HYDERABAD: The Sindh Chief Minister’s Advisor on Environment, Climate Change and Coastal Development, Dost Muhammad Rahimo, stated that the provincial government is spending billions of rupees on climate financing. He cited the cultivation of crops in desert regions as an example of such initiatives.
Seminar on World Environment Day
Speaking at a seminar held at Mumtaz Mirza Auditorium on Friday evening in connection with World Environment Day, the advisor emphasized the need for public cooperation to address environmental challenges. “We will have to work together for our coming generations because if we leave everything for the government to perform then the system won’t function,” he observed.
Rahimo also highlighted various environmental protection initiatives that have been undertaken and are being pursued by the provincial government.
Climate Change Impacts in Sindh
Sindh Environment Protection Agency’s Director General, Waqar Hussain Phulpoto, noted that climate change and its consequences have been evolving for decades due to environmental pollution. Recalling his childhood, he said, “When I was a student in class 6, we used to drink water from the watercourse because it was clean and pure. Decades later when I used to visit my agricultural land I noticed the same water turning polluted because of excessive use of pesticides.” He also observed fish dying in waterways due to pesticide use.
Phulpoto pointed out that climate change effects began surfacing with modern scientific inventions and mechanized tools. He informed that Pakistan ranks fifth among countries affected by climate change, with Sindh being the most affected province within the country.
Nature-Based Solutions and Lifestyle Changes
One effective way to deal with climate change, according to Phulpoto, is reverting to nature-based solutions. He lamented that while the government banned polythene bags, the public did not support this important initiative. “We will have to pay heed to the environment and change our lifestyle to minimize our carbon footprint,” he said.
He elaborated that wearing jeans creates a larger carbon footprint compared to cotton pants because of the water wasted in jeans fabric production. Sharing an example of the provincial government’s inclination towards renewable energy, he stated that Sindh requires around 6,000 megawatts of electricity, with wind energy alone contributing 2,000 MW. He also announced that a bio-methane plant is being established in Hyderabad.
Phulpoto urged people to adopt a climate-friendly lifestyle by planting trees, minimizing electricity use, and reducing their carbon footprint.
Agricultural and Environmental Challenges
Vice Chancellor of Sindh Agriculture University (SAU), Tandojam, Engr Prof Dr Altaf Ali Siyal, highlighted that Sindh faces three types of floods, unlike any other province in Pakistan. He questioned the capacity of the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) to handle 1,400 millimeters of rain, noting its limited ability to carry saline and waste water to the sea.
He lamented that the government’s approach to agricultural reforms is limited to reinforcing watercourses, while farmers indulge in unchecked subsoil water extraction, depleting aquifers. The excessive use of pesticides is affecting the environment, causing health issues, and polluting subsoil water. “The forests have literally ended in Sindh. The satellite at present shows just 2 forests in the province,” he bemoaned. Siyal also warned that meteorologists have forecast a very hot summer season in 2026.
Vice Chancellor of Sindh University, Jamshoro, Dr Fateh Muhammad Marri, Dr Rasool Bux Mahar, and intellectual Mehmood Mughal also expressed their views during the seminar.
