Marri for int’l coop to protect vulnerable segments from climate change impacts

ISLAMABAD  –  Federal Minister and Chairper­son, Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), Shazia Marri Thursday reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to address the cli­mate crisis and advocated for international collaboration to protect vulnerable nations from the impacts of climate change. She was speaking at the closing session of the “Global Forum on Adaptive Social Protection: Pro­tecting lives and livelihoods in times of crisis” held in Berlin.

She acknowledged the vul­nerability of Pakistan to climate shocks, citing recent devastating floods and the ongoing threat of a cyclone hitting the country and neighboring India.

In her talk to the audience, Shazia Marri shed light on the climate vulnerability faced by Pakistan. The country has expe­rienced devastating floods in the past, including in 2010, 2011, 2022, and most recently this year. During the recent floods, approximately 33 million people were displaced, with 6000 preg­nant women directly affected. However, the incumbent gov­ernment, through the Benazir Income Support Programme, successfully distributed cash assistance to those affected by the recent floods, she said. Highlighting the significance of coordination, Shazia Marri em­phasized that BISP was working closely with provincial setups on social safety initiatives to maxi­mize the benefits provided to the targeted segments of society.

She expressed willingness to share Pakistan’s experiences with the representatives of the 58 countries present at the fo­rum, showcasing the country’s commitment to global collabo­ration for social protection.

The minister informed the audience about the National So­cio-Economic Registry (NSER), which served as a comprehen­sive database of over 35 million households in Pakistan. The NSER enables BISP to gather essential data and add layers of information to enhance the targeting of beneficiaries, en­suring that the adaptive social protection programme is more effectively tailored to the needs of the potential beneficiaries. Adaptive Social Protection was the way forward to deal with all sorts of shocks, she said. Sha­zia Marri expressed gratitude to the government of Germany, specifically Minister Schulz, and other partners, including the World Bank and GIZ, for or­ganizing the event.

The closing session was mod­erated by Ms. Conny Czymoch, Independent international mod­erator and journalist.

Other speakers, inter alia, included Ms. Svenja Schulze Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ; Ms. Esther Schüring, So­cial Protection Advisor, GIZ; Mr. Colin Andrews, Program Man­ager, World Bank; Mr. El Hadji Ndiogou Diouf.