Minister, Dutch DRR team explore integrated flood resilience strategies

ISLAMABAD: Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman on Wednesday hosted a delegation of experts from the Dutch Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) team.

The primary purpose of the meeting was to explore possibilities for a long-term collaborative partnership aimed at enhancing Pakistan’s climate resilience, early warning systems, water management, and spatial flood plain planning.

The delegation was led by the Ambassador of the Netherlands, Henny de Vries.

According to a statement, Minister Rehman expressed her appreciation for the valuable findings of the DRR team, which conducted a comprehensive assessment following the devastating floods in 2022 on the request of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination (MoCC&EC) to provide technical assistance in flood and water management.

Recognising the Netherlands as a country with extensive experience and expertise in water management, the minister highlighted that their support can greatly aid Pakistan in adopting an integrated approach towards pre-modelling, forecasting, and the establishment of preventative infrastructure.

She said Pakistan needs a multi-layered Flood Safety Strategy, combining both soft and hard solutions, as we cannot engineer our way out of it.

“The approach can involve various aspects, including flood prevention through conventional hard defences such as dikes, embankments, and barrages, as well as flood-resilient sustainable spatial planning, early warning systems, and flood forecasting. The success of this strategy hinges on bridging coordination gaps between provinces and districts to ensure effective preparedness and response. Uncoordinated planning has posed significant challenges in the past, making it crucial to establish a streamlined and coordinated approach at all levels,” said the minister.

During the meeting, it was highlighted that the floods in Pakistan are exacerbated by climate change and the extensive integration of floodplains. It was emphasised that urgent action is needed to implement both mitigation measures and create additional space for rivers to discharge.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023