Deforestation is the main reason for the expansion of the heat-zone, reduction in the flow of the Indus and shrinkage of the Indus Delta, said PCSIR (Pakistan Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) former director general Dr Mirza Arshad Ali Baig.
He was speaking at a seminar on “Challenges of Global Warming” Sunday. The seminar was organised by the Memon Professional Forum (MPF) in collaboration with the Institute of Engineers Pakistan (IEP), Karachi Centre, at the IEP Auditorium.
Baig went on to say that Pakistan is facing the extreme impact of climate variations in the form of changes in monsoon patterns, storms and cyclones, including cyclone O2A in May 1999 and floods in 2003 along the coastal belt of Badin and cyclone Guno and Yemyin in June 2007.
He was of the view that tectonic movement of earth-plates, which caused the massive earthquake disaster in October 2005, were also a consequence of global warming and anti-environment practices.
Calling deforestation a major cause of global warming, Mirza said forestry has been registering a negative growth for the last three years in the country. It was taking place at the rate of 800 sq. km., 0.2-0.5 percent per annum, which affects over 43 million acres of land annually. He added that three to four kilometers of glaciers have already retreated in the Eastern Himalayas, and the glaciers at its western end, the Pakistani side, were consolidating rather than melting.
NGO Shehri-CBE’s Sameer Dodhi pointed out that studies have proven that a 10 percent increase in green space may reduce the area’s temperature by four degrees centigrade and tree-lined streets also lessen the chances of asthma. Shehri is in the process of documenting all amenity and open spaces across Karachi’s 18 towns and cantonment areas to monitor whether these public spaces are being used as planned or not. The documentation is almost complete along with picture records and a report would be made public by the end of this year. Dodhi stressed that Shehri was not against development, but believed that the process should be for all segments of society and not be carried out at the cost of the environment.
Dodhi was also worried about the constant reduction in Mangroves along the coastal belt of Karachi as they act as a safety wall and purify the air. He also stressed the need to provide better public transport so that the ‘own-a-car’ culture is countered as it is one of the greatest sources of pollution.
MPF President Siddiq Essa said that greenhouse gases were at an all-time high at present, and Carbon Dioxide alone has registered a 28 percent growth in the last few decades. Deforestation and pollution are the major factors destabilizing the environment. online
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