ISLAMABAD (December 8, 2022): President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi has advised the nation to maintain ecological balance and opt for conservation of water, energy, and other natural resources so as to save the lives and livelihoods of future generations; and for this purpose, there is a need to bring about a change in our consumption behaviours. 

He was speaking at a special plenary on Thursday at the last leg of Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and jointly held alongside UNESCAP's 6th South and Southwest Asia High-level Political Forum and Policy Dialogue on SDGs.

He said that alarm bells of an impending pandemic had been rung for past  several decades and has proven that despite technological advancement, a small microbe can disrupt our day-to-day lives and make a new normal. He said COVID-19 is still not over and warned of looming threat of pandemics occurring more frequently and more devastatingly.

“We must realize that our own actions and irresponsible behaviour is the reason behind global warming, the President said, adding “we must pay attention to our irresponsible consumption behaviour. He said that economic growth brings population increase according to Malthusian theory. He stressed the need for a strong advocacy to bust the myth that larger families can contribute to progress and security and impart knowledge on how population growth increase environmental footprint. He said that annually half of the pregnancies out of the total 89 million are unwanted and stressed on ensuring equitable access to quality contraceptives across the country and simultaneously address the myths on contributing factors to population growth.

The President emphasized on modernizing agriculture to make it more sustainable and productive. He said that our agriculture practices have a high environmental footprint and use of artificial intelligence (AI) and modern technologies offer promising prospects for yield, pest and climate resistance and resource efficiency. He said that food scarcity can be effectively countered by adopting AI. Quoting the example of Netherlands, he pointed out that Netherlands is 19 times smaller than Pakistan, yet due to effective use of AI, Internet of Things (IoT) for crop and water management, it is the second largest food exporter in the world.

He said that capitalism banked on human desire to acquire material things and suggested that we must control our desires and wants and change our consumption patterns. He said that we have amplified stress on our generations particularly on the youth to work and produce for a wasteful world. He said that our religion teaches us to consume responsibly even when resources are abundant.

Speaking on the occasion, SDPI Executive Director Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri said though Pakistan’s coordinated response to COVID-19, and policy of smart lockdowns did help contain the loss of precious lives and livelihoods, globally the pandemic upended the decade-long progress on SDGs especially on poverty reduction and food security. 

He said today we are facing a series of conflicts that runs the risk of becoming a global conflagration. Much of Europe and the US are already fighting a proxy war with Russia over Ukraine – leaving global energy and food supply chains in tatters.

“While this leaves states like Pakistan with very difficult choices to make in the international arena, it has all the wherewithal to further divide a world already struggling to forge common bonds for the solution of common problems.”

The World Food Programme (WFP) he said, reckons the number of people facing acute food insecurity jumped from 282m at the end of 2021 to a record 345m in 2022 (an addition of 63 million in the last 10 months). As many as 50m people will begin 2023 on the brink of famine, he said, adding that until now, the problem has largely been food inflation.

He said climate change is happening now right in front of our eyes, as Pakistan is losing its entire spring season and is facing super floods. Similar disasters are everywhere, even at places like Germany, where flash floods and the drying up of rivers have been witnessed, he said, adding that rapid changes in climate are forcing us to deal with such disasters in a firefighting mode rather than being able to mitigate and avert their frequency and intensity.

He said over 300 speakers from 17 countries conducted a review on progress of SDGs in South and South West Asia, and presented their research-based policy recommendations on how to achieve sustainable development amidst these unusual times. He said the experts in our conference stressed the need to strengthen the resilience of local communities to cope with such disasters and enable them to build back better.

He said the conference also discussed the positive impact and role of GSP+ and FTAs in the pursuit of regional integration and trade expansion, importance of energy corridors such as CASA1000, the importance of curbing the menace of new forms of heated tobacco products He said for the first time, corporate sector such as Bank of Punjab, Pepsi-Co, and Engro showcased their sustainability initiatives and resolve to support the government in its journey to sustainable development.

He assured the government of SDPI’s best cooperation and research-based support in these unusual times.

Mikiko Tanaka, Director, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Subregional Office for South and South-West Asia said that just when we thought we were starting to see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, recovery efforts were hampered by the war in Ukraine and its impact on inflation, food security and energy. She stressed the need for concerted action and mutual support to address the deepening divides and widening inequalities across the world.