Pakistan’s environmental crisis
Pakistan’s environmental predicament is a pathetic illustration of the disparity between a nation’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions and the severity of its climate-related challenges. Despite accounting for less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, Pakistan is significantly impacted by climate change. According to the Asian Development Bank, heatwave days in Pakistan increased by 31 days annually between 1980 and 2007, with coastal temperatures rising by one degree Celsius. The country has been experiencing an alarming increase in environmental disasters, such as flash floods, growing drought periods, and intense heat waves. Pakistan has not recovered from the devastating floods of 2022, with losses exceeding $30 billion. Over 32 million people were affected, 2.1m houses and more than 2,000 health facilities destroyed, of which only a fraction have been rebuilt so far
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Climate Finance and Pakistan
The combined risks of extreme climate-related events, environmental degradation, and air pollution could reduce Pakistan’s GDP by 18pc to 20pc by 2050. International donors pledged over $9bn to assist Pakistan in recovering from devastating floods last year, but unfortunately, the funds never materialized so far. The example of the Amazon rainforest’s contribution to its rainfall is a striking illustration of the significant role local ecosystems play in their environmental health. Despite its global significance, the Amazon primarily sustains its climate through its biological processes, a concept that can be applied to Pakistan’s environmental situation. Addressing Pakistan’s environmental challenges necessitates a fundamental shift from the prevailing mindset and policy framework. The need of the hour is not just an environmental policy, but a comprehensive land use policy. This policy should be multidimensional, encompassing agriculture, nature conservation and restoration, industrial practices, and housing strategies.
Contributing Factors
The industrial and housing strategies also play a critical role. Historically, unregulated industrial growth and urban expansion in Pakistan have led to environmental degradation through pollution, habitat loss, and increased carbon emissions. The industrial sector’s heavy reliance on fossil fuels for energy has been a major contributor to air pollution. Vehicles, particularly those with outdated and inefficient engines, alongside industries like brick kilns and steel mills, emit a wide range of pollutants, including particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds. The new industrial strategy should consist of green conditionalities and needs to promote sustainable industrial practices, focusing on reducing emissions, waste management, and eco-friendly technologies. Horizontal urban expansion, particularly through unregulated housing developments, is mostly developed without proper registration or adherence to environmental regulations. This has threatened food security by converting fertile lands into residential areas. Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city, a clear illustration, annually grapples with hazardous smog levels that significantly impact the health and quality of life of its residents. For housing, the strategy should prioritize sustainable urban planning, which includes vertical expansion, efficient land use, sustainable urban transport systems, and the integration of green spaces within urban areas.
Climate Disasters affecting Agricultural productivity
The latest figure indicates that the per capita availability of water in Pakistan has declined to 1,017 cubic meters per person in 2021, significantly below the threshold for water scarcity, while rent-seeking farmers-turned-industrialists heavily lobbying for sugarcane cultivation in the south have made it worse. The agriculture sector with its distributional consequences is responsible for more than 50pc of GHG emissions. Traditional agricultural methods have led to extensive land degradation, water scarcity, and a decrease in biodiversity. Practices like efficient water use, organic farming, and crop diversification can rehabilitate the land, conserve water, and enhance biodiversity. Similarly, nature conservation and restoration is crucial. Past neglect and overexploitation of natural habitats by unsustainable timber extraction have led to a significant loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the country. Forests span merely 5.7pc of Pakistan’s total land, with the remaining forested areas facing rapid decline. The pressures of commercial logging and the increased demand for resources such as fuel, fodder, building supplies, resin, and charcoal by the growing population have severely impacted forest ecosystems. A strategic focus on restoring and conserving natural habitats — forests, wetlands, and grasslands — is vital.
Climate Change Beyond Borders
From the Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea, and from the Tibetan Plateau to the Pamirs that link the Karakorams and the Hindu Kush ranges, they are all part of the Himalayan mountain system defining Pakistan’s water resources, ecology, economy, and cultural heritage. As the entire region is recording profound changes in monsoon patterns, all our climate neighbors have begun to experience compound extreme weather events (CEWEs), whereby each climate disaster triggers another one. Record-high temperatures in Delhi and Lahore, for example, have resulted in record-breaking rains in both cities. Likewise, tropical storms in the coastal belts of Balochistan and Sindh are now influenced by disturbances in weather patterns in the Arabian Peninsula, affecting the frequency and intensity of rains in the Gulf region. Easterly winds from the Arabian Sea are resulting in increased torrential rains in Balochistan. Many urban centers in South Asia, from Karachi to Kolkata, have seen that droughts, heatwaves, and floods in their hinterland have spurred outward migration. Seasonal and permanent displacement and migration have become major sources of rapid urban growth. It is perhaps felt nowhere more strongly than in Karachi which has provided refuge to a steady stream of migrants from Dadu and Jacobabad propelled by high temperatures, from Tharparkar accelerated by prolonged droughts, and from Sajawal, Badin, and Thatta because of seawater intrusion and salinization.
Other countries have managed to clean seemingly inexorable issues of air quality at scale. The case of Mexico City, with its natural disadvantage of altitude and location, is a case in point. It was the most polluted city in the world some four decades ago, it has now disappeared from the list of most polluted cities. Improving air quality in Pakistan can have notable health benefits. The World Bank has estimated that the benefits of cleaner fuels on health in Pakistan are easily 50 to 70 percent greater than every dollar spent.
References
https://www.undp.org/pakistan/environment-and-climate-change
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/08/climate-change-pakistan-mental-health-eco-anxiety/
