NA SPEAKER STRESSES NEED TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION AND DROUGHT

            Islamabad; June 16, 2012: Dr. Fehmida Mirza, Speaker National Assembly has stressed the need for coordinated and stringent measures for combating the looming threat of desertification and drought. She called for immediate measures for saving the livelihoods, well-being and development of large number of population around the world. Dr. Fehmida Mirza said this in her message on the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, being observed tomorrow throughout the world under the auspices of United Nation.

            Dr. Fehmida Mirza said that desertification and land degradation not only affect the earth's surface but also threatens the livelihoods, well-being and development of a large number of population around the world. Consequent to that, desertification also induces migration of the population, drought, famine and deepens poverty. She said that if the desertification goes unchecked, it would further deepen the miseries of the masses in the coming years.

            She said that this day serves us an opportunity to highlight the growing threat to national and regional stability posed by desertification. She said that the climate changes was a contributing factor, but not the only one rendering nearly one third of the world's cropland to become unproductive and been abandoned in the previous years. She stressed for water conservation, reconsideration of our agricultural practices and afforestation. She said that growing demand for animal feed and biofuels will put further pressure on these scarce resources if not managed sustainably. The Speaker said that current global consumption and production patterns were unsustainable, which would consequently aggravate global food crises, desertification, land degradation and periods of drought. She feared that as usual, the poor will be the first victims of the last to recover.

            The Speaker said that for sustainable Development, desertification and land degradation were global problems that require a global response, therefore, world leaders should think for a comprehensive strategy to slow down global warming. In particular, it must provide adequate and predictable financing to support improved land management, more efficient water use and sustainable agriculture.

            Dr. Fehmida Mirza called upon the federal and provincial agriculture departments to raise awareness amongst the farming community to conserve water and sagaciously use it reconsider agriculture practices and plant more trees to avert the desertification.