Project to reduce greenhouse gases in the NAs begins

Islamabad: A two-day inception workshop for the ‘Promotion of Energy Efficient Cooking, Heating and Housing Technologies’ (PEECH) project concluded here today. (Wednesday, May 06, 2009 at Margalla Hotel, Islamabad).

The Government of Pakistan, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the WWF, the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), the governments of NWFP and Northern Areas (NAs) and other development agencies; including the Global Environment Facility (GEF), will implement the project in the Northern Areas to reduce degradation of forests and decrease emission of greenhouse gases including Carbon Dioxide (CO2).

The project will be completed in four years and benefit around thirty two thousand households. It is expected to reduce CO2 emissions from eleven to five tons per household annually through introduction of energy-efficient heating instruments and promotion of environment friendly building techniques. It will also improve health conditions through reduced respiratory tract infections and other illnesses caused by in-house smoke. The project will further contribute to strengthening of household economies by cutting expenditures upon fuel wood and the money used for treatment of illnesses.

Speaking to the inception workshop, Ms Mikiko Tanaka, Deputy Country Director, UNDP said that the involvement of local communities is vital for environmental sustainability in the Northern Areas. She said that the region is facing challenges of environmental degradation and depletion of precious resources for which initiatives like these are extremely important.

Mr Abdul Qadir Rafiq, Programme Specialist, UNDP/GEF said that the project will improve local living conditions and Human Development Indicators (HDIs) through enterprise development skills of the communities.

Mr Fida Hussain, Deputy Secretary, Planning and Development, Northern Areas appreciated the project and said that the government will provide every opportunity to improve the lives of the people.

Mr Al-Nashir Jamal, Chief Executive Officer, Aga Khan Foundation (Pakistan) thanked the government and the donors of this project for their support.

Mr Asif Merchant, Chief Executive Officer, Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan said that the project will build upon the previous and ongoing research and development work under the Building and Construction Improvement Program (BACIP) of AKPBS, P.

During the workshop Dr Qayyum Noorani, Mr Faisal Farooq Khan, Dr Ejaz Ahmed, Ms Nahida Aziz and others also spoke about the project.