ISLAMABAD:The cross sectoral adaptation plan to reduce the impacts of climate change is the need of the hour and thus, measures at every level should be taken to expedite this process.
This need is also very urgent keeping the specific conditions and impacts of climate change on the Upper Indus Basin, said a press release issued here.
The experts said this while sharing their views during a two-day workshop for Regional Stakeholders of Upper Indus Basin and Islamabad on PROVIDE, Paris Agreement Overshoot Reversibility, Climate Impacts, and adaptation organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Climate Analytics.
Dr Fahad Saeed, CEO, Weather and Climate Services-Pakistan, explained that the probability of a 1.5 C in temperature is an additional threat to the Indus basin, an agricultural lifeline of the country that is already challenged by socio-economic conditions.
Dr Muhammad Abid, Senior Advisor Adaptation to Climate Change and Climate Services at GIZ-Pakistan, emphasized that Climate smart agriculture planning is the need of hour besides coming up with a climate adaptation strategy across the sectors.
Urban Planner Expert at BUUR-Belgium Mr Miechel De Paep, highlighted that the rapid urbanization and the population flow towards Islamabad have greatly impacted on the spatial structure of the city.
Moreover, the rising temperature and precipitation increasing the occurrence of the natural calamities and their impacts on the city and its dwellers.
Dr Neil Souverijins Climatologist at VITO-Belgium highlighted that urban environment of Islamabad is sensitive to pluvial flooding.
,, Senior Scientist at Climate Analytics-Germany, asserted that a broader understanding should be reached at on the fact that the climate change is having multisectoral impacts on the city of Islamabad.
While stressing on the need of a climate services dashboard in determining the overshoot impacts on the cities like Islamabad, he suggested that regional-to-city-level, multisectoral impacts are among the major indicators of the dashboard.
Presenting details of the PROVIDE project, Dr Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, Professor at Humboldt University Germany, Berlin, stressed on the need for capacity building around the concepts of the PROVIDE project, especially to create a strong and engaged stakeholder base. Dr Patrick Pringle, Climate Change Strategies for Climate Analytics-Germany added further that PROVIDE aims to identify and address both soft and hard adaptation limits of thestakeholders and communities.