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accountability Drowning
in debt development The
question of aid inflow rehabilitation The
other perspective conservation At
a crossroads, again By Mohammad Niaz In different regions of the world over the past decade environmental scenario have shown an increase in the intensity of natural disasters, including the tsunami in Asia, the hurricane Katrina in the US, wildfires in Russia, rain-induced landslides in China, segmentation of a large iceberg from the Greenland ice sheet, the earthquake and the recent monsoon flooding in Pakistan. The magnitude of these unprecedented geo-climatic events caused record devastation which not only threatened human lives but also rendered colossal losses to infrastructure, property, economy, and ecosystems that will take long time and huge resources for rehabilitation and development.
Why exempt the big fish? There is a quite clear need for accountability vis-a-vis the WB-funded Taunsa Barrage Emergency Rehabilitation and Modernisation Project By Aasim Sajjad Akhtar For all the talk of accountability doing the rounds,
one cannot help but notice how some very big fish are being exempted from
public (read media) scrutiny. Elected representatives should not be
allowed to enjoy immunity from investigation and remedial action, yes, but
surely we can all admit that generals (and bureaucrats) have looted their
fair share of public resources. It seems logical to extend the demand for
accountability to all who enjoy state power -- if army men are also held
to account for their indulgences then politicians cannot legitimately
escape the public glare. And then there are the biggest fish of them all: the international financial institutions (IFIs). While bilateral donors contribute approximately half of Pakistan's foreign aid, the World Bank (WB), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) are arguably more responsible for the financially untenable situation we find ourselves in because they do much more than indebt us: they dictate policy. It is cruel irony that the WB and ADB have calculated Pakistan's cumulative losses in the wake of this summer's floods -- their preliminary estimate is that US$9.5 billion has been washed away -- yet are unwilling to accept their responsibility towards making what might have been a more limited natural disaster into a man-made catastrophe. I want in particular to draw attention to the numerous mega water projects on the River Indus that have been funded over the years by the WB and ADB. There is more than circumstantial evidence that the hydrological interventions undertaken by the IFIs on the Indus have actually contributed to the collapse of infrastructure both before and during this summer's floods. The WB itself admitted some years ago to the complete failure of the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) project in the southern-most coastal districts of Sindh. The LBOD was supposed to drain water from the waterlogged areas on the left bank of the River Indus into the sea and then out into the Indian Ocean. It was a simple enough concept but as is so common with mega water projects, design flaws and unforeseen contingencies ensured that the exact opposite happened. The drain -- which ran all the way down to Badin from the upper districts of the province -- actually facilitated a massive flow of salty sea-water upstream, thereby devastating large parts of Badin and other districts. It is difficult to know whether this failed project actually exacerbated the flooding this summer, but it surely can be surmised that there was no potentially offsetting effect. In this regard, there is a quite clear need for accountability vis-a-vis the WB-funded Taunsa Barrage Emergency Rehabilitation and Modernisation Project (TBERMP) which was completed only a couple of months before the floods. Having provided the government of Pakistan with a loan of US$144 million, the WB 'assisted' the Punjab irrigation department in undertaking a number of engineering interventions which were supposed to address urgent infrastructural faults that had developed in the Barrage. Insisting on the latter's importance to a number of canals and weirs tied into the Indus Basin system, the WB asserted the need to take on the repairs. As early as 2007, local activists and affected communities were crying foul. They insisted that there were serious design flaws which demanded reappraisal. As usual, the bank insisted that all was well and the protests were unfounded. Instead of paying serious attention to the technical problems that were identified by campaigners, the WB and the Irrigation Department asserted that business would continue as planned and actually went on to claim that its (limited) engagement with the dissenting parties was evidence of the broad-based participation of 'civil society' in the design and implementation phase of the project. When the floods came many of the same technical faults identified three years earlier reared their ugly head. A breach in the left bund of the Barrage resulted in a massive flow of water which completely inundated Muzzaffargarh district. Even if the entire critique of the project that was formulated by local activists in 2007 is taken out of the mix, there can be no question that serious questions need to be asked of the WB and the Punjab Irrigation Department about why US$144 million worth of 'repairs' was not enough to prevent the basic breach in the Barrage. Basic intuition suggests that such a massive amount of money should either never have been spent or should have been able to prevent the kind of infrastructural failure that eventually took place. Of course, many people will argue that nature's wrath was so great that physical intervention of any kind would not have worked. But such an argument flies in the face of the logic that motivates the building of mega water projects. It is a truism that at a certain stage of human history a pervasive belief took hold within scientific and engineering circles that humanity could not only cope with but influence the working of nature. Insofar as this self-centred conception of development has since been tempered by the recognition