average temperature besides polluting the air, thus leading to poor economic and agriculture productivity besides causes disruption in climatic processes in addition to leading flash floods, droughts and cyclones.”
Latifur Rehman, Spokesman KP forest, wildlife and environment department told APP that survey of existing glaciers in Chitral, Upper Swat, Upper Dir, Kohistan and Manshera were made in 2019-20 and GIS maps shared with UNDP for identification of glacial lakes to avert flash floods.
He said KP Government had taken cognizance of the increased deforestation and climate change’s damages in 2014 and implemented Green Growth Initiative (GGI) focusing on six key sectors including forestry, protected areas & national parks, clean energy, climate resilience, water & sanitation and waste management that produced positive results today.
To combat climate change, he said the federal and provincial governments had joined hands by launching a 10 billion trees project (10 BTAP) under which 10 billion saplings including one billion in Khyber Pakthunkhwa would be planted by 2023 following successful completion of its first phase with over 1.280 billion plantations.
He said 10BTAP was successfully underway in the province where 566.54 million saplings were planted till May 2022.
KP’s share in 10 BTAP is Rs27.3 billion under which plantation on 68,074 hectares and raising of seeds on 15,402.73 hectares achieved and forest enclosures on 239,560 hectares set up for natural generation.
Plantation of fruits plants were also made part of 10BTAP and over 137.65 million fruits plants were distributed among masses and farmers till May this year. Besides establishment of 115 ponds for storage of rainwater and using water of 152 waterfalls for plantations, green jobs provided to over 713,165 people and 19, 353 jobs to labourers during 2020 COVID pandemic.
The spokesman said many as 37.5 million saplings would be planted across the province during ongoing monsoon campaign. A total of 19.6 million saplings would be sown in the central south region including merged districts, 8.9 million saplings in the northern forest region and more than nine million saplings in Malakand forest region.
All stakeholders including forest department, civil society, educational institutions, government departments and other institutions were being encouraged to take part in the plantation campaign. More than 80 million saplings were planted under spring plantation campaign this year, he added.
The spokesman said that 6.3pc increase in KP’s forests areas were registered under the billion trees project, adding that according to the SUPARCO report, 85percent positive change detection in atmosphere in the project areas were witnessed besides 88pc plants survival rate as per WWF report.
Latif said Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has prepared the province’s first climate change policy in 2017, adding following merger of Fata into KP, EPA’s policy and action plan were being revisited and the new amended policy would soon be enforced in the province.
Ibrahim Khan, deputy project director, 10BTAP said an agreement with KfW German bank has been signed to provide eruo 13.5 million for billion trees afforestration support project. He said it was a six year project primarily focused on sustainability of forest projects launched under billions trees project.
KfU will help bring improvement in communities’ life in natural forest areas in 12 forest divisions of the country including Peshawar, he added. Under the project, a management information system would be developed and all the project activities and records would be digitized.
Dr Mumtaz Malik said preference may be given to plantation of indigenous species in 10 BTAP to increase flora and vegetation for an endangered wild species and strengthening their habitats for breeding.
Underscoring the need of increasing protected areas and flora of wildlife, he said it was also necessary to curb illegal hunting and trade of wild animals besides monitoring of their habitats as well as diverting financial resources for strengthening of wildlife conservation and protection programs.
