Protecting Vulnerable Communities against Climate Risks in Pakistan
By Nabiya Imran
Photo: Warning from Ufone
English translation: “The incoming heatwave can possibly affect your region. Call or text 3392 for further details…”
On May 16, 2024, some mobile network operators in Pakistan sent out public service messages to their customers, notifying them of the advent of a possible heatwave. Additional advisories issued by the Pakistan Meteorological Department and National Disaster Management Authority proclaimed that temperatures in different parts of the country would likely be 4 to 8 degrees Celsius higher than normal from May 21 onwards, with Punjab and Sindh provinces being affected the most. On May 27, temperatures crossed 52 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country.
Heatwaves also occurred two years ago across the subcontinent, which were reportedly 30 times more likely because of climate change. This is just one indicator of the impact of climate change in Pakistan. In April this year, the country experienced the highest amount of rainfall in 60 years, twice as much as usual. Torrential rains and floods in 2022 led to $30 billion in damages, which Pakistan is still recovering from.
Despite contributing less than 1% to global emissions, it is the eighth most vulnerable nation to long-term climate risk. While climate change is essentially affecting every part of the country, the impacts are felt disproportionately by certain groups, including children, women, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
In addition to the obvious public health impacts of these erratic weather patterns, Pakistan’s agriculture sector, which contributes approximately a quarter of the country’s GDP, has been greatly affected. The 2022 heat waves reduced wheat production by 15 percent, making it very difficult for an average farmer, 68 percent of whom are women, to earn a living wage.
There have also been reports of reduced crop yields of mangoes, sugarcane, and green vegetables. Heatwaves are now arriving earlier than previous years, at a pace that the agricultural sector is not used to. Studies show that the negative impact on livelihoods in farming communities may also increase long-term migration.
Climate risk insurance has become a popular policy instrument in some countries to support more vulnerable groups, such as farmers, as they combat the effects of climate change. It is essentially a financial tool that provides mechanisms to protect policyholders against risks that may arise due to extreme weather events or disasters as they increase in frequency and intensity due to climate change. Policyholders can be governments, businesses, or individuals. Successful schemes have been implemented in India, Senegal, and Ethiopia.
Considering Pakistan’s economic and fiscal situation, it needs funding from bilateral and multilateral schemes to support adaptation and resilience through insurance schemes. The World Food Programme and the Climate & Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) already have partnerships to support financing schemes in the country. In November last year, Pakistan became the first country in Asia to initiate the in-country consultation to develop a plan for the Global Shield Fund against climate risk, launched at COP27 by the G7 and V20. As Pakistan completes its multi-stakeholder consultation and gap analysis process before submitting a request for a tailored package, it is essential that specialized schemes are developed for farmers and that risk insurance is coupled with strong implementation of other adaptation and disaster management measures.
Pakistan should also learn from its own previous measures in this domain. For example, in 2014, the CLIS (Crop Loan and Insurance Scheme) was launched to protect small-scale farmers from droughts and floods. However, it was limited to farmers who had already taken a loan from a registered bank, and it excluded nomadic herd-keeping communities. Such social injustice should not prevail in upcoming risk insurance schemes.
If successfully implemented by catering to cross-cutting priorities, climate risk insurance schemes could help households in Pakistan, especially those in areas more prone to climate change-induced disasters such as floods and droughts, to recover financially from the shock without resorting to traditional risk mitigation strategies such as selling assets, possibly plunging into further poverty in the long run. Since vulnerable populations often have inadequate risk protection, insurance schemes can bolster resilience and stimulate economic activity.
Climate risk insurance, aimed at bolstering adaptation and resilience, is directed towards people who have made a very small contribution to causing climate change in countries whose greenhouse gas emissions are not high. Justice entails that it is all the more critical to support adaptation needs globally at the same level as mitigation, with wealthier countries contributing to such efforts within the broader framework of global governance.
At the end of the day, endless adaptation to heatwaves or floods is not a long-term solution; more ambitious mitigation is.
Nabiya Imran is a MALD student at The Fletcher School, Tufts University