The Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal, emphasized the need to redesign infrastructure that can withstand future climate change threats and said the government is open to receiving innovative solutions from academia.
Ahsan Iqbal said, “We need to reengineer and rebuild our infrastructure that can withstand the future threats from weather change.”
In the recent rains, in Pakistan, huge infrastructure is damaged and lost due to numerous reasons and heavy water flow.
The minister said that the world is experiencing the worst impact of climate change as Pakistan has a minimal carbon footprint but is among the most vulnerable countries affected by climate change. He suggested the need to proactively mitigate the risks as the country cannot afford to wait till a full calamity hits.
Ahsan Iqbal said this while addressing the “National Conference – Integrating Climate Smart Agriculture and Water, Energy, and Food Nexus for Sustainable Development and Food Security under Changing Climate” via zoom link, conducted under the auspices of Dawood University of Engineering, Karachi.
The Minster stated that the foremost challenge that climate change poses for the country is food security.
He said that Pakistan, as the fifth most populous country in the world, needs to cater to the food security of its 220 million people. The new pattern of weather calls for a transition from the old agricultural methods for the cultivation of crops and the employment of modern and sustainable agricultural mechanisms.
Moreover, the minister said that Pakistan is endowed with natural water resources. However, the phenomenon of melting glaciers is posing a serious threat to our water resources and weather conditions. Planners, engineers, and scientists have to look at water resources through a strategic lens to reserve more water for its efficient use in the hours when less rain is expected.
Pakistan is among countries that have the lowest water use efficiency. He highlighted the need to adopt water conservation techniques.
Iqbal further suggested cracking the code on desalination technology and said the moment an economical solution is implemented in desalination technology, the sea water can be utilized for the production of food, increase yield in agriculture and bring fertility in the deserts along the coastlines.
He further stated that another challenge is the contamination of groundwater. Industry is polluting the drainage and the same water is further being provided to farmlands, contaminating food crops. He added that re-treating drainage water in all major cities is a challenge.
The Minister urged academicians to focus on the solutions to problems that crop up in dealing with the impending challenges, while our faculty must undertake research to garner workable solutions.
Each piece of research by the faculty members should be judged on the impact it has on the development of the country. “Our focus should be research in the universities by utilizing our scarce resources to seek solutions,” he stressed.
Iqbal assured that the government would extend its full support for innovative solutions to the challenges accrued by climate change and is open to receiving innovative solutions and ideas from academia and researchers.
