The launch of the ‘Adapting to Salinity in the Southern Indus Basin (ASSIB’) project, funded by the Australian government through the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), took place at a local hotel here on Monday.
Stakeholder inception workshop was attended by the representatives from government, academia, NGOs, and communities living in salinity-affected areas of Pakistan.
The ASSIB project aims to develop and investigate adaptation options and strategies with people managing and living in salinity affected agricultural landscapes in the Indus Basin areas of south Punjab and Sindh.
“This 2.5-year project is a launching pad for a 10-year program to explore how Pakistan can live better with the salt that is entrenched in its landscape,” explained Dr. Michael Mitchell, Project Leader and Research Fellow at the Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Australia.
Dr Mitchell gave an overview of the ASSIB project, explaining the background and the rationale behind the 2.5 year project as a launching pad for a 10 year program of activities.
Hehighlighted how this is intended to evolve through different stages – formative, participatory and action research.
“This workshop is an important stepto help us greatly extend our already established linkages with stakeholders and network of experts,” he added.
Dr BakhshalLashari,National Project Coordinator, ASSIB, at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET), thanked all the distinguished guests, and expressed hope that the project would prove to be a landmark in improving the livelihoods of salt affected farming community of Pakistan.
