Environment & Natural Resources

Pakistan is facing a severe energy crisis. Most of the rural areas of Pakistan are not connected to the national grid because of the geographical distance and the scattered population. In absence of the required energy supply, the socio-economic life of people is disrupted and they are forced to use alternative means of producing energy such as tree cutting for fire-wood, use of kerosene, cattle dung and crop residue. These alternative means are a threat to the environment especially in the wake of climate change

Within the framework of the project “Regional Civil Society Engagement in Green Dialogs. Promoting Peace and Stability through Equitable Resource Management”, the offices of Heinrich Böll Stiftung in Pakistan and Afghanistan successfully conducted a Vision Workshop for a seed group of the Regional Green Dialogs Network. The workshop aimed at increasing mutual understanding and developing a joint vision and a plan for future action. Intellectuals, experts and activits from both countries (Pakistan and Afghanistan) participated in the event and reflected on how to promote peace and stability in the region through equitable natural resource management, especially looking into water and energy.

In the year 2016 exposure visits for journalists are taking place. They are taken to projects that are meant to mitigate or adapt to climate change such as renewable energy and reforestation projects. Location visits, meetings with involved communities and the project implementers provide the background for analyses and reporting back in the newspaper. Journalists likewise act as a watchdog and spread awareness to further promote climate-friendly initiatives.

In the year 2016 exposure visits for journalists are taking place. They are taken to projects that are meant to mitigate or adapt to climate change such as renewable energy and reforestation projects. Location visits, meetings with involved communities and the project implementers provide the background for analyses and reporting back in the newspaper. Journalists likewise act as a watchdog and spread awareness to further promote climate-friendly initiatives.

On December 23, 2015, World Wind Energy Association (WWEA), in cooperation with Heinrich Böll Stiftung Pakistan (hbs), launched the policy paper “Mapping the Growth of Pakistan’s Wind Energy Market: Lessons Learned and Policy Solutions"

The Series: Heinrich Boell Stiftung initiated a series of workshops for the Journalists in Pakistan under the title “Journalist on Climate Change”. The purpose of the workshops is to orient journalist community with the latest updates on climate change, bring the journalists together at one platform, and enable them to influence public discourse on climate change at all levels.

Over 100 young cyclists, 60 percent of them women, took to the streets of Islamabad. Dressed in green attire they were campaigning that “There is no planet B” and requesting policy makers in Pakistan and around the world that it is policies that need to be changed, and not the climate.