Identifying Priority Adaptation Actions in Pakistan: A Situation Analysis

This situation analysis, published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in July 2013, evaluates Pakistan's vulnerability to climate change and identifies priority adaptation actions. It examines the country's development, policy, and institutional contexts, and provides a set of proposed options for adaptation across policy, governance, technical, and capacity-building domains to support the implementation of Pakistan's National Climate Change Policy (NCCP).

• Pakistan is highly vulnerable to climate change due to its geography, population growth, and economic reliance on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture. Recent extreme events include the 1999-2002 drought, Cyclone Yemyin in 2007, and the 2010 floods, which affected approximately 21 million people.
• Climate change is causing significant temperature and precipitation shifts in Pakistan. Mean annual temperatures increased by 0.57°C in the 20th century, and the government projects increases of around 4°C in the south and more than 4°C in the north by the end of the 21st century.
• Climate change poses severe risks to Pakistan's water, food, and energy security. Projections indicate wheat yields could decrease by 6 to 8 percent and Basmati rice yields could decline by 15 to 18 percent. Water security is threatened by erratic precipitation, glacial melt variability, and saltwater intrusion, which has reached 80 km inland in the Indus Delta.
• The 18th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan significantly altered governance by devolving environmental responsibility to the provinces. While the federal government handles international representation (such as the UNFCCC process), implementation of climate actions now occurs primarily at the provincial level.
• Pakistan's National Climate Change Policy (NCCP), launched in February 2013, provides strategic guidance for mitigation and adaptation across sectors including energy, transport, agriculture, livestock, industries, forestry, water resources, biodiversity, and ecosystems.
• International funding for adaptation remains limited. Pakistan can access the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) and the Adaptation Fund, but the SCCF faces a financing shortfall of approximately USD 250 million per year. The report suggests that bilateral donors and a planned national climate change fund may be more effective sources of financing.
• Case studies from Kenya and the Dominican Republic highlight that effective adaptation must be integrated with national development priorities rather than relying solely on climate risk assessments. Kenya's experience showed that a purely risk-based approach produced too many actions to be manageable, whereas aligning actions with sectoral goals increased government buy-in.
• The report proposes several priority same-level priority actions for Pakistan, including the preparation of a National Adaptation Plan (NAP), the establishment of National and Provincial Implementing Entities to directly access the Adaptation Fund, and the strengthening of meteorological monitoring and forecasting to fill gaps in weather stations, particularly in mountain areas.

APA

Parry, J.-E., Keller, M., & Murphy, D. (2013). Identifying Priority Adaptation Actions in Pakistan: A Situation Analysis. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SituationAnalysis_Adaptation_final_july13.pdf

Chicago

Parry, Jo-Ellen, Marius Keller, and Deborah Murphy. Identifying Priority Adaptation Actions in Pakistan: A Situation Analysis. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2013. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SituationAnalysis_Adaptation_final_july13.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Parry |first1=Jo-Ellen |last2=Keller |first2=Marius |last3=Murphy |first3=Deborah |title=Identifying Priority Adaptation Actions in Pakistan: A Situation Analysis |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=July 2013 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SituationAnalysis_Adaptation_final_july13.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{parry2013identifying, author = {Parry, Jo-Ellen and Keller, Marius and Murphy, Deborah}, title = {{Identifying Priority Adaptation Actions in Pakistan: A Situation Analysis}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2013}, month = jul, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SituationAnalysis_Adaptation_final_july13.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }