CHITRAL: World Environment Day was marked here on Wednesday with different organisations highlighting the importance of the day with a special reference to the region’s vulnerability to natural hazards.

The Muslim Aid, Snow Leopard Foundation, and Government Centennial School organised separate gatherings, where conservationists, academia, civil society activists, and students showed up and discourses were held on World Environment Day’s theme of “land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience.”

The speakers said Chitral had more than 540 glaciers with many being declared sensitive and triggering glacial lake outburst floods, while climate change-induced migration of people had become frequent.

The speakers said the frequency of natural disasters had increased in the last three decades due to deforestation, overgrazing of pastures, and reckless utilisation of natural resources.

They said a large chunk of arable land across the length and breadth of Chitral had been rendered arid in the last few years due to environmental degradation, which had increased poverty levels as well.

The speakers stressed the need for developing resilient communities in Chitral, especially in the valleys vulnerable to natural disasters, saying this initiative will help reduce the suffering of the residents.

The Muslim Aid function at a local hotel was addressed by Saleemuddin, Hamid Mir, Abdul Majid, Rizwanullah, Farooq Naib, Owais Ahmed, and Dr. Saleem and that of the Centennial School by Minhasuddin and Fazle Subhan.

The Chitral Public School event was addressed by Wajeehuddin, Jamiullah Sherazi and Rizwanullah. Students later took out a walk to highlight the day’s importance.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2024