press statement / for immediate release
In a time of deepening ecological emergencies and political fragmentation, the Southasia Peace Action Network (Sapan) hosted a landmark virtual discussion titled “A shared horizon: Climate and peace in Southasia.”
The event featured Lahore-based environmental lawyer and policy expert Rafay Alam in a conversation initiated and organised by young climate-conscious leaders across Southasia, aged between 17-19 years. The discussion was moderated by Delhi-based law student and activist Amber Rastogi, and hosted by high school student Sher Abbas in Islamabad.
From war-fueled climate destruction to melting glaciers and extractive development models, the conversation delivered an urgent call for empathy, equity, and cross-border cooperation, rooted in a shared ecological destiny.
Personal histories, political realities
Alam began with a poignant personal story — his family’s migration from Delhi to Lahore during Partition. Decades later, he discovered that a close Indian friend’s family had moved into his ancestral home in Delhi.
“We now live in each other’s homes,” he reflected. “That’s the reality of Southasia.”
This anecdote set the tone for a conversation that wove together colonial histories, climate crises, and shared futures.
“I don’t just identify as Pakistani — I identify as Southasian,” Alam said, underlining the importance of collective identity in addressing shared threats.
Linking the present climate catastrophe to colonial plunder and modern capitalism, Alam underscored how extractive systems — from the Dutch in Indonesia to British trade monopolies — continue to shape today’s global inequities.
Quoting Amitav Ghosh and Thomas Piketty, he argued: “We’re not just facing emissions — we’re facing a system designed to extract, exclude, and exploit.” He emphasised that climate change is not a “natural” crisis, but a product of historical injustice and structural violence.
Recent high school graduate Noor-e-Emaan in Lahore posed a powerful question about whether conflict itself breeds climate injustices. Mr. Alam responded by underscoring the environmental impact of war.
“There is nothing good about armed conflict — morally or environmentally,” he said, citing the U.S. military as the world’s largest institutional greenhouse gas emitter. He described the 2022 Pakistan floods as “a man-made disaster,” fueled by global warming and historical emissions.
If international law cannot protect people in Gaza, he warned, it may also fail to deliver climate justice. “We can’t have selective legality — either it works for all, or it works for none.”
Feminist activist Khawar Mumtaz, a Sapan founder member, echoed this, noting that environmental protections collapse during conflict: “All those laws go out the window.”
Participants, including incoming college student Kabir Rao and high schooler Tiya Mhatre, and PhD student Vishal Sharma, raised critical questions on colonial appropriation, carbon footprints, water sovereignty, militarism, and the role of international law. Moderator Amber Rastogi asked how young lawyers can contribute when the legal system fails.
Alam’s advice: “Build networks. Foster empathy. Fight for structural change. Individual choices matter, but collective movements change history.”
“Water flows don’t respect borders. Glaciers don’t care for nationalism. If we don’t cooperate, we’ll either drown together – or thirst in our silos.” – Rafay Alam
In a deep dive into the Indus Waters Treaty, Alam explained how this Cold War-era agreement fails to address today’s water challenges, particularly groundwater, glacial melt, and ecological resilience.
Rather than chasing mega-dam dreams like Diamer-Bhasha, which displace over 50,000 people and sit in seismic zones, he urged governments to invest in low-cost, community-based solutions like aquifer recharge and rainwater harvesting.
“Why borrow billions to destroy our ecosystems—and then pay interest on that destruction?” he asked.
Activist Khushi Kabir in Dhaka, also a Sapan founder member, reminded the audience of Bangladesh’s 54 shared rivers with India, calling for regional water ethics over nationalistic control.
“This is not just about India and Pakistan. This is about the entire region — Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and the Himalayas.”
She cautioned against branding all displacement as ‘climate refugee’ crises. “Often, it’s not the climate — it’s the bulldozers of profit. Let’s stop blaming only the North. We need to hold our own governments accountable too.”
“Let’s not hide our internal failures behind the Global North. Justice starts at home — and empathy begins with the people next door” – Khushi Kabir
Vishal Sharma, who hails from India’s hilly north-western state of Himachal Pradesh, raised vital concerns about the exclusion of mountain communities from national water and climate policies. Alam echoed this, emphasising that communities in Gilgit-Baltistan, Ladakh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are most affected, yet least consulted.
What Needs to Change?
- The Indus Waters Treaty must evolve beyond flow allocations to address groundwater, climate threats, and local livelihoods.
- Regional governments must abandon the 1950s obsession with dams, shifting to decentralised, regenerative solutions.
- Agriculture consumes 90% of Southasian water, often to grow export crops like sugar, cotton, and rice – perpetuating inequality.
- Youth must lead a climate movement grounded in justice, not charity.
- Institutions like IWMI and ICIMOD must be empowered to coordinate regional responses to climate change.
About Sapan
The Southasia Peace Action Network (Sapan) is a coalition of peacebuilders, academics, journalists, and youth leaders across the region. It advocates for regional cooperation, demilitarisation, ecological justice, and cross-border solidarity. Sapan’s forums foster honest, intersectional, and intergenerational dialogue, platforming voices often left out of mainstream policy spaces.
Learn more: www.southasiapeace.com
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“Why do we write Southasia as one word? Because our histories entangle, our struggles intersect, and our futures are bound together.”