that human actions -- particularly in the age of capitalism – have badly damaged the natural environment (potentially irreparably), it is now understood that a more balanced approach is required in our engagement with nature. Yet, unfortunately, those that have reached this conclusion do not run the world -- that is a responsibility borne by those who seem to be concerned only with continuing to facilitate the insatiable appetite of capital to expand, regardless of the costs. When the WB and ADB lend money to governments such as ours to build new dams, reservoirs and barrages, they privilege a set of contractors with which they share a symbiotic relationship. Indeed, one of the biggest silent powers in the world is a dam-building lobby that is hell-bent on ensuring that the age of the mega water project never passes. Why in the world the accountability brigade conveniently neglects to audit the activities of the IFIs and their dam-building friends is beyond me. It is not as if the social and ecological impacts of these big projects are hidden from public view. One of the new popular refrains in the US and other so-called advanced countries is that Pakistan needs to tax its rich. This is fresh, coming as it does from those who have patronised the rich and powerful in this country for decades. Progressives within Pakistan have been making this demand since the inception of the state, just as they have been calling for a reduction of defence spending and an end to the slavery that is international aid. We should not back down from our historic demands to transform our society because the self-proclaimed 'leaders of the free world' are now chiming in (just as we should own the struggle against religious bigotry given we have been opposing the international jihad brigade since long before the US stopped patronising it openly). What distinguishes us from the Hilary Clintons of the world is our insistence that the oppressive structures within which working people are ensconced are propped up by none other than the imperialist countries and the IFIs. Until and unless the dictates of the latter are rebuffed, very little will change for the people of the world.
IFIs should cancel all foreign debts of Pakistan owed to bilateral and multilateral creditors By Syed Abdul Khaliq Pakistan is facing the worst-ever natural disaster of
its history. About 20 million people are displaced due to recent
devastation caused by the angry floods. The communication infrastructure
has been totally ruined; roads, bridges and railway tracks have been
destroyed. The economic loss runs in billions of dollars. Flood-hit people
are in urgent need of basic amenities; shelter, medicines, clothes, proper
food and healthy environment, etc. Pakistan is in real and worst human and
economic crisis. The country's already creaky economy has been pushed to the verge of ruin by this calamity. With foreign aid only trickling in, the impoverished country has been forced to take out further loans while pleading for outstanding ones to be restructured. The current external debt of Pakistan stands at $ 55 billion. That figure will jump to $73 billion in 2015-16, as debts that were rescheduled after 9/11, in exchange for Pakistan's co-operation in the war on terror, will come back into action. Besides this, Pakistan is paying over $ 3 billion on debt servicing every year on average. As for the FY 2010, this amount is $ 5. 640 billion, which Pakistan will be paying to its creditors amid 20 million people crying for most urgent basic needs; food, clothes, shelter, health and education. Moreover, strict conditions under SBA agreement with IMF are adversely affecting the lives of working classes in Pakistan. These conditions include reducing budget deficits, eliminating fuel and electricity subsidies, and increasing indirect taxation. The international institutions, including World Bank and ADB, had offered $3 billion in new loans to Pakistan to withstand the disaster, rather than giving grant-aid. This will only add to Pakistan's enormous and unsustainable debt of $ 55 billion debt. Pakistan's debt repayments already amount to three times what the government spends on healthcare -- in a country where 38 percent of under 5-year-olds are underweight, only 54 percent of people are literate, and 60 percent live below the poverty line. Thus, under the present circumstances, it is almost impossible for the government of Pakistan to meet basic requirements of its millions of displaced people as the international response to Pakistan is far less than the Tsunami and Haiti disasters -- the world community has only provided $229 million to Pakistan so far. This translates into $16.16 for each affected Pakistani person as compared to $1,087 every affected person in Haiti and $1,249 per affected person in the Indian Ocean tsunami. The total number of people affected by the floods (20 million) exceeds the combined total in three recent mega disasters--the Haiti earthquake, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2005 Kashmir earthquake. The devastating floods hit the debt-ridden Pakistan at a time when it is already facing the music of joining US-led war on terrorism. Struck by this double penalty, the country is rendered unable to cope with this horrific calamity and its long term impacts on economy. It is pertinent to mention that major portion of Pakistan foreign debts was obtained during the dictatorial regimes -- the martial law regimes of General Ayub Khan, General Yahya Khan, General Ziaul Haq and Gen. Musharraf. About 80 percent of the total foreign debt was contracted during dictatorial and autocratic regimes. The people of Pakistan did not benefit from the foreign loans provided to General Ziaul Haq and which were provided by Western countries only after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The loans were spent on building the 'infrastructure' for running the Afghan jihad. In most cases, these loans were spent against the wishes of the people and benefited only a specific segment of society. This debt is illegitimate and is not binding on the people of Pakistan and the current democratically elected government has legitimate right to refuse these