Countries must learn from past environmental disasters: expert

ISLAMABAD: Capacity issues at all levels and a lack of coordination among the stakeholders were two of the key reasons that developing countries, including Pakistan, will counter the effects of climate change and mitigate losses caused by it.

Aftab Alam Khan, an award-winning climate change expert, said while talking to the media on Thursday that developing countries need to learn from the past for the future, adding, “The concept of lessons learned is almost non-existent, mainly related to environmental disasters and the effects of climate change.”

Mr Khan has executed an award-winning project related to hardships faced by the most vulnerable populations across 14 countries due to soaring inflation in essential commodities such as food, fertilizer, water, and petroleum products. He has developed climate-resilient solutions across 35 countries and has advised governments in Pakistan, Indonesia, and South Africa.

Mr Khan has also contributed to integrating climate change into university curricula and informed the media that the impact of climate change and environmental disasters has led to a serious crisis that has largely remained underreported.

The award-winning climate change expert is also the co-author of the report titled, “The Human Costs of the Food Crisis: How Price Spikes are Wreaking Havoc across the Globe.”

“There are two serious impacts of environmental disasters that have largely remained unreported in mainstream media, not only in Pakistan but also in other vulnerable countries: debt traps and prolonged poverty due to loss of land or a source of livelihood,” he said.

Highlighting his report, Mr Khan said that the vulnerable communities are forced to borrow money from local lenders but end up paying huge interest over a long period, whereas many are forced to sell their land or livestock only to survive the catastrophe.

The policy recommendations in the report included that the Committee on World Food Security, housed at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO), should play a greater role in devising policy options for the alarming situation highlighted in the report.

It added that the governments should be supported by the United Nations, other international institutions, and donor countries to put in place and strengthen their social protection and public services to cushion the impact of price increases on households.

The report has suggested that since the debt stress leaves little space to finance social protection initiatives, the international community should cancel the debts of the affected countries.

The report shows that using agro-ecology has helped to make savings on crop production, which is a method to use water-efficient techniques, build soil fertility, and reduce reliance on chemical fertilizers that emit greenhouse gases.

A short film based on the research, ‘Smiley Charity Awards 2024’ in the International Impact Category on March 20, 2024, was also held in London.