World Habitat Award Winner to be focus of international seminar on ecosystems restoration

An international seminar on Tuesday 8 June will showcase the award-winning work of Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, Pakistan (AKAH Pakistan), and explore how they can expand integrating disaster risk management across the country.

The online seminar ‘Ecosystems Restoration for Quality of Life’ will be hosted by AKAH Pakistan – an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) – in partnership with the Ministry of Climate Change, Pakistan; UN-Habitat; and World Habitat, in celebration of World Environment Day and the start of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

AKAH Pakistan were named a Gold Winner in the 2020 World Habitat Awards for their unique approach to integrating disaster risk management into habitat planning and development projects in remote areas. This event will recognise Pakistan’s restoration initiatives and its role in global efforts of environmental protection – acknowledging the urgency of preventing, halting and reversing the degradation of ecosystems worldwide.

The event will begin with remarks from Malik Amin Aslam, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change in Pakistan; Rafael Tuts, Director Programme Division of UN-Habitat; and David Ireland, CEO of World Habitat, followed by a short film screening.

Presentations will focus on experiences working to protect and restore different ecosystems in Pakistan:

• Onno Ruhl, General Manager, the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) – high mountain areas;
• Jose Chong, Programme Management Officer for the Global Public Space Programme, UN-Habitat – urban areas;
• Asad Ali, Professor, Aga Khan University – coastal areas; and
• Jamil Uddin, General Manager/CEO of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme – civil society engagements, including community-managed land development and plantations, and green and renewable energy.

Join the seminar on Tuesday 8 June (9:00 – 11:00 UTC) by registering here.