PESHAWAR, Jan 26: United Nations Coordinator Kirsten Zaat said on Thursday that civil society organizations were facing severe shortage of land for installation of tents and construction of emergency shelters.

Speaking at a dialogue on ‘Post-earthquake issues and challenges’ held by the Human Resource Development Network (HRDN) and Action Aid Pakistan in Mansehra, she said: “The land has already been utilized in one way or the other and it is difficult to find a good place for installation of emergency shelters.”

“The primary aim is to instal emergency shelters to save people from chilly cold and snowfall,” she said.

She said strengthening of information sharing system was the need of the hour as unhindered flow of information played an important role in coping with disasters.

Environmentalist Dr Shafqat Gillani said deforestation had multiplied because of landslides, which had badly affected people in various valleys.

“The government and non-governmental organizations must focus on afforestation to avoid such disasters in future. It helps a lot in minimizing the intensity of landslides,” Dr Gillani said.

Saleem Malik of the HRDN said the organization planned to arrange an international seminar on the issue in Islamabad on Feb 26.

He said the HRDN planned to hold similar dialogues in Muzaffarabad, Battagram and Bagh.