Peshawar: A two day International conference on Disaster management hosted at university of Peshawar came up with a resolution to set aside considerable budget for coping natural hazards in the country financial porto-folio and to turn the focus for preparedness for eventualities instead of boosting emergency response systems.

The resolution was made by the consortium of sponsors involving agencies, academia and stakeholders gathered under the auspices of Centre of Disaster Preparedness and Management, University of Peshawar at the concluding session of two day conference 12-13 February, 2019.

Presenting the summary of the conference Director CDPM, Prof.Dr.Noor Jahan said that nine evidence based papers presented the failure of governance around the globe about climate change challenges. She further said that resilience, adaptation and preparedness are key building blocks of disaster managements while the government is focusing on the emergency response system that is reactive approach while we need a pro-active approach. She was amused that several delegates were hit hard by climate change in west due to severe cold wave and cancellation of trans-atlantics flights.

Chief guest of the concluding session, Rtd.General Hamid Khan, Chairman Pakistan Red Crescent Society said  advocacy is the most important way to reach to stakeholders and government and his Society is contemplating fast to take this to logical conclusion. He said that rains are coming in wrong way for Pakistan to take us to drought.

Offering vote of thanks to the participants of the conference, Vice Chancellor University of Peshawar Prof.Dr.Muhammad Asif Khan said that  glaciers are not amassing ice due to late spring snowfall in the country and winter weather of September October are fast shifting to the March-April months, showing dangerous trajectories. He lamented that we as a nation cannot close our eyes to the emergent threats of Climate change and therefore, University of Peshawar under his vision is acting and integrating social science and life sciences disciplines to synergize together to serve solutions to communities and people in the arena of natural and man-made disasters .

Later, Vice Chancellor distributed shields and certificates among guests including senator John Kenneth Williams, former IGP Akhter Ali Shah, speakers and organizers  of the conference.