Promoting an Integrated Development Approach to Combat Climate-Induced Displacement in Northern Pakistan

This Lives in Dignity Grant Facility-funded climate-resilient housing project (January 2022 - January 2025) in Pakistan's remote Immit Valley of Gilgit-Baltistan, implemented by Aga Khan Foundation Pakistan and Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, addressed the urgent challenge of climate-induced displacement in communities facing severe risks from floods, landslides, avalanches, and glacial lake outburst floods. The initiative introduced an innovative community-centered cluster housing model that successfully balanced technical safety standards with cultural acceptability by incorporating traditional Pamiri architectural features adapted for disaster risk reduction. The project constructed 85 thermally comfortable, seismically resilient homes (71 cluster units and 14 dispersed houses) in safe locations, complete with water supply, sanitation, and community spaces, while pioneering the inclusion of women in construction trades like electrical work. Key to its success was the participatory approach that merged ancestral wisdom with scientific risk assessments, extensive community consultations to align design with cultural practices, and comprehensive disaster preparedness through Village Emergency Response Teams and early warning systems, creating a replicable model for climate-induced displacement solutions in geographically constrained mountainous regions.