INTRODUCTION
Global Climate Change resulting from an increasing
concentration of Greenhouse Gases in the atmosphere has become an
accepted and major theme in today‘s world. According to the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate
Change
(IPCC), the average temperature of the earth increased by 0.8 ° C over the last
century and it is expected to further increase by 1.4 to 5.8 º C by the end of
the current century. These changes in temperature are but the crest of the many
environmental, social and political issues which will follow in the wake of the
changing climate (LEAD, 2008). Unfortunately the major causes of a rapidly
warming climate can be attributed to anthropogenic activities such as the
burning of fuel, the depletion of forests and changes in land use (conversion
of forest into agriculture land).
Having said this, it is important to note that some
levels of Green House Gases are necessary to maintain temperatures needed to sustain human
and animal life. The average mean temperature of the earth is 15°C, without
greenhouse gases it would sit at -18 º C, a temperature which is unsuitable for
overall life. Recent history points to a rapid increase in both Greenhouse gas
emissions and a parallel warming of the earth on a global scale. As such, this
is a global problem, which can only be tackled through dedicated global
support. It seems Climate Change cannot be defeated through the introduction of a ‘one
size fits all’ approach: each nation must understand its local context and
responsibilities and create a sustainable strategy for climate change mitigation/adaptation. The
Pakistan‘s government Task Force on Climate Change thinks that adaptation should be the
main impetus behind the country‘s future line of action. Keeping this in mind,
this article‘s purpose is to test the adaptation hypothesis of Pakistan‘s
government. It will further identify the effects of climate change on
Pakistan‘s water, food and energy sectors, and suggest policy recommendations
that are contextual and aligned with the development preferences of the
country.
Pakistan,
a country whose range includes high mountains, arid plains and low lying
coastal areas, is extremely vulnerable to a whole diversity of Climate Change impacts. Pakistan‘s total Greenhouse gases emissions in 2008 amounted to
309 million tonnes (mt) of carbon dioxide (CO2)
equivalent. Pakistan‘s biggest contributor is the energy sector with a 50%
share followed by the agriculture sector (39%), industrial processes (6%) and
other activities (5%). Pakistan‘s green house gas emissions have nearly doubled in the past
16 years, but due to the fact that emissions are still only about 0.8% of the
global scale, a miniscule amount, they are not yet considered alarming. In
fact, on a global scale Pakistan ranks 135th in per capita green house gas emissions amongst
the comity of nations (Planning
Commission, 2010).
This
information leads to the scientific reality governing all green house gases emissions: they
are mainly created by the developed world yet their consequences are felt
globally. Much like other developing countries, Pakistan is highly vulnerable
to the adverse impacts of climate change, putting its water, food and energy
security, as
SITUATION AT HAND - WATER, FOOD AND ENERGY
SECURITY
In Pakistan, as on a global scale, water, food and energy
create a nexus of interdependence whose balance is thrown off by a globally
changing climate. The nation‘s already hot climate and changing patterns of
snowmelt and precipitation exacerbate existing social and economic pressures on
natural resources. This in turn increases the pressure on valuable ecosystem
services provided by the rivers, its delta and the sea, whom which poor
communities are entirely dependent for livelihoods and survival. Lack of environmental
flows to the deltaic area is likely to expose around 2.26 million people to
water scarcity, rising sea levels and food insecurity. However upstream, the
areas around the river are under the threat of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods
(GLOFs), which collectively are the major climate-related threats Pakistan
faces presently. Pakistan‘s further depreciation from a water-stressed to a
water-scarce nation, due to anthropogenic activity and a changing climate,
influences the country‘s capacity for food and energy creation.
The
facts that the Government of Pakistan has made no action plan to tackle these
crises, a low public awareness and limited technical abilities create a more
difficult path towards alleviating the Climate Change crisis.
The country is extremely short of freshwater resources.
With a continuously increasing population and Climate change, the water availability that
was about 5,650 metres/per person/year in 1951, has decreased to as low as
1,100 cubic metres/per
As climate change will have an effect on water availability, in turn it will have an adverse
influence on poverty. Water resources are a basis for the health and welfare of
the poor, especially vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, and
women. Both the quality and the quantity of water matter greatly in this, and
safe and adequate quantities of water are recognized as a precondition for an
acceptable standard of development, to meet the UN Millennium Declaration
targets for 2015—to halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger,
cannot access or afford safe drinking water, and are without adequate
sanitation. Moreover, water
CONCLUSION & SUGGESTIONS
As we
can see, the effort that needs to be made to counter, adapt and mitigate the
negative effects of Climate change, must come as a collaborative effort from all levels of society and all departments of the government as the proposed solutions cannot be tightly
packed in a compartment labeled mitigation or adaptation.
However seeing the ground realities of climate change, it is pertinent to take adaptation
more seriously as identified by government of Pakistan, owing to the debate of
the water, food and energy security of the nation. However being a responsible
member of international community, Pakistan should also contribute to the
global mitigation efforts as discussed above.
Climate Change in the context of Pakistan is
posing three big challenges relating to the water, food and energy security of
the country. However, a careful analysis shows that all these securities are interlinked
and are dependent on each other. A concerted approach by all relevant
departments would be beneficial instead of adopting a silo approach. Currently,
the stewardship of climate change rests with the Ministry of Environment;
however the Planning Commission, and the Ministries of Water, Agriculture, and
Industries, the National Disaster Management Authority, and others, along with
civil society organisations should also play an active role in finalizing and
implementing the climate change agenda. Finally, some general suggestions that
need to be incorporated across the board are
- A CC policy needs to be devised by taking into consideration the water, food and energy security of the country. It should be done in a consultative manner in which all the relevant stakeholders are taken on board;
- Provincial opinions should also be taken while finalizing the CC policy. Provinces should make adaptation action plans in light of the national policy developed, which should be consistent with the existing ground realities;
- Technology no doubt is necessary but is not sufficient alone. The technocentric approach should be complemented by considering the social concerns as well. Doing so would help in building the ownership of the campaign to counter the effects of climate change;
- The institutional capacity of different tiers of government should be built on adaptation measures side by side with the communities;
- The capacity building of vulnerable communities should also be done and adaptation measures should be adopted that are consistent with the socio-economic realities of the beneficiaries.
