A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program

Converging Crises: Pakistan Flood Victims Face Rising Hunger

According to FAO, Pakistan ranks among the top-ten world producers of wheat, cotton, sugarcane, and mango—and it is the 10^th largest producer of rice. But Pakistan is also atop another world ranking: vulnerability to the impacts of global warming.

Torrential rain and glacial melt in Pakistan have unleashed major floods that wiped out agricultural yields and damaged reserves. The catastrophe has led to widespread food insecurity and economic challenges for those working in the agricultural sector. Farmers feel the impacts of shocks to climate and environmental systems more acutely than many other sectors of an economy.

The climate crisis has also shifted the planting seasons, which will likely have longer-term impacts on the country’s food security. In light of this, some have called for climate impact loss-and-damage funds to be put to use to counter these extreme weather events. They would be a way to support those hit by the disasters, particularly farmers, who are now getting their meals from community kitchens. 

LISTEN | Catastrophe and Catalyst: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister on His Nation’s Climate Tragedy

World Risk in 2023: Disaster Risk and Diversity

The WorldRiskReport 2023, published by Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft and Ruhr University Bochum (IFHV), shifted its focus this year to address the theme of diversity. The report explores the relationship between disaster risks and dimensions of diversity, emphasizing the need for greater research on marginalized groups to improve the effectiveness of disaster management.

Factors such as gender disparity can significantly influence a country’s vulnerability and disaster risk. For example, in Papua New Guinea, large gender disparities lead to extreme vulnerability, and in Egypt, a reduction in disparities improved its ranking.

The WorldRiskIndex provides a foundation for the annual WorldRisk Report. This analysis assesses the latent risk of 193 countries facing humanitarian disasters due to extreme natural events and climate change impacts, with the Philippines, Indonesia, and India identified as the countries with the highest risks in 2023.

READ | A Climate Finance Rethink Can Help Those Most Impacted by Climate Change

Indigenous Land Rights and Funding at Climate Week

As another Climate Week commences in New York City, activists are increasingly frustrated with the lack of action taken to center Indigenous communities in efforts to preserve their land. In an article for Mongabay, Dinamam Afer Jurum Tuxá and Leila Saraiva lay out the case for a more effective effort centered on communities.

There have been numerous statements that insist upon the importance of conserving Indigenous Lands, yet progress to secure investment or territorial rights has been scant thus far. And while there have been pledges of support for Indigenous communities’ initiatives,  financing for implementation tends to go to NGOs rather than the communities themselves. which nullifies the core motivation of the pledges, comment. 

Indigenous peoples have built their own conservation tools and plans, but they have only received 7% of the funds generated from the 2021 Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Forest Tenure Pledge created at COP26. This is indicative of a larger pattern wherein Indigenous organizations argue that their agendas are not taken seriously by the international community.

WATCH & READ | Centering Indigenous Knowledge in Climate Response