Risk reduction: PDMA presses for cooperation to tackle climate change

Climate change has exposed the country to a series of risks which can only be averted through effective cooperation

PESHAWAR:

cbetween various stakeholders, said Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Relief Director Dr Azmatullah Wazir.

According to a press release, Wazir was speaking at an event organised to commemorate International Disasters Risk Reduction Day at University of Peshawar on Tuesday. A large number of students and representatives from Rescue 1122 and the civil defence were in attendance. “International Disasters Risk Reduction day was started in 1989 with the approval of UN General Assembly,” stated the press release. “It is viewed as a suitable way to promote a global culture of disaster reduction.”

Speaking on the occasion, Wazir said many Pakistanis are living in earthquake and disaster-prone areas.

Read: It’s in the air: Local climatic shift, a global trickle-down effect

“It is essential that we work together with federal and provincial governments, community leaders and humanitarian organisations to building strategies for risk reduction and its implementation,” the document quoted Wazir as saying. “The organisation has introduced a strategic unit for disaster risk management and developed early warning systems. It has also strengthened the provincial emergency operation centre to make the province resilient to natural disasters.“

Solutions and challenges

PDMA is playing a vital role to provide relief and rehabilitation to the affected population, stated the release.

Speaking on the occasion, Peshawar District Nazim Muhammad Asim Khan said, “Local governments will also initiate efforts to raise awareness about natural disasters and provide prompt relief to the affected communities.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 14^th, 2015.