KARACHI: The Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-Pakistan and the Sindh government hosted an international conference – Reimagining Resilience: The Transition to Sustainable Cities – that facilitated expert discussion and policy recommendations for the country to effectively respond to urban resilience and development challenges.

An IBA statement released on Thursday stated that a moot focused on ‘reimagining resilience’ was held to create a new paradigm for city governance – by stepping out of traditional governance and economic development approaches and create spaces for engagement with citizens and experts alike to create inclusive and climate-adaptive cities.

It said currently 82 million people were living in urban areas of the country and 30 million of them were living in informal settlements.

“Karachi is no different; approximately half of its population lives in informal settlements. Hence, urban population growth in Pakistan needs to be matched with effective urban planning and development initiatives,” it mentioned.

In this context, the conference brought together senior government representatives, national and international urban resilience advocates, subject matter experts and representatives of private sector and UN agencies.

IBA Executive Director and Principal Investigator for the UNDP-IBA Karachi Urban Resilience Project Dr S. Akbar Zaidi said: “Even though cities are considered hubs of economic activity, poor urban planning has left many in want of basic services such as water, electricity, energy, health, and education. Unregulated expansion of these communities has resulted in overburdened transport networks which exacerbate the issue of low employment opportunities for such people.”

UNDP Pakistan Resident Representative Knut Ostby said: “While Pakistan’s current urban context presents a crisis for cities and its governments, it also presents an opportunity for resilience building. This is key to achieving sustainable development and ensuring that urban areas continue to serve as inclusive spaces for human development and economic growth.”

Sindh Minister Ismail Rahu said that despite contributing less than one per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, Pakistan is among the most vulnerable countries. He highlighted the provincial government’s various sustainable development initiatives for Karachi through public-private partnerships programmes.

Karachi Commissioner Iqbal Memon focused on the challenges faced by policy makers due to lack of data and capacity building in public sector organisations.

The introductory session of the conference concluded with Dr Zaidi and Mr Ostby presenting the UNDP-IBA report on ‘Migration, Livelihoods & Resilience in Karachi: A Study on Social Cohesion and Informal Urban Settlements’ to Minister Rahu.

UNDP Pakistan was represented by Ammara Durrani, the assistant resident representative and chief, development policy unit.

It was hoped that the knowledge-sharing and solutions exchange on proposals, methodologies, and policy recommendations gleaned from the conference could help Pakistan address resilience challenges, build sustainable cities, and cushion the impact of future disasters in its largest cities.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2022