India’s Minister of State for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Kirti Vardhan Singh, recently talked to a Pakistani platform, The Citizenry, where he emphasised the need for an “inclusive” approach to combat smog that has plagued both India and Pakistan since the start of October.
COP 16 is taking place in Cali, Colombia. It is the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. Today is the last day of the convention.
The convention seeks to “protect 30% of the planet, including terrestrial, marine and freshwater areas, transforming them into protected areas by the end of this decade. In addition, the framework emphasizes the restoration and protection of critical ecosystems, such as rainforests and wetlands.”
However, one of the delegates and the state minister of environment from India, while talking to the media, called for reviving the SAARC Malé Declaration on Control and Prevention of Air Pollution as he submitted its updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) at the UN biodiversity conference (COP16) in Cali, Colombia.
Singh emphasised the importance of regional cooperation in combating ever-rising air pollution in the Punjab region on both sides of the border, particularly in metropolitan centres like New Delhi and Lahore, where the Air Quality Index has soared to hazardous levels.
While talking to the media at the conference in the Blue Zone, an area designated for negotiations and dialogues between member countries, he responded to a question asked by the Citizenry’s Oonib Azam by saying, “Since climate change does not recognise any national or political boundaries, we need an inclusive and collective approach that involves all governments.”
Reportedly, India became the second SAARC country, after Afghanistan, to submit its update. India’s NBSAP included achievements such as “planting 98 million trees” and “efforts to conserve and restore India’s coastline”.
However, Pakistan’s representation was limited to a single official delegate, Naeem Ashraf Raja, director of the Biodiversity Programme at the Ministry of Climate Change, who did not submit the biodiversity plan on the country’s behalf.
The Indian minister also highlighted his country’s readiness to assist neighbouring countries in updating their NBSAPs that include knowledge, capacity building and infrastructure support.
Additionally, he said that biodiversity conservation “must be integrated into broader, environmental and developmental strategies to combat climate change, reduce land degradation and promote sustainable livelihood”.
Singh stressed the importance of a two-pronged approach to address regional air pollution and explained his side of the story by describing that there is a need for alternative solutions for farmers and, secondly, a strong legal framework within the country.
“If issues such as pollution are not addressed, there can be no ‘Peace with Nature,’” he said, alluding to the COP16 theme.
Earlier on October 30, Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz spoke at a Diwali ceremony, during which she hinted at writing a letter to the Chief Minister of Indian Punjab on the issue of smog.
“We need to have diplomacy with India regarding the issue of smog in Lahore. I’m thinking of writing a letter to the Punjab Chief Minister [Bhagwant Mann] in India that this is not just a political issue, this is a humanitarian issue,” CM said while addressing the ceremony in Lahore, adding that if Pakistan makes this move, India should reciprocate.
She even pointed out, “The winds don’t know there’s a border in the middle,” referencing the popular narrative of winds from India beginning pollutants to Lahore.
“Until both Punjabs come together, we won’t be able to tackle the issue of smog,” she asserted.
Effective from yesterday, the Punjab government has also imposed a “green lockdown” in Lahore, under which restrictions will be imposed on identified smog hotspots.
The announcement was made in light of increasing pollution levels in the provincial capital, which continues to rank at the top of the world’s worst air quality index.
Notably, the Pakistan Air Quality Experts Group (PAQx), comprising leading air quality experts, researchers, doctors and scientists, has issued a collective statement on the Punjab government’s “Smog Mitigation Plan”, criticising the measures taken by the provincial government as “lacking to deal with the scale of the challenge”.
