With 24 Hours of Reality rapidly approaching, it’s time you got to know the people who will give the presentations on September 14-15. These Presenters are regular men and women who live with the impacts of climate change every day and are ready to share their stories with the world. Today’s featured Presenter is Asif Iqbal, who will be leading the event in Pakistan.
Growing up in Pakistan, Asif Iqbal was a witness to the deterioration of his homeland due to environmental degradation and a warming climate. He grew up in a remote, mountainous part of the country, and now returns to villages in that region to educate people about climate change. His region, once lush and mountainous, is being rapidly stripped of trees and is facing increases in temperature, flash floods and landslides. Asif is a development professional in Pakistan who works to design advocacy and development projects at a national level. After being trained by Al Gore in July 2009, he started organizing communities and volunteers in Pakistan to work with youth groups and civil society.
Asif recently sat down to answer a few questions for us.
What’s your favorite place in nature to visit?
Well it will be kind of formal that I say I like my whole country to visit, but I really like the northern parts of Pakistan. Lush green areas on heights, beautiful snowbound mountains, forests, streams, rivers … It really is like a true heaven. I am lucky that I live here.
What is your favorite activity to do outside?
I love photography of nature. I keep collection of my best photographs and feel a different kind of satisfaction when I capture our green mountains, rivers, clouds and heights.
What sort of extreme weather have you seen in your hometown?
Despite all natural beauties of my hometown, unfortunately we are prone to disasters like flash floods, landslides and earthquakes. We experienced flooding back in 1992 and a disastrous earthquake in 2005. The massive flooding last year didn’t affect my hometown much but [much of the country was] underwater.
You take time out of your busy life to give these presentations. What is your motivation?
Whenever I think the natural beauty of my homeland is at risk, I feel concern. Since my childhood, I have observed changes in my own area: warming temperature, changing rain patterns, and drying up water sources. Now realizing the reality of climate change, I feel it [is] my moral responsibility to do whatever I can, even a little thing, to protect the beauty of my homeland, to educate people, to reach influencers and to motivate others for action.
What is your favorite book?
I love The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
Zabardast Khan Bangash
August 26th
Brave effort, keep it up Asif
Donald E. Flood
August 26th
Sir,
I am opposed to ANY climate change legislation and/or mitigation efforts even if it could be demonstrated with 100% certainty that global warming will result in the inevitable destruction of all life on Earth, and with it, the death of every single human being in the World. Western capitalism is a dismal and abject failure, and until humanity is ready to address *that* issue and the necessary social justice that is due to ALL human beings, your cause is without any moral foundation.
Sincerely,
Don Flood
Owais Afridi
August 26th
Asif Iqbal,
Reading your above account, views and thoughts; it appeared as if I was witnessing reflection of my views and thoughts. Even our hobbies match!
I too am witness to the quickly changing environment; the reduction in snow falls and devastation of our forests. We used to wear duffel coats and get chilblains every winter when children; my children have no idea what duffel coats and chilblains are.
In my humble capacity, I have had planted several thousand trees of which a few thousand have survived two summers and winters. In addition I have showered hundreds of thousand seeds of assorted verities over the mountains that were lush once but are almost barren now in consultation with the forest department. Even if 0.1% of these survive, I think I’ll have served the mother earth in my humble capacity.
I am impressed with your dedicated effort and do hope there will be many more not just in Pakistan but world over to be as dedicated as you. The world thereby would soon overcome the problems of global warming and the pollution.
Bravo Asif Iqbal
Qamar Iqbal
August 27th
Dear Asif,
Keep it Up! and may Almighty Allah bless you for the noble cause.
nilawati sofyan
August 29th
Is the place where you’ve been taken a photo part of your hometown?it’s quite tranquilizing.thanks
Melanie Marshall
August 30th
Asif,
Thank you for your insightful words.
We look forward to watching you Present from Australia!
Best wishes,
-Mel
Drew Andersen
September 1st
May your work be blessed, dear Asif, I pray your efforts succeed! The Pakistanis I have met are such lovely people!
