OPINION Vol.1, No.1 June 2013 - National Defence University

Legislate to ensure energy efficient buildings
Design central sewerage schemes for all large metropolitan areas and ensure proper disposal
of industrial waste
Water Security. Water is life and a common concern of both demography and Climate Change.
Some possible strategy steps for water resource management are as under:-
Comprehensive inventory of all water resources
Protect groundwater through management and technical measures
Promote through financial incentives solar water desalination for irrigation and drinking
Develop and extend technologies and techniques for sea water utilization
Address sea water intrusion into Indus Deltaic Region
Modern techniques for treatment of re-using waste water from urban and industrial areas
Food Security. Food security will come under increased focus as population increases and
Climate Change affects traditional cropping patterns and yields. In Agriculture Sector, harness the
potential of improved crop yield, focus research towards development of new high-yielding,
tolerant crops, and develop and introduce better breeds of livestock.
Energy Security. The study in both the spheres of demography and Climate Change has shown
that our traditional sources of energy are not going to suffice for very long. The recommendations
for energy sector which is able to cater for both growing demand and need to mitigate GHG
emissions are:-
Invest in clean energy, particularly solar, wind and coal gasification
Promote the integrated “Cleaner Production” strategy, in industrial sectors and promote the
culture of paying to the community by industrial sector
Promote the use of energy efficient methods
Disaster Preparedness. As already concluded, demography and Climate Changes are likely to
magnify the impact of natural disasters in future. Following should be done in this regard:-
Undertake risk mapping for possible disaster prone population centers and take precautionary
measures
Strengthen early warning system in the country. Enhance the capacities to address the disaster
impacts by strengthening relevant agencies
Develop communities’ evacuation plans
Set up mechanisms to monitor the development of glacial lakes
Redesign and upgrade storm drainage capacity of major cities
Mitigation in Climate Change. The strategy to deal with Climate Change will not be complete
without mitigation. As a responsible member of the international community, Pakistan must to
contribute to the global GHG mitigation efforts without compromising on its basic minimum
energy and food needs. The agriculture sector also needs to adopt best practices that are low on
GHG emissions. Also aggressive afforestation and reforestation is of paramount importance.
Long Term Measures
Policy Continuation. In order to capitalize on the opportunities of demographic dividend and
climatic goals, the success would impinge definitely upon continuous resource allocation to these
important factors of national development in long term.
Collaborative Investment Approach. Advance the collaborative investment approach capturing
the private sectors desire to invest in the spheres of Health education and Natural disaster
insurance; the expense a resource stricken government alone cannot meet. Financial co-options
through attracting FDI in agriculture, forestry, livestock sector and planning of the new urban
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