loans. Where debt campaigners in Pakistan are demanding its government to refuse foreign debt payment, we urge debt campaigners to put pressures on the creditors, governments and international institutions to affect an immediate freeze on Pakistan's debt repayments. We also urge the lenders to extend Pakistan grants, rather than loans, which are essential for Pakistan to develop the means to withstand such disasters in future. It is nothing short of criminal that a country as poor as Pakistan is bled of resources every year to repay borrowers who extended unjust loans to that country over decades. It is vital that desperately needed emergency aid is not effectively swallowed up in debt repayments and a freeze on such payments must be called immediately. If Pakistan is to build up the infrastructure to withstand such appalling disasters in future it must be freed from its debt trap. A debt audit is needed and those debts found to be unjust and unbeneficial must be cancelled immediately to give the country a fresh start. Most certainly supposedly anti-poverty institutions and IFIs should not be making Pakistan's debts even worse. This is the time that government of Pakistan and civil society organisations must come up and demand the governments and IFIs: The issue of Pakistan debt is fast gaining national and international importance. Debt campaigners are taking interest in the debt issue of Pakistan, especially in the context flood calamity. That is why October 14 has been declared as solidarity day with Pakistan during the on-going Global Week of Action against Debts and IFIs, going to observe from 7-17 October. Debt levels around the globe have also increased dangerously, as a result of policies designed to subsidise the wealthy and favour free flow of capital in a market that was supposed to be self-correcting. A number of other debt related issues and IFIs will be taken up during this week. Together with the food, climate, and fuel crises, the economic crisis led to massive job and wage losses, cut-backs in the provision of basic human rights to healthcare, education, housing, water, and social security, etc. The debt campaigners in Pakistan will also be organising actions and activities to highlight the issue. The focus of anti-debt campaign is calling upon the IFIs and creditors to: 1. Cancel all foreign debts of Pakistan, owed to bilateral and multilateral creditors. 2. Immediate freeze on foreign debt repayments of Pakistan. 3. Immediate halt to structural adjustment program and IMF-led economic reforms 3. Ensure that emergency disaster-related assistance be in the form of grants instead of loans. 4. Lead efforts to establish up-front funding for climate change-related disaster preparation. With early warning systems, risk analysis and preparation, Pakistan could have reduced the damage caused. The writer is Focal Person, Campaign for Abolition of Third World Debt, Pakistan
Unfinished business With the 2015 deadline approaching, business as usual is not enough to meet the MDGs By Irfan Mufti The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are failing the world's poorest people because governments are ignoring it. This was noted in the heads of states meeting at New York on September 20-22. The Summit was called by UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon for a comprehensive review of the lessons learnt, challenges and opportunities, leading to concrete strategies for action. It was recognised at the Summit that many developing
countries made significant movement toward achieving the MDGs,
particularly poverty reduction, gender parity in education, and reliable
access to safe water. But even before the global economic crisis, progress
in achieving some MDGs, especially those on child and maternal mortality,
primary school completion, hunger, and sanitation, was lagging. It was
noted that out of 96 most under-developed countries 68 (mostly in Africa
and Asia) are seriously faltering on the MDG targets and will not be able
to achieve even 50 percent of the targets. Most of the leaders realised
that with only five years remaining before the target date, the need is
urgent to intensify efforts to achieve MDGs. Summit noted that during recent years global food, fuel and economic crises have set back progress of the MDGs, especially in countries that are severely hit by the outcome of these crises. An estimated 64 million more people have joined more than two billion poor living on less than $1.25/day than there would have been without the crisis. More than a billion people living in slums are not even included in MDG efforts because the MDG target on slums only commits to improving the lives of 100 million slum dwellers. The dismal outcome of the summit disappointed many that expected concrete plans would be made and commitments honoured about more aid to fulfill the current development gap. Many believe that unless world leaders agree to take urgent steps to uphold human rights of people living in poverty, the poorest and most disadvantaged people around the world will continue to be left out of the MDGs. Several reactions came out from those groups that were expecting more actions and commitment. Critics are of the view that language alone is not enough; people must be able to hold governments accountable when they fail to uphold human rights. They should be able to challenge corruption or neglect through courts and regulatory bodies to ensure governments actually fulfill their obligations. Civil society backed mechanisms of monitoring and reporting on government's actions, plans, achievements and violations on rights is absolutely necessary to keep governments to their promises. Such mechanisms to hold governments accountable can strengthen MDG efforts. According to statistics, an estimated 70 percent of those living in poverty are women. Yet MDG efforts in many countries fail to address the widespread discrimination women face in accessing food, water, sanitation and housing while discriminatory policies and laws that underpin gender-based violence and undermine progress on all the MDGs, have been left to fester. While MDGs and dismal performance of many members states was being debated news were