UN recognises Pakistan’s Indus Delta for global convention

ISLAMABAD: The shrinking delta of the Mighty River Indus of Pakistan has emerged on the United Nations (UN) radar after it accepted to create a global convention on all deltas of the world to ensure its protection against rising climate change impacts casting serious impact on its nature and habitat.

The development occurred after a strong international civil society nexus of experts, academicians, policymakers and stakeholders unanimously raised their voices for an international UN Convention for the Conservation River Delta (UN-CCRD) on the sequel of its UN Human Rights Declaration, UN Geneva Pact and many others to ensure that all the major deltas of the world were dying due to adverse impacts of climate change and environmental degradation namely sea intrusion, sea level rise, droughts, depleting water flows, shrinking creeks and others, the state news agency reported.

The African Centre for Climate Actions and Rural Development Initiative (ACCARD) in collaboration with Nigeria’s Bayelsa State Government, the Institute for Environmental Diplomacy and Security at the University of Vermont, the Consortium for Capacity Building at the University of Colorado, Transboundary Water In-Cooperation Network (TWIN), Water Environment Forum-Pakistan, Center for the Advancement of Public Action (CAPA) Bennington College; Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam and Center for Environment and Sustainable Livelihood Projects (CESLP), among others hosted a side event at the UN Water conference titled “Integrative Highland to Ocean (H2O) Action for Disappearing Deltas: Towards a UN Convention on Conserving River Deltas.

Former Senator and federal minister for information and broadcasting and Chairman World Environment Forum, a civil society organization working to protect water resources and the environment participated virtually to represent Pakistan in the sideline event whereas Freeman Elohor Oluowo of ACCARD and Professor Dr Asim Zia, Director, Institute for Environmental Diplomacy, Vermont physically participated in the session.

The global convention would help in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030 namely SDG-6 demanding “Clean Water”, SDG-13 “Climate Action”, and SDG-14 “Conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas and marine resources”.

The announcement came after the successful campaign of the above-mentioned coalition of non-governmental and civil society organizations who started the drive for a global convention of UN to protect deltas.

The speakers and experts discussed deltas starting from the Nigerian Niger Delta, the Indus Delta of Pakistan, the Mekong River, Colorado, Nile and St. Lawrence transboundary river basins.

Each of these deltas possessed varying risks owing to spiking up sea level rise and saltwater intrusion from the oceans, rapidly melting glaciers, increasing dams and shifting rainfall patterns in the highlands.

The UN had accepted that all the world deltas were under threat and sea level rise and intrusion were causing damage to soil and water ecosystems.

It is not only nature but rather the communities, the livelihood opportunities and human lives that were diminishing and demanded the world to respond for their protection.

There will be various activities in Delta countries towards achieving the UN Convention for the Conservation River Delta.

As per the UN SDGs website, the United Nations Convention for the Conservation River Deltas (UN-CCRD) objectives are to strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity among delta communities and water stakeholders to climate-related hazards and natural disasters through increased knowledge sharing, partnerships, global attention, UN recognition, and community participation.

It also aims to build a regional to global stakeholder dialogue not only to identify but to also proffer integrative Highlands to Oceans (H2O) solutions to growing water-related challenges particularly those potentiated by climate change. Moreover, to enhance the local capacity of countries through training and capacity building including on community data gathering and community-based context sensitive solutions to these complex problems.