ISLAMABAD, Oct 6: Minister of State for Environment Malik Amin Aslam on Wednesday confirmed that Pakistan was likely to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change.
The minister was talking to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative Onder Yucer who called on him to discuss progress on environmental conservation in Pakistan.
Congratulated Mr Aslam on his appointment as minister of state, Mr Yucer highlighted the UNDP-administered Small Grants Programme, which was operational in most districts of Pakistan to help the civil society in responding effectively in the environment sector.
He said with a wide range of projects, the programme had led to huge investment into social capital and had resulted in some small experimental projects being carried out at national level. For example, Fuel Efficient Stoves project was initially launched in one or two villages of the Punjab, however, based on the success it was being replicated in many other parts of the country, he added.
On the occasion, the state minister expressed interest in the development of alternative energy sources such as wind energy. Mr Yucer confirmed that the UNDP had undertaken feasibility studies and pilot projects in this regard.
He reassured the minister that the UNDP would continue to aggressively look for commercially viable options for wind energy and would undertake further mapping exercise to determine where wind energy could be harnessed most effectively.
Both the officials discussed the progress in the National Environmental Action Plan-Support Programme (NEAP-SP) and agreed to work closely on capacity/development, grass-roots environment initiatives and advocacy.
