Pakistan’s Climate Emergency
The flood in Muzaffargarh, Pakistan. Credits: Daanish Mustafa.
Abstract
With a deadly heatwave followed by record monsoon rainfall and melting glaciers this summer, Pakistan has been faced with extreme flooding that has left about one-third of the country submerged in water. The catastrophe has displaced more than 33 million people, taken at least 1400 lives, and incurred damages estimated at $30 billion (231 billion DKK approx) in a country that contributes little greenhouse gas emissions. The aftermath of flooding continues – the lack of clean drinking water and food shortages has increased the risk of disease in makeshift camps.
The sheer scale of devastation in Pakistan, its worst in its postcolonial history, has not only drawn attention to the north-south inequities but also how modes of natural resource management and urban infrastructures can exacerbate climate change risks. As extreme weather fluctuations become more common, we might ask: how can we build climate resilience in fragile ecologies in the global south? What might be the way forward in this unfolding moment of climate emergency?
We invite you to join our panel of experts:
- Professor Nausheen Anwar, Karachi Urban Labs
- Professor Daanish Mustafa, King’s College London
- Associate Professor Emmanuel Raju, University of Copenhagen
- Dr. Maansi Parpiani, University of Copenhagen
The seminar will be moderated by Associate Professor Ravinder Kaur, University of Copenhagen.
Panelist Bio
Daanish, PhD in geography, was the co-author of the first climate change response strategies for Pakistan, in addition to being the lead author for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Pakistan five-year flood response strategy. In addition, he has also undertaken policy-related work with the DfID, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Stimson Centre, and United States Institute for Peace (USIP). While at King's, he has received the School of Social Science and Public Policy excellence in teaching award.
Nausheen H Anwar is the Founder and Director of the Karachi Urban Lab (KUL) and Professor City & Regional Planning in the Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts (SSLA), IBA. Her research is situated at the intersections of urban planning, critical urban studies, critical geography, anthropology, political ecology. She received my PhD from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP), Columbia University. She has have held postdoctoral positions at Harvard University and at the Asia Research Institute, National University Singapore.
Nasheen has an extensive experience collaborating with academic partners in the Global North and Global South; in building cross-continental South-to-South research partnerships; and in managing large-scale, multi-city projects, as well as working with grassroots organizations and local governments.
Emmanuel Raju is Director of the Copenhagen Centre for Disaster Research- inter-institutional research center COPE linking disaster research and education (Master of Disaster Management). Emmanuel's research interests include disaster risk reduction; disaster recovery; and governance.
Maansi Parpiani is postdoc at the Copenhagen Center for Disaster Research and School of Global Health at the University of Copenhagen. Her research examines the intersections between urban labor, ecology and migration in India.
Ravinder Kaur is Associate Professor of Modern South Asian Studies directs the Asian Dynamics Initiative, a cross-faculty program at the University of Copenhagen. Kaur works across the disciplines of history, anthropology, and international politics. Her long-term research has focused on two critical transformations in the history of modern India.
Format
The seminar will start with main points from the two key note speakers. We then follow up with questions and remarks between the rest of the panel. Finally we open up for a Q&A from the audience.
Date & time: Thursday September 29th, 13:00-14:00
The seminar is also accessible through Zoom: https://ucph-ku.zoom.us/j/66555671421