PR No.149 “THE MEDIA IS HIGHLIGHTING THE IMPORTANCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE BUT MORE ASSERTIVENESS IS NEEDED TO ESCALATE THE ISSUE IN ITS TRUE SPIRIT” PERVAIZ RASHEED. Islamabad

Chairman Water Environment Forum, (WEF) Pakistan Nisar A Memon welcomed the Federal Minister of Information Ministry Pervaiz Rasheed, Co-hosts and all the participants and said, “it is your day to learn, contribute and share with public this important subject and be part of campaign to create awareness in public”.

He added, “In just the last 3 years about 2ppm CO2 has been added every year to atmosphere by humans. Although Pakistan is not a contributor of CO2 but suffers the consequences of it by people dying due to heat waves, its glaciers melt forming lakes like Ataabad and bringing floods with damages to human life as we receive floods in all provinces and in 2015 the monsoon current reached as high as Chitral taking toll of 93 lives and 300,000 stranded with its disastrous effects”

Federal Minister of Information Ministry, Pervaiz Rasheed said, “We face problems in Pakistan, on daily basis, related to health, education, sanitation, terrorism etc and the same are highlighted on different foras by individuals, the government, NGO ‘s and media. More important is what role a citizen of this country can play, individually and collectively, to mitigate the adverse impacts”

He said, “Climate change continues to be one of the most important global issues confronting the international community. In the developing countries, like Pakistan, local media poorly covers climate change. The general public lacks understanding of both the science and the policy implications of climate change. Rural communities, which are particularly vulnerable, are often the least informed. Media has the capacity and responsibility to deliver the message on climate change effects to the length and breadth of Pakistan”

He pays gratitude to the organisers of this seminar, for highlighting such an important topic, and inviting knowledgeable speakers from Pakistan and abroad.

Federal secretary of Ministry of Climate Change, Syed Abu Ahmed Akif said, “I am really thankful to Water Environment Forum, ICIMOD and World Bank who have taken this initiative to arrange media day on this important topic. Media plays an important role in sensitizing public on any issue. Climate change is one of the biggest current challenges faced by Pakistan. The role of media in creating awareness and mitigating climate change related disasters are more important.”

 

 

 

 

 

He also said that, “It is very important to give knowledge about climate change issues to masses. This can be done only through involvement of media. Media receive information and disseminate this information. If we provide information and educate media on climate change, it would multiply its effects many fold. This is our common responsibility to spread awareness and educate masses.”

In the end he thanked to all participants who spared their time to participate in this conference.

The 3-Day Conference will continue for next two days. The parliamentarians, public and private sector Universities from all the six regions of Pakistan; the federal and provincial governments and their water environment institutions and major INGO’s and NGO’s operating in Pakistan working on water environment are invited to attend. The participants, which include development practitioners, are expected to share their experiences and best practices in meeting the climate change challenges and to discuss new approaches and provide suggestions and feedback to policy making and research institutions.

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