HARIPUR: Theparticipants of a consultative meeting here on Wednesday expressed their resolve to join hands with the WWF-Pakistan for boosting nature-based solutions (NBS) to improve integrated water resource management and water security in targeted areas of Haripur district.

The daylong meeting was organised by the WWF’s Haripur chapter at the Agriculture Farm Services Centre. Officials of different government departments, including agriculture, forestry and wildlife, soil conservation and water management, social welfare, special education and women protection, and the office-bearers of different community-based organisations attended the session.

Abdul Salam from WWF-Pakistan briefed the participants about the five years project on Water Resource Accountability in Pakistan (WRAP), which was supported by the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office, UK government.

He also mentioned the overall dismal situation of water scarcity and the future challenges that Pakistan could face in the wake of climatic changes.

Mr Salam said the fast shrinking water resources were the main concern of the WRAP intervention and that the WWF-Pakistan as executing partner would focus on nature-based solutions, which had been in practice by local communities for decades.

Harvesting, conservation and recharge of underground water in selected villages of Khanpurtehsil would be part of the future activities of the project, he said.

Hamid Marwat, project lead of WRAP, shared salient features of the project and its impact on biodiversity. He said the project team would benefit from the expertise of the line departments, researchers and communities in the targeted regions.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2022