• And what Pakistan need to learn from our own 2025 floods and what is being experienced by South East Asia?

Mohammad Ehsan Leghari

The final week of November 2025 has brought Southeast Asia to its knees. From southern Thailand to northern Malaysia and across parts of Indonesia, relentless monsoon rains have swallowed cities, swept away homes, and exposed the deep vulnerabilities of landscapes long reshaped without regard for the rhythms of water. Roads have vanished beneath churning brown torrents, hospitals have flooded, and families have climbed to rooftops in desperate attempts to escape the rising waters. Yet beneath the chaos lies a quieter, more structural story: the land itself has been prepared for disaster.

In southern Thailand, where the death toll has risen past 87 and more than 3.5 million people have been affected, the water did not simply invade; it returned to places it once naturally flowed (Reuters 2025a). Hat Yai, Songkhla, Nakhon Si Thammarat, and other low-lying provinces have grown aggressively in recent decades, spreading into wetlands, filling natural drainage depressions, and carving roads and residential blocks deep into the historical floodplain. When this monsoon arrived, rivers and stormwater behaved exactly as hydrology predicts: they reclaimed their original corridors. Rescue teams could reach some areas only by helicopter as waters rose above vehicles, bridges, and even hospital floors (Reuters 2025b; Reuters 2025c).

Read: Unusual alignment of two climate forces behind record-breaking rain, floods in Southeast Asia

Malaysia’s northern states faced the same fate. More than 34,000 people were evacuated as towns in Perlis and Kedah were submerged, with distressing images of hospital patients being pushed through floodwater becoming emblematic of how deeply vulnerable critical infrastructure remains (Reuters Connect 2025). Stagnant water and lingering dampness soon triggered indoor air-quality warnings, reminding the region that floods do not end when the waters stop rising; they linger in the walls, lungs, and lives of those left behind (IQAir 2025).

The pattern is unmistakable across the region: rapid expansion into flood-prone terrain, the sealing of wetlands, the narrowing of canals, and infrastructure built against, rather than with, the grain of the land. In Indonesia too, where landslides have killed dozens, the worst impacts have occurred in places stripped of forests or carved into unstable slopes (Reuters 2025e). The climate shock may have been severe, but the devastation was shaped by the choices made on the ground.

It is in this wider context that insights from Pakistan’s Flood Resilience White Paper (post 2022 floods technical support from Dutch government) take on international resonance. Though written for the Indus Basin, the report’s message is universal: flood disasters worsen when natural drainage is blocked, floodplains are encroached upon, and governance is fragmented. This is precisely what Southeast Asia is now living through. The White Paper’s warning that distorted land-use decisions “trap, divert, or accelerate floodwaters in unnatural ways” reads less like a Pakistani diagnosis and more like a description of Hat Yai, Kangar, and dozens of submerged Southeast Asian towns today.

Nothing illustrates this more clearly than the Golok River, where Thailand and Malaysia flooded simultaneously as waters surged across both sides of the border. Hydrologically, the river is one system; politically, it is divided. Planning has followed the politics, not the ecology. The result is visible in the shared suffering of border communities, where flood responses were separated by jurisdiction but unified by force of water (The Diplomat 2025).

The region-wide picture reinforces that this disaster is not an isolated failure but part of a growing climatic pattern. Reuters and regional media have documented how the same monsoon surge caused deadly floods and landslides in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam, a sign of intensifying rainfall patterns across the tropics (Reuters 2025a; Mizzima 2025). Yet even as storms become more severe, the unequal damage from place to place reveals the decisive role of land-use planning. Areas that preserved wetlands or left river corridors intact fared better. Zones that built over their floodplains drowned quickly.

Thailand’s agricultural losses alone underscore this misalignment; with rubber plantations suffering damage estimated at USD 140 million, it is clear that placing high-value crops directly in flood retention areas was never sustainable (Reuters 2025f). And while Thailand’s deployment of its aircraft carrier to assist in relief efforts captured global attention, it also underscored how conventional emergency tools struggle when the underlying geography has been compromised (Reuters 2025g).

