Participants of the UIBN-PC meeting

In his opening remarks, the Chair stated, “The UIBN was initially Pakistan focused. It is becoming more regional now. We need to revamp the Pakistan Chapter as per the governance framework proposed by the ad-hoc regional strategic committee”. Abdul Wahid Jasra, country representative at the ICIMOD country office in Pakistan, also spoke at the event, providing an overview of the UIBN, from its formation in 2014 and its present status.

During the meeting, Muhammad Mudassar Maqsood, associate coordinator of the Indus Basin Initiative at the Pakistan country office , presented the proposed Governance Framework of the UIBN prepared by the ad-hoc regional strategic committee. Meanwhile, in the discussion session, the participants discussed and proposed nominations for leads and co-leads of technical working groups and names for regional strategic committee members (coordinator, co-coordinator) and advisor of UIBN-PC). They also recommended procedures for membership.

There was also a presentation on the HIMAP Assessment Report during which, Ghulam Rasul shared some of its findings with relevant stakeholders. “Based on the projections, the Indus is the most vulnerable basin to climate change in terms of temperature rise, glacial melting, and disasters,” he said.

This event concluded with an expression of thanks by the Chair to all participants for their input in shaping the UIBN-PC. Representatives from the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), Global Change Impact Studies Centre (GCISC), COMSATS , Karakorum International University (KIU), Quaid-e-Azam University, Lead-Pakistan, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH), SEPLAA Foundation, Hashoo Foundation, Water Environment Forum (WEF), WWF-Pakistan, and ICIMOD attended the meeting.

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