Pakistan will host ”World Environment Day ”conference at Islamabad on June 5th – UN Secretary General, Pope Francis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will attend the event;

Pakistan will host ”World Environment Day ”conference at Islamabad on June 5th – UN Secretary General, Pope Francis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will attend the event
By;Asghar Ali Mubarak;
Hosting World Environment Day on June 5 this year is an honor for Pakistan and an acknowledgment of the country’s environmentally friendly policies. The mega environmental event will be held in Islamabad on June 5. Last year, China was honored to host an international conference on the occasion of World Environment Day. Pakistan will host World Environment Day 2021 on June 5 in partnership with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan will preside over the World Environment Conference in Islamabad on the night of June 4. This will be the first time in history that the country will officially host the day. Only four international personalities, including Prime Minister Imran Khan, have been selected to attend this year’s World Environment Conference. The conference will be attended by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Pope Francis and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. It will make some important announcements about the steps it has taken to mitigate the effects of change, including the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Program, Clean Green Pakistan, Electric Vehicle Policy, National Parks and Green Jobs. Pakistan’s share in global warming greenhouse gases is close to one percent. However, Pakistan is among the top ten countries affected by global warming. This year’s World Environment Day will focus on “restoring the ecosystem” and will focus on re-establishing our relationship with nature. Hosting “World Environment Day” in Pakistan will provide an opportunity to highlight global commitment and accomplishment. It will also mark the official start of the 2021-2030 UN Ecosystem Rehabilitation. Pakistan’s share in global warming greenhouse gases is close to one percent. However, Pakistan is among the top ten countries affected by global warming. This year’s World Environment Day will focus on “restoring the ecosystem” and will focus on re-establishing our relationship with nature. Hosting “World Environment Day” in Pakistan will provide an opportunity to highlight global commitment and accomplishment. It will also mark the official start of the 2021-2030 UN Ecosystem Restoration. According to the Global Climate Risk Index, over the past two decades, environmental impacts alone have cost Pakistan nearly 3.8 billion in financial losses and nearly 10,000 lives. Climate change and environmental protection activities. The process will be led by the Ministry of Climate Change.
According to German Watch, Pakistan has been ranked in the top ten of the countries most affected by climate change in the past 20 years. The reason for above includes the impact of back-to-back floods since 2010, the worst drought episode (1998-2002) as well as more recent droughts in Tharparkar and Cholistan, the intense heat wave in Karachi (and Southern Pakistan, more generally) in July 2015, severe windstorms in Islamabad in June 2016, increased cyclonic activity and increased incidences of landslides and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) in the northern parts of the country.
A few of the major climate change threats to Pakistan are ;( i) increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, coupled with erratic monsoon rains causing frequent and intense floods and drought; (ii) recession of Hindu Kush-Karakoram-Himalayan (HKH) glaciers due to global warming and carbon soot deposits from trans-boundary pollution sources, threatening water inflows into Indus River System (IRS); (iii) increased temperature resulting in enhanced heat and water-stressed conditions, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, impacting agriculture productivity negatively; (iv) decrease in the already scanty forest cover from rapid change in climatic conditions (v) Increased instruction of saline water in the Indus delta, adversely affecting coastal agriculture, mangroves and breeding grounds of fish; vi) increased health risks and climate change induced factors. The Government of Pakistan has by now evolved policy frameworks backed by strategy to address various aspects of the Climate Change including major policy and climate related interventions.
The Government of Pakistan already announced that it will host World Environment Day 2021 in partnership with UN Environment on 5th June 2021. In recognition of the Prime Minister’s Speech during the high ambitious coalition of CBD (Convention of Biodiversity) and United Nations General Assembly UNGA and also considering Pakistan’s global recognition as international leader in Nature Based Solution and Eco-System Restoration initiative like Ten Billion Tree Tsunami, and Protected Area Initiative, UNEP has approached Pakistan for hosting the UN Environment Day 2021.
This year’s observance of World Environment Day will be on the theme of ‘ecosystem restoration’ and focus on resetting our relationship with nature. It will also mark the formal launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021 – 2030. Hosting of “World Environment Day” in Pakistan will bring positive projections for the country and provides an opportunity to highlight its commitment and achievement on a global scale to showcase its climate change and environmental protection activities. The process would be led by the Ministry of Climate Change. The event will be featuring high-level presence from global dignitaries and will also require engagement of President and the Prime Minister.
The major initiatives for ecosystem restoration taken by the Government of Pakistan to mitigate the effects of environment and climate are as under:
Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme (TBTTP): 10BTT Project is built on highly successful initiative of KPK’s Billion Trees Afforestation Project (BTAP). The outcomes of BTAP have been duly acknowledged by World Economic Forum, United Nations Environment Programme, Bonn Challenge and other international bodies and fora. Following the success and confirmation by the independent monitors, Government of Pakistan decided to set a goal of 10 Billion Tree Plantation across the country. This wider project is expected to deliver dividend in preserving atmospheric health, reducing greenhouse gas effects, lowering cases of random floods, lowering rains, droughts and enhancing other biodiversity supportive actions.
Green Economic Stimulus (Green Jobs): Based on the priorities of the Government of Pakistan for creating greater job opportunities during and post COVID 19; Green Economic Stimulus initiative is being implemented. For 2019-20; the 10BTTP has generated a minimum of 65,000 jobs which are planned to be scaled- up to 200,000 by December 2020. Green Stimulus is helping Pakistan to build back green while creating value chains and providing many jobs for spurring economy in post pandemic down turn.
