By Ajmal Khan Yousafzai
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ecosystem Restoration Fund had bagged global recognition at the United Nations Framework Convention (UNFCCC) on Climate Change 25th conference of parties (COP25) after successful launch in Madrid by the Adviser to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam.
The adviser was heading Pakistan’s delegation to the UNFCCC conference, said a message received here.
The theme for this COP is “Time for Action” and Pakistan expressed on this global forum that it was serious about pursuing ecosystem restoration to address climate change challenges in the country.
“Pakistan’s unique land mass which ranges from its high mountains down to the Arabian Sea at a steep incline makes the country extremely diverse and vulnerable to flooding from glacial melt combined with monsoon rain in the summer months. The ambitious Ecosystem Restoration Fund (ESRF) would effectively manage its water resources and address this vulnerability while steering the country onto a more sustainable pathway,” it added.
The ESRF was essentially a nature based adaptation initiative with 6 thematic areas comprising of Afforestation,
Recharge Pakistan – Integrated water management,Conserving Biodiversity and Mitigating Land Degradation, Conserving Marine Life and Promoting Blue Economy, Promoting Eco Tourism and Electric Vehicles.
The adviser had briefed the forum that ESRF had been placed within the National Disaster Risk Management Fund where General (R) Nadeem Ahmad was the head of the fund, which would allow Pakistan to align itself with the global climate change agenda.