Aizaz Manzar
September 1st
Asif- Thanks for doing the hard work on a critical issue in pakistan. How can we help fund your work on this critical issue. Its something near and dear to my heart
Patricia Chen
September 1st
Thank you for sharing about the natural beauty of your country. Congratulations and best of luck in your role as a climate presenter. I look forward to tuning in on September 14th in Long Beach, California.
Ilyas Absar
September 1st
Very nice Asif! Your work is spreading. I read about a green film from Pakistan. Sending you link. Najam (U.K.)
http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/07/spotlight-missing-the-forest-for-the-trees.html
Soha Tanwir Khan
September 2nd
Asif, what you’re doing is amazing! Thank you for speaking up for, and to, Pakistan!
Warm regards,
Fellow Pakistani
JIM STOLZ
September 2nd
Nice work Asif , the majority of the people agree with us ,keep it up .We will win we have to.
Gina Rocca
September 2nd
Dear Mr. Iqbal, Thank you for all your effort to bring awareness of the climate crisis. I too love to photograph the beauty of my country and have observed numerous changes in my 71 years of life in the western USA. We too are losing water sources and seeing the death of forests. Keep up the good work, you are not alone in your determination to help. Also Mr. Afridi.
Best regards,
Gina Rocca
Mrs Safia Gandapur
September 4th
Asif Iqbal
I appreciate your efforts to divert the attention towards climate problems. The problem which is so serious and alarming today is the the outcome of what we were doing to the earth over decades and centuries.
I strongly agree with Mr. Donald E. Flood who calls the Western capitalism as dismal. Being an economist I think it is much more. When two third of the world population gets less than one third of world income, where majority of the LDCs suffers acute poverty in the midst of plenty where rich get richer and the poor get kids. The people who are ill clad, ill nourished, ill housed, illiterate they have no concern about deforestation, urban slums, clean drinking water and neat and clean global environment.
It is exactly the time of changing the gear of the system, the doom of capitalism is now inevitable. We must strive for social justice, redistribution of world income, reduction of miseries of masses. By bringing a balance in the economic order we can cure the problem at its root cause level.
thank you
Safia Gandapur
Maqbool Ahmad
September 6th
Thank you Mr Asif, for representing us in war against pollution. The changes are so clear that no evidence is required. The temperature has already touched the figure of 54C, the monsoon has extended to September and beyond, the winter in this country is reduced to only 2 to 3 months, the rain falling from the clouds is no more cold, and the nights are not getting cold. There are so many changes visible that there is no need to prove any more. The most unfortunate part is that the biggest contributors are not taking any step to reduce the effects rather increasing further. I do not know I am right or wrong but I am not optimistic. When the point of no returns reaches which is not far away there will be nothing to save the poor planet earth. Now the floods are destroying what ever comes in the way. But imagine what will happen when the droughts come. Please continue your efforts.
denise claeke
September 11th
Thank god for people like you, those who really care enough to follow the path to ultimate altruism and are unselfish enough to devote their time for the sake of us all. Best Wishes Denise Clarke
Farrukh Iqbal
September 11th
Extraordinary, wonderful,Remarkable work Dear Asif Iqbal
Malik Assad
September 12th
Dear Asif Iqbal,
Congragulations from my side for grabbing attention of sons of mother earth for this holy cause.I am a witness of climate change in my beautiful town Mansehrs. Some years back it was a lush green town with fields and forest every where but alas we lost a lot of them. springs are bry and water lever under surface gone very deep.streams are polluted and mountains are bare now.I love to work for this noble cause. May Allah bless you that you lid a candle in many hearts to protect mother earth.
Regards,
Malik Assad,
Mansehra.
Amna Kausar
September 13th
Good Luck with the presentation! Hope you open some eyes tomorrow!
Syed Muhammad Taha
September 13th
Asif
Looking forward to watch your presentation.Am doing MS in Environmental Monitoring and Management at University of Nottingham and have a strong conviction to save my Mother Earth…U are not alone , am with you with all my abilities and energy.
Best of Luck
Syed Taha
Asad Khan
September 13th
About two hundred people have died in on going rains in the southern province of Sindh.Many are homeless.The last deluge was worst of its kind.This lends urgency to climate reality.My best wishes are with you Asif Iqbal.