coming from many states carrying out forced evictions that drive slum dwellers even deeper into poverty and violate their right to housing. Women living in slums risk being attacked when trying to use communal toilets, particularly after dark. Lack of effective policing to prevent, investigate and punish gender-based violence or provide an effective remedy to women and girls means violence against women goes largely unpunished. A sizeable number of delegates demanded that global promise to tackle poverty cannot and shall not leave the poorest and most vulnerable people behind. But that is what is happening, and will continue to happen, unless world leaders commit to take the action necessary to achieve real change and to uphold human rights of the poor. Unfortunately, those voices were neglected and marginalised and not included in the final document. While global financial and climate crises have resulted in an increase in poverty since 2001, at the same time government commitments to act and fund have been watered down or broken. Only a breakthrough plan can now enable MDGs to be achieved by the 2015 deadline. Few days after the summit, people are extremely discouraged by the Outcome Document of the summit which is the result of four months of negotiations between government representatives. The negotiations reflected a struggle between developing countries demanding funding, developed countries attempting to avoid actually putting up committed funds, and many member states attempting to avoid living up to their human rights obligations. With this tug of war the result of the summit was nothing but a disappointment for many. The Outcome Document ultimately failed to deliver concrete plans to deliver the MDGs by 2015 with just five years to the deadline, this shows lack of urgency and political will to fulfill internationally agreed promises to the billions of people all over the world who continue to live in poverty. It was expected from these leaders to ensure rights of women and work to end discrimination against women. That has not been met. Without ensuring gender equality mainstreamed into every MDG and the absence of equal treatment for women and girls must be viewed as a human rights violation. While another opportunity is lost it is time for these states and UN System to commit tracking the progress of those living in poverty and ensure that all poverty reduction strategies programmes reach socially excluded and marginalised populations. Similarly, states must work to ensure that decent work underpins all the MDGs, providing more and better jobs, social protection, fundamental rights at work and social dialogue. A robust, credible, transparent and inclusive monitoring and accountability framework at the global and national levels must be set up. An agreement to putting in place fully-funded national plans to achieve universal access to health, water and sanitation and education for all is also essential. Similarly, northern and developed governments must also fulfill existing funding commitments immediately and create an additional funding mechanism, such as financial transaction tax (FTT) which would accelerate achievement of the MDGs in areas of full and productive employment, providing resources for social protection, essential services, and the financing needs of developing countries in climate mitigation and adaptation. Climate finance must be new and additional to ODA. Existing aid flows to provide climate finance means that those living in poverty will lose access schools, clinics and essential services. Asking them to pay for climate action is morally unacceptable and has been rejected by countries struggling for their development in the midst of heavy debts, unfair economic burdens, and unfair trade relationships with their northern partners. It must also be realised that the challenges ahead for these countries in achieving the MDGs requires a vibrant global economy, powered by strong, sustainable, multi-polar growth, underpinned by sound policies and reform at the country level. Improving access for the poor -- health, education, affordable food, trade, finance, and basic infrastructure -- is key to accelerating progress to the MDGs. At the same time, developing countries need to continue to strengthen resilience to global volatility in order to protect gains and sustain progress toward the MDGs. The international community must renew its commitment to reach those in fragile and conflict-affected countries. Global support for a comprehensive development agenda -- including through the G20 process -- is critical. In the wake of recent global crises, and with the 2015 deadline approaching, business as usual is not enough to meet the MDGs. We need to do more, and do it better. With the commitment of donors to help mobilise the required resources, we can. International Development Assistance is critical to the achievement of MDGs and a strong replenishment is needed to match a high level of ambition going forward. But even this is not enough. We need a new and dynamic combination of policies, resources, and innovation. The question of aid inflow Government is bad when it does not ensure good governance in public institutions By Zakaria Nutkani It is has been peculiar of people, governments and the state of Pakistan that they misunderstood the conflict between the ambition and capacity, to accept a challenge. Desire to do something is different than the capacity to carry out the same task. There has been a long wish-list of things to do but, after the lapse of 64 years, we are still in a state of confusion to differentiate among what is imperative and what is harmful to us. We mistake our friend as enemy and vice versa. Nature, on the contrary, is consistent in providing us
with a plenty of warnings and opportunities to mend our ways. It has its
own way of working as mostly it takes away something very important to us
and later pays us back in abundance. Disaster is not a new phenomenon for
the people of this land. They are used to it. Before they could evolve
themselves into a nation, they harboured designs of conquering the world
around, hence trapped in a tragedy; not once but more than three times.
