Public-private ties urged

KARACHI: The Water Environment Forum (WEF) called for public-private partnership to conserve, protect, develop, fund infrastructure projects.

Chairman Nisar Memon at WEF, during a visit to the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI), said these projects could be early warning systems for glacial lake outburst flood and small and large reservoirs to store water and produce electricity.

Memon said Pakistan is already facing the impact of climate change as recurring floods are leading to widespread damage to infrastructure, livelihoods and settlements, increasing heat-related mortality and drought related water and food shortages are causing malnutrition.

He said national climate change strategy must be formulated through provincial integration. 

President Atif Bajwa at OICCI said this is a most important subject for everyone as floods cause losses of billions of rupees due to water being lost to sea, which could be used to enhance agricultural production and produce electricity.