• Recommends measures to prevent construction near waterways, forests
• Seeks plans for energy-efficient buildings in urban, rural areas
• Senate panel raises concerns over encroachments in riverbeds
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Pakistan to prioritise climate adaptation measures at federal and provincial levels to build resilience against natural disasters triggered by extreme weather events, including floods and droughts.
The team has recommended stringent measures to prevent construction near rivers, nullahs, other waterways and forests, alongside plans for energy-efficient buildings in urban and rural areas.
This emerged on Tuesday as a four-member technical mission of the Fund continued discussions with federal and provincial governments to prepare for the country’s request for over $1 billion in additional financing for climate resilience.
Meanwhile, official sources confirmed that a nine-member staff team of the IMF led by Mission Chief Nathan Porter would arrive at Islamabad on March 3 for a two-week-long review of Pakistan’s performance under the $7bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The mission is tentatively scheduled to wrap up its first biannual review by March 15.
According to sources, the technical mission on climate financing under a Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) emphasised the need for climate adaptation measures to be an integral part of public investment strategies, not only at federal and provincial levels but also within state-owned entities. It stressed that disaster risk management should focus more on preparedness than on rescue and rehabilitation.
The visiting mission discussed how the federal and provincial governments were doing ‘green budgeting’ and how these two tiers were exchanging information and financing. The mission was briefed on disaster risk management strategy, water and air pollution, and how the green budget was being tagged, tracked and monitored.
The government informed the mission that new building codes had already been developed and recently shared with provincial authorities for implementation.
Senate panel
Simultaneously, the Senate Standing Committee on Water Resources expressed grave concern over the lack of details regarding encroachments along rivers and waterways.
During a meeting chaired by Senator Shahadat Awan, the Ministry of Water Resources revealed that data from Suparco indicated that major encroachments in Punjab had not been removed since August 2024.
The report documented 153 encroachments in the Sargodha Irrigation Zone and 676 encroachments in the Multan Irrigation Zone.
