EACH year on 5 June World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated globally.
Since 1973 the day has been observed annually. Ostensibly, climate change is becoming a bigger threat than pandemic and terrorism. Pakistan’s share in global greenhouse emission is mere one per cent but is the 7th most climate vulnerable country. Within Pakistan, Balochistan’s greenhouse emission is almost none. However, the District Vulnerability Index for Pakistan DVIP states out of 20 most climate vulnerable districts of Pakistan, 17 districts are placed in Balochistan while 2 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa KP and one in Sindh. These districts witness rising temperature, frequent floods, droughts and rainfall shifts. The above-mentioned districts also face poor road infrastructure, remoteness and dissatisfactory education and health services.
More than 70 per cent people in Balochistan live in rural areas depending on agriculture and livestock sectors. These sectors are the most affected by the climate change. In 2022 floods major cities of Balochistan remained disconnected from the rest of Pakistan. Road, dams and railways infrastructures were badly damaged. The total losses of the province in 2022 floods were around $ 5 billion intensifying poverty and environmental extremism. More than 6.9 million acres of farmland were affected, whereas 168, 000 livestock died. And 2,280 km of roads, 43 bridges, 219 flood protection structures were severely damaged. In 32 affected districts nearly 284,312 houses were destroyed. The per capita come of the province is $1000 dollar while rest of the country has $1600 dollar reflecting the province is now at top in terms of poverty.
An expert on climate change, Dr. Muhammad Tahir Khan argues, “Balochistan has been witnessing the effects of climate change since the late 1990s. Now, the threat has metastasized and people are on the receiving end.” In drought-hit areas, people “don’t have water for themselves and for their livestock,” forcing migration toward Quetta, which lacks capacity to absorb them. Dr. Najeebullah, University of Balochistan (UOB), Quetta, states that due to groundwater depletion “Quetta is rapidly a sinking city,” subsiding at 120 mm annually, with groundwater falling 1.5 to 5.0 meters per year. Amid rising poverty and environmental degradation, climate change may trigger social unrest and radical tendencies. Apparently, climate action and development planning are interlined. For instance, if basic vulnerabilities are unaddressed, climate projects remain like Band-Aids until the next shock is witnessed. Arguably, urban areas with robust systems are able to tackle better with shocks while remote rural districts having poor services turn the same shock into a full blown crisis as witnessed during Covid‑19. Addressing climate change requires technical solutions such as behavior change, renewable energy, e-vehicles and cleaner industry. Balochistan is water stressed region, it needs to prioritize groundwater recharge, rainwater harvesting and effective irrigation to restore and conserve water resources.
Against this backdrop, Dr. Khan reiterates that across the province tube wells run by solar energy are extracting groundwater so aggressively that “the underground water level has decreased to over 1,200 feet.” He calls it a “sad reality people remain unaware of this depletion and that no lessons are being learnt, even as extraction accelerates long-term water insecurity” Cultivable land in the province has fallen to around 7.2 per cent of total area and considered to be the lowest ratio in the region. As mentioned in previous piece, more than 11.77 million acres land of the province equal to Switzerland an area wise so far has remained uncultivated. The province possesses ideal agro-climatic conditions for olive cultivation. Cultivating above-mentioned areas particularly olive oil under CPEC Phase 2.0 will transform Balochistan. Trees are also regarded the lungs of the Earth. By using every machine we need to plant a tree. The more machines are used, the more trees be planted to tackle environmental degradation.
Meanwhile, the Government of Balochistan (GoB) in 2024 adopted its first Balochistan Climate Change Policy BCCP. The policy is a comprehensive framework developed with the support of the United Nations Development Programme UNDP. The BCCP is aimed at fostering to build a climate resilient, grounded in climate justice, inclusive and sustainable future of Balochistan and achieving net zero by 2050. GoB established Climate Change Fund (CCF). It is designed to promoting mitigation strategies and adaptation to handle the climate risks. CCF will promote nature-compatible development planning, conserving natural resources and restoring ecosystems through nature-based solutions. The GoB also initiated Green Balochistan Initiative for the fiscal year 2024 to 25 allocated Rs 10 billion. A part from the above-initiatives, climate smart agriculture be promoted. It requires encouraging agroforestry, drought resistant crops and organic farming. It is mandatory to encourage olive cultivation as an alternative to apples via easy accessible market and value-chain support. As far as renewable energy is concerned, Balochistan is blessed with having 300 sunny days annually. To enhance renewable energy, it is prerequisite to increase solar, biogas and wind through public-private partnerships remain to be seen effective investment to address climate crisis. To encourage livelihood diversification, green skills training, livestock insurance and eco‑tourism be promoted in a bid to reduce reliance on climate-sensitive activities.
Balochistan’s ecosystem needs a special attention. To restore and preserve the coastal mangroves and juniper forests modern techniques and community based conservation need to be encouraged. It is also necessary to restore and protect mangroves and juniper forests with community support, last but not the least, build climate resilient homes, dams, disaster alerts and communication systems. In short, the World Environment Day is a wakeup call. The saying goes “you can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.” Climate change is a reality, we cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.
—The writer is an expert on Balochistan and regional politics.
