Global warming: Experts discuss measures to make capital climate-resilient
ISLAMABAD:
The move to make the federal capital a climate-resilient city has started with an initiative to assess its vulnerability to climate change and determine adaptation measures.
The Climate Change Division (CCD) and UN-Habitat convened a consultative meeting of stakeholders at the division’s office on Thursday to discuss the “Climate Change Vulnerability Adaptation Assessment in Islamabad Capital Territory.” At the meeting, Irfan Tariq, a director general at CCD, said after assessing risks and identifying gaps in institutional capacity, an action plan would be hammered out to address climate vulnerability. The plan would help improve the ability of city authorities t0 cope with changing weather patterns.
CCD officials said the initiative has been planned in line with the National Climate Change Policy.
There is an “urgent need” to make Pakistani cities climate-resilient and green as these cities are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the negative impact of climate change, said CCD Additional Secretary In-charge Raja Hasan Abbas.
“Taking policy initiatives to reduce climate vulnerability of cities and strengthening their resilience is inevitable,” he said. “This is particularly important in view of the fact that urban centres and their ailing infrastructure are at risk due to extreme weather events.”
Capital Development Authority (CDA) Member Environment Ahsan Ali Mangi said a surge in Islamabad’s population has exerted pressure on the city’s infrastructure and the weather has not been too kind, either. “The capital has been witnessing abnormally heavy rains in recent years, particularly during the summer monsoon season,” Mangi said. “The rains cause flooding in natural storm water drains that emerge from the Margalla Hills and fall in to the Nullah Leh and Soan River.” Flash flooding poses serious risks to lives and properties of people settled around the drains and streams, he said.
Some 16 drains pass through Islamabad and join Nullah Leh and Soan River, according to the CCD. Encroachments and illegal residential colonies built near and over these drains increase the risk of urban flooding.
Mangi said areas around the drains were cleared by CDA under a contingency plan before the rainy season. However, he suggested encroachments should be cleared once and for all to allow floodwater to pass through the drains.
Earlier, while presenting goals and outcomes of the initiative, Sarmad Khan, an urban planner at the UN-Habitat’s Pakistan office, said cities and towns need to prepare for climate change because “cities are responsible for climate change, affected by it and are also the solution of the problem.”
“The cities and local government authorities have the potential to influence both the causes and consequences of climate change,” Khan said. “With improved institutional capacity and collaborations among government and nongovernment stakeholders, cities can contribute to national and international strategies to fight climate change.”
Representatives of the Capital Administration and Development Division, Pakistan Meteorological Department, Global Change Impact Studies Centre, National Disaster Management Authority, Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission and World Bank also attended the meeting.
The participants said an inventory of existing adaptation programmes should be completed before future programmes are planned to avoid duplication. Tariq said the concept paper would be revised to include the recommendations offered at the meeting to make the initiative more viable. The meeting was called to implement the Cabinet Division’s decision to make Islamabad a “model” climate-resilient city, officials said.
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