Illegal Glacier Harvesting Threatens Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Biological system In the midst of Climate Emergency

Pakistan is a delightful country, especially known for the regular miracles in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that look like a heaven on the planet.

Aside from the polar locales like Antarctica, Pakistan has the largest number of ice sheets on the planet, with around 7,000 icy masses, out of which 3,000 are in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan likewise flaunts three significant mountain goes: the Karakoram, the Himalayas, and the Hindu Kush.

As per the Bureaucratic Service of Climate Change and the International Place for Coordinated Mountain Improvement (ICIMOD), a provincial intergovernmental association serving eight part countries in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya district, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan, the glacial masses in the Hindu Kush and Himalayas could contract by up to 80% before this century’s over because of climbing temperatures.

Northern areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, like Chitral, Upper Dir, Shangla, Kaghan, and Naran, are home to icy masses. Be that as it may, unlawful reaping and selling of ice sheet ice represent a huge danger to the environment and climate of the territory, disregarding the environmental security laws of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Gulbadin, a 46-year-old occupant of Darosh in Chitral, shared his experience: “I bring ice from Lowari Top promptly in the first part of the day and offer it to businesspeople in regions like Dir, Timergara, and Chitral. It’s difficult; we need to cut it with tomahawks and transport it in vehicles. This ice is not the same as standard ice and is less expensive. We clean it prior to selling. The benefit isn’t a lot, yet we need to effectively get by in these difficult stretches.”

Like northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the ancestral locale of Kurram additionally has glacial masses. Climate change master and neighborhood columnist Adnan Haider made sense of that snowfall in Kurram used to begin in November, yet as of late, it has been beginning in December and some of the time going on until April.

Adnan Haider featured the significance of icy mass water for farming in the district: “As the late spring begins, local people go to the mountains, gather ice on jackasses, donkeys, and vehicles, and sell it in various areas of Parachinar. The water from these ice sheets streams down as springs and streams, inundating rural lands. This water is fundamental for developing products of the soil that are useful for wellbeing. For example, beetroot from Kurram, well known across Pakistan, is a result of this ice sheet water.”

Examining the unlawful reaping of ice sheet ice, lawful master and climate change advocate Tariq Afghan expressed, “At first, we didn’t consider this issue critical, however as mindfulness about environmental security expanded and the whole area turned out to be more impacted by climate change, we started going to earnest lengths to resolve this issue.”

Endeavors to resolve this urgent issue certainly stand out, like the Paris Arrangement. In Pakistan, the Environmental Security Act was ordered in 1997, and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it was laid out in 2014.

Tariq Afghan has presented an objection to the Director-General of the Environmental Insurance Organization (EPA), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, yet has not gotten a reaction after over a month. He referenced composing an article for First light paper, which got significant acknowledgment: “I will before long record a writ request in the Peshawar High Court in regards to this issue on the grounds that the public authority’s absence of consideration is unfortunate.”

Afghan noticed that Pakistan is confronting an environmental emergency. The public authority has laid out arrangements and regulations, yet their execution is deficient. Pakistan is neglecting to accomplish the Supportable Improvement Objective (SDG) 13 on climate activity. The shortfall of clear regulations for safeguarding occasional snowfall and icy masses is disturbing.

Then again, Representative Director of the EPA Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Afsar Khan, stressed the meaning of icy masses for the environment, filling in as feeders for streams and waterways: “In any case, I need to explain that there is a contrast among glacial masses and snow. At the point when snowfall gathers north of a year, it changes into ice sheets. These icy masses are hard and contain shakes and sand particles framed north of thousands of years. Occasional snow goes on for about a year and melts away.”

Concerning unlawful reaping of icy masses, Afsar Khan expressed that Segment 6 of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Environmental Security Act 2014 addresses the issue: “Assuming that huge amounts of ice sheets are wrongfully gathered, move can be initiated as it influences biodiversity and adds to climate change.”

The United Nations Intergovernmental Board on Climate Change (IPCC) has cautioned that most urban communities and settlements overall are unprepared for outrageous weather patterns. To safeguard human lives and forestall monetary misfortunes, economical development rehearses should be advanced.

As Pakistan wrestles with the climate emergency, implementing existing environmental regulations and advancing feasible practices is fundamental for protect its regular fortunes and guarantee a strong future for its kin.