Pakistan short on funds in climate support, a cause for concern. PHOTO: FILE
Pakistan is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world and with 15 public sector climate development projects due to come to a halt, it is likely to face a major setback.
As these projects reach their completion date, a two-day workshop organised by One UN Joint Programme on Environment invited project managers of line departments from all provinces and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Tuesday to deliver detailed presentations of their work and its impact on communities across the country.
Participants shared their experiences and emphasised on the need to continue initiatives by focusing on developing capacity of local institutions and creating a sense of ownership which was essential for long-term sustainability.
The projects, worth $3.5 million and funded by the Dutch embassy, were approved by the Joint Programme Steering Committee on Environment in 2011 and will come to an end on December 25.
While the scale of some of the projects remains at lower levels, UNDP Program Analyst Usman Manzoor said that communities needed to continue working on these projects to assure sustainability.
The workshop at large helped policymakers understand how these projects provided an opportunity to work with the public sector and emphasized on the need to develop similar projects that can be helpful in further developing a long-term relationship with the public sector for managing the environment and climate change-related issues.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Climate Change Secretary Raja Hassan Abbas said, “Although political will was present at provincial level, funding of climate related projects remains a great challenge even today.” With a total of Rs58 million approved under the Public Sector Development Programme, the available funds for climate related issues are half of what was demanded, he added.
On donor assistance, he said that while the scope is vast Pakistan was lagging in attracting international donor attention. “We must maintain the momentum. The challenge is of sustainability of these projects,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 18th, 2013.
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Yeah doner fatigue is there but most important factor is International credibility of Pakistan,which we lost after Musharaf era,