News desk
A project that combines satellite images, mapping technologies and the local knowledge of villagers to help build climate change-proof settlements in disaster-prone areas of Pakistan won an international award on Thursday.
More than one million people have benefited from the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) Pakistan project, which was a gold prize winner at the World Habitat Awards that are organised with the United Nations housing agency (UN-Habitat).
AKAH has trained about 50,000 residents to better protect their villages from disasters in the mountainous northern areas which are vulnerable to earthquakes, floods and environmental degradation, and are home to some of the poorest communities. “It’s not just responding to the effects of the climate emergency, but being proactive in protecting people from its effects, using technology and the knowledge of communities,” said David Ireland, chief executive of World Habitat, a charity.
