Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar on Monday urged world donors to assist Pakistan in its efforts to make the country climatic and disaster resilient as it had been facing direct implications of severe global environmental changes despite the fact that its contribution to greenhouse emissions was very nominal.

“We have been bearing the brunt of climatic change and there are all types natural to man-made disasters in the region, causing severe economic and social impacts on lives of people,” the minister said while addressing the launching ceremony of National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF).

She said that Pakistan was contributing below one percent in the greenhouse emission, but still it was facing more challenges in the form of natural calamities as compared to other countries.

She said that the Asian Development Bank, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Australian Aid have donated for the fund, appealing other donors to come forward for this purpose.

The minister was of the opinion that Pakistan alone could not run this fund as its economic and geopolitical conditions were not conducive for the purpose.

She expressed the hope that the NDRMF would augur very well, saying that since the disasters had huge significance, hence had been attracting world attention.

She was of the opinion that the natural disasters were causing huge damage to life and property, citing example of Ache, Indonesia where thousands of people became victims of tsunami.

Dr Shamshad Akhtar said that Indonesia lacked preventive mechanism and had to face huge loss adding that Pakistan by learning from such experience could develop a mechanism to mitigate the damages of the natural calamities.

Published in Daily Times, July 17^th 2018.