Strengthening the Resilience of Coastal Communities, Ecosystems, and Economies to Sea-Level Riseand Coastal Erosion

The workshop, organized by IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, in collaboration with Climate Change Division of the Government of Pakistan, invited stakeholders representing the coastal development agencies of Sindh and Balochistan, civil society, NGOs working in coastal areas, the media and academia. Mr. Sajjad Saleem Hotiana, Chief Secretary, Government of Sindh, was the chief guest on this occasion. The purpose of the workshop was to review and finalize the draft National Assessment Report on Coastal Erosion in Pakistan with input from relevant stakeholders.

The event was part of the two-year MFF regional grant facility project, “Strengthening the Resilience of Coastal Communities, Ecosystems, and Economies to Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Erosion”. The project focuses on two countries - Thailand and Pakistan – and is being implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Coordinating Body of the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) in collaboration with national partner institutions in Thailand and Pakistan. 

The Project aims to develop practical knowledge in climate change adaptation, assess needs and gaps of the participating countries, and prioritize interventions for strengthening the resilience of coastal ecosystems and communities against coastal erosion. It will also prioritize needs in legislation, policies, institutional structures and capacities, for addressing coastal erosion in Pakistan and Thailand. The financial contribution by MFF is USD 200,000, paired with a planned co-financing of approximately USD 200,000 from KOICA Yeosu Project (for the wider COBSEA region) and USD 40,000 as an in-kind contribution from UNEP COBSEA. 

The main purpose of the project is to strengthen the resilience of coastal communities, economies and ecosystems to the adverse impacts of sea-level rise andcoastal erosion. This will be done through‘needs-based assessment’, a national prioritization and consultation process and a coordinated planning of identified interventions and the implementation of one pilot project in each participating country. 

In Pakistan, the Climate Change Division, Islamabad is acting as the National Focal Agency for supervising and guiding the implementation of the Project activities through IUCN Pakistan.

Climate change is an emerging challenge (with far reaching consequences) for the developing countries – in particular their coastal areas, which run the highest risk of being drastically affected by climate-change-related extreme events, such as sea level rise, flooding and erosion.

“Given the scale of the adverse impacts of climate change, intensive collaborative efforts are needed to promote sustainable management of coastal resources, as no single initiative or agency can address all of these issues single-handedly,” said Chief Secretary Mr. Hotiana during his keynote address. “In order to respond effectively to the threat of sea erosion, scientific and environmental aspects of sea-level rise and its induced coastal erosion need to be fully studied and understood,” he added. 

“I hope the preparation of National Assessment Report on Coastal Erosion will play a catalyst's role in drawing the attention of coastal stakeholders and policy makers to this emerging problem in Pakistan and will strengthen regional collaboration,” noted Mr. Hotiana. Also said Dr. Wong Poh Poh, Consultant UNEP-COBSEA, “The National Assessment Report will not only address coastal erosion but will also be a major document and reference in the development of new plans, policies, strategies and programmes on integrated coastal management.” 

Syed Mahmood Nasir, Inspector General Forests, Government of Pakistan, highlighted the significance of the National Assessment Report, "This is a crucial document that would pave the way for practical strategies and a road map for addressing coastal erosion."

Institutional support for the regional project is also strong. “IUCN has been making steady efforts towards planting trees along the vulnerable coasts across the region, as mangroves act as a major protection against sea level rise in low-lying inland areas,” said Ms. Aban Marker Kabraji, IUCN Regional Director Asia. Ms. Kabraji also underscored the need for conducting studies on the extent of tree-coverage required along the coasts prior to the plantation of mangroves. IUCN Pakistan Country Representative Mr. Mahmood Akhtar Cheema added, “IUCN has been taking necessary steps towards promoting institutional collaboration at the national and regional levels – and is actively engaged in the conservation of coastal mangrove ecosystem in collaboration with provincial forest departments of Sindh and Balochistan contributing to minimizing the negative impacts of climate change– such as coastal erosion and sea erosion."

More about Strengthening the Resilience of Coastal Communities, Ecosystems, and Economies to Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Erosion

The MFF regional grant facility project will develop practical knowledge in climate change adaptation, will assess needs and gaps of the participating countries and will prioritize interventions for strengthening the resilience of coastal ecosystems and communities to coastal erosion.  The project will take the existing policies, legal and institutional arrangements into account, bridge the gaps between existing scientific knowledge and local needs and ensure that relevant tools, methodologies and policy guidelines are contextualized and made accessible to coastal zone managers, sectoral departments with responsibilities for the coast and senior-level decision makers.

The project has two specific objectives, as follows:

Objective 1 - To assess situation, identify gaps and prioritize needs in legislation, policies, capacities, institutional structures, and finances for addressing coastal erosion in Pakistan and Thailand.

Objective 2 - Based on the information generated, to design and implement pilot interventions in Pakistan and Thailand, and to document and disseminate lessons and best practices on coastal erosion control. 

The project implementation is spread over three phases: 

Phase 1- Assessment and understanding of national and sub-national settings (situation analysis).

Phase 2- Identification, prioritization and design of selected interventions.

Phase 3- Implementation of selected pilot interventions.

This Project builds mainly on the request from some MFF member countries (such as Thailand and Pakistan) from UNEP and COBSEA to develop a regional initiative that will address the impacts of sea-level rise and coastal erosion. The experience gained by UNEP/COBSEA during the development of previous projects and on the development of its recent regional policy on coastal erosion was the basis for such request.

For more information, please contact the MFF Regional Secretariat, secretariat@mangrovesforthefuture.org