The Ministry of Climate Change is scheduled to meet on March 29 to review development projects for next fiscal year as part of adaption and mitigation measures to boost the country’s overall climate resilience.
The Departmental Development Working Party (DDWP) will review seven projects to be proposed for funding.
The projects to be reviewed by the DDWP include strengthening capacity for effective implementation worth Rs19.52 million and development of taxonomic profile of mammals in support of international agreements costing Rs59.9 million. Each of the projects would run for three years.
The meeting will also consider establishment of climate change reporting unit in the ministry with a cost of Rs41.38 million to be completed in four years, multi-hazard vulnerability and risk assessment and deployment of national disaster risk information system costing Rs59.58 million, and protection and mainstreaming of vulnerable women, children, elderly and disable in disaster management project worth Rs58.04 million.
The national disaster spatial data infrastructure project costing Rs59.86 million to be completed in one year and implementation of human resource development plan on disaster management for capacity building of government and other stakeholders worth Rs34.07 million to be completed in five years will also be considered for proposal ahead of the coming fiscal budget.
The meeting will discuss goals and objectives of the projects and various aspects related to their implementation, sources informed.
In the past, DDWP also proposed projects in similar meetings which could not be materialised due to shortage of funds and weak nature of projects, as the Central Development Working Party only considered projects prepared in sound technical manner.
In the wake of increasing climate induced incidents, the climate ministry has come under strong criticism by parliamentarians for not having a national level awareness and advocacy programme.
Experts are of the view that climate ministry should prepare more projects for adaptation and mitigation and Planning Commission must seriously consider these projects and arrange funds from its Public Sector Development Programme.
At present, only one project on persistent organic pollutants is operating with World Bank funding.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 24th, 2016.
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