As Southeast Asia moves from rescue to recovery, it confronts a choice more consequential than any infrastructure repair: whether to rebuild as before or to rebuild with memory. The land has shown its memory: water has moved exactly where nature trained it to move. Now planning systems must show memory too. The solutions that Pakistan’s White Paper advocates watershed-based planning, restoration of natural buffers, strict zoning enforcement, and infrastructure aligned with hydrological reality. These are not for Pakistan alone. They are lessons for an entire region living at the confluence of climate acceleration and spatial neglect.

Ultimately, the November 2025 floods will be remembered not simply as a climatic event but as a spatial reckoning. Climate change brought the rain; land-use choices determined its ruin. The question facing Southeast Asia now is stark and urgent: will the next monsoon meet a landscape designed for resilience; or a landscape waiting once again to fail? And what Pakistan need to learn from our own 2025 floods and what is being experienced by South East Asia?

References

AP News (2025) Floodwaters are subsiding in southern Thailand as deaths exceed 80, 27 Nov.

Dutch Risk Reduction Team (2023), Improving Flood Resilience in Pakistan: A White Paper.

IQAir (2025) Indoor Air Quality Alert: Malaysia and Southern Thailand Flooding, Nov.

Mizzima (2025) ‘Truly severe’ floods overwhelm Southeast Asia, 28 Nov.

Reuters (2025a) Rescuers step up recovery operations as Southeast Asia flood deaths cross 180, 28 Nov.

Reuters (2025b) Thailand to airlift critical patients as southern floods kill dozens, 26 Nov.

Reuters (2025c) Severe flooding in Thailand and Malaysia – photo series, 26 Nov.

Reuters (2025d) ‘Like an ocean’: Malaysians recall race against rising waters, 27 Nov.

Reuters Connect (2025) Flooding in northern Malaysia – medical evacuations, Nov.

Reuters (2025e) Indonesia death toll climbs as floods intensify across region, 27 Nov.

Reuters (2025f) Thailand floods could cut rubber output by $140 million, 27 Nov.

Reuters (2025g) Thailand to send aircraft carrier for flood relief as rains intensify, 25 Nov.

The Diplomat (2025) Authorities Struggle to Respond to Devastating Floods in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, 28 Nov.

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Mohammad Ehsan Leghari is a water expert, former Member (Sindh), Indus River System Authority, and former Managing Director, SIDA.

Read: Vision vs. Reality: Projects Collapse

The post Southeast Asia Deluge 2025: Spatial Gaps first appeared on Sindh Courier.

• – Environmentalists say the climate crisis could become a rare opportunity to bridge regional divides
• – Shared geography makes coordination unavoidable, say experts

Amir Latif 

KARACHI, Sindh, Pakistan

Climate experts across Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh are urging a renewal of regional cooperation to confront escalating climate threats in South Asia – one of the world’s most vulnerable regions – warning that without collective action, extreme heat and severe flooding could soon overwhelm hundreds of millions of lives.

A new World Bank study released this week paints an alarming picture: by 2030, nearly 90% of South Asia’s population will be exposed to extreme heat, while almost one in four people will face severe flooding driven by climate-induced disasters.

The report says the region’s dense population, rising temperatures and exposed geography leave it acutely at risk.

“These findings demand adaptation mechanisms to foster climate resilience,” said Imran Saqib Khalid, a climate governance expert based in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad.

He argued that the crisis could become a rare opportunity to bridge regional divides. “Climate can indeed be a unifying factor in an era when there is plenty of antagonism to go around.”

Khalid highlighted the lack of a unified early warning infrastructure.

“India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, for example, are affected by monsoons. Having an early warning system that cuts across political boundaries and speaks to our individual vulnerabilities could be very, very helpful,” he told Anadolu.

Echoing his view, Shafi Mohammad Tareq, a professor of environmental science at Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka, warned that soaring temperatures and climate shocks pose major threats to human health and environmental security across the region.

“Climate change is a global issue, so isolated action will hardly work. We can address it through regional cooperation in mitigation and adaptation,” he said.

With most of Bangladesh’s rivers originating in India – and similar interdependencies between India and Pakistan – he said the region’s shared geography makes coordination unavoidable.

– Cooperation vs. geopolitics

According to the World Bank report, an average of “about 67 million people per year have been affected by natural disasters in South Asia since 2010, more than in any other region in the world.”

It cites flooding as “a particularly common weather-related hazard in the region, with 40% of land area having been flooded during 2000-18.”

