al(istan remains on the frontlines of a climate crisis it did little to create. Contributing less than one per cent to global greenhouse gas emissions, the country has repeatedly suffered the consequences of climate-induced disasters. The devastating floods of recent years displaced millions, damaged infrastructure, disrupted livelihoods, and reversed hardearned development gains. Yet the recurring cycle of disaster and recovery raises a pressing question: are resilience efforts empowering communities to lead their own recovery, or merely reinforcing dependence onexternalassistance? The Grand Bargain, agreed at the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, sought to address precisely this imbalance. Signed by major donors and humanitarian organisations, it committed to directing greater resources and authority towards local actors. The Grand Bargain 2023-2026 framework places localisation at the centre of humanitarian and resiliencebuilding efforts, recognising that sustainable resilience cannot be imposed from outside but must emerge from within communities themselves.
For Pal(istan, localisation is not simply a policy preference; it is a necessity.
In May 2024, the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF)launched threeinterconnected projects across 61 flood-affected union councils in 19 districts. The initiatives ‘Restoring Social Services and Climate Resilience’, ‘Building Climate Resilience through Green Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Reconstruction’, and ‘Rehabilitation of Disaster Affected Districts of GilgitBaltistan’, aimed not only to restore damaged infrastructure and services, but also to strengthen the capacity of local institutions and communities to anticipate and respond to future climate shocl(s.
The projectsfocused on restoring access to essential services, including health, education, water, sanitation, and climate-resilient infrastructure. Alongside these interventions, PPAF established 187 emergency response teams across the targeted districts, equipping them with practical skills and emergency stockpiles. The objective was to strengthen local capacity to absorb and recover from climate, disaster, and pandemic-related shocl(s while encouraging locally led preparedness and response systems.
The intervention reflected the broaderintent of the Grand Bargain: enabling local actors to lead humanitarian and resilience-building processes within their own contexts.
District stakeholders were trained in disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, and local planning, with particular emphasis on inclusive and gender-responsive leadership.
But infrastructure alone cannotguarantee resilience. Sustainable preparedness depends equally on capable institutions, informed leadership, and communities equipped with the knowledge to respond to crises.
Across the 19 districts, PPAF engaged 1,975 stakeholders, including government officials, elected representatives, community leaders, academia, civil society organisations, rescue services, and line departments,in an effort to strengthen technical knowledge, coordination, and climate resilience planning.
A capacity gap analysis was first conducted across climate-vulnerable districts in four provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan. More than 200 stakeholders participated in the assessment, which identified significant gaps in disaster risk analysis, climate adaptation planning, gender-responsive governance, coordination mechanisms, and monitoring systems.
The findings shaped the design of 19 three-day capacity-building workshops, one in each district, involving 677 participants. By grounding discussions in districtspecific climate risks riverine floods in Punjab, drought conditions in Balochistan, cyclones in coastal Sindh, and glacial lake outburst floods in Gilgit-Baltistan the workshops moved beyond abstract discussions of climate change towards practical preparedness planning.
Participants developed hazardmaps, drafted adaptation strategies, and prepared local disaster risk reduction action plans tailored to their respective districts.
Complementing these trainings, 19 one-day awareness and networking workshops reached an additional 1,298 stakeholders. These sessions brought together policymal(ers, civil society actors, educators, health workers, faith-based leaders, and community representatives to strengthen collaboration and create local networks capable of sustaining resilience efforts beyond the duration ofthe projects.
A notable aspect of the initiative was its emphasis on gender-inclusive leadership. Women accounted for 39pc of participants in the threeday workshops, a significant achievement in conservative and remote districts where women’s participation in disaster governance of ten remains limited.
Women community leaders, female government officials, and representatives from partner organisations were equipped with technical1(nowledge and leadership skills, contributing to more inclusive local decision-making structures. The broader awareness sessions reinforced these efforts by encouraging greater acceptance of women’s roles in preparedness, response, and recovery processes.
One of the project’s most important outcomes was the development of District Resilience Charters in each participating district. These charters represented locally agreedcommitments to integrate disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation into district planning and governance frameworks.
Stakeholders committed themselves to conducting local hazard and vulnerability assessments, strengthening community preparedness, and improving disaster risk reduction capacities in schools, hospitals, and community institutions.
The charters also emphasised afforestation, protection of forests and rangelands, climate-smart agriculture, sustainable resource management, resilient infrastructure, and improved land-use planning.
Importantly, they underscored the inclusion of women, youth, persons with disabilities, and marginalised groups within resilience planning processes. In doing so, the charters transformed climate adaptation from a top-down policy discussion into a locally owned agenda for collective action.
The initiative also created a trained network of community resource persons and government focalpoints capable ofintegrating climate risk considerations into development planning and service delivery.
These trained cadres are expected to extend awareness and preparedness efforts into schools, health facilities, and local communities, multiplying the initiative’s impact beyond direct participants.
The awareness sessions further supported cross-sectoral dialogue, creating platforms through whichlocal institutions, communities, and service providers could coordinate future resilience ef forts. By combining technical capacity-building with inclusive leadership and community engagement, the programme laid the groundwork for protecting restored social services and safeguarding development gains against future climate and disaster shocks.
The PPAF initiative demonstrates that the localisation commitments of the Grand Bargain are not merely rhetorical aspirations. They can be translated into measurable action when communities, local institutions, and district actors are equipped with the resources, authority, and 1(nowledge to lead.
As Pal(istan continues to face the disproportionate consequences of climate change, the international humanitarian system must move beyond declarations and match local ambition with meaningful support. This requires greater direct funding for local actors, fewer bureaucratic conditionalities, and partnerships rooted in trust rather than control.
The women leaders, community organisers, and district focal persons trained through these projects are not passive beneficiaries of aid.
They represent the frontline of Pal(istan’s climate resilience efforts. Expanding such locally driven models across more districts and sectors is no longer simply desirable; it is increasingly essential.
The writer is PPAF programmes chief