he multilateral Indus Water Treaty of T1960 enabled India and Pakistan to share awareness of crucial water issues on both their rivers. Now, a series of Indian dams sides of the border. being built upstream in Kashmir and increased water scarcity in the region is

The 3 day workshop was jointly supported threatening the treaty. The challenge is to

by Ukaid from the Department for maintain and /or improve the treaty and

International Development (DFID), One UN – prudently manage the water resources

Joint Programme on Environment (JPE), within and across the boundaries.

Ministry of Environment and the Commonwealth Foundation UK.

Today, both countries are plagued by water scarcity — strained by demand from growing

Seven journalists from India and twenty-populations and increased competition for

three from Pakistan with interest and the Indus's dwindling resources.

experience in environmental reporting were invited.

The Indus's flow is uniquely dependent on the seasonal runoff from rapidly shrinking

The 3 day workshop included Himalayan glaciers. Climate change is not

talks/discussions, presentations, group just melting glaciers, but changing

work, case studies and a field visit to snowmelt and precipitation patterns. There

Patriata, Murree where the UNDP's GEF are fears that the flows of the Indus could

Small Grants Programme has a project on be severely affected by climate change and

climate change mitigation. reduced by perhaps as much as 50 percent.

The resource persons and faculty for the It is critical that journalists from both sides

workshop included scientists, NGO experts, report objectively and dispassionately on

policy makers, senior journalists and this issue. In addition, while media in the

academics. countries like India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives is already aware of

The workshop was inaugurated by the climate change and its impacts, Pakistan is Federal Minster for Environment, Hameed lagging behind in its coverage of climate Ullah Jan Afridi who stressed the 'need to change issues as It is too focused on forge cooperation and consensus between extremism/terrorism.the two countries' and said 'journalists have a major role to play in that.'

This realization prompted LEAD Pakistan to organize a workshop for journalists from

The journalists from the workshop learnt across the border.about climate change science & negotiations and what could be done at the local and

regional level to conserve water and use it

The workshop, organized by LEAD Pakistan, more efficiently.brought together Indian and Pakistani journalists for greater understanding and

The Proceedings

LEAD UPDATEInspiring leadership for a sustainable world

www.lead.org.pk LEAD House, F7 Markaz, Islamabad, Pakistan. Tel: +92 (51) 2651511, Fax: +92 (51) 2651512, Email: main@lead.org.pk

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Sharing our Resources: A Vision for Addressing Cross Border Water Scarcity Caused byClimate ChangeRegional Workshop for JournalistsMarch 28-30, 2010

The workshop participantson a field visit to Patriata,Murree

The Federal Minster forEnvironment talking tomedia

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Content by:Rina Saeed khan and Isma Sana Edited by: Tariq Masood Malik

Impact of the workshop

Case study

The 3 day workshop provided a historical opportunity for the environmental journalists from Pakistan to interact with their Indian counterparts and a forum to discuss water issues in an objective and dispassionate manner.

A participant Afia Salam, a freelance writer based in Karachi while commenting on utility of the workshop said, “I learnt that there is such a lack of real information cutting of hundreds of trees during looking after their orchards. about the issue that we need to the construction of the new learn the truth and then Islamabad- Murree Expressway. Rain water harvesting was another communicate it. In that, the The journalists were taken around interesting phenomenon observed workshop was really helpful”. various villages in Patriata where in these villages. By installing

fruit trees have been planted. This tanks that collect either the spring area was once known for its fine Indian journalist Pallava Bagla who or the rooftop rain water, the fruit, particularly apples, but as writes for a science magazine, felt villagers meet the water people turned towards tourism it was a “great learning exercise requirements of the household and small businesses they stopped on trans-boundary water”. Some and livestock in the dry season.

of the Indian journalists were surprised to learn just how important the issue is for people in Pakistan. In Pakistan, the lack of water in the Indus is headline news, while in India it is not an issue. “In India, in fact many people don't even know about it” said one Indian journalist. The workshop allowed the participating Indian journalists to see why this is such a crucial concern for Pakistan, being a lower riparian.

The workshop enabled the participants to know the regional and international perspectives on climate change. They also learnt various tips for accurate climate change reporting from seasoned editors. The training also helped form a journalist media network on climate change which, beside the regional water issues, could discuss a joint strategy for the upcoming COP 16 in Mexico.

On the last day of the workshop the journalists were taken to visit Patriata, Murree where the UNDP's Global Environment Facility's Small Grants Programme has funded a local NGO – Sukhi- for planting 65,000 forest plants and fruit trees.

This area has been affected by the

Resource Persons æAlex Kirby, Former BBC

Correspondent, UKæ Joydeep Gupta, Associate Editor

Indo Asian News Service, IndiaæRina Saeed Khan, JournalistæDanish Mustafa, Professor, King's

College, LondonæAmber Masud, UNDPæMr. Danial Hashmi, Water and

Power Authority æDr. Ghazanfar Ali, Global Change

Impact Studies CentreæProf Dr. Mohammad Nizamuddin,

Vice Chancellor, University of Gujrat

æRichard Garstang National Program Manager Pakistan Wetlands Program

æManawar Saeed Bhatti, Add. Secretary UN & EC, Foreign Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad

æJawed Ali Khan, Director General, Ministry of Environment

æHuma Mustafa Beg, Executive Director, Serendip Productions

æAli Tauqeer Sheikh, CEO, LEAD Pakistan

æIsma Sana, Coordinator, Trainings, LEAD Pakistan

æImtiaz Ali Shah, YPO, Trainings, LEAD Pakistan

æSyed Shafqat Kakakhel, Senior Advisor on Climate Change, SDPI, IslamabadDr. Pervaiz Ameer, Senior Economist, Asianics, Islamabad

æArshad H Abbasi, Consultant, UNDP and Ministry of Water and Power

æShafqat Munir ,Secretary General, Asia Media Forum

Layout by: Sidra Amin

Participants from Pakistan æSaleem Shaikh, Dawn æAfia Salam, IUCNæZofeen T Ebrahim, JournalistæSyed Jamshed Bukhari , Daily

Jang æShumaila Jaffrey, Dunya TV æNaveed Akram Abbasi, Nawa-

e-WaqtæNazakat Ali, Geo TVæIrfan Ahmed Baig, Daily Jang æMohsin Babbar, KTN æFaisal Raza Khan, Dawn news æAmir Jadoon, PTVæHuma Khawar, FreelanceræMuhammad Aftab Zahoor,

journalistæHamza Qaiser, Aaj TV æSohail Khan, Daily AusafæJawad Butt, Dunya TV æShabina Faraz, Daily Jang æM. Naeem Qureshi, JournalistæInayat Sakhawat, Journalist æHuma Mustafa Beg, Serendip

ProductionsæAsad Malik, Samaa TV æKahar Zalmay, British High

CommissionæAhmad Rafay Alam, LUMS

æAmitabh Sinha, JournalistæAthar Parvaiz Bhatt JournalistæKeya Acharya, JournalistæManipadma Jena, JournalistæPallava Bagla, Photo-Journalist æBharati Chaturvedi, Chintan

Environmental Research and Action Group

Participants from India

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