Pakistani and Indian journalists make links at climate workshop

By: Alex Kirby on May 7th, 2010

About 30 journalists from Pakistan and India met at a workshop in Islamabad at the end of March to discuss common (transboundary) water problems affected by climate change. The fact that the Indian participants’ involvement was agreed only at the very last moment is a small example of the persistent tensions between the two countries (described by one journalist at the workshop as “a competition in cussedness”). But another fact, that the workshop was held at all, is a tribute to the doggedness of the two journalists whose achievement it was, Rina Saeed Khan of Pakistan and Joydeep Gupta of India, both of them CCMP alumni.

Because of visa delays, only seven journalists from India who are climate change specialists managed to make it to Pakistan. The remaining 23 journalists who have an interest in and experience of environmental reporting came from all over Pakistan. There was a mix of print and electronic journalists from big media houses, and members of the Urdu language press were also invited.

It was a remarkable and very impressive achievement. One participant said the best part for her was meeting journalists from across the frontier. One of Rina’s coups was to enlist the Federal Minister of the Environment of Pakistan, Mr Hameed Ullah Jan Afridi, to inaugurate the workshop. His speech included this passage:

“ …some prophets of doom may foresee a future filled with conflicts as every country seeks to satisfy its water needs from increasingly limited water resources, but history bears witness to the fact that cooperation, not conflict, is the most logical response to trans-boundary water management issues. The need of the hour is to think in global terms; whether upstream or downstream, we are all in the same boat. I am hopeful that this all-important consultative workshop on “Sharing our Resources: A Vision for Addressing Cross-Border Water Scarcity Caused by Climate Change” will help boost our efforts to think and act together.”

That sounds like a Ministerial statement that can be used in a variety of contexts to suggest that dialogue and co-operation are rational choices even after 60 years of mistrust. And perhaps it may seem persuasive to potential donors of future workshops.

Many of the journalists were keen to know more about what CCMP has done so far, and to know whether they might either be able to be part of it or else to attract funding from somewhere to allow them to attend future COPs as a group. CCMP deserves credit for showing what reporting by those most involved can achieve, and Rina and Joydeep’s vision and leap of faith produced a very worthwhile result (there is already an Islamabad Google group similar to CCMP’s).

Supporters of the Workshop included LEAD Pakistan, DfID, the Commonwealth Foundation, UN Pakistan and the Pakistani Environment Ministry.