This year’s theme of the International Mountain Day “Women Move Mountains!” is well reflected in the interventions of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to acknowledge and enhance the resilience of women of the highlands, who mostly happen to bear the major brunt of disasters getting intensified by the day with the impacts of dreaded climate change.
To mark the day, the UNDP Pakistan’s GLOF-II project brought together environmental experts, government representatives, academia and community members to share their views and experiences about the impacts of environmental degradation and its subsequent devastating impacts on the natural habitat and the human life.
As the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has naturally a diverse landscape of agricultural plains, dry lands and mountains, and also substantial seasonal variations, experts have been of the view that climate changes are posing a serious threat to mountains which in turn affects freshwater supplies to millions of people downstream. Thus, it is not surprising that environmental degradation or climatic change is a cause of concern for policy-makers and planners to shield the vulnerable communities from natural disasters.
A recent seminar held in Peshawar on “the mountains are ecological hotspots and provide innumerable natural resources for survival of our communities” shed light on the significant challenges and threats to mountains, which are ecological hotspots.
A book titled “Water Profiles of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” reveals that over 35.5 million people (83.5% of them in rural areas) of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa live in multi-dimensional poverty. Lack of access to water is a major driver of poverty and deprivation.
True to the theme of the International Mountain Day, women as custodians of local culture who play a significant role in implementing indigenous practices and harnessing the knowledge for future generations. Mountains provide innumerable natural resources for the survival of our communities. Women have always been at the forefront of climate fight, but they are particularly affected, as their vulnerability increases manifold, when it comes to dearth of resources and manpower.
A member of the Community Based Disaster Risk Management Committee (CBDRMC) in Chitral, which GLOF-II project organized a seminar, acknowledged the efforts made by the project in empowering them.
Ms Fatima said, “I represent my community here today and am thankful to the GLOF-II project for conducting such informative sessions for us. We play a crucial role in mountain habitats and would like to be made part of the decision-making process and have greater access to resources. We would feel motivated if our concerns are addressed by the government as well.”
What the community member has said must not be let to fall on the traditional deaf ear rather it should be incorporated in the policy goals to save the majesty of the mountains and the hidden natural treasures for the common benefit of the nation and the country.
