• Food security becoming a global problem, conference told
• Need stressed for consulting communities before starting uplift projects in rural areas

KARACHI: Pointing out lapses in the state mechanism which are exacerbating climate change challenges for the country, provincial environment minister at a conference has said that the fast conversion of farmlands near urban centres is posing a serious threat to Pakistan’s food security.

Minister Dost Muhammad Rahimoon was speaking as a chief guest at The nexus between climate change and food security, a conference organised by National Forum for Environment and Health (NFEH) here on Thursday.

“The fast conversion of farmlands near cities into housing societies gravely endangers Pakistan’s food security,” Mr Rahimoon remarked, while highlighting country’s challenges in the face of extreme weather events.

Linking the 2022 devastating floods with climate change, the minister said the natural calamity badly damaged the economy and farming sector of Sindh.

He invited all stakeholders including members of civil society to become partners with the Sindh government’s drive to improve environmental conditions by upholding the relevant laws against harming the environment.

“The massive plantations of mangrove forests on the coastal belt and decreased reliance on fossil fuels for energy generation are two key aspects of the Sindh government’s strategy to tackle the issue of climate change,” he told the audience, while expressing government’s resolve to take strict action on environmental violations.

Speaking as the guest of honour, Consul General of the United Arab Emirates, Bakheet Ateeq Al-Remeithi, said the recent floods had necessitated consultation of local communities prior to construction of development projects in rural areas to ensure that natural drainage passages were not blocked.

Highlighting potential of Pakistan’s farming sector, the diplomat said the prospective foreign investors especially from the Middle Eastern countries were keen to invest in this sector to fortify Pakistan’s food security.

“Pakistan’s traditional organic food items should be marketed to international consumers who are keen to buy nourishing and delicious food from around the world to avoid unhealthy processed food.”

Consul General of Oman Sami Abdullah Salim Al Khanjari, also a guest of honour, acknowledged that food security had become a global problem due to the worsening issue of climate change.

He shared with the audience the salient features of Vision-2040 of Oman, which was based on maximum reliance on renewable forms of energy to help achieve net zero carbon targets in his country.

“Fortifying food security in Pakistan will go a long way in promoting Oman-Pakistan relations in the farming sector. Up to 60 per cent of rice consumed in Oman comes from Pakistan,” he told the audience.

Former Sindh agriculture secretary Abdul Rahim Soomro emphasised the need for fully devolving the subjects of environment, climate change, agriculture and food security to provinces as per the 18th Constitutional Amendment.

“Freshwater needs to be constantly released to the lower Indus basin to protect the delta and Sindh’s resource-rich marine ecosystem. Besides, the federal government should release its promised share of funds for constructing five combined effluent treatment plants in Karachi,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2024