By Tanveer Ahmed
GILGIT-BALTISTAN: The Gilgit-Baltistan Rural Support Program (GBRSP) and UNDP Pakistan have signed a $3.98 million agreement under the ECARE initiative to strengthen climate adaptation in the region, including early warning systems for floods, glacial lake outburst floods, and landslides.
The MoU was signed at the UNDP Country Office in Islamabad by GBRSP General Manager Ashfaq Ahmed and UNDP Pakistan Resident Representative Dr. Samuel Rizk, in the presence of Additional Chief Secretary Gilgit-Baltistan Captain (R) Mushtaq Ahmed, Deputy Chief of Planning and Development Ali Jabbar, and other officials.
The project is expected to directly benefit 3,000 people and indirectly reach nearly two million residents, with gender inclusion and community-led development forming key pillars. Dr. Rizk said the program will safeguard vulnerable mountain communities through modern early warning systems, while Captain Mushtaq highlighted the critical need for technical support and international collaboration in high-altitude regions facing climate impacts.
However, experts caution that the success of the initiative depends on effective local implementation, community engagement, and long-term operational capacity. They note that previous climate adaptation projects in Gilgit-Baltistan suffered from weak follow-up, poor maintenance, and limited local capacity building, sometimes leaving early warning infrastructure non-functional.
Civil society advocates have called for transparency on beneficiary selection, resource allocation, and monitoring mechanisms, warning that without trained community networks, strong district-level emergency systems, reliable scientific data, and independent oversight, the project risks becoming a short-term intervention rather than a sustainable solution.
GBRSP has been active in rural development, and numerous NGOs manage climate programs in the region, but residents and observers criticize that much of the funding is spent on seminars and administrative costs rather than on-ground mitigation. Public stakeholders have urged audits of NGO-managed climate funds and special authority for the Anti-Corruption Establishment to ensure resources reach the most vulnerable communities.
#GilgitBaltistan #GBRSP #UNDP #ClimateChange #ECAREInitiative #FloodWarning #GlacialLakeFloods #LandslidePreparedness #ClimateAdaptation #DisasterManagement #CommunityDevelopment #GenderInclusion #SustainableDevelopment #MountainCommunities #PakistanClimateAction
