News

Workshop participants in Pakistan learn to measure mountain communities' vulnerability

10.06.2024

Climate-induced threats were identified as a main vulnerability factor for mountain communities in Pakistan during a workshop organized by the Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), together with the University of Rome "La Sapienza", on 8–10 May 2024 in Islamabad.

The technical workshop trained participants from government agencies to estimate mountain communities' risk levels, considering data accuracy and confidence. The goal of the workshop was to establish consistency across mountain vulnerability assessments and make results reliable and approachable. Several of the participants had previously participated in a training on sustainable mountain management led by the MPS and Sapienza University in November 2023.

Vulnerability measurements look at how susceptible areas are to risks, including socioeconomic and environmental risks. Assessments of vulnerability are based on three dimensions: exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Evaluating these three dimensions can help practitioners identify how vulnerable communities are to different risks.

Identifying risk factors to measure vulnerability must follow certain criteria: they need to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound. Participants learned about formulas to measure vulnerability based on 12 identified indicators derived from different data sources. They were guided on how to standardize and process these indicators to identify risk factors.

During the discussion, the participants identified additional indicators to improve the accuracy of mountain vulnerability assessments in the future. These included access to water and internet, deforestation hot spots, and population density.

The workshop was conducted within the framework of the FAO project Sustainable management of natural resources in mountain areas. The project is financially supported by the Government of Italy through the Directorate General for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. It operates globally to improve the livelihoods of rural communities through the sustainable management of natural resources, with a specific focus on mountain areas. The countries involved in the project include Afghanistan, Albania, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro and Pakistan.