KARACHI, Jan 22: A special session of the Indus Eco-region Steering Committee (IESC) was held at a local hotel here on Monday to brief stakeholders on the salient features of WWF-Pakistan’s ‘Indus For All’ programme.
The committee is headed by Additional Chief Secretary (P&D), Sindh, Ghulam Sarwar Khero.
In order to conserve the Indus Eco-region, one of the 40 priority eco-regions recognised globally, the WWF-Pakistan has helped develop a 50-year vision for the eco-region through a multi-stakeholder consultative process.
A long-term conservation programme and vision for the Indus Eco-region has been developed to overcome the threats to biodiversity of the area.
The IES committee for the Indus Eco-region was constituted in October 2005 to guide and review the implementation process of the Eco-region Targets and Milestones, identified for the Indus Eco-region as a part of the Vision-2055.
The ‘Indus For All’ programme has been formulated by the WWF-P to implement the five years of the 50-year vision of Indus Eco-region Programme in the four proposed sites of the eco-region – Kinjhar Lake (Thatta), Chotiari Reservoir (Sanghar), Pai Forest (Nawabshah), and Keti Bundar (Thatta). The initial financial support for the programme has been provided by the Royal Netherlands Embassy, which also remained instrumental during the development process of the vision.
Speaking on the occasion, Fred Smiet, First Secretary at the embassy, said that the policy goals of the embassy in Pakistan were to support sustainable development and alleviate poverty.
The Indus For All programme fell squarely in the middle of these two goals owing to its targeting of the poverty-environment nexus and focus on livelihoods and not nature in isolation.
Ali Hassan Habib, Director General of the WWF-P, said that the Indus For All programme was a unique opportunity to retie a knot with nature in a natural manner. Ghulam Sarwar Khero said that the specification of just four sites of the vast Indus Eco-region did not preclude the promotion of other issues. It, however, would further highlight the need to start efforts in those areas.
Dr Ghulam Akbar, the team leader of the Indus For All programme, highlighted significance of the programme and underlined the methods to address the issues relating to the poverty-environment link.
Secretary Finance, Sindh, Malik Asrar Hussain also spoke on the occasion.—APP
