To cope with the climate risks, environmental, energy, air pollution and water scarcity challenges, both Pakistan and Kazakhstan agreed to enhance coordination. To reaffirm their commitment, a meeting was held here on Thursday between Alam, coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change and a Kazakhstan embassy delegation led by Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Pakistan H.E. Yerzhan Kistafin. The Kazakhstan’s envoy informed the PM’s climate aide that his country was deeply interested to strengthen people-to-people contact through tourism and engagement in various socio-economic development sectors including bilateral trade, education and research , environment, climate change, disaster risk reduction, renewable energy, efficient water management, aiming to improve quality of the life and environment of the both countries. He also offered his country’s all-out technical, technological and financial support through the joint working with the climate change & environmental coordination ministry to build Pakistan’s climate resilience, promote eco-tourism, climate-smart agriculture and boost power generation from renewable energy sources.

Romina Khurshid Alam thanked the Kazakhstan’s ambassador for extending his country’s offer to engagement with the ministry for building up collaboration in climate change, energy, agriculture, water and eco-tourism sectors. The PM’s climate aide assured the ambassador of her all-out support, saying: “I would moblise every possible resource to engaged with Kazakhstan government through the embassy to benefit from experiences of Kazakhstan regarding climate risk management, tapping of renewable energy, efficient water management, disaster management, sustainable farming practices and eco-tourism.” Romina Khurshid also highlighted during the meeting that the Central Asia region is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to its unique geographical and climatic conditions. "The Central Asia region is also experiencing significant warming, with temperatures rising faster than the global average. This has been leading to more frequent and severe heatwaves, affecting agriculture, water resources and human health,” she added. Romina Khurshid further said that the region's glaciers are shrinking at a rapid pace, particularly in the Tien Shan and Pamir mountain ranges.

These glaciers are crucial for providing water to rivers and lakes that support agriculture and drinking water supplies. As they recede, there’s an increased risk of reduced water availability. the PM’s climate aide highlighted that what is interesting to note that like Pakistan, the region is gripped by identical environmental and climate change risks including growing water scarcity, extreme weather events like floods and heatwaves, desertification and biodiversity loss. “Addressing these vulnerabilities requires an over-arching regional approach, including improving water management, adopting climate-resilient agricultural practices, and investing in infrastructure to cope with extreme weather events. Regional cooperation is also crucial, as many of the issues, such as transboundary water management, involve multiple countries in Central Asia,” Romina Khurshid stressed. The Kazakhstan’s ambassador agreed with the PM’s coordinator, saying that the region was confronted with common challenges of environment and climate change. “My country would do utilize every possible resource and work closely with Pakistan to tackle these challenges through not only bilateral but also a regional approach involving other climate-vulnerable countries from Central Asia,” added the ambassador Yerzhan Kistafin.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan