ISLAMABAD:,,, The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) has launched GHAR: Green Housing Affordable Resilient – an initiative aimed to enhance the technical capacity of the relevant Government institutes at different provinces of Pakistan and renowned academia to design, construct and manage climate resilient housing, through research and development, interactive dialogue between institutes and academia, training and communication on passive techniques improving the building performance.
According to UN Information Centre Islamabd, there are three components of UNOPS Pakistan’s work under climate resilient housing: communication, training and demonstration strategies. All these components are required to achieve progress in implementation of green building codes for climate resilient, sustainable and inclusive housing.
Under GHAR, UNOPS held over 8 seminars in engineering universities in Islamabad, Sindh, Punjab and KP to orient 1,086 students and over 556 professionals from different institutes about green infrastructure.
Special training sessions for over 190 government officials of Planning and Development (P&D) Department and Urban Planning Units of Sindh, Punjab and KP were also conducted. As part of the initiative, UNOPS also trained over 100 semi-skilled masons in Sindh on the importance of climate resilient housing in the aftermath of devastating floods of 2022. The training focuses on climate resilient building methods with practical exercises about site selection, building layouts, quality checks and design.
Ms Jennifer Ankhrom-Khan, UNOPS Country Manager for Pakistan said: “Guidance in Green Building Codes is helpful for engineers, architects & quantity surveyors, but is more effective when communicated through training on how to apply green building principles in design & construction exercises and examples.
The training sessions conducted by UNOPS will surely enhance the technical capacity of the government officials and semi-skilled masons. This initiative is part of our commitment to support the Government of Pakistan in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.”
The initiative is supporting the Sustainable Development Goals: 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, and 13 Climate Action. It is also aligned with the Pakistan Government’s Vision 2025 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Pakistan 2023-2027.
Ms Huma Shahzada, GIS Specialist Urban Policy Unit from P&D Department said: “I would like to extend my gratitude to UNOPS for such a practical and thorough session about Affordable Green housing and climate change adaptation. The training has presented comprehensive scenarios and major challenges that turn problems into solutions for both public and private sector stakeholders.”
UNOPS with its internal funding, is supporting climate resilient housing in Sindh, where it leads the Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees’ (SPHF) technical working group on resilient housing. The UN agency is also providing technical expertise on climate change adaptation in the built environment.
Mr. Minar Thapa Magar, coordinator for SHRRP said: “UNOPS, as the convener of the resilient housing working group of Sindh Housing Recovery and Reconstruction Platform (SHRRP), played a vital role in post flood housing reconstruction.
Their technical leadership and advocacy through GHAR has transformed the general approach in jointly exploring a combination of green, affordable and resilient solutions. This commitment will not only impact the way of rebuilding resilient structures but will also mark a shift to a more resilient future by engaging the academia and students.”
UNOPS conducted an assessment analyzing Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) in Sindh’s Post-Flood Housing Reconstruction with a special focus on Brick Supply Chain. Challenges and Social Cohesion and presented its findings to Planning and Development Department officials of all the provincial governments.
The efforts to bring in all stakeholders including academia, government and professionals highlighted UNOPS as a technical lead in green and resilient housing initiatives. Through these project interventions of community awareness sessions, training unskilled masons, plenary discussion with professional and academia promoted the need of joint collaboration among all stakeholder incorporating green and climate change adaptation techniques in the curricula and institution regulations.
UNOPS encourages continuing as a leader to promote such collaborative efforts for the sustainable and green development in the country, based on the research and integrating sustainable practices.
