ICIMOD and Pakistan Sign Agreement to Launch SAFER Pakistan Project

Kathmandu: The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination (MoCC&EC), Government of Pakistan, have signed an Agreement of Cooperation to implement the Sustainable Actions for Ecosystems Restoration Project in Pakistan (SAFER-Pakistan).

The agreement was signed by Dr. Pema Gyamtsho, Director General of ICIMOD, and Aisha Humera Chaudhary, Secretary of the MoCC&EC, to formally initiate implementation of the project.

The signing ceremony was attended by Abrar H. Hashmi, Ambassador of Pakistan to Nepal; Sameera Sheikh, Joint Secretary of Environment/Climate Change; Dr. Mazhar Hayat, Deputy Secretary of Climate Change; and Dr. Faisal Mueen Qamer, River Basins Lead at ICIMOD.

Moreover, addressing the ceremony, Secretary Aisha H. Chaudhary acknowledged ICIMOD’s role in regional environmental assessments and praised its collaborative, solution-oriented approach to addressing climate and environmental challenges.

As Pakistan remains among the most climate-vulnerable countries globally, consistently ranking high on German Watch’s Long-Term Climate Risk Index, the SAFER Pakistan project, as a result, aims to focus on six key adaptation challenges in the Indus Basin.

These six key adaptation challenges in the Indus Basin include early warning systems for glacier-related hazards; restoration of springs to support local water access; aquifer recharge and installation of solar-powered water systems; use of wetlands for wastewater management and ecosystem resilience; rehabilitation of surface water bodies such as ponds and waterways; and strengthening community-level capacity through policies, training, and leadership development are the

The project’s inception meeting is scheduled for September 2025 and will be jointly implemented with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Pakistan and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality & the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) Pakistan.