The report warns that “extreme rainfall and flooding are expected to become more frequent and intense with rising global temperatures, with 22% (462 million) of the population projected to face floods exceeding 15 centimeters depth by 2030.”

Despite shared risks, experts acknowledge that strained ties between South Asian nations remain the biggest barrier.

Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, a policy expert in Pakistan, said South Asia lacks technical coordination even as it faces recurring heatwaves, increasingly destructive floods, prolonged droughts, tropical cyclones and glacial lake outburst floods.

He noted that the current atmosphere – including recent political tensions in Bangladesh and the flare-up between Pakistan and India in May – hinders official collaboration. Still, he insisted that climate cooperation remains possible in limited but critical areas.

“Even if the political atmosphere is not favorable, cooperation can still be ensured through ring-fencing or international collaboration,” he said. “The three countries must understand that their climate-related challenges are the same, and they are equally vulnerable.”

Sheikh pointed to shared monsoon impacts as an example: “Monsoon originates from the Bay of Bengal but it hits across Pakistan and India, causing an equal amount of devastation.”

Bangladesh and India’s coastal states – particularly West Bengal and Odisha – face a constant threat of cyclones and storm surges, he added, disasters that deepen poverty and food insecurity on both sides of the border.

Endorsing his view, Tareq emphasized that the region’s complex geopolitics remain tightly tied to environmental issues, making cooperation difficult, yet more essential than ever.

– Regional institutions and climate financing

Indian environmentalist Gufran Beig said platforms like the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) could – in theory – provide a foundation for coordinated climate response, but have been largely sidelined by political rifts.

“Climate change does have the attention of these organizations, but there needs to be a more effective and collaborative approach to mitigate the challenges ahead,” Beig told Anadolu.

He noted that even distant events can worsen air pollution across South Asia, as seen with the recent volcanic eruption in Ethiopia that sent ash sweeping over the Red Sea through Oman and Yemen before reaching India’s capital New Delhi.

With pollution levels rising across major cities like Lahore, New Delhi, Dhaka and Karachi, he argued that coordinated monitoring and control systems are urgently needed.

Khalid suggested that climate finance could help revive stalled regional mechanisms like SAARC, positioning cooperation as a source of shared economic benefit.

“Climate financing could be key, whereby countries can come together and submit joint proposals to the Green Climate Fund or the Adaptation Fund,” he said. “That has not happened, but it is conceivable.”

He stressed that resilience depends on protecting vulnerable communities and small-scale economies. “How can we support poor households, smaller firms or business interests, small farmers? We can learn from each other when it comes to dealing with floods, drought, air pollution and other environmental issues,” he added.

People-to-people exchanges, including between farmers and youth, could also build trust and widen shared knowledge. “This is something that we did back in the 1960s during the Green Revolution, learning from one another’s experiences across borders,” Khalid noted.

* Najmus Sakib in Dhaka contributed to this report

Read: Environmental Hazards Amid Solar Boom

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Aamir Latif is a Karachi-based senior journalist. He represents Anadolu, a Turkish news agency.

Courtesy: Anadolu Agency (Posted on 27.11.2025)

The post One Region, Shared Fate: Act Now first appeared on Sindh Courier.

With forecasts warning of an unusually chilling climate in 2026, the nation stands at a crossroads.

By Prof. Dr. Abdullah Arijo

In 2025, Pakistan endured devastating rains that overwhelmed infrastructure, displaced communities, and exposed the fragility of our disaster response systems. Now, with forecasts warning of an unusually chilling climate in 2026, the nation stands at a crossroads. Despite repeated climate shocks, there remains a troubling lack of preparedness, policy coherence, and investment in resilience. Pakistan has suffered enough; climate change is no longer a distant threat but a lived reality. Without urgent, coordinated action, the human and ecological toll will only deepen.

Pakistan is gearing up for one of its coldest winters in decades, driven by the return of La Niña and complicated by the lingering fallout from catastrophic monsoon floods.

Pakistan stands at a climactic crossroads. The severity of the 2025 winter, shaped by La Niña and compounded by systemic vulnerabilities, underscores the urgency of proactive governance. Whether the nation succumbs to the chill or rises resiliently will depend on the foresight, coordination, and inclusivity of its response. Climate awareness must translate into collective responsibility and decisive action.

