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Business Recorder
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Youth Empowerment Summit discusses climate change, role of youth
HYDERABAD: On the second day of the Youth Empowerment Summit Sindh, organized by the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Sindh, an important session was held on climate change and the role of youth. Experts highlighted the environmental challenges facing the country and urged young people to play an active role in finding solutions and promoting social justice. Renowned environmentalist from Sindh, Naseer Memon, while discussing the serious impacts of climate change, said, 'At present, this is the country's biggest issue.' He warned that due to climate change, our natural wildlife such as parrots, sparrows, jungle babblers, honey bees, and trees are rapidly disappearing, and the intensity of climatic events has increased. Naseer Memon also identified rapid population growth as a major contributor to climate change and emphasized the urgent need for a nationwide campaign to address it. 'Planting trees is a virtue, cutting them down is cruelty,' he stressed, adding that just like the campaigns against controversial canals, there should also be movements against tree cutting. He blamed the rising heat in Karachi on concrete buildings and stated that 'we must change our way of living.' Climate and environmental journalist Shabina Faraz, responding to questions from youth, said, 'Young people are the real asset of our country and by recognizing their power, and they can bring significant change.' She encouraged youth to raise strong voices on climate change through social and digital media. She further stated that 'just as people united on the issue of controversial canals, the same spirit is needed to combat climate change.' She also highlighted vehicle emissions as a major environmental issue. Javed Soz Halai spoke about the harmful effects of plastic usage, stating that Pakistan ranks 10th in the world for plastic consumption, which is a major cause of climate change. He urged people to stop using plastic bags and bottles, and instead opt for cloth bags and glass bottles. He emphasized the urgent need for climate justice in Pakistan and called on the government to introduce policies to tackle climate change effectively. Speakers agreed that around the world, people are returning to traditional and eco-friendly practices such as using clay utensils and date-palm bags to counter climate change. They asserted that the state is a servant of the people and must protect them from the adverse effects of climate change. A special session was also held on gender inclusivity titled 'Without Gender Discrimination (Trans-gender)', which focused on the challenges faced by the transgender community. Transgender rights activist and Aurat March founder Shehzadi discussed the long-standing issues faced by the community. Referring to historical examples, she said that the rulers of the former Khairpur state had allocated large tracts of land to transgenders. Shehzadi shared that after a long struggle; she was allowed to get a national identity card in 2009. She expressed regret that although NGOs receive huge funds in the name of transgenders, those resources are rarely spent on them. She added that today, transgenders involved in sex work are thriving, while educated ones remain unemployed and distressed. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
24-02-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Sindh Resilience Project encounters delays
Launched in 2016 with the support of the World Bank, the Sindh Resilience Project had aimed to reduce the risk and impact of floods and droughts in the province by increasing the capacity of relevant institutions to deal with natural disasters. The project, costing 202 million US dollars, was to be completed in 2021 however, till date the project remains in limbo. A total of 31 schemes were to be completed under the said project however, only 13 schemes were completed by 2024, while work on 15 others has not even started. Reportedly, the reason behind the delay in the project is a lack of proper planning and negligence in the implementation of the project. The institutions established to deal with natural disasters, the Rehabilitation Department, Sindh, and the Pakistan Disaster Management Authority, Sindh, focus more on relief activities after natural disasters, instead of disaster prevention. District Disaster Management Authorities are working in the districts of the province under the leadership of the respective Deputy Commissioner, but no separate setup of these District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs) has been established yet. This is the reason why separate accounts of DDMAs have not been opened in the respective districts, due to which the huge amount spent on the Sindh Resilience Project has not served its true purpose as most of it was used on rehabilitation works after natural disasters. According to the report of the Auditor General of Pakistan, the Pakistan Disaster Management Authority Sindh spent a large part of this money providing flour, sugar and other food items to the flood and drought affected people alongside helping in their relocation. This is in spite of the fact that this money was given by the World Bank to reduce the risks and impacts associated with natural disasters. This is one reason why natural disasters continue to risk lives in the province. According to Naseer Memon, an environmentalist and social worker, the risk of floods looms over Sindh. "The uncertainty of hydro-meteorological disasters is increasing due to changing weather patterns. There has been 50 per cent less rainfall than usual during the last five months. Therefore, the province is at risk of drought in the early days of summer, while Sindh will also face a shortage of agricultural water during the kharif crop season. If there is snowfall in the northern hilly areas during the coming two months, there are chances of improvement in the water level in the Indus River after June. Although the exact flood situation in the Indus River will be known by April, emergency arrangements will have to be made in Sindh in light of past experience," said Memon. According to Member of Sindh Assembly and Parliamentary Secretary for Relief and Rehabilitation Muhammad Ismail Rahu, work has been done to reduce the risks and effects of floods and droughts in Sindh. "The risk of natural disasters has increased due to climate change globally. It will take time to reduce the effects of floods and droughts in our country," said Rahu.
