LAHORE: The World Environment Day is being celebrated in Pakistan on Saturday with several activities related to bringing improvement to the environment.

The day is celebrated annually on June 5 and is the United Nations’ principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of the environment.

The day’s the me is ‘Ecosystem Restoration’ and Pakistan will be the global host for the big day. This day will also see the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem.

In this regard, the Environment Protection Department of Punjab highlighted the importance of the day and briefed the officers of the department about the achievements of the department so far, and laid out future strategies to address the environmental issues of the province.

Environment Secretary Zahid Hussain said that conversion of all old technology brick kilns to zigzag methodology was a great achievement of the department which helped reduction of about nine per cent of the air pollution. He said this was a paradigm shift. He also mentioned the replacement of two-stroke engine rickshaws with four-stroke engine rickshaws, and that the Punjab Green Development Programme will play a pivotal role in the improvement of the environment. He also appreciated the efforts of the government for extensive tree plantation under the billion tree programme.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan,a large number of awareness events, webinars and seminars are being organized in different cities across Pakistan to commemorate World Environment Day of 2021. To highlight the environmental challenges in the country and to showcase different conservation initiatives, a video bulletin to showcase the importance of mangroves and how empowering women from local communities have made a difference will be released. Moreover, awareness and education activities will be held with fishers in the Indus Delta and farmer communities in Muzaffargarh, Bahawalpur, Multan and Sahiwal, and other cities in Punjab.

Mohsin Hafeez, the country representative of the International Water Management Institute Pakistan and Central Asia, says this year Environment Day is focussing on restoring the ecosystem. He says Pakistan is extremely vulnerable to climate change and water scarcity is already imposing serious challenges for the social and economic development in Indus Basin. In addition, the water scarcity has severely damaged the ecosystem of the Indus basin leading to an impact on the livelihood of many million farmers living in the region. The 1991 Water Apportionment Accord clearly provides an agreed mechanism for water sharing in the Indus River System among the provinces of Pakistan. The accord also highlights the importance of environmental flows but there is no information on the specific magnitude of water required for downstream Kotri Barrage to maintain a healthy ecosystem. He says his institute strongly recommends an independent scientific hydro-ecological study to understand minimum daily environmental flow needs for the Indus Delta.

The United Nations General Assembly has declared the years 2021 through 2030 the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Led by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations together with the support of partners, it is designed to prevent, halt, and reverse the loss and degradation of ecosystems worldwide. On the other hand, Pakistan has announced that it will host World Environment Day 2021 in partnership with the UN Environment Programme. This year’s observance of World Environment Day will be on the theme of ‘Ecosystem Restoration’ and focus on resetting our relationship with nature. It will also mark the formal launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–30.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2021