As La Niña resurfaces in late 2025, Pakistan faces a pivotal moment in its climate preparedness journey. Still reeling from the aftermath of devastating monsoon floods, the nation now braces for one of its coldest and driest winters in decades. This shift in climatic conditions poses serious challenges to public health, agriculture, and energy security, demanding a coordinated, climate-aware response across all sectors.

Recent assessments by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) and the Intersector Coordination Group (ISCG) reveal that Pakistan is currently experiencing a marginally negative phase in both ENSO and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). These dual anomalies are expected to suppress winter rainfall across northern Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), exacerbating water scarcity, disrupting agriculture, and intensifying energy demand during peak winter months.

Region  Projected Impact

Northern Pakistan (KP, GB): Below-normal snowfall, disrupted livelihoods, increased heating costs, and isolation risks

Southern Pakistan (Sindh, Balochistan): Altered rainfall patterns affecting wheat and vegetable crops, and groundwater stress

Urban Centers (Lahore, Islamabad, Quetta): Prolonged cold spells, fog, air pollution, and heightened public health risks

Strategic Imperatives

The resurgence of La Niña calls for a robust, multi-sectoral response to protect lives, livelihoods, and ecosystems. Key recommendations include:

• Localized Meteorological Alerts: Deploy region-specific forecasts to guide timely preparedness and response.
• Energy Security Measures: Ensure uninterrupted gas and electricity supply during peak demand, with contingency planning for load management and fuel reserves.
• Agricultural Adaptation: Issue crop-specific advisories to adjust sowing calendars and irrigation schedules. Provide farmers with climate-smart inputs and localized extension services.
• Public Health Outreach: Launch targeted awareness campaigns addressing cold-related illnesses and indoor air pollution, prioritizing vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, and low-income households.

La Niña must no longer be viewed as a rare anomaly, but rather as a recurring indicator of a shifting climate regime. For Pakistan, resilience hinges on two foundational pillars: robust, inclusive education and climate-adaptive infrastructure. These must be reinforced through sustained community engagement, proactive planning, and regionally informed policy responses.

To foster adaptive behaviors and deepen public understanding of climate variability, environmental education must integrate climate literacy across academic curricula and civic platforms. This empowers communities to respond proactively to shifting climate patterns.

Simultaneously, building sustainable infrastructure is essential. Investments should prioritize flood-resilient housing, decentralized energy systems, and sustainable water management. Nature-based solutions and climate-proof urban planning must be promoted to ensure infrastructure is not only adaptive but also ecologically sound and socially inclusive.

Community-based actions require empowering local stakeholders through participatory planning, inclusive decision-making, and resource mobilization is essential. Grassroots resilience ensures that adaptation strategies are equitable, culturally attuned, and locally sustainable.

Read: Escalating Heatwaves and Challenges

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Prof. Dr. Abdullah Arijo is a science writer and academic specializing in public health awareness, veterinary sciences, and biomedical ethics. He regularly contributes articles aimed at promoting evidence-based understanding of health and science in Pakistan.

The post Climate Crisis: A Call for Urgent Action first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Hyderabad, Sindh

In response to the rising threat of natural disasters such as floods, heatwaves, and droughts, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Sindh, organized a critical consultative workshop in Hyderabad on Monday October 21, 2024. The event focused on enhancing disaster preparedness through robust academic collaboration, aiming to bridge the gap between academia and disaster management authorities.

The workshop was organized in partnership with DG ECHO, Welthungerhilfe (WHH), CESVI, and the Fast Rural Development Program (FRDP),

The workshop, titled “Bridging Academic Collaboration for Disaster Management to Mitigate Climate Risks,” brought together key stakeholders, including representatives from academia, disaster management authorities, and international development organizations, to discuss and develop strategies for building resilience and addressing climate challenges.

Imdad Hussain Siddiqui, Director (Operations) PDMA Sindh, inaugurated the session as the Chief Guest. In his opening remarks, he underscored the increasing vulnerability of Sindh to natural disasters, citing recent floods and heatwaves as alarming examples. “These rising risks demand an urgent focus on preparedness, and academia plays a crucial role in researching and providing solutions to mitigate these climate challenges,” emphasized Mr. Siddiqui, calling for immediate action and increased collaboration between research institutions and disaster management authorities.

