ISLAMABAD: Following devastating floods that wreaked havoc on Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province earlier this year, the European Union this week launched a new €44 million program to address water scarcity and stimulate sustainable food production.
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest and poorest province, plagued by bad governance, corruption and a long-running insurgency. When catastrophic floods submerged vast swaths of Pakistan this summer, about 75 percent of Balochistan’s population was affected, the largest proportion of any province in the country.
The southwestern province is also the country’s most water scarce.
“Proud to launch €44 million Revival of Balochistan Water Resources Programme,” the EU mission in Islamabad said on Twitter.
“An imp initiative to address challenge of water management, key for food production in Balochistan. A forest partnership launched earlier to enhance biodiversity & combat climate change.”
“EU-Pakistan relations go back 60 years and we have a lot to do together. EU is often thought of as an economic block or development partner but in fact, we have a strategic engagement plan,” EU Ambassador to Pakistan, Riina Kionka, said in a speech at an event in Quetta organized by the Balochistan Rural Support Programme (BRSP), a not-for-profit organization.
She said that devastating floods in the Sindh and Balochistan province were a calamity not just for Pakistan but for the whole world:
“The EU was among the first respondents on [the] ground in emergency assistance. Floods, droughts, and other climate-related calamities do not happen by chance but are a direct consequence of irresponsible consumption of natural resources.”
Speaking about a plenary session of the COP27 climate summit that last week approved a deal covering funding arrangements for loss and damage from climate change suffered by vulnerable countries, Kionka said Pakistan has done an “excellent job” in climate change diplomacy.
“For the first time, the loss and damage funds exist for any country that experiences climate-related catastrophe. It’s something Pakistan should be proud of. Balochistan is a priority in our current financial framework we have ongoing & future projects of €108 million for Balochistan,” she added.
