Shaheryar Mirza in the Express Tribune (Pakistan): Karachi
cannot deal with existing climate risks, let alone those that could strike it
in the future, was one of the direr messages delivered at a seminar on Tuesday.
Moreover, urban planners say the government’s national climate change policy
doesn’t take urban areas into consideration despite Karachi’s vulnerability to
climate change.
“If you go through the national climate change policy you
will fail to see the word ‘urban’ in there and this is appalling,” says Farhan
Anwar from Shehri-Citizens for a Better Environment.
Anwar was speaking at a seminar and presented a report on
‘Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for Karachi – A Roadmap’. The seminar was
held in collaboration with the NED University of Engineering and Technology and
the chairperson of its architecture and planning department, Dr Noman Ahmed,
also spoke.
According to Anwar, cities worldwide only occupy two per
cent of land on earth but consume around 75% of its resources. This is why it
is up to cities to adapt to climate change.
Anwar’s exhaustive report compiled over the course of five
weeks isn’t all encompassing but aims to begin a conversation on the issue. The
report observes that flooding is one of the most urgent issues that need to be
tackled to protect Karachi from climate change....
Hawks Bay in Karachi, shot by Zuhair siddiqui, Wikimedia Commons, public domain
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