A meeting of the IUCN Pakistan National Committee Members was held on March 09, 2020 at the Institute Management. Mr. Roomi S. Hayat, Chairperson, IUCN Pakistan National Committee chaired the meeting. Mr. Malik Amin Aslam, IUCN Vice President & Regional Councillor and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Climate Change also attended this meeting.
Mr. Mahmood Akhtar Cheema, IUCN Country Representative, thanked and welcomed IUCN Pakistan Committee Chair, Mr. Roomi S. Hayat and all the PNC Members to the meeting. He also thanked Mr. Malik Amin Aslam, Government of Pakistan and all the Members for their support in making RCF the most successful event with participants from 35 different countries and with the participation of the Prime Minister and the President of Pakistan, being the chief guests at the opening and closing ceremonies. Mr. Cheema also made detailed presentations on the IUCN World Conservation Congress and the IUCN Programme 2021-2024
Mr. Roomi S. Hayat thanked PNC Members and welcomed them to the meeting. He mentioned the decision by the Executive Committee in its first meeting held on January 31, 2020 in Islamabad to focus on two pressing environmental issues for the following two years.
Mr. Malik Amin Aslam apprised the Members of the IUCN Council’s proceedings. He said that IUCN was concentrating on a long-term programme which was discussed in detail.
There is an initiative of the French President for organizing a One Planet Summit during the Congress with 5-6 heads of the states. They are expecting President of China and Prime Minister of Pakistan to attend. These two leaders spoke at the UN General Assembly and at Davos. Mr. Imran Khan got a lot of attention in the environmental circles. The UN Secretary General was very impressed and said that we are also gaining leadership in environmental issues at the global level. Mr. Malik Amin Aslam also spoke to the Prime Minister to ensure that he also attends the Congress.
Mr. Malik Aslam informed that the Government of Pakistan is in the process of developing a strategy. It has identified three major pollution sources i.e. the industrial waste; non-points, where all the cities are releasing the waste; and third is the agriculture runoff pollution in the form of pesticides and fertilizer. The government is developing the strategy on the first two sources. By the end of this month, it will start with 4-5 initiatives at a very large scale.
The Astola Island is the first marine protected area in Pakistan. This report presents the first ever comprehensive research survey of Astola Island conducted under IUCN’s Mangroves for the Future Programme in collaboration with the IUCN Members organizations and other stakeholders.
Mr. Shahid Sayeed Khan of Indus Earth Trust sought attention towards the Astola Island – the first Marine Protected Area in Pakistan. He was of the view that “we have come a long way after the declaration, and a comprehensive survey had been conducted and that the management of the MPA needed to be implemented by all the stakeholders.
The members also proposed the environmental priority areas for the IUCN Pakistan National Committee to focus on in the next two year.
The members participated in the meeting included: Institute of Rural Management; Human Resource Management Network; WWF-Pakistan, HANDS; Indus Earth Trust; Snow Leopard Foundation; Saibaan; Balochistan Rural Support Programme; Khwendo Kor; AWAZ-Foundation Pakistan; Haashar Association, SUNGI Development Foundation; Legends Society; South Asian Agricultural Conservation Network; Rural Aid Pakistan; Strengthening Participatory Organization, Saibaan; Ghazi Barotha Taraqiati Idara; Centre for Peace and Development; and New World Hope Organization.
