Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that his government is seriously committed to the global efforts for biodiversity conservation and protection, according to a press statement issued here on Monday by the Ministry of Climate Change.
The prime minister said further that in fact today the global biodiversity is faced with myriad challenges caused due to unsustainable human activities including habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation, habitat degradation, overexploitation of species for human use, introduction of exotic species, and increased spread of diseases. However, halting biodiversity loss is possible only through a global biodiversity action.
This was stated by Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan in his message in context of the United Nations' Summit on Biodiversity, beginning from September 30 in New York.
The Summit is set to be convened by the President of the General Assembly, at the level of Heads of State and Government under the theme of “Urgent action on biodiversity for sustainable development.”
More than 45 Heads of States and Governments from across the world, including leaders of five of the world’s largest economies, would endorse the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature at the Summit of Biodiversity, committing to decisive action on nature to protect human and planetary health.
“While Pakistan is no exception to the fallouts of the biodiversity loss at global and local levels, we have taken various initiatives to address this issue as a part of global efforts,” he remarked.
“My government has taken up the challenge of planting 10 billion trees across the country with the support of local communities aims to significantly reverse biodiversity loss by mainstreaming the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources across all sectors of the national economies, the societies and the policy-making frameworks,” said the Prime Minister Imran Khan.
He said that an ambitious Green Stimulus initiative has also been put in place, which has led to creation of thousands of green job opportunities and is leading people to protect forests and grow nurseries for livelihoods.
On this occasion, the prime minister pledged strong support to the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature, saying that his government is committed to halting biodiversity loss, including flora and fauna.
He also shared that his government is already taking steps in the right direction - one of which includes the launching of Protected Areas Initiative under which 15 national parks would be protected in the next two years.
Heads of State and Government from more than 45 countries, spanning five continents, including Pakistan, and the President of the European Commission for the European Union, have today committed to reverse nature loss by the end of the decade.
The Leader’s Pledge for Nature: United to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 for Sustainable Development sees leaders pledging to undertake urgent actions over the next ten years as part of the UN Decade of Action to achieve Sustainable Development. It comes days ahead of the UN Summit on Biodiversity, sending a strong, united signal that the world must step up ambition to halt and reverse nature loss for the benefit of people and nature and to help tackle climate change.
The Pledge, which will be officially launched at the Leaders Event for Nature and People today is a direct response to our escalating planetary emergency, and the need for urgent and immediate global action to address our interdependent biodiversity, climate and health crises
Endorsers of the pledge include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Colombia, Costa Rica, France, Fiji, Germany, Kenya, Seychelles, Mexico and the UK, amongst others.
Commenting on the Leader’s Pledge for Nature, Malik Amin Aslam, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Climate Change said that Pakistan is faced with grave environmental challenges mainly climate change, water pollution and biodiversity loss. He pointed out that the recent urban floods in Karachi and other parts of Sindh and Balochistan caused human casualties and severe economic and infrastructure losses. He urged that environmental sustainability should be part of every development scheme. “It is positive to see countries' commitment to addressing the environmental challenges and Pakistan is part of this joint initiative,” he added.
Hammad Naqi Khan, Director General, WWF-Pakistan said, “Nature and biodiversity loss is so severe that it poses grave risks to our health, economy and livelihoods. Pandemics, heatwaves, super floods, wildfires, decline of wildlife and climate change are all symptoms of our dangerously unbalanced relationship with the natural world. We can’t ignore it any longer, and we must act promptly.”
“The Leaders’ Pledge for Nature marks a pivotal moment with countries demonstrating real leadership from the highest political level, and committing to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. We call on all leaders to build on this ambition at the forthcoming UN Summit on Biodiversity. Together, they must develop and agree on a shared plan for biodiversity and climate change. There has never been a more crucial time to act for nature than now.”
In the past year, a series of major reports have given global attention to the biodiversity crisis, with nature currently declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history. The WWF Living Planet Report 2020, released earlier this month, revealed a 68 per cent decline in vertebrate populations globally since 1970, driven by the way we currently produce and consume.
The Pledge highlights that this accelerating crisis is causing irreversible harm to our life support systems, aggravating poverty and inequalities, increasing risk of future zoonotic pandemics and contributing significantly to climate change. The rising costs to societies and the economy require biodiversity loss to be halted and reversed with urgency if we want to achieve our climate objectives and the Sustainable Development Goals.
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