Climate Change and Water-Related Challenges in Pakistan

This collection is a compilation of invited articles emanating from a series of conferences related to climate change, water and food security in Pakistan, one of the most affected countries by climate change and its consequences. The subtheme of water is also apt, as Pakistan not only faces the crisis of water insecurity in many parts of the country, but also has faced floods of biblical proportions over that last two decades. This book considers a range of topics related to water security, safety, the relationship to agriculture and human nutrition as well as gender dimensions of climate change in these contexts. The national and international mix of authors presents some of the leading academics engaged in the subject area in Pakistan and globally and covers not only the burden and epidemiology of the problem, but also feasible and affordable solutions in the medium to long term. We hope that the scholarship will serve as the basis for continued discourse and importantly, accelerated action.

Dr Jai K. Das is an Assistant Director at the Institute for Global Health and Development and Assistant Professor for the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the Aga Khan University, Karachi. He has been actively involved in research including community and clinical based trials, population-based surveys, qualitative, mixed methods research and evidence based systematic reviews. He has undertaken several climate related evidence syntheses. Professor Zulfiqar A. Bhutta PhD, MBBS, FRCPCH, FAAP, FRS, is the Robert Harding Inaugural Chair in Global Child Health and Policy at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, and the Co-Director of the SickKids Centre for Global Child Health. He is also the Distinguished University Professor and Founding Director of the Institute for Global Health and Development at the Aga Khan University, unique joint appointments. He heads large research groups in Canada and Pakistan working on sustainable development goals in maternal, child health and environment.