KARACHI: Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) Pakistan CEO Ali Tauqeer Sheikh has said that urbanisation is no more a “to be or not to be question” and stressed the need to intensify the mitigation efforts to reduce the vulnerability of bustling urban populations. While welcoming participants to the second session of Cohort 19 of the Leadership Development Program (LDP), he said Cohort 19 focuses on the emerging issues and approaches to building resilience of cities, while harnessing their economic growth, social development and climate mitigation potential. Eminent urban sector experts, including Tasneem Siddiqui, Arif Hasan, Roland D’Souza, Dr Shaukat Hayat Khan and Shahnaz Wazir Ali shared their knowledge and expertise on the subject. Thought-prodding lectures and presentations were a regular feature during various knowledge slots of the session. The participants also visited the headquarters of Karachi Investment Development Corporation Limited (KIDCL) to learn about various aspects and features of the planned Mass Transit Lines in Karachi city. D’Souza was of the view that our consumption patterns and increased greed for larger chunk of resources is the major cause of climate change and increased frequency of disasters. The interactive session formulated policy recommendations for decision makers for helping improve resilience and sustainability of major cities of Pakistan. LEAD’s Fellowship Programme exclusively aims to build the capacity of professionals from various sectors across Pakistan. This year, the theme of Cohort 19 focuses on cities and their sustainable development. Urbanisation has increased manifold and cities have become vulnerable to extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, cloud bursts, flash floods and cyclones etc. The training programme comprises four learning sessions on Sustainable Urban Planning, Urban Resilience, Low Carbon Development and Role of Cities to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). LDP is LEAD Pakistan’s most popular and vibrant capacity building programme, which has completed 18 cohorts (batches) to-date. The participants of LDP have acquired the skills and knowledge, which made them cross-sectoral leaders in their own communities and on the world stage. Currently there are over 200 professionals from Pakistan and over 3,000 LEAD members across the world that have completed this program and become Fellows of LEAD’s global network.