MIRPUR (AJK) - Experts at a day-long consultative workshop on ‘Climate Change Strategy and Action Plans for AJK’ called for devising integrated plans for the establishment of baseline data on the issue for Azad Jammu Kashmir.

The workshop was hosted to raise awareness of diverse segments of the society about climate change. Divisional Commissioner Mirpur Muhammad Tayyeb Chaudhry inaugurated the workshop. He emphasised the need for ensuring water, food and energy security and protecting different sectors from climate change impacts. He underlined that government of Azad Jammu & Kashmir had already established the Climate Change Centre with the support of Asian Development Bank under Flood Emergency Reconstruction and Resilience Project.

Tayyeb continued that Pakistan was among the top most countries vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and Azad Jammu Kashmir was one of the most vulnerable regions in Pakistan. The Div Commissioner underlined the natural disasters such as floods and landslides in the State caused great damage to life and property of the mountain population and physical infrastructure. “As such, the forest, water and land resources of the State need to be protected to safeguard the catchment of the Mangla reservoir and other potential hydropower stations, habitat and biodiversity, agriculture, physical infrastructure, animal and human health,” he added.

Addressing the concluding session of the workshop, Mirpur University of Science & Technology (MUST) Vice Chancellor Habibur Rehman emphasized for making climate change as the part of the syllabus in the country including AJK with prime focus to solve the issues with scientific term.

The Vice Chancellor termed the workshop a strong source of awareness among the stakeholder institutions and the masses. “We should clearly identify the areas to the mitigation of climate change and adaptation strategies and action plan in AJK,” Dr Habibur Rehman said. He added various small assignments to the direction could be exercised without any funding.

The Vice Chancellor said that the university would extend all possible help and assistance to all the related government functionaries for awareness and improvement of the areas hit by the climate change. He applauded the role of the state functionaries on their respective responsibilities for climate change strategy and the action plans for AJK.

Addressing the workshop, Director General Climate Change Center of AJK government Dr Ch Aurangzeb, Director General Environmental Protection Agency AJK Raja Muhammad Razaq Khan and other officials and experts from the two institutions highlighted the salient features and objectives of the workshop.

Dr Aurangzeb disclosed that the government of Pakistan had issued the grant of Rs23 million for the Climate Change sector in AJK and major chunk of these funds have gone to the Forest Department for the development and progress through reforestation and other means of uplift of the forests sector in the liberated territory.

He further said that the emergence of the CCC was also aimed to meet AJK’s obligations under United Nations Convention on Climate Change, United Nations Convention to Combat desertification and UN convention on Biological Diversity, to promote coordination in climate change vulnerabilities and action plans, support AJK Forest Department in the development of guidelines for sustainable Forest Management, reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and stabilization of hill slopes through bio-engineering.

It also aimed to ensure implementation of sustainable development plans, strategies and programs, awareness raising and capacity building on climate change and research and development  and climate change governance, he underlined.

EPA Divisional Chief Sardar Idrees Mahmood said that CCC had  developed drafts of the Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation Strategies and Action Plans for Azad Jammu & Kashmir after the formal approval of AJK Climate Change policy by the AJK Cabinet.  The AJK-govt. controlled Climate Change Centre (CCC) is  functioning at Planning & Development Department of the State Government with the financial assistance of Asian Development Bank under Flood Emergency Reconstruction and Resilience Project, he added.

Former Inspector General for protection of forests in AJK Dr Bashir Ahmed Wani, ex chief conservator of forests in AJK Raja Khizer Hayat, former Conservator Forests Malik Nisaar Ahmed, Director Climate change Rasheed Shah, veteran journalist and analyst Jalaluddin Mughal and other experts from various institutions also tabled their input for the climate change and its impacts in AJK.