ISLAMABAD – At least 250 small-scale engineering structures to be established to reduce the effects of Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) events on livelihoods, such as tree plantation, controlled drainage and mini dams.
Scaling-up of Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) risk reduction in Northern Pakistan” is a foreign funded project initiated under the convention of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The project would be completed by June 2023.
The implementation partner of the project includes Ministry of Climate Change, Khyber Pakthunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Planning and Development Department and Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).
The Project was approved by Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board meeting in October 2016. Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a financial mechanism under the UNFCCC which helps fund climate finance investment in low-emission, climate resilient development. The GCF has approved an amount of US$ 37.00 million for the project in October 2016 of its Board meeting. The project is a continuation of the four-year Reducing Risks and Vulnerabilities from GLOF in northern Pakistan (GLOF-1). The project Glof-1 helped vulnerable communities prepare for and mitigate GLOF risks through early warning systems, enhanced infrastructure and community-based disaster risk management.
GLOF-II will scale up GLOF-1 from its original two districts one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan to cover 15 districts, benefiting 29 million people or 15 percent population of Pakistan.
The expected results by the end of the project are at least two policies reviewed or revised to address or incorporate GLOF risk reduction.
The project would also improve food security and reduce flood risk due to deforestation and inefficient water use, 65,000 women will be trained in home gardening, 240 water-efficient farming technologies will be installed and 35,000 hectares land will be reforested.
Due to rising temperatures, glaciers in Pakistan’s northern mountain ranges are melting rapidly and total of 3.044 glacial lakes have developed in GB and KP. Of these, 33 glacial lakes have been assessed to be prone to hazardous glacial lake outburst flooding (GLOF). GLOF are sudden events which can release millions of cubic metres of water and debris, leading to the loss of lives, property and livelihoods amongst remote and impoverished mountain communities.
