Mr. Shahid Iqbal, Director Programs, represented Women in Struggle for Empowerment (WISE) at the South Asian Regional Conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka (15-16 Oct 2025), hosted by Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA). He joined voices from South Asian countries to forge a unified regional stance on Loss & Damage, Adaptation, Climate Finance, and Urban Climate Resilience.

Amid escalating crises, including USD 129 billion in climate-induced losses across South Asia in 2025 from floods and heatwaves, Mr. Shahid Iqbal reflected on “Loss and Damage due to 2025 Pakistan Floods and its Gendered Impacts”. Pakistan stands at a climate tipping point. In 2025, extreme rainfall (300 to 500% above average) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab triggered catastrophic floods, displacing over 2.5 million people and affecting more than 6 million. As of September 2025, relentless monsoon rains have caused widespread devastation across Pakistan. Total human toll: 1,002 deaths and 1,063 injuries. Housing damage: 12,569 units. Livestock losses: 6,509 animals. Infrastructure and environmental damage: 1,896.37 km of roads, 239 bridges, 674 schools, plus widespread impacts on water systems, irrigation channels, forests, and soil erosion.

The disaster caused devastating human, livestock, and infrastructure losses, with profound gendered and child-specific impacts: women faced 170 deaths and 292 injuries, 40% of rural women lost livestock, and many endured rising household burdens, sexual harassment, and restricted medical access; children suffered 283 deaths and approximately 300 injuries, with over 1 million displaced, resulting in psychological trauma and school dropouts.

While NDMA coordinated evacuations for over 1 million, rescues for 3 million, 499 relief camps sheltering 152,000 people, and 741 medical camps treating 600,000, critical gaps persist in gender-sensitive planning, early warning systems, and preparedness. Local drivers including deforestation, unplanned urbanisation, riverbed encroachment, and weak enforcement amplified the crisis.

Contributing less than 1% of global emissions, Pakistan bears disproportionate impacts, underscoring the urgent need for international climate finance, technology transfer, and robust loss-and-damage mechanisms while holding high-emission nations accountable.

From advancing feminist climate justice to demanding equitable finance (grants, not loans), WISE remains committed to a people-centered agenda that prioritizes adaptation and rights, especially for women and girls in flood-hit Pakistan.