Islamabad: Coordinator to the Prime Minister for Climate Change, Romina Khurshid Alam, has called for urgent action to safeguard the world’s wetlands, emphasizing their critical role in environmental preservation, biodiversity, and climate change mitigation. Her message coincides with World Wetland Day, observed under the theme “wetlands and water.”

According to a statement by Press Information Department, the United Nations marks February 2 as World Wetland Day to commemorate the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands’ adoption in 1971. As part of the Ramsar Convention, Pakistan has designated 19 wetlands of international importance, including Keenjhar Lake, Rann of Kutch, and Haleji Lake, which are crucial habitats for around 2 million migratory birds from Central Asia, Siberia, and northern Europe.

The PM’s aide highlighted that while Pakistan contributes only 1% to global greenhouse gas emissions, it is ranked as the fifth most climate-vulnerable nation. This highlights the country’s heightened risk to climate change effects, such as extreme weather events, floods, and droughts, which impact its population and economy.

Alam noted that climate change exacerbates challenges faced by wetlands in Pakistan, with rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns causing wetlands to shrink and disrupting their ecosystems. She emphasized that wetlands act as natural buffers against floods and function as carbon sinks, absorbing carbon dioxide and mitigating global warming.

Romina Khurshid Alam reaffirmed the government’s commitment to protecting these ecosystems by strengthening environmental policies and promoting sustainable water management. She called for collaboration among government, private sectors, civil society, and individuals to engage in conservation initiatives.

“As we observe World Wetland Day, it is essential to commit to action every day to safeguard wetlands and the species that depend on them,” she noted. “By collaborating, we can preserve these precious resources and build a sustainable environmental future.”