Staff Reporter
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam Thursday said the earth’s natural resources, biodiversity and ecosystems, which collectively make up our planet’s core natural capital, is now at risk of fast depletion because of over-exploitation of the resources.
“However, sustainable use of the natural capital, which actually provides the foundation for sustainability of the life on earth and overall socioeconomic development of current and future generations, is vital to its sustainability for generating ecosystem services for the lasting human well-being,” he said while addressing a high-level meeting regarding signing of ‘Letter of Support on Natural Capital Accounting (NCA)’ between the British High Commission Islamabad, UK Statistics Authority and the Ministry of Climate Change held here.
The Prime Minister Imran Khan’s aide Malik Amin Aslam and the British High Commissioner in Pakistan Dr Christian Turner also witnessed the signing ceremony.
Both sides pledged to work together to introduce the concept of the natural capital accounting system and its implementation for conservation and protection of natural resources, biodiversity and ecosystems.
Malik said that provisioning services are outputs of ecosystem services which include food, fuel and water.
Besides, cultural and aesthetic services are the recreation, tourism and spiritual benefits humans derive from natural spaces.
Finally, supporting services enable the functioning of all ecosystem services and include habitat and genetic diversity.
Thus, regulating services through their accounting and efficient use helps make the planet livable for humans and include carbon sequestration of forests and the moderation of extreme events such as the role of mangroves in flood and storm surge mitigation, he added.
