Pakistan is an agrarian society, and such natural events hit hard, depriving many people of their livelihoods, writes Mome Saleem in an article in iz3w magazine.

Coupled with deforestation, pollution, and urban growth, Pakistan’s situation is worsening. But “the country sees itself as a victim of climate change, not as a cause,” writes Mome Saleem, so that environmental issues are mostly treated as secondary by the state. Since 2018, however, institutional measures have been in place to deal more with the issue and put climate change on the agenda, including addressing the energy transition and the green economy.For some time now, initiatives such as “Billion Tree Tsunami” have been committed to ecosystem regeneration with reforestation, or “Recharge Pakistan“, which is concerned with flood risk management, where “excess water is reused for groundwater recharge and wetland restoration.”

In the scientific field, resources are scarce, although they would be important for better analysis. Hope is brought by the large percentage of young people involved in so-called “Green Youth Movement Clubs” at many universities.

Read the full article here.

Mome Saleem has a strong background in global governance, peace and security, gender, diplomacy and training for conflict resolution through dialogue. She has conducted training sessions on peacebuilding, transformation, conflict resolution and gender mainstreaming and media content analysis on peace and gender. Mome Saleem is a Programme Coordinator at Heinrich Böll Foundation Islamabad, Pakistan. Before, she has worked at the think-tank “Sustainable Development Policy Institute” in Islamabad.

Published on June 3, 2022.

Photo credit: AaDil Rana