Climate Change In Pakistan Case Study

A pressing issue in Pakistan is the country’s vulnerability to climate change. In 2011 the Global Climate Change Vulnerability Index ranked Pakistan as the 16th most vulnerable country after enduring many severe floods, droughts and storms. In a country that relies heavily on the agriculture sector, taking up 45% of employment, the effect of climate change on farming is a serious matter that creates a possible threat to everyday lifestyle. While this issue has created discussion within the scientific community, there is still little research done regarding Pakistan’s ability to identify and adapt to climate related risks. Muhammad Abid, Janpeter Schilling, Jürgen Scheffran and Farhad Zulfiqar decided to take initiative and create a field-based …show more content…
The sensitivity analysis for the second objective focused on the status of resources at farm level and concluded that climate-related risks have caused a considerable decline in the production of major crops such as wheat, maize, rice, sugarcane and cotton, as well as a scarcity of water in Pakistan. The findings from the third objective advanced the scientific community’s understanding of the adaptive measures adopted by the farmers. Currently the farmers employ four main tactics to cope with severe climate change: change cropping practices, change farm management practices, change land use management measures, or change their livelihood by discontinuing the farming process. The conclusion to objective four states that the farmer’s capacity to adapt is very limited due to the various daily obstacles faced including lack of resources, information, financial capacity and lack of support from the government. Lack of surface water for crop production remains the most serious limitation to adaptive capacity, followed by inability to access farm credit services and improved