Preparedness against disaster: Call for building environment for sustainable development

A project provides solutions to managing climate change, home improvement and other aspects.

ISLAMABAD:

International experts stressed on building environment to provide sustainable development for the inhabitants of the Hindu Kush region through planning and sharing of knowledge.

The region includes 130 villages of Pakistan and Tajiskistan.

They were addressing a conference on “Built Environment and Sustainable Development in the Hindu Kush” held here on Wednesday.

Titled “Capacity Building for Habitat Improvement in the Hindu Kush”, the project has provided the households with opportunities for access to safe water, sanitation, energy and efficient home improvement solutions and seismic resistant construction techniques.

Through panel discussions, the conference discussed the role of “built environment” as a precursor to development.

Dr Karim Ali Bhai, chief executive officer of the Aga Khan Foundation, explained that a built environment is a human-made surrounding that forms the setting of human activity.



He said it includes buildings and parks as well as supporting infrastructure such as water supply networks.

The project followed a participatory approach in which locals were engaged to come up with innovative ways for habitat improvement, said Muhammad Rahimuddin, manager knowledge management of Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan (AKPBS-P). He added that the project followed the framework of established AKPBS-P programmes such as Building and Control Improvement Programme and the Water and Sanitation Extension Programme.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Zafar Iqbal Qadir said that climate events are expected to get more drastic with time and it is crucial to gather disaster preparedness and mitigation knowledge which could be localised to meet the country’s specific needs.



He added the government has accelerated work in collaboration with international experts as well as the Aga Khan Foundation to build “a resilient Pakistan.”

According to the AKPBS-P, the project has helped reduce the use of firewood in the households by 50 per cent, retrofitted around 100 houses to make them withstand earthquakes, reduced the incidence of waterborne diseases by 60 per cent and allowed for a 100 per cent increase in handwashing among schoolchildren.

The project started in December 2009 and is expected to be completed by June 2013. It is funded by the European Union, the Austrian Development Cooperation and Hundreds of Original Projects for Employment, with the support of the Aga Khan Foundation.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 29^th, 2012.