Pakistan Archive

Representatives of political parties and civil society all echoed in same voice for the increased representation and participation of women in decision-making forums in the political and social arena by ensuring level-playing field to them. They shared these views at the launching of the Gender Action Manifesto, policy paper, organised by the Heinrich Boell Stiftung in collaboration with the Women's Parliamentarian Caucus on 13th October, 2017 in Islamabad.

Heinrich Böll Stiftung (HBS) Pakistan through its project “Journalists on Resource Equity and Climate Change” organized a workshop followed by a capacity building field visit for environmental journalists based in Lahore, to highlight the environmental degradation caused by cement factories in Kahoon Valley, District Chakwal. The three cement factories in Chakwal have already led to fast depletion of natural ponds and groundwater resources. Still two more factories are pushing their way into the beautiful valley thus threatening the remnants of environmental, social, economic and biological life of the local communities. The news reports prepared by the journalists after the field visit have brought about tremendous attention of the provincial government and the judiciary to this issue.

The Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change (CSCCC) was formed to strengthen civil society's active participation in decision making processes on climate change in Pakistan. As a proponent of collective action towards climate change Heinrich Boell Stiftung Pakistan thought it worthwhile to support CSCCC.

It is not always the lack of attention from policy makers but their capacities and knowledge on environment related issues that put environment on the back-burner. In Pakistan unfortunately there is less sensitivity about environment and ecological considerations in policy making circles.

The World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) and Heinrich Bӧll Stiftung Pakistan (hbs) have been working together for the growth of Renewable Energy (RE) in Pakistan since 2013. In 2017 both partners are joining hands once more for holding RE Dialogues across Pakistan. Some of the main reasons of slower RE growth in Pakistan are lack of coordination between federal and provincial governments with regards to RE development, and lack of awareness among different federal and provincial agencies about their mandate relating to RE deployment especially, after 18th amendment to the Constitution. The RE dialogues assess institutional landscapes of RE at federal as well as provincial levels through engaging multi-stakeholders from government, civil society and the private sector.

The World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) and Heinrich Bӧll Stiftung Pakistan (hbs) have been working together for the growth of Renewable Energy (RE) in Pakistan since 2013. In 2017 both partners are joining hands once more for holding RE Dialogues across Pakistan. Some of the main reasons of slower RE growth in Pakistan are lack of coordination between federal and provincial governments with regards to RE development, and lack of awareness among different federal and provincial agencies about their mandate relating to RE deployment especially, after 18th amendment to the Constitution. The RE dialogues assess institutional landscapes of RE at federal as well as provincial levels through engaging multi-stakeholders from government, civil society and the private sector.

For the past three years (2015 to 2017) Heinrich Boell Stiftung Pakistan (hbs) under the banner of the campaign titled, “There is no planet B” started engaging journalists, youth, civil society on issues related to climate change and it’s impacts in Pakistan. The objective of the campaign is to mainstream environment conservation and climate change discourse in society as a whole and to push related policies. One successful initiatives is the formation of a cohort, “Journalists on Climate Change and Resource Equity” to familiarize journalists with the global and local climate debate and enhance their capacity to analyze climate related issues through in-house trainings and exposure visits.

On 14th August 2017- Reclaiming Green Islamabad (RGI) celebrated the 70th birthday (Independence Day) of Pakistan by launching its first activity; a plantation drive supported by the Heinrich Boell Stiftung. The aim of the activity was to raise awareness on environmental issues and translate words into action with regards to climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation.

Heinrich Boell Stiftung Pakistan is geared towards enlarging knowledge and expertise in order to enable CSOs and government to negotiate and contribute to the implementation of climate change resilient initiatives. In this regards, it implements and supports programmes and initiatives that help transition towards the goal it has set for itself. One such initiative is the series of consultative dialogues between Civil Society and the Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC). The aim of the dialogues series is to frame Pakistan’s agenda at COP 23. The initiative is being implemented by the Mountain and Glacier Protection Organization (MGPO) under the banner of Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change (CSCCC). The proposed dialogues will deliberate on the following climate change thematic areas: (i) Adaptation & Mitigation, (ii) Loss & Damage, (iii) Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), (iv) Means of Implementation (MoI), (v) New Market Mechanisms, (vi) Transparency & MRV. The proceedings of the consultative dialogue series will be compiled and published in the form of a report. The first dialog on Adaptation & Mitigation took place on 18th July 2017.