ISLAMABAD: Shelter is a fundamental right of every individual and the government as well as the private sector need to ensure the provision of shelter to citizens, said Senator Sherry Rehman, federal Minister for Climate Change, at the first International Housing Expo 2022 in Islamabad.
“This is a very opportune moment in our landscape of priorities in terms of where government should invest and how the private sector should combine its resources and bring together perfect synergies in providing one of the biggest gaps in the fundamental rights framework of our moral universe which is housing,” she stated.
Rehman was giving a keynote address during a session titled, “Climate Resilient housing: Need for Re-planning” and highlighted that the Ministry of Climate Change has issued policy guidelines to formulate Green Building Codes in consultation with the provinces, and the private sector can play a crucial role in building back better, as like they did after the 2005 earthquake.
“It is encouraging to see that the private sector is mobilized, and the successful models of public-private partnership have been put to the wheel, to bring shelter, not just to the vulnerable, but also to the middle-income population as well. Pakistan saw after the 2005 Earthquake that building codes were revised for KPK, Gilgit-Baltistan and our mountain areas, but building codes were not made environmentally friendly or green, which I hope will change after today. Ministry of Climate Change has formulated Green Building Codes and Guidelines, for at least the federal area, and we have also advised the provinces to build back with resilience,” she stated.
Senator Rehman remarked that the housing sector suffered the most damage due to the floods in 2010 and 2022, and there is an immediate need to integrate Risk Reduction Mapping to avoid such losses in the future.
“The housing sector suffered the most damages from the floods in 2010, and in 2022 the housing sector suffered loss and damage of Rs1.2 trillion with the immediate recovery needs estimated at Rs592 billion,” she said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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