Life enhancing programs through AKPBS,P’s interventions in the northern areas

Text: Compiled by Maria Aslam-Hyder

Visuals: Courtesy AKPBS,P

The northern areas of Pakistan are among the most isolated areas of the western end of the Himalayas, surrounded by high mountain passes. The area’s remote human communities reside in narrow valleys dominated by mountains and rivers. Ethnic diversity of these areas is unique, and many of the passes are migration routes between central Asia and the Indian sub-continent. The construction of the Karakoram Highway has opened the area to outside influences.

Pakistan’s northern regions are disaster prone, falling in a seismically unstable zone at the point of confluence of the Indian and the Eurasian plates. These regions are regularly impacted by natural disaster events such as earthquakes, floods, landslides and droughts. Degradation of natural resources, especially the loss of foliage and vegetation, has caused land degradation and soil destabilization. Earthquakes have resulted in the destruction of houses, infrastructure, facilities and property, as well as creating economic and social hardship.

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), through its various development agencies and affiliate bodies, has been working for the social, economic and environmental uplift of these communities for decades. Recognizing the connection between poverty, high seismic risk and poor housing construction, habitat risk management has always been essential to the AKDN development process, with physical development undertaken to minimize risks associated with natural disasters.

As part of the AKDN, the Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan, (AKPBS,P) undertakes initiatives to develop built infrastructure and promote indigenous construction technology in these areas. AKPBS,P assists organizations and institutions to improve communities’ built environment and living conditions through applied research and implementation; improved technological products and tools; and institutional capacity building.

AKPBS,P takes an integrated, community-based approach to sustainable development while its development programmes address not only the immediate needs of clean water, adequate sanitation and safe housing, but also, have an overall impact on economic, social and environmental sustainability. Poverty alleviation, environmental sustainability, gender equality, natural resource management and economic regeneration are the basic objectives of AKPBS,P’s interventions. Capable, proficient, vibrant and self-reliant community based organisations underpin all AKPBS,P’s developmental interventions.

AKPBS,P’s programmes, Water and Sanitation Extension Programme (WASEP) and Building and Construction Improvement Programme (BACIP)  have been cited as Good Practice Cases in the 2010 UNDP MDG Good Practices publication. In 2011, AKPBS,P was awarded the Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy for avoided deforestation.