KARACHI: United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator to Pakistan Julien Harneis along with an eight-member team called on Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah separately to discuss matters relating to health, climate change, improved water access and utilisation and economic development.

The chief minister was assisted by provincial ministers Syed Nasir Shah, Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Ismail Rahu, Jam Khan Shoro, Manzoor Wassan and Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab.

The UN Pakistan chief told the CM that the organisation was in the process of working to prepare for the next five-year programme called the ‘United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2023-27’.

Mr Julien said that the new framework would be aligned with Pakistan’s priorities towards Agenda 2030 and would focus on supporting the government in the implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Stressing on water crisis, the CM said: “Water availability in Pakistan has plummeted from about 5,000 cubic meters per capita in the early 1950s to less than 1,000 metric per capita today.”

Mr Shah said that the river basin has sustained life for over 5,000 years from the civilisations of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro until today.

“Climate change is shrinking the glaciers and making rains less predictable, reducing agricultural production and washing away the homes of the most indigent,” he said.

The CM said that pollution from industry and agriculture and domestic sewage was at dangerous level. The contamination from arsenic, nitrates, metals, plastic waste, and microbiological contaminants was sickening millions of people.

“Environmental degradation at the river mouth is increasing salinisation of the delta and destroying marine ecosystems and the fishing economy,” he said.

Meeting with governor

The UN team, later, called on Governor Imran Ismail here at Governor House and discussed issues on further consolidation of efforts in the implementation of the SDGs in the context of upcoming UNSDCF (2023-27).

It was also discussed that the Indus river basin was under threat from climate change, environmental degradation, population pressure and pollution, hence putting a question mark on its resilience to sustain life for future generations.

The meeting was told that Pakistan needed a perspective plan to conserve the resource base, use it wisely and restore the ecosystem.

The UN team said that its system in Pakistan during its formulation exercise of UNSDCF came up with the idea of ecological restoration of the Indus river basin.

It was informed that the UN was developing a plan in consultation with all stakeholders to contribute and build upon provincial, national and international initiatives in Pakistan.

The meeting was told that in four-month time from Jan 2022 to April 2022, the Master Plan is to be prepared to unite existing initiatives, cover gaps, identify framework for climate financing and develop a national communication strategy.

The governor said that the government was especially focusing on addressing health-related issues and the federal government was giving top priority to these areas.

Highlighting the successes made in the flagship Billion Tree Tsunami project, the governor further observed that this would go a long way towards mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change in the country.

Mr Harneis said that the purpose of the visit was to focus on critical areas such as good governance, health, education, youth development, population control and addressing the issue of climate change.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2022