CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS: A VIEW FROM BALOCHISTAN
and would have the highest rate of malnutrition. The districts which are categorized as high or medium high in terms of drought risk all lie in Balochstian. National Policies with Reference to Climate Change After receiving number of shocks as a result of climate disasters, the government has taken measures for disaster preparedness and mitigation. 1. National Disaster Ordinance was promulgated in 2006. 2. National Disaster Management (NDNA) was set up primarily in response to devastation caused by the 2005 earthquake. 3. In 2008 a special task force on Climate Change was established by Planning Commission to deal with the issues rapid climate changes in country. 4. National Environment and Climate Change Policy to address the issues of climate change in the country like rapid melting of glaciers increased variability of rainfall patterns, increased number of earthquakes.
National Environment Policy, 2005 The policy was devised to address the environmental issues, like air pollution, fresh water availability, coastal water, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, waste management and natural disasters. It has the mandate to provide guidelines to all relevant sectors to address the issues more efficiently. The sector includes water, forest & wildlife, agriculture and livestock. The policy also aims to promote ozone-friendly technologies and phase out the use of ozone damaging substances. Pakistan is however more a victim than a contributor to climate change and the policy also talks about the extreme events like floods, droughts etc. and suggests controls to air pollution and noise in the country under the National Clean Air Act. The policy initiates a reduction in harmful emissions particularly in vehicle emissions. However, besides such responsibilities and sectoral reforms, there is lack of implementation plans and strategies to achieve such high environmental benefits.
32 | The Parliamentarian | 2016: Issue One
National Disaster Risk Management Frame Work, 2007 The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was established in 2006 after the earthquake of 2005 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. NDMA sketched a framework entitled the National Disaster Risk Management Framework 2007 which is a fiveyear plan. NDMA concedes that the country is highly vulnerable to natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, drought etc. The key feature highlighted in the report are poor construction, poor communication and infrastructure facilities, scattered settlement patterns and diversity of climatic conditions etc. This framework pointed out priority areas, like institutional arrangements for planning disaster risk management; planning for disaster risk management, spreading awareness, capacity development for post disaster recovery and the placement of disaster warning system. It also includes a short section on climate change and it focuses on climatic chance patterns due to a rise in the country’s temperature by 1.4 degree Celsius, which is one of the reason for glacier
melting. It also addresses the change in pattern of rainfalls that leads to episodes of droughts. The framework also describe the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders more clearly and identifies the Natural Hazards and Vulnerability Assessment, the impact of climate change on glaciers and ice cap melt and an Early Warning System Surveillance. However, the floods of 2010 are proof that it does not specify a concrete strategy to deal with emergencies and natural disasters. Task Force on Climate Change The Task Force on Climate Change was established in October 2008 to deal with climate change issues including the melting of Himalayan glaciers, the variability of the monsoon and the water quantity of dams. The Task Force has a mandate to analyse the situation in terms of climate change and to assist the policy makers to formulate climate change policies. The report of the Task Force places emphasis on three major concerns: Water Insecurity, Food Insecurity and Energy Insecurity. It suggests numerous mitigation measures to combat