ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal said on Monday that government was formulating a 10-year flood protection plan in order to mitigate flood hazards and curtailing the economic damages due to natural calamities.
Addressing the 13th meeting of the Regional Consultative Committee (RCC) meeting on Disaster Management here, he said, the plan was in its final stage and it would soon be implemented, adding it would help in avoiding the losses due to the flash floods in the country.
The event was organized by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with Asian Disaster Preparedness Committee (SDPC).
The aim of the event was to promote consultation and cooperation on reducing disaster risk and exchange of expertise in disaster risk reduction by bringing the countries together.
Ahsan Iqbal said, Asian region was the most vulnerable of climate changes and the meeting would help to share each other experiences and create synergies to meet climate change challenges.
Pakistan’s share in emission of green house gasses was at 0.7 percent as compared to the other countries, which was lowest, but it was among top seven countries which were the most vulnerable in form of flash floods, droughts and other climate related challenges, he added.
He called upon developed countries to come forward and take appropriate measures to play their due role in order to overcome the environment protection challenges faced by the world.
The minister said, the rapid growth in population, increasing urbanization and lack of proper town planning was the major factor, which was enhancing the risk factors and causing the disasters.
There were excellent policies and framework available for disaster management and risk control but there was a shortage of implementation of these policies, he added.
He stressed the need for bridging the knowing and doing gap to save the humanity from the risks of natural calamity and disasters for a sustainable development.
He said, in order to minimizing the effects of natural disasters, it was prerequisite that our infrastructure would be fully align with the disaster management.
“It is our duty to work together above any politics like one body to protect the human beings living in different countries from disasters and climate change risks by utilizing the modern technologies and tool of information,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman NDMA, Major General Asghar Nawaz said, the meeting would explore the new avenues of cooperation to manage the climate change risks and mitigating the disaster effects.
He said, government was committed for strengthen the cooperation with other countries to develop the resilience against disasters for sustainable development.
He said, the outcomes of the meeting would help in developing a framework to meet these challenges and risks with a collective approach.
Asghar Nawaz said, the country had faced two-mega disasters during last one decade including 2005 earthquake and 2010 flash floods, adding that it had well aware the country about the risks and disasters.
He said, Pakistan was ready to share its experiences with other countries to reduce the global disasters mortality.
Source: APP
