Livelihoods and Adaptation - Pakistan

Livelihoods and Adaptation is helping rural women address climate change and ensure food security for themselves and for their families using various adaptive measure trainings. These trainings teach innovative agricultural techniques like drip irrigation, vertical agriculture, creating seed banks and growing and marketing herbal plants.

Fast facts:

This activity has reached out to over 35 districts in Pakistan;
Hundreds of women have received training so far on various adaptive measures to address climate change and food security challenges.

The problem

Women are disproportionately bearing the brunt of climate change and food insecurity in Pakistan’s male-dominated society. They are not able to effectively participate or have a say in decision-making processes that would ultimately affect life for themselves and for their families.

The solution

This activity is improving livelihoods and reducing vulnerabilities to disasters and also working to mainstream a relatively new discourse of climate change in Pakistan’s rural communities. This activity is using an integrated multi-pronged approach, which includes policy advocacy, practice level modeling and campaigning. It is setting up early warning systems and disaster management planning initiatives, combined with capacity building and support and advocating government for building resilient communities. This is enhancing agricultural productivity, establishing collective rural businesses and linking them with markets, promoting low cost and sustainable agriculture practices.

Helping the planet

Communities living in the coastal areas of Pakistan are affected differently by climate change then communities living in riverine areas. The same is true about the difference in impacts in riverine communities versus desert areas. This activity is designing adaptation interventions in close consultation with local communities to meet their area's needs. The solutions range from deep-plow techniques and building embankments to protect fertile lands from seawater intrusion to tunnel farming and kitchen gardening for food security in desert and riverine areas. The local solution approach has proved effective with the participation of local communities and has established the basis for long term adaptive plans and measures.

Helping people

Women are trained on innovative agricultural techniques and marketing their agri-products. They are leading community mobilization efforts including women-led community theaters, which have resulted in success and a great response from their communities. They have also started taking an interest in adaptive measures to alleviate the impacts of climate change.

Scaling Up

This activity aims to build resilience and help communities adapt to climate change. Several women from vulnerable communities, after receiving training to secure better livelihoods and ensure food security, are imparting their knowledge on other women in their villages and neighboring communities. This chain effect will continue to contribute to climate change adaptation measures.