Pakistan renews resolve to combat land degradation, drought

June 17, 2026 (MLN): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has pledged renewed resolve to fight land degradation, desertification and drought, stressing that protecting and restoring Pakistan's natural resources demands urgent and coordinated action as climate pressures continue to mount.

Speaking on the occasion of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought  marked this year under the theme "Rangelands: Recognize. Respect. Restore" the prime minister said Pakistan stood firmly with the international community in advancing sustainable land management, APP reported.

Shehbaz Sharif highlighted the outsized importance of rangelands for the country's food security, biodiversity, water management, climate resilience and rural livelihoods, calling Pakistan's expansive rangelands a strategic natural endowment that anchors the livestock sector and supports ecological stability.

He cautioned that the country faced a serious and worsening threat from rising temperatures, extended dry spells, water shortages and accelerating land degradation, all of which jeopardised agricultural output and food security at the national level.

The government, he said, was pursuing a multi-pronged response spanning land restoration, rangeland conservation, large-scale afforestation, ecosystem revival, drought preparedness and grassroots community engagement.

The prime minister also drew attention to the Zarkhaiz Scheme, a federal initiative designed to modernise and reinvigorate the agricultural economy through interest-free credit to farmers and machinery subsidies, with the aim of boosting productivity while embedding sustainable land-use practices.

Calling on all tiers of government, research institutions, civil society, the private sector and local communities to deepen their cooperation, Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan's long-term climate resilience and the prosperity of future generations hinged on the collective stewardship of its lands, forests and rangelands.

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