Development. Sharing Our Resources: A Vision for Addressing Cross Border Water Scarcity Caused by Climate Change

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1 Population, Environment and Development Sharing Our Resources: A Vision for Addressing Cross Border Water Scarcity Caused by Climate Change Prof Dr Mohammad Nizamuddin Vice Chancellor, University of Gujrat Islamabad, March 2010

2 Background A Malthusian theory about the relationship between population growth and the environment suggests that as populations grow, they strip their resources resulting in famine, hunger and environmental degradation That is an oversimplification and has largely shown not to be true. Instead, factors such as levels of industrialization and the degree to which the industry relies on fossil fuels have determined environmental degradation or sustainability. In addition, human beings have the innate capacity to invent or engineer our way out of population or resource crises; more people mean potentially more solutions to problems 2

3 Background As regards climate change, countries with large populations such as China and India have not been the major contributors to GHG emissions over the decades. While their overall emissions might be high (China is the largest emitter, for example), their per capita emissions are low Penalizing developing countries for the problem caused by rich countries is not seen as fair by the developing world, so they understandably resist demands to meet the same types of targets as industrialized nations Researchers have found that depending on the variables that you factor in, the planet can support can support both an extremely large population and an extremely small one. These ranges are ridiculously wide: from two billion to 147 billion people! 3

4 Background Researchers have found that depending on the variables that you factor in, the planet can support can support both an extremely large population and an extremely small one. These ranges are ridiculously wide: from two billion to 147 billion people! There are concerns, however, that many developing countries are pursuing the same path to development that t the currently industrialized countries have, which involved many environmentally damaging practices. There is, therefore, an urgent need to focus on cleaner technologies and an alternative path to a more sustainable form of development 4

5 Background An additional concern, however, is that as countries such as China, India and Brazil grow in prosperity, there will be large populations with purchasing power, consuming more goods and services, thus making more demands on the planet Many environmentalists note that if such countries were to follow the style of development that the rich countries used, dthen our planet may not tbe able to cope much longer 5

6 Some Landmark Events International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994) Earth Summit (Rio de Jaenrio, 1994) United Nations Climate Change Summit (Copenhagen, 2009) 6

7 Earth Summit The Agenda 21 (Programme of Action for Sustainable Development) adopted at the Summit stressed the integration of environment and development elopment concerns, and highlighted the need for paying greater attention to these concerns Agenda 21 reflects a global consensus and political commitment at the highest level on development and environment cooperation 7

8 International Conference on Population and Development At ICPD, 179 countries unanimously agreed that population is not about numbers, but about people The Conference made it clear that improved social, economic and health status of women is a key to reduce the population growth The participating countries adopted a 20-year programme of Action, which focused on individuals needs and rights, rather than on achieving demographic targets 8

9 9 UN Climate Change Conference e The conference, dubbed as the largest in history, was attended by all the 193 parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Importantly, it was attended by more than 130 heads of state and government, including those of major polluters such as China, the US, the UK, Germany, India, Brazil and South Africa The Copenhagen Accord is a three-page political declaration with two appendices: one to list 2020 economy-wide emissions reduction targets for developed countries, and second for nationally appropriate mitigation actions of the US and developing countries

10 Holding Up the Sky: Women, Population and Climate Change Pakistan Supplement to UNFPA s State of World Population 2009 Report prepared by the University of Gujrat Launched at Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in December 2009, the document makes an attempt to draw a line between environmental degradation and climate change Major findings, conclusions and set of recommendations to policymakers have been summarized on the next pages 10

11 Setting the Context The realization that population, environment and development are closely inter-linked has a rather recent history: people are a part of the environment, for the latter covers both socio- cultural l and bio-physical i aspects; development is intended to improve the quality of life of life of the people, but it affects both people and the environment These relationships are especially critical for countries that are in the process of modernization and industrialization, but are still in the early stage of such transitions 11

12 12 The Pakistani Context Pakistan s contribution to climate change in the form of greenhouse gas emissions is almost negligible, but it is still one of the worst affected countries in the world Pakistan has witnessed some major climatic events, from droughts and floods to record temperatures, in the last few years People of some geographical zones (for example, coastal districts of Sindh and Balochistan) are more vulnerable to climate change Pakistan is the most urbanized country in South Asia and it also has the highest rate of urbanization in the region

13 The Pakistani Context Though women are known to be more caring of nature, and possess experiential knowledge of the environment, they are denied their due role in planning, monitoring and execution of environmental projects It is difficult to establish a clear link between population growth and climate change; Balochistan is Pakistan s s least densely populated province, but suffers most from climate change The use of compressed natural gas (CNG) is constantly rising in Pakistan and the country has become its largest user in the world, both in terms of number of vehicles and filling stations 13

14 The Pakistani Context Pakistan lacks a culture of documenting and thereby replicating indigenous innovative solutions, such as glacier grafting and biogas plants, to cope with the impacts of climate change Some of the major environmental issues faced by Pakistan include air pollution, shortage of drinking and agricultural water, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, threats to flora and fauna, etc. Though women are known to be more caring of nature, and possess experiential knowledge of the environment, they are denied their due role in planning, monitoring and execution of environmental projects 14

15 Recommendations (Policy) Integrate gender concerns into environmental planning, monitoring and evaluation; and enhance communities meaningful participation in climate change policymaking Revise policy guidelines on farming practices and devise strategies for conserving agricultural water lost in canal system Allocate national budget resources to climate change initiatives and mainstream adaptation into national planning Establish mass public transit systems in both cities and towns; and promote the use of CNG in public transport 15

16 Recommendations (Research) 16 Establish an indigenous body of knowledge to promote research on climate change with a focus on women and population Develop water harvesting and conservation technologies, rationalize the use of water in agriculture, and provide better climate information to farmers Conduct research to understand the specific causes and consequences ces of climate change-induced migration Study the impacts of overpopulation in cities due to rural to urban migration Study and analyze links between climate change and patterns of morbidity, energy security, population growth, etc. Develop climate sensitive policies that build local resilience and adaptive capacity

17 Recommendations (Advocacy) Promote public-private partnerships (PPPs) to support application of best practices in energy efficiency Reduce reliance on fossil fuels and increase reliance on renewable sources of energy Conserve the fast dwindling forest resources Encourage the SME sector to invest in cleaner technologies Promote judicious i use of water by increasing i awareness among consumers Help civil society in contributing to the development of National Adaptation Plan of Action (NAPA), and facilitate the government in the development of climate change policy and related legal instruments 17