The Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) won the World Habitat Awards 2020 Gold Award today for its “Integrating Indigenous Knowledge and Technology for Safer Habitat” project.

In the winning project, the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat in Pakistan pioneered the use of Hazard Vulnerability and Risk Assessments (HVRAs), which integrate science, technology and local knowledge for disaster risk management and sustainable habitat planning and development.

Reflecting the importance of this work, Prince Rahim Aga Khan, Chair of AKDN’s Environment and Climate Committee, said “For decades the AKDN has been working with vulnerable communities to improve quality of life and reduce disaster risk. Today in the face of the climate crisis, understanding and mitigating these risks is even more urgent. Only by helping these communities adapt and thrive in harmony with their often-precarious habitat can we hope to mitigate the effects of climate change.”

Maimunah Mohd Sharif, UN-Habitat Executive Director, said: “UN-Habitat commends “Integrating Indigenous Knowledge and Technology for Safer Habitat” because of its community-based planning and risk management approach, integrating local knowledge. This is very much in line with UN-Habitat’s belief that when developing, formulating and implementing tools, policies and programmes, we should place people at the centre of our thinking and action.”

One of the judges of the award, Leilani Farha, Global Director of The Shift, former UN Special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, said: “This project, led by the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, Pakistan, is the embodiment of a human rights approach to climate change adaptation policies. This novel project manages to combine indigenous knowledge, community involvement and technological advancements to ensure resilient, sustainable communities capable of living in dignity, security and peace amidst the rising threat of climate-induced disasters.”

The project combines local and scientific knowledge in order to assess hazards, map risks, determine residential and economic zones, and develop disaster management and habitat plans. AKAH geologists use remote-sensing and geographic information system (GIS) technologies and risk-scoring tools, combined with participatory risk assessment and community knowledge, to develop plans for safer habitats.

Nawab Ali Khan, Chief Executive Officer, of the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) in Pakistan, said that, “Winning this Gold Award is an honour for AKAH and gives us added motivation to do more for building safer communities and safer habitats. We at AKAH value the trust and engagement of the communities and volunteers we work with and the support of our local and international donors and partners who believe in our work integrating emergency planning and preparedness and habitat planning for climate change adaptation in Pakistan”.

In Pakistan, AKAH conducts HVRAs – for nearly 800 settlements that cover over one million people – with robust risk mapping and monitoring capacities and development planning. The Agency has also provided technical assistance on safer and greener home improvements to more than 20,000 households while constructing over 4,000 shelters for internally displaced people. AKAH has also trained over 50,000 local volunteers in Pakistan in community-based disaster risk management. The volunteers have responded to over 200 disaster events.

Onno Rühl, General Manager of the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, “Our mission is to empower communities living on the frontlines of climate change to not only survive but thrive despite the
growing risks they face. Integrating deep community engagement with scientific data, we help
communities understand and manage disaster risk to be able to plan for a better future. We
are honoured by the recognition of the World Habitat Awards and proud to promote solutions
that help vulnerable communities adapt to climate risk.”

Notes:

The World Habitat Awards is an international charity dedicated to finding, supporting, sharing and celebrating projects related to housing that can have an “overwhelmingly positive impact on individuals, families and communities”. It posits that housing is a basic right. Its World Habitat Awards – organised in partnership with UN-Habitat – “recognise and highlight innovative, outstanding and sometimes revolutionary housing ideas, projects and programmes from across the world”.

For more information, please see: https://world-habitat.org/

The Aga Khan Agency for Habitat works to ensure that the places people live are as safe as possible from the effects of climate change and natural disasters while also helping them to be prepared to cope with and respond to disasters that do strike. Beyond safety, AKAH aims to ensure people have access to services and opportunities to improve their quality of life.

Established in 2016, AKAH combines several agencies and programs of the AKDN that had been working on housing, habitat, and disaster preparedness and relief since the 1990s in South and Central Asia, including Focus Humanitarian Assistance, the Aga Khan Planning, and Building Services, and the Disaster Risk Management Initiative.

For more information:

Trushna Torche / info@akdn.org

The Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) Pakistan, signed a partnership agreement with Government of Gilgit-Baltistan to conduct a study for sustainable solution of drinking water supply for central Hunza sourced from Attabad lake. The feasibility will include Hazard Vulnerability and Risk Assessments of the supply line and eight settlements. The agreement was signed between the Planning and Development Department of Gilgit Baltistan, the District of Hunza and Aga Khan Agency for Habitat in Hunza.

Central Hunza faces acute water shortage as most settlements depend on two glacial melt streams (Hassanabad Nallah and Ultar Nallah) as their primary source of water. The recent glacial lake outburst floods from both glaciers have severely impacted water supply and other community infrastructure.

Growth in tourism to the area, critical for economic development, adds further pressure on the region’s water resources. Using its rich experience around the design and implementation of water supply systems in mountain areas combined with its hazard risk assessment and overall habitat planning expertise AKAH will provide technical support to the Government on this highly important study.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Syed Abrar Hussain Shah, Additional Chief Secretary Gilgit-Baltistan, said
that “The Government of Gilgit Baltistan is grateful to Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) for realizing several development projects, reducing poverty and empowering communities. We value AKAH’s support to the government of GB on various development initiatives particularly around climate change and providing access to clean drinking water to the rural and urban areas in Gilgit Baltistan.”

In his address, Mr. Fayaz Ahmed, Deputy Commissioner Hunza, shared that “This partnership with AKAH will enable us to provide sustainable access to clean drinking water to 5,500 households, commercial entities, health and education facilities from eight settlements of central Hunza including Faizabad, Altit, Karimabad, Ganish, Garelth, Haiderabad, Dorkhand and Aliabad This feasibility study will not only identify solutions for the current needs of the community but also help boost the tourism potential of the area in the years to come”

In his remarks, Mr. Nawab Ali Khan, Chief Executive Officer, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, Pakistan
shared that “AKAH has the mandate of creating resilient human habitats and we will support any initiative that is aligned with our mandate.” He further said “AKAH is thankful to the government for all
its support that has enabled us to serve communities in need.”

Over the last two decades, the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, Pakistan has provided 500,000 people with water and sanitation facilities across Pakistan mainly in mountain communities. This has resulted not only in reducing waterborne diseases but also improved health and economic conditions as well as
reduced the burden on women and girls of fetching water from long distances.