ISLAMABAD: Recognising the growing role of nature-based solutions (NbS) in addressing climate change, biodiversity loss and disaster risks, WWF-Pakistan, in collaboration with Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS), brought together senior government leaders, policymakers, development partners, academia, civil society organisations, and the private sector to identify practical pathways for scaling up NbS across Pakistan during a two-day national seminar held in Islamabad.

The seminar provided a national platform to strengthen partnerships and accelerate the integration of NbS into climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction and sustainable development efforts.

Additional Secretary, Ministry of Climate Change, Amir Mohyuddin, highlighted the changing flood dynamics in Pakistan, with monsoon patterns shifting westwards and floods increasingly occurring as Glofs and urban flooding.

He outlined the ministry’s efforts to address these challenges, appreciated the contributions of WWF-Pakistan and PRCS in promoting innovative nature-based solutions (NbS), and emphasised that healthy forests, rangelands, wetlands, and protected areas were vital for biodiversity conservation and climate resilience.

Speaking on the occasion, Director General, WWF-Pakistan, Hammad Naqi Khan, said that WWF-Pakistan has been developing and scaling nature-based solutions, including floating treatment wetlands, gabion bunds, check dams, and recharge wells, to improve water security, reduce flood risks, restore ecosystems and strengthen climate resilience.

Through the Water Resource Accountability in Pakistan (WRAP) project, WWF-Pakistan has implemented over 320 nature-based solutions interventions across 16 districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab over the past five years, benefiting more than 500,000 people.

Building on these successful approaches, WWF-Pakistan is now preparing to implement Recharge Pakistan across the Indus Basin, which will directly benefit over 680,000 people and strengthen the climate resilience of more than seven million people.

Highlighting the growing importance of partnerships between humanitarian and environmental organisations, Chairperson, PRC, Ms Farzhana Naek, underscored that scaling up NbS will require stronger institutional coordination, supportive policy frameworks, sustainable financing and meaningful engagement of local communities.

Meanwhile, Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal chaired a meeting to review the progress of the Prime Minister’s Hepatitis C Elimination Programme.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that the primary objective of initiating the pilot phase in Islamabad was to identify operational challenges within the system before expanding the programme nationwide.

He directed the concerned authorities to resolve all identified issues and ensure that the system was fully streamlined within the next 15 days.

He emphasised that the timely identification and treatment of Hepatitis C patients was essential to preventing further transmission of the disease. He noted that more than 10 million people in Pakistan were estimated to be living with Hepatitis C, making its elimination a national cause of utmost importance.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2026