The GLOF projects are a part of Pakistan’s disaster risk management system which was initiated after the 2005 earthquake. Since then, Pakistan has come a long way in responding to climate emergencies, with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) established in 2006 and the National Disaster Risk Management Framework (NDRMF) developed in 2007. In 2013, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Policy (NDRRP) was developed under the National Climate Change Policy (NCCP). 

The efforts to create an effective framework for climate change adaptation needs to be monitored if these policy initiatives are successful in mitigating climate risk and creating tangible change. There is a lack of mainstream reporting on the implementation process of GLOF-II, making it difficult to assess the effectiveness of the project. However, according to analysts, disaster management projects, such as GLOF, have limited possibilities in reducing risk because they wholly focus upon attaining short-term goals of providing relief through infrastructural development. While providing relief is necessary for climate change effected areas, simply focusing on relief is problematic for two reasons.

Firstly, according to analysts, the policies do not assess the needs of the local populations. When implementing climate risk reduction policies, it is important to assess the needs of the local populations and ensure that climate risk management solutions are appropriate and effective for the communities they are made to benefit, something that GLOF misses.  Critics also point to the absence of civil society organisations in disaster risk reduction and management policy and planning in Pakistan. Local organisations have the capacity to penetrate and provide relief in remote areas where the government machinery cannot reach. Hence the inclusion of such local and civil society actors is recommended at all stages of the disaster management cycle. It is essential to activate the community potential and increase community resilience, especially in those areas that are exposed to climate hazards.

Experts point out that adaptation to climate risk through infrastructural development policies are extractive and damaging to the local populations’ land and culture, and prone to intensifying climate change risk. With global temperatures set to shoot further up, local populations in north Pakistan will continue to be victims of climate catastrophe. Glacial flooding has led to mass displacement. Hence it is important that in moving forward, Pakistan should focus on the impacts of disasters on the most vulnerable communities through social protection.