Fizza Amjad

2025 has brought calamity once again to a country already devastated by #climate stress. Make no mistake, Pakistan's mega flooding is triggered by climate change, global #warming and a shameful surge in global emissions. There is no other way of saying that trillions of dollars subsidise the fossil fuel industry ( 7 trillion USD) which is causing this havoc all over the world. While there is no real money for climate #vulnerable countries like Pakistan, which have risen to number one on the most impacted countries of the world. Pakistan needs 348 billion USD to keep its head above water by 2030, according to the @WorldBank. @WorldBankSAsia @UNFCCC Meanwhile, Pakistan has to wake up to the reality that no one is coming to help when hundreds of lives are lost. So far over 600 lives have been lost to catastrophic flooding. The 2022 flooding shook us to the core. This is beginning to look like a tragic serial to that one, where one third of the country was underwater. Since then, am looking at what we are doing to build #resilience. Let's look at just one area: beautiful, lush Swat where the floods have caused unprecedented damage and loss of lives. One of the reasons the flooding is so unchecked there are the cloudbursts which no one can control. Except of course the big, rich global emitters. The other is rampant deforestation, stone cutting, soil erosion and unchecked building. Where have the forests of KP gone ? Upper Swat’s forests have been ruthlessly cut for profit, exploiting poverty and unemployment, with trees transported from areas like Bahrain, Khwazakhela, Matta, Malam Jabba, and Kalam to other parts of the country. This crisis has been magnified and exploited by the infamous "woodlot law" of the province , which allowed private forest owners to harvest trees, opening the doors to illegal logging in both private and state forests. By now 30–40% of the 🌳 trees in Swat are already gone, while the timber mafia aims to cut 70%, risking the valley’s green cover, its ecosystem and shield from heating and flooding . Is this the famous million tree tsunami which is now drowning the province? The rot is everywhere and it is now killing people. Climate change is a huge reality for Pakistan and cannot be taken seriously only when disaster hits. After the waters subside there really needs to be a 'Green Emergency' imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The civil society there is asking for it, but also stricter law enforcement, less tolerance for corruption and greater community involvement; There also needs to be a cross-border agreement with Afghanistan to stop timber smuggling from the entire province . @ForeignOfficePk The constant building on floodplains and thru green areas has to STOP. Only coordinated action can help areas like Swat and Chitral recover and protect their priceless natural resources. Pakistan needs much more than 5 % tree 🌳 cover to survive this precarious century. #timbermafia #deforestation