The workshop aimed at fostering collaboration between PDMA, District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs), and various academic institutions. This partnership is envisioned to advance research on disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and resilience-building strategies. Ms. Fozia Aziz, Executive Director, FRDP, applauded PDMA Sindh’s leadership in disaster response and emphasized the importance of integrating academic research into disaster policy formulation. “Engaging with academic institutions will not only enhance research but also empower the youth to contribute to evidence-based policies and strategies for disaster management,” she said.

Read – Pakistan Deluge: Disaster, but more than natural

Key discussions during the event centered on improving disaster risk governance, developing resilient infrastructure, and embedding disaster risk reduction strategies into graduate and postgraduate curricula. Representatives from leading universities, including the University of Karachi, University of Sindh Jamshoro Sir Syed University Karachi, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET) Jamshoro, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS) Jamshoro, Bahria University Karachi, Sindh Madressatul Islam University (SMIU) Karachi and Indus University, actively participated in crafting a roadmap for academic engagement with inclusive disaster management initiatives.

The senior Researchers as participants from various research institutions acknowledged the critical role of universities in conducting localized research on climate risks and emphasized that academic insights are essential for shaping effective policies. Collaborative efforts between PDMA Sindh and academic institutions will contribute significantly to institutional preparedness and community resilience across Sindh.

In concluding remarks, Mubashar Hassan, Disaster Preparedness and DRR Expert, WHH, lauded the workshop’s outcomes and stressed the need to formalize this partnership. He advocated for structured collaboration between PDMA Sindh and universities to enhance anticipatory actions and equip future generations with the skills necessary to address disaster risks.

This workshop marks a significant step toward integrating academic expertise into disaster preparedness efforts in Sindh. The collaboration is expected to foster long-term solutions for reducing vulnerabilities and building resilience against the growing threats of climate change and natural disasters. (PR)

Read: Climate Catastrophes, Unpreparedness, and the Plight of People

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The post Enhancing Disaster Preparedness through Academic Collaboration first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Pakistan’s flagship Indus River ecological project faces major setbacks due to a lack of international climate financing, risking severe water shortages and food security challenges

• Pakistan’s flagship Indus River ecological project faces major setbacks due to a lack of international climate financing, risking severe water shortages and food security challenges, experts tell Anadolu
• ‘Pakistan is facing significant hurdles in securing climate financing for critical projects like the Living Indus due to multiple reasons, mainly the global economic conditions,’ says Living Indus project’s former national coordinator, Saad Hayat Tamman
• ‘Indus River sustains 90% of the country’s population, supports over 80% of its agriculture, and provides water to nine out of ten largest cities,’ says Tamman  

Aamir Latif 

Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan

Pakistan’s flagship ecological project is in jeopardy as a lack of international climate financing collides with financial troubles at home, exacerbating the nation’s struggles with water shortages and food security risks.

As one of the top 10 countries vulnerable to climate change, Pakistan requires a staggering $17 billion investment to execute the “Indus Living Initiative,” which aims to revive the mighty Indus River, the backbone of the country’s agriculture and food production.

Government officials and analysts agree that securing this financing is “highly unlikely,” primarily due to unfavorable global economic conditions.

Launched in 2021 under the Ministry of Climate Change, the initiative is envisioned as a 10- to 15-year umbrella program focused on restoring the ecological health of the Indus Basin within Pakistan.

“Pakistan is facing significant hurdles in securing climate financing for critical projects like the Living Indus due to multiple reasons, mainly the global economic conditions,” said Saad Hayat Tamman, a former national coordinator of the Living Indus project.

Speaking to Anadolu, he noted that the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with inflation, rising energy costs, and economic uncertainty, has reduced the availability of climate finance globally.

To complicate matters further, he added, Pakistan’s existing economic struggles — such as high debt levels, fiscal deficits, and currency devaluation — have raised concerns for potential lenders and donors.

“This project is very crucial for Pakistan because the Indus River sustains 90% of the country’s population, supports over 80% of its agriculture, and provides water to nine out of 10 largest cities,” maintained Tamman.

Echoing this sentiment, Hussain Jarwar, an Islamabad-based water expert, emphasized the river’s vital role in the country’s food security, water availability, and economic stability.

“Living Indus is a significant initiative to rehabilitate the Indus Delta, which is dying due to climate change, water scarcity, and sea intrusion,” he told Anadolu.

