Give mountain communities funds to adapt

Neglect by urban centres, govt increases the vulnerability of these communities


​ Our Correspondent December 14, 2019
Representational image. PHOTO: REUTERS

ISLAMABAD: With climate change having a profound impact, the government and international development partners on Friday was urged by speakers at a multidisciplinary conference to allocate sufficient funds for mountain areas of Pakistan to ensure they adapt to the rapid environmental changes.

This was stated during a conference on “Youth Matters for Mountains” organised by the Development Communications Network-Pakistan (Devcom-Pakistan) at the Comsats University Islamabad campus to mark the International Mountains Day (IMD) on Friday. It was held in collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), WaterAid, Centre for Climate Research and Development (CCRD) and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF).

Federal Floods Commission (FFC) Chairman Ahmad Kamal said that they are currently implementing the National Flood Protection Plan-IV with the active participation of sub-national authorities with an innovative and integrated approach to incorporate structural and non-structural measures for reducing floods, reducing susceptibility to flood damage and mitigating flood impact. This is being done while keeping in view constraints, gaps and lapses in the previous flood protection plans, technical shortcomings and lessons learnt from past floods.

However, Kamal conceded that there is a need to stop the reoccurrence of floods in the highlands due to accelerated glacier-melting and rainstorms as a consequence of a changing climate.

For this purpose, he said that it was important to engage the local youth in community-based disaster risk reduction to reduce vulnerabilities of local communities.

In a session on ‘right to water and sanitation’, WaterAid’s Head of Policy and Advocacy Nadeem Ahmad said that extreme efforts and significant funds are required to ensure that every citizen has the right to have water, sanitation and hygiene.

This right, he emphasized is critical and its neglect sees Pakistan sit seventh on the global vulnerability index for access to WASH needs.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14th, 2019.

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