Nature-based solutions termed critical to address climate change impacts

Islamabad: Pakistan is navigating through the worst climate crisis and it will only worsen, if we do not act now, Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Romina Khurshid Alam warned.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday regarding Recharge Pakistan project, she said that increased and intense heat waves, devastating floods, and depleting freshwater resources, all call for improving Pakistan’s resilience to climate change impacts.Govt committed to mitigate negative impacts of climate change: Romina

She stressed, “It is high time we reinvent our development models and pathways and address these challenges, which pose serious threats to local communities, critical ecosystems and economies”.

The Recharge Pakistan project is supported by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, the Federal Flood Commission under the Ministry of Water Resources, the Green Climate Fund, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF) and WWF.

This 7-year project aims to initiate a paradigm shift in Pakistan’s approach to flood and water management systems, and demonstrates the cost-effectiveness, benefits and sustainability of the ecosystem-based adaptation and green infrastructure interventions in the Indus basin. The project aims to helps improve the resilience of some of the country’s most climate-vulnerable communities affected by its devastating impacts.

Talking to media, Fawad Hayat, Recharge Pakistan’s Senior Director at WWF-Pakistan observed that climate change has re-shaped the landscape of Pakistan with serious implications for the water resources, despite various interventions.

Explaining various features of the ambitious flood water management project, he informed the media that the Recharge Pakistan project offers nature-based solutions to restore wetlands, water channels, and improve conditions in the Indus Basin, which would help reduce the flood extent by 50,800 hectares and capture an estimated 20 million cubic meters of water.

“By bolstering community resilience against climate change, the project will also improve food security, as well as put forward alternative and sustainable livelihoods opportunities for local communities,” he said.

Lucas Black, Vice President of Climate Finance at WWF-US, addressing the media at the press conference said that “World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is incredibly proud to support this groundbreaking initiative, which aims to harness the power of nature.

This game-changing initiative is the largest climate adaptation initiative WWF has ever undertaken, with a target to directly enhance resilience and improve the lives of more than 680,000 people across the Indus Basin. We are deeply grateful for the support and partnership of the Government of Pakistan, the Green Climate Fund, The Coca-Cola Foundation, USAID, and WWF-Pakistan for bringing this vision to reality, he highlighted.

Launched recently by the PM’s climate aide Romina Khurshid Alam, this project is implemented by WWF-Pakistan, in close collaboration with government departments and local communities at select sites in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Sindh and Balochistan provinces.

The major project sites include DI Khan, Ramak, Manchar, and Chakkar Lehri Watersheds. The project will improve climate resilience through maximization of flood reduction benefits to the vulnerable communities.