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

Gilgit Baltistan with a population of around 2 million has always been a famous tourist spot due to its natural beauty and serene environment. Sometimes referred to as the fifth province of Pakistan yet in a constitutional limbo, Gilgit-Baltistan plays a vital role in promoting a softer image of Pakistan at an international level.

GB’s youth is very enthusiastic about education and have proven themselves to be competent in all fields of life, from arts to science and military to sports. The activism for rights, however, has been not that smooth, thanks to the infamous Anti-Terrorism Act or ATA. For decades, there has been a fear to speak out but the ice seems to finally break.

During the past few months, GB’s youth has been active than ever both on online platforms and on the ground for their basic human rights and necessities. One such example is the #Internet4GilgitBaltistan campaign on Twitter and Facebook that made it to international media and the government finally took some measures to ensure the progress is made on the issues raised by the students and professionals.

The alarming situation of Coronavirus has taken over the world right now. Like many nations, a large population of Gilgit-Baltistan is facing several issues to carry out basic everyday activities. Due to prolonged oversight from the government, the people of Gilgit-Baltistan are facing tremendous issues in terms of health, education, and other basic facilities.

Students are facing issues accessing quality internet which is a key for e-learning and online classes. Professionals and freelancers whose bread and butter depend on access to the internet are fearful of economic challenges while businesses and small enterprises try hard to recover from the financial blow of Covid-19.

COVID-19 is declared as a global pandemic, by WHO (World Health Organization), a challenge not only for Pakistan but the whole world. In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, people are enduring severe threats due to the lack of medical facilities, lack of medical staff, PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), and lack of corona testing laboratories.

Due to the indifference of the Pakistan government and not giving the region its share of aid received from different organizations, there is an enlargement in the number of corona cases on a daily basis. Dr. Usama Riaz, a young general surgeon from Gilgit Baltistan and first Pakistani doctor, died from COVID19. There was a shortage of personal protective kit and other safety equipment where he was deployed and unfortunately contracted the virus.

The unavailability of access to the internet is causing another massive challenges for students who are reliant on the internet for online learning and other online purposes. During the closure of the institutes due to the global pandemic, the locals with one of the most elevated proficiency rates need to get a rapid and good internet connection.

Within the other parts of Pakistan, the internet has given much-needed alleviation to individuals stuck up at homes. Concerns regarding the issues have been raised multiple times by the students from parts of Gilgit through social media platforms using various hashtags and protesting, demanding the government and authorities for access to quality internet service and respite of the semester acknowledging the impediment towards online classes.

Students from across the Gilgit, Hunza, Skardu, and Ghizer are complaining against the issue on Twitter and other social media platforms demanding their digital rights, making it the topmost trend in Pakistan, #Internet4GilgitBaltistan within less than 24 hours.

And few celebrities came forward to support the movement on social media following the hashtag. The students and the professionals have been demanding their digital rights for the last few months, through campaigns and protests. But unluckily, the government and the authorities have not yet been able to make any development, the issue is quiet pending.

People from other parts of the country and world, prefer to relish the serene environment of Gilgit Baltistan, but unfortunately many seem to feel indifferent when it comes to giving basic rights to the region like access to quality internet and the proper medical facilities during these testing times.

Every life matters, the voices of Gilgit-Baltistan need to be heard and G-B must be given equal rights there other citizens of this country enjoy.