Protected Areas Initiative: Prime Minister of Pakistan launched “Protected Area Initiative” to develop 15 model Protected Areas across country to conserve over 7295.549 Sq km of land area as well as Green Stimulus creation of over 5,500 jobs.
Wildlife Management: The challenges to wildlife protection & preservation and Margallah Hills National Park (MHNP) could be manage through improvement and effective implementation of Islamabad Wildlife (Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management) ordinance 1979 legislation and institutional strengthening.
Natural Capital Account: Pakistan in the recent development is partnering with World Bank to explore and formulate Natural Capital Account of protected areas that can provide detailed statistics for better management of the economy. NCA can be used to help identify the distributional consequences of changes to land use, forest cover and ecosystem function, helping government gauge whether planned economic growth is inclusive. The outcome will help the government design the evidence-based national forest policy & plans, improve institutional framework and help design and monitor strategies for implementing SDG 15, SDG 7, SDG 12, SDG 6 and SDG 13.
Participation in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+):The REDD+ Readiness Preparation Proposal (R-PP) is being implemented in Pakistan since July 2015. Pakistan was awarded the grant through a competitive process by Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) of the World Bank. In 2018, an additional grant has also been awarded by FCPF to further support the preparedness activities in Pakistan till June 2020. The Forest Reference Emission Level (FREL) of Pakistan has been submitted to UNFCCC. The design of National Forest Monitoring System has also been finalized.
Blue Carbon: Ministry of Climate Change with the support from the World Bank conducted Blue Carbon rapid assessment for Pakistan to figure out how and where to act to protect and bolster blue carbon opportunities. Through this, Pakistan envisions gaining value from blue carbon in a plethora of ways that can be beneficial for the health of the climate and the ocean.
Clean Green Pakistan Index and Champions Program: “Clean Green Pakistan Movement” has been launched with a vision to drive a nationwide movement by the people of Pakistan for the clean and green environment for all citizens of the country. A “Clean-Green Cities Index” has been initiated to trigger a shift towards improved urban lifestyle through effective waste management, sanitation and urban forestry.
National Adaptation Plan (NAP): Pakistan has officially begun the process of creating a National Adaptation Plan (NAP) for building resilience to climate change. Pakistan will be using the National Adaptation Plan process and its outcomes to enhance the adaptation elements of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), a central aspect of the Paris Agreement. Pakistan has been using nature-based solutions and ‘ecosystem-based adaptation’ in its national efforts to build climate resilience. The National Adaptation Plan process will be looking to build on these existing nature-based approaches, which include the Ten Billion Trees Tsunami Program, the Ecosystem Restoration Fund, and the Recharge Pakistan initiative.
Eco-system Restoration Initiative: Government of Pakistan has launched the Eco-system Restoration Initiative (ESRI) for (i) facilitating transition towards environmentally resilient Pakistan by main streaming adaptation and mitigation through ecologically targeted initiatives covering afforestation, biodiversity conservation, enabling and enhancing policy environment consistent with the objectives outlined in Pakistan’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC); and (ii) attaining Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) by restoring at least 30% of degraded forest, 5% of degraded cropland, 6% of degraded grassland (rangeland) and 10% of degraded wetlands in Pakistan by 2030 to generate eco-system services and provide additional support to mitigation of GHG in Pakistan. The initiative also seeks to establish an independent, transparent and comprehensive financial mechanism in Pakistan called “Eco-system Restoration Fund (ESRF)” to finance the projects and programmes under the initiative.
Recharge Pakistan: Pakistan is a country without a choice on climate adaptation as it is facing up to the impacts at ground “zero”. Our climate adaptation needs are between $7 to $14 billion per annum and this is all forced adaptation. This, subsequently, makes climate compatible development an inevitable direction to take and building resilience of our vulnerable communities as well as our infrastructure, an undeniable option. Pakistan is launching this new initiative titled; “Recharge Pakistan through Integrated Flood Risk Management and Building Resilience to Climate Change through Ecosystem-based Adaptation”. The components of the project are; a) Ecosystem-based Adaptation for Integrated Flood Risk and Water Resources Management, b) Enhancing Resilience of Vulnerable Communities to Climate Change, c) Enabling a Paradigm Shift towards Ecosystem-based Adaptation in Pakistan. The project would impact around 10 million vulnerable people at reduced risk from floods and benefit from climate-adapted livelihoods by year 2030.
Pakistan Clean Air Program: First Pakistan Clean Air Program PCAP was formulated in 2005, long before the Paris agreement and Sustainable Development Goals SDGs 2016 were adopted. Hence, operationalizing these required the country to revise PCAP. Ministry of Climate Change has been involved in the revision of PCAP that resonates with the enhanced roles of provinces on environment-related issues following the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. The pandemic situation has further highlighted that how vital it is for Pakistan to implement Clean Air Program. Revised PCAP will be dependent on new development tailing the recent agreements, new technologies, issues and priorities so that it aligns with the overarching goals of Pakistan.
Revision of NDCs and NDC implementation: Under the Paris Agreement, Parties are obligated to submit revised NDC every five years with enhanced commitments. For the revised NDCs, Pakistan is aiming to highlight the projects Pakistan has conducted with its indigenous resources in the last five years, institutional arrangements and governance approaches that were taken by the government and include new gases to GHG inventory and new sectors like Blue carbon, Electric Vehicles, Health , Air pollution, Gender, Youth etc. for enhanced commitments. A National Steering Committee chaired by Advisor Malik Amin Aslam is responsible for reviewing and consolidating the final revised document for submission.