In partnership with the World Bank, WAPDA hosted a seminar on “Impact Evaluation of Climatic Changes on Water Resources” at WAPDA House.
In partnership with the World Bank, WAPDA hosted a seminar on “Impact Evaluation of Climatic Changes on Water Resources” at WAPDA House. The principal guest was Engr Lt Gen Sajjad Ghani (Retd), Chairman WAPDA.
Professor Dr. Habib ur Rehman, vice chancellor of the University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, Imran ul Haq, senior social development specialist for the World Bank, and other academics, professionals, and researchers from other universities all attended the seminar. General Managers, officials, and a WAPDA Member (Water) were also present.
The Chairman stated that the global problem posed by climate change was in his opening comments. According to the Global Climate Risk Index, Pakistan is the eighth most vulnerable country to the climate issue.
The drought and floods that Pakistan experienced last year were both caused by climate change. He said that as the issue is becoming more widely understood, coordinated measures are now needed to adapt to and lessen the negative effects of climate change.
The Chairman said that through building dams and hydropower projects, WAPDA, the largest engineering organization, has made a significant contribution to reducing the effects of climate change. These initiatives generate clean and green power, protect against floods and droughts, and assure food security.
Megaprojects being built by WAPDA include the Diamer Basha Dam, Mohmand, Dasu, and Tarbela 5th Extension, all of which will increase WAPDA’s ability to solve the climate challenge. He expressed gratitude to the World Bank and other organizations for supporting the green WAPDA initiatives.
In order to discover many points of convergence related to the impact of climatic changes on water resources for future collaboration to practical solutions, the chairman of the seminar highlighted its relevance.
Imran ul Haq, Senior Social Development Specialist at the globe Bank, stated during the seminar on “Impact Evaluation of Climatic Changes on Water Resources” that as climate change is a major issue that the entire globe is now confronting, we must act rapidly to share our knowledge. He also emphasized key elements of the World Bank’s national assessment on Pakistan’s climate change, which was released in November 2022. He commended WAPDA for setting up the event.
Two technical sections made up the seminar. Dr. Sajjad Haider from UET Lahore and Dr. Ashraf Tanoli of GIKI co-chaired the first session. Papers were delivered by Dr. Shakil Ahmad from NUST Islamabad and Umer Masood from UET Lahore. Dr. Khawar Munir, GM (Hydro Planning) WAPDA, and Dr. Izhar ul Haq, former GM WAPDA, co-chaired the second session.
The second session of the seminar featured presentations from Ms. Sojhla Khan Lodhi from NUST, Islamabad, Prof. Dr. Sajid Rashid Ahmad, Ms. Mariam Javed from University of the Punjab, Alvena Shahid, a PhD student from Lahore College for Women University, Dr. Muhammad Shahid from UET, Lahore, Dr. Muhammad Waseem from GIKI, and Nasir Hussain from GMRC, WAPDA.