Islamabad, 18 September 2006 (IUCN/MoE, Government of Pakistan) – The World Conservation Union (IUCN) Pakistan in collaboration with IUCN Asia and the Ministry of Environment, Government of Pakistan, is organizing a three day training workshop between September 18 and September 20 on building capacity of federal and provincial government institutions and civil society organizations to meet the challenge of climate change. The workshop is being organised under the auspices of Pakistan Environment Programme. Participants from relevant federal and provincial government agencies and civil society organizations from all over the country are participating in the workshop.

The workshop aims not only to build capacity and expertise in the area of climate change but also to determine the level of scientific progress in the field in Pakistan and explore the way forward for institutions involved in this area. It is expected that the sharing of information between organizations will culminate in fruitful and effective partnerships.

Internationally renowned climate change experts from IUCN Asia Dr. Ainun Nishat, Country Representative, IUCN Bangladesh, and Dr. Tejpal Singh, Programme Coordinator, Regional Ecosystem and Livelihoods Group, IUCN Asia Regional Office, Bangkok, are the international resource persons for this highly interactive workshop. Scientists and researchers from the Global Change Impact Study Centre (GCISC) are participating as the local resource persons.

The inaugural session of the workshop was held at a local hotel in Islamabad. Minister of State for Environment Malik Amin Aslam was the chief guest on the occasion. Mr. Sohail Malik, Country Representative IUCN Pakistan welcomed the participants.

Dr. Ainun Nishat delivered the keynote address at the inaugural session. He started by saying that everyone from the rich to the poor is going to suffer severely with the effects of Climate Change. Outlining the efforts that require priority actions, Dr. Nishat listed the important ones to be mainstreaming climate change in national policy and development planning, capacity development in science, impacts and adaptation assessment, prediction of climate risks, preparing and implementing CDM projects, raising agriculture sector adaptive capacity for sustainable livelihood and government-NGO collaboration on research and community-based adaptation activities.

Dr. Nishat observed that at international and summit level negotiations, developing countries have taken a back seat whereas the developed countries try to slip away, ignoring the future consequences of the hazards of Climate Change. He stressed that there was an urgent need for action by developing countries to combat the threats of Climate Change. He also emphasized on the need for mainstreaming Climate Change in policy making and promoting international Climate Change diplomacy, particularly at intergovernmental level negotiations.

In his address as chief guest, Malik Amin Aslam termed ‘Climate Change’ as the new ‘WMD’ (Weapon of Mass Destruction) and highlighted the fact that during the recent years more lives have been lost due to climate change than any other hazard. He observed that Pakistan being an agricultural country is more prone to the effects of climate change. He stated that climate change is playing havoc on cropping patterns and water availability and is the major factor behind excessive floods and persistent droughts. He also mentioned that the recent floods in Sindh were a consequence of climate change. The minister highlighted the role of government and particularly appreciated the role of international organizations and CSOs and also stressed upon them to provide more input in policy making at the government level. He hoped that the workshop will be a useful effort and will bring out concrete recommendations as guiding principles for policy making.

At the end of the inaugural session, Gul Najam Jamy, Head, IUCN Islamabad Programme Office presented the vote of thanks.

For more information, contact:

Shahzad Ahmad, Coordinator Communication and Knowledge Management, tel: ++92 51 2270686;
mobile: ++92 333 5236060, email: shahzad.ahmad@isb.iucnp.org

Zehra Abbas, Expert Environmental Management, tel: ++92 51 2270686;
email: zehra.abbas@isb.iucnp.org

The World Conservation Union is the world’s largest and most important conservation network. The Union brings together 82 States, 111 government agencies, more than 800 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and some 10,000 scientists and experts from 181 countries in a unique worldwide partnership.

The Union’s mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.

The World Conservation Union is a multicultural, multilingual organization with 1000 staff located in 62 countries. Its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland.

IUCN's Asia Programme, covers 23 countries with a workforce of nearly 500.
http://www.iucn.org

IUCN Pakistan has programmes from the north to the south of the country and multiple field projects. It is one of the nine Country Offices of
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