Climate Change and Natural Disasters conference held
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ISLAMABAD, (APP): Climate Change and Natural Disasters conference held
Minister for States and Frontier Regions, Lt. General (R) Abdul Qadir Baloch Tuesday underlined that given its extreme vulnerability to large-scale recurring natural disasters, the Government of Pakistan had strengthened its indigenous response mechanisms to natural disasters.
He was speaking to the high level leaders round table convened by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the theme of "Natural Disasters and climate change: Managing risks and crises differently," a message received here said.
He said Pakistan was progressively moving towards a proactive approach of Disaster Risk Management, capitalizing on its own rich experiences as well as adopting best global practices.
The seven Round tables of the Summit were aimed at obtaining practical commitments from member states and other humanitarian actors in the seven specific areas identified in the Secretary General's "Agenda for Humanity".
Pakistan was one of the lead speakers in the Round table which was moderated by the UN Secretary General and Co-Chaired by the President of Nauru, Deputy President of Kenya and Deputy Prime Ministers of Ethiopia and Nepal.
Outlining Pakistan's commitments in the area of managing natural disasters and climate change hazards, the Minister conveyed Pakistan's firm determination to support all global frameworks in managing risks and crises more effectively with a view to saving human lives and minimizing damages to livelihood and local economies.
In this context, the Minister conveyed Pakistan's determination to further strengthen its research and capacity building in disaster risk management, to pursue Multi-hazard vulnerability and Risk assessment up to micro level by year 2030.
Among other major activities during the Summit, the Minister chaired a side event organized by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on the theme of "Reaching People in Need: Pakistan's Experiences." Key speakers included Neil Buhne (Resident Coordinator Pakistan), ndrika Ratwatte (Representative UNHCR Pakistan), Dr. Farzana Bari (Head of Gender Studies Quaid-i-Azam University),Tariq Hayat (Joint Secretary, SAFRON), Ahmed Kamal (Member DRR) and Asif Yasin (Former Secretary Defense).
The event was moderated by Chairman NDMA, Major General Asghar Nawaz. Presentations revolved around sharing Pakistan's experiences in managing the two mega natural disasters of 2005 (earthquake) and 2010 (floods), hosting of millions of Afghan refugees for over three decades, and successful return and rehabilitation of Temporarily Dislocated Persons from Swat.