YPARD Pakistan promotes Youth Key Role for Environmental Sustainability during the World Environment Day

Conserving a clean and healthy environment for all Pakistanis has been the main’s day issue. In our daily lives, we are starting to face some problems that our past generations did not have. Nowadays, no one is free from getting ill by consuming water which is impure or getting no water at all due to lack of rain. Besides this, the population’s rate growth is much higher now than what it was a couple of years ago, which is creating a situation of instability that forces the people to adopt other means which are harmful for the whole population and creates a nation that lives in constant fear.

Moreover, as Pakistanis are on the constant move to survive, natural resources are consumed in the shortest period of time, like our trees, which are being cut down for firewood. Likewise, as many people cannot travel in cars due to high poverty rate, they have to use public transport which consumes low quality fuel, leaving behind a trail of smoke which is breathed in place of oxygen.

Due to these problems, our country is losing its place in the international forums. Pakistan has been listed in the polio stricken countries list, due to which it is one of the less developed countries in the world. Instead of accepting the above prevailing issues and relying on the Government, our citizens should do everything in their power to get rid of the same thus enabling the future generation to grow up in a free and clean environment.

Building an eco-friendly environment

In order to start working on creating a glorious Pakistan, during the World Environment Day (every 5^th of June), YPARD-Pakistan Team Hyderabad Region organized an event with youth and civil society members to promote YPs participation in planting trees as well as in enhancing the skills for an eco-friendly environment. The event’s goal was to recognize and raise awareness on environmental issues in the wider context of sustainable agriculture development, climate change and food security.

The Al-Mehran Rural Development Organization (AMRDO) CEO and YPARD-Pakistan Local Representative (LR) Hyderabad, Mr. Abdul Jabbar, welcomed the participants and shared his views highlighting the importance of environmental protection, climate change and biodiversity. He shared that AMRDO, along with YPARD-Pakistan and other community groups, will promote awareness on environmental issues as well as uphold the cause of protecting the environment, as it is a global issue that all development partners need to understand and take collective efforts to ensure its sustainability.

Consequences on agriculture sector & Youth role

The livelihood and food security of poor communities in rural areas are connected with the environment’s protection. Hence, if we fail to reduce the environment and climate change’s impacts, our agriculture sector will suffer a lot. Mr. Rafique Wassan, another YPARD-Pakistan LR, stressed on the significance of environment as an integrated development issue that encompasses climate change, agriculture, or food security, amongst other issues. He explained that the world is experiencing the effects of climate change on environment and, in consequence, it has created disastrous effects in the form of natural disasters, resource scarcity and poverty. Mr. Rafique underlined as well the importance to harness the role of youth in the projection of sustainable agriculture and environmental protection.

Furthermore, Mr. Abdul Sattar, YPARD-Pakistan LR Hyderabad Sindh, confirmed Mr. Rafique’s words and shared YPARD-Pakistan orientation, objectives and membership to the participants, as well as distributed YPARD brochures and leaflets among them. The participants, in exchange, shared their views and announced that they will take up the issues of environment and sustainable agriculture in the social mobilization and community meetings.

In the end, it was announced that YPARD-Pakistan LR team Hyderabad will conduct regular activities with youth and farmer communities on agricultural development, so as a whole, it was a successful and promising event.

Post written by Shahla Salah, YPARD-Pakistan Country Representative, and Abdul Sattar, YPARD-Pakistan Local Representative.

Picture credit: YPARD-Pakistan Hyderabad team.