University of Management and Technology, Sialkot

Life and Learning

MID-TERM REPORT

Climate Change

Grade: - __________
Date: - 29th March 2019

Submitted by: - Submitted to: -

Wania Nadeem (BBIS-03/004)

Sajawal Ali (BBIS-03/002) Ms. Saba
Hamza Iqbal (BBIS-03/008)
Saad Nasir (BBIS-03/007)
Muhammad Arsalan (BBIS-03/001)
Ahsan Ali (BBIS-03/005)
 Climate Change

Climate change is one the most serious global environmental issue of the twenty-first
century. It refers to a broad range of global phenomena created predominantly by
burning fossil fuels, which add heat-trapping gases to Earth’s atmosphere that pose
a serious threat to the security and prosperity of the world.

Pakistan being a semi-arid and arid country is among the top 10 countries that are
most likely to be affected by climate change, according to the 2018 Global Climate
Risk Index released by the public policy group German-watch. As environment and
climate change are inextricably linked to sustainable development. Pakistan requires
greater progress in environmental protection. Water scarcity is increasing, land
productivity is decreasing and climate change is worsening these threats. The risk of
natural disasters, exacerbated by climate change as well as economic shocks, is
adding to existing vulnerabilities. In recent years, visible changes in Pakistan’s
hydrological cycle have been observed in the form of:

 Changing precipitation pattern

 Droughts
 Water availability periods
 Frequency and intensity of heat waves
 Precipitation events
 Weather-induced natural disasters

Likewise, Pakistan’s greenhouse gases emissions have doubled in last 2 decades-

Pakistan has been ranked 135th in per capita GHG emissions in the world, on a
global scale. Aggravated climate change has severely affected the agriculture sector;
where, 65% to70% of country’s population is directly or indirectly related to
agriculture. That is, seasonal changes are changing sowing time for crops which
consequently changes the irrigation requirements; which modify the properties of soil
and increase the risk of pest and disease attack that are negatively altering
agricultural productivity. Additionally, deteriorating food security because of lower
agriculture production will increase malnutrition, subsequently decreasing immunity
to diseases. Where, 45% of rural and 36% of urban children’s in Pakistan are
suffering from malnutrition.

Over 90 percent of U.N scientists have been agreed on the fact that over the past 50
years of human activities are responsible for preponderance of such changes in the
environment. That is, human activities are changing the natural balance of
greenhouse contents through massive industrialization, misuse of resources,
deforestation, burning of fossil fuels (oil and coal) and clearance of land for
agriculture.
According to World Bank, Pakistan is ranked 3rd among water-starved countries.
The blazing heat of sun along with unusual heat radiation has caused damages to
human life, because, high intensity of heat can initiate droughts and famines through
water scarcity.

Furthermore, climate change has impacted water supply in various ways: changes in
precipitation, ambient air and water temperatures, and changes in frequency,
duration, severity, and distribution of extreme weather events has affected can affect
water supply availability, quality, sanitation services and infrastructure.

At present, Sialkot generates about 350 tons of municipal solid waste daily, or about
125,000 tons per year, which amounts to per capita per daily generation ranging
from 0.22 kg to 0.36 kg. Where, only about half of this waste enters the municipal
waste system and the rest is flushed away in the sewerage system - thereby creating
a health hazard. In fact, According to study from 2009, Groundwater quality in Sialkot
is deteriorating due to untreated discharge of industrial and urban effluent. That is,
uncontrolled disposals of industrial and municipal waste water are the primary
causes of the groundwater contamination. As a result, adaptation to the future
challenges will require Sialkot explore alternative water resources, such as rainwater
harvesting and water reuse.

Moreover, urban flooding is a consistent climate risk for Sialkot. The city has
separate storm drain and sewage systems. The sewage systems underground and
has not been functioning well, mainly due to blockages, poor maintenance and
insufficient capacity, and has contributed in large measure to exposing the city to
flooding and associated risks for human health and physical damage.

Consequently, Sialkot has witnessed more than 17% growth rate of vehicles during
the last three years. The high growth of vehicles has not only created more
congestion on the city roads, but also exerts pressure for increased spending on
infrastructure improvements and hence has also resulted in an increase of GHG and
vehicular emissions. As such, improving public transport and awareness will help in
reducing GHG and vehicular emissions, a common cause of respiratory illnesses.

As environmental awareness has been a major issue of concern all over the world,
social media has given activist platforms who are seeking to raise their voices
against any global or national incident by reaching maximum number of public
present on the social landscape.

The ways in which every public can contribute towards making this world less
polluted and environmental friendly, are being posted in the form of pictures and
videos on popular social platform like Face-book. A large number of video post
depicting the consequences our world may face if this environmental degradation
continues, have without a doubt brought a sense of awareness and will to change in
the minds of people.

Likewise, for effective adaptation, mitigation and disaster management of climate

change- four major areas need to be worked on at national level. Raising awareness,
organizational and institutional adjustments, capacity building and infrastructure
development are a priority.

 Awareness
Immediate action is required for raising awareness through targeted media and
publicity campaigns to highlight the threats of climate change and its implications.
Training and mobilizing local communities may be carried out for better disaster
preparedness. Local government and NGOs would be required to cooperate in
building awareness, particularly among the farming communities and in poor urban
areas.

 Organizational and Institutional Initiatives

Organizational and institutional initiatives at the national level can be undertaken in
short term through strengthening the Climate Change Division and making it more
efficient as well as accountable. This will also help decentralize the Division giving it
greater freedom to accomplish assigned tasks.

 Capacity Building
The institutions working on climate change must address human resource
requirements for numerical modeling and climate system dynamics. It must be
ensured by the Government that universities offer courses at graduate and
postgraduate level on dynamics of climate system and related sciences. Moreover,
irrigation system needs to be improved by introducing sprinkler and drip irrigation at
a larger scale. And government should introduce policies that encourage the use of
modern and more efficient irrigation systems.

 Infrastructural Development
At the Federal level, for floods, drought and sea intrusion mitigation, Diamer-Bhasha,
Akhori, Munda and Kalabagh dams are essential due to the lack of capacity in the
country. These dams will provide regulated flow down the Indus deltaic area to
counter sea intrusion and help in ecological preservation and saving livelihood of
local inhabitants. Moreover, Provincial and local governments need to be mobilized
to ensure effective implementation, and the harvesting of rain water at provincial and
district level is needed to counter water scarcity. Likewise, Government should
incentivize household and small business for solar energy utilization.
To conclude, Pakistan’s three major climate challenges are related to floods, drought
and sea intrusion. The consequences are water and food scarcity, health issues and
population displacement. These Climate Change challenges faced can be turned
into a new opportunity based on cleaner technology and a low-carbon economy.
Thus, proactively using the opportunity will turn the climate change issue into a new
economic opportunity that advances sustainable development and encourages new
kinds of cleaner technologies, industries and jobs.