ISLAMABAD, Dec 4: The two-day South Asian Environmental Assessment Conference, which commenced here on Wednesday, called for effective steps to combat the adverse effects of rapid climate change.

The conference was attended by a wide range of national and international experts in the field of environmental impact assessment (EIA), and was jointly organised by the Government of Pakistan and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), The theme of the conference was `Raising the Bar of Regional Cooperation` and pushed forward the concept of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) which built environmental evaluation into a nation`s policy and programmes.

Experts called for a shift from solely focusing on the EIA of individual projects to theidea of SEA.The concept is particularly applicable to Pakistan where issues of environment degradation and climate change are not a priority, they said.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony as chief guest, Adviser to the PM on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said the most important challenge was to strike a balance between rapid development and environmental integrity.

`We are party to many international treaties and conventions for the protection of environment. To implement these treaties and conventions, we have enacted appropriate legislations and established several institutions ranging from basic research to applied technologies,` Sartaj Aziz claimed.

Participants were told that environmental assessment (EIA) of projects integrated environmental considerations into the earliest stages of policy, plan and pmgramme development.Similarly, SEA helped ensure environmental considerations played an effective role in policy development.

It called for integrating principles of sustainable development into a country`s policies and programmes, the speakers said.

The Strategic Country Environmental Assessment Report of 2007 estimated that environmental degradation was costing Pakistan`s economy 6 per cent of the GDP (Rs365 billion per year), and this figure is likely to have increased since then.

This cost was recognised by the sustainable development approaches which ensured that interests of economy, society and environment were all taken into consideration.

IUCN Regional Director Asia Aban Marker Kabraji said, `SEA is evolving rapidly as the world responds to escalating challenges relating to use of natural resources and development planning. The conference represents an important initiative in helping the region stay ahead of the curve using the best techniques and science available.

He added that although the region was geographically divi-ded, its issues -especially environmental challenges of climate and pollution were shared.

`Despite the differences, it is clear that the region`s survival depends on a common approach,` he said.

The conference also included technical sessions and a poster competition in which students from different art schools depicted the concept of environmental degradation.

Secretary Climate Change Division Raja Hasan Abbas observed that Pakistan was witnessing a rise in climate-induced catastrophes.

`In the past 40 years, there have been 1,300 disasters in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) region in which a million people died and another 2.4 billion were affected. In 2011 alone, approximately 90 per cent of the $270 billion global economic loss due to such catastrophes occurred in South Asia,` he said.

He added that SEA was currently not a legal requirement in Pakistan but steps were underway as it was increasingly becoming a necessity in the wake of adverse effects of climatic change.