Stakeholders urge the need for building institutional frameworks and mechanisms of collaboration to collectively deal with the highly fragile ecology
Delegates extensively deliberate during the 2nd day of SDPI/UNDP National consultation on Pakistan’s Prepares for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development/Rio+20
“Ecology which is also known as ‘life support system’ is under extreme threat and there is a strong likelihood of manifold increased in the frequency and intensity of tragic events due to climate change as well as increased human production, consumption and waste” said Dr Syed Akmal Hussain, Distinguished Professor, Beacon house National University, Lahore at the 2nd day of National Consultation on ‘Pakistan’s preparation for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD)/Rio+20 June 2012’ jointly organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its capacity as Co-Chair of the One UN Joint Programme on Environment.
Dr Hussain added that South Asian region suffers with high variability of monsoons, agriculture production, endangered livelihoods, sea-level rise, accelerated glacier melting, and increased frequency of floods and droughts. He highlighted the importance of a balanced relationship among human beings, nature and commodity adding that nature is not only an exploitable resource but it is the means through which we reproduce our natural and material life.
Munawwar Saeed Bhatti, Additional Secretary, Foreign Office of Pakistan, highlighting the evolution process of One UN Joint Programme, he said that Pakistan had very high hopes and had a sense of ownership of this process, but the recent natural events in Pakistan and the challenges of climate change, we have reached to the conclusion that ultimately we have to rely on our own resources.
He said Pakistan’s biggest nightmare is water and increasing population adding that no international agency or institution can help the country in this process except little funding, capacity-building and advice etc. He urged on the need of mobilization expatriates for investing in the country to deal with these problems while urging that Pakistan should go into Rio+20 with Agenda 22.
Abdul Qadir Rafiqu of UNDP said Pakistan is uniquely placed as all the UN agencies are supporting it under the One UN Environment Joint Program. He highlighted that the main areas of support were health and population, agriculture, disaster risk reduction, environment, and education. He said that with regard to environment alone the country is being supported in the institutional capacity-development, water and sanitation, natural resource management, sustainable urbanization, renewable energy and clean industry.
Ambassador Shafqat Kakakhel, UNDESA Consultant for Pakistan’s Preparations for UNCSD, said that human survival has become one of the major challenges of today due to depleting environment, worsening poverty and energy conditions. He said that the process of 18th amendment will several years to complete.
Dr. Adil Najam, Vice Chancellor, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) highlighted the need of realization among developing countries including Pakistan that the developed world is not going fund them for their issues and challenges with regard to sustainable development adding that Pakistan will have to rely on its resources and capacities while aligning itself with global mechanisms and negotiation process. He said that there was a dire need of institutional reforms, equity amongst nations and within nations, accountability, means of implementation and modularity.
Rafay Alam, Professor Law Faculty, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), giving a presentation on green economy, said that although there was no standard definition of green economy as yet but as per UN environment Programme it was improved human well-being and social equity while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. He lamented that the cost of environmental degradation has gone much higher in Pakistan. He said that the common and differentiated responsibilities, the environment vs. development debate, financing structural transformation, inability to compete technologically, international environmental balancing energy requirement.
The Rio +20 process is of global significance as the outcome from Rio will influence and direct the sustainable development agenda in the post-2015 period. It provides the opportunity to bring inclusiveness for human-focused, low-emission, climate-resilient growth. The Consultation, followed provincial consultations in Lahore and Karachi and engaged a wide range of Pakistani stakeholders involving government, private sector, NGOs/think-tanks & civil society.