Competition for funds and administrative complexities

Beyond economic factors, Tamman identified growing competition among developing countries for climate funds and local administrative complexities as critical barriers to the project’s launch.

“Developing countries across the globe are competing for the same limited pool of climate finance, particularly those vulnerable to climate change. This makes it harder for Pakistan to secure a significant share of the available funds, especially when many other nations are in equally precarious positions,” he explained.

He asserted that Pakistan also faces internal challenges in streamlining processes for accessing international funds.

“Complex bureaucratic procedures, a lack of capacity in preparing compelling proposals, and weak institutional mechanisms for fund management hinder the ability to attract and mobilize climate finance,” he added.

Endorsing Tamman’s perspective, a senior official from the Climate Change Ministry admitted that Islamabad is “struggling” to secure the necessary financing for the project, which is “extremely” important, especially given the meager rainfall in the lower Indus Valley.

Read – Churna Island: Pakistan’s biodiversity hotspot in danger

“A combination of global economic conditions and national fiscal challenges has made it difficult for the country to access the necessary funds,” said the official, who requested anonymity due to restrictions on speaking publicly.

Agreeing with this assessment, a spokesperson for the ministry’s Living Indus Team, responsible for coordinating required investments, stated, “A more concerted and coordinated approach to climate financing is crucial for the long-term success of the initiative.”

“Failing to act would not only escalate environmental crises but could result in economic losses estimated at $1.2 billion annually through natural disasters and resource depletion,” he warned.

Climate ‘debt trap’ and green-washing

The project encompasses 25 critical interventions aimed at restoring and preserving the ecological health of the Indus River Basin.

Key initiatives include ecological restoration through reforestation, water management, and biodiversity conservation, sustainable agriculture and water governance to address soil degradation and water scarcity, flood control and groundwater recharge through green infrastructure, as well as initiatives like zero plastic waste cities and urban forests.

The federal cabinet approved eight priority interventions in December 2022, yet execution remains elusive.

While climate financing is intended to mitigate the consequences of climate change, concerns linger regarding its negative impacts.

“Many forms of climate financing, particularly loans, come with strings attached. For countries like Pakistan, these funds may increase the national debt burden if they are provided as loans or concessional credits rather than grants,” cautioned Jarwar.

Although the terms may seem favorable, repayment can still strain already fragile economies, he observed.

This situation, he added, can lead to a “climate debt trap,” where countries are compelled to repay loans for issues they did not primarily cause, further deepening their financial challenges.

The World Bank Group has a history of promoting large hydro projects in Pakistan through its Investment Finance. However, little has been done to account for the perspectives of downstream communities and to address their grievances. This pursuit of unhindered hydropower development undermines the true potential of renewable energy generation in southern Pakistan, Jarwar argued.

Read: Climate change, fuel costs push Pakistan’s fishing industry into more choppy waters

Another factor hindering financing, according to Jarwar, is that debt-ridden Islamabad is cautious about accruing additional loans, relying instead on the “loss and damage fund” initiated by the UN Framework Convention on Climate following the catastrophic floods of 2022, which inundated one-third of Pakistan and caused colossal losses estimated at $30 billion.

“It can be an opportunity for Pakistan, but the commitments from rich countries, whose fossil fuel-based economic model is the main reason for climate change, are lacking,” he added.

Supporting this view, Tamman expressed concern that climate financing from developed nations or international financial institutions, including the World Bank, may sometimes prioritize donor interests over the actual needs of recipient countries.

“For instance, funding may be directed toward projects that align with the donor’s climate agenda, such as renewable energy development, rather than urgent local needs like flood protection or water management, which are more critical for Pakistan’s context,” he said.

Additionally, he argued that some donor countries or institutions may use climate financing as a means to improve their global image or offset their own emissions while continuing environmentally harmful practices domestically.

“This can lead to accusations of green-washing, where the actual impact of the financing in terms of mitigating climate change is limited, while the donor countries continue to benefit from industries that contribute to global warming,” he added.

Read: Cats, rats, invasive flora imperil Pakistan’s only marine protected island

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Aamir Latif is a Karachi-based senior journalist. He represents Anadolu, a Turkish news agency.

Courtesy: Anadolu Agency (Posted on 11.10.2024)

The post Pakistan’s flagship ecological project in limbo as climate financing declines first appeared on Sindh Courier.