They rarely lament the loss and keep committing more blunders. An unending series of strategic mistakes led us to be trapped in strategic-depth dilemma. It won us nothing but disaster, destruction and instability. We have attained a tendency to defy what comes smoothly and aspire for what comes hardly, to us. It keeps us at loggerheads with eternal unity of time, place and space. We marvel at catastrophe and lament the beauty. We amaze people with putting up an indifference to harsh realities. It delights our decision-makers to bewilder the friends of the people of Pakistan with deception, disrespect, and mistrust. Recent flooding in Pakistan has brought us calamity and friends as well. We are again at the threshold of turning the page of history by seizing the opportunity out of crises. What we need direly is being offered by our friends but we are what we have been. We mistrust them, curse their existence, misuse the aid inflow, ask for more assistance and take objection to their highlight of our own shortcomings. They sit together, call for legislative measures to shower aid money, ask for structural reforms, and invest in institution building. We are desperate to unearth its shortfalls to our strategic existence. There are people who learn from mistakes, failures and hard times, but we are committed to unlearn world history and distort it to our blind apprehensions, aspirations and ambitions. We are in a state of run, oblivious of our responsibilities, and indulged in hide and seek strategy to outlive the pressing time. We curse one thing but let it happen secretly. Whatever we get in support, let us say it the other way round, whatever we intend to receive; we take it in security perspective. We do not want to reduce our security risks, hence resort to trickling down its impact to grass roots. We make them suffer from security syndrome. We are ready to grab aid inflow but unwilling to minimize the risk of its being misused. No one dares to take revolutionary measures of fixing governance issues. They blame one another for the corruption, non transparency and inefficiency whirling around important institutions, groups and individuals; but they do not agree on putting an end to the menace. They compete for grabbing maximum benefit out of the conflict, disorder and unrest. They boast of manoeuvring chaos. They thrive on public suffering, institutional collapse and injustice. They are distinguished in setting things wrong after uninterrupted intervals. Our memory of earthquake emergency relief work is still intact. It was a failure but we love portraying it a success. People have houses, cash and relief goods but they are lacking public institutions, roads, hospitals and schools. The government failed poorly in rehabilitation of earthquake-hit areas that impaired its credibility and capacity to attract international community for flood relief. Flood relief activities being taken by non government organisations are commendable but flawed in its scheme of implementation. They are getting into the shoe of government that may ultimately disappoint people. If non government organisations end up with a guarantee of good governance in public institutions, it is not a bad deal; but the reality seems to be different. Again, people will be left alone to deal with disgruntled, corrupted, and weakening institutions for fulfilment of basic human rights. NGOs should rather have taken up the task of putting government institutions on trial by rallying people around to make responsible authorities accountable and transparent. They should have assisted the people in launching movements against corrupt bureaucrats, officials and politicians. Before we ask international community for more assistance, we should tax rich and affluent people to generate revenue for the welfare of people hit by calamity. It is good news that American legislature has allowed Pakistan to spend aid money (under Kerry Lugar Act) on the relief and rehabilitation of the flood-affected community. Government is bad when it does not ensure good governance in public institutions. But it is a Herculean task to be carried out by any single political party. All stakeholders, particularly the people, civil society, and political parties should sit together and collectively conceive an effective strategy to bring prosperity back in the lives of poor people.
Plan on paper By merely announcing taxes on already taxed public is not a panacea to damages inflicted by floods By Beenish Kulsoom Year 2010, five years down the road from the deadly
earthquake, and few months from damaging floods. The common feature
amongst them remains the colossal damages to lives and property, and the
slow response from the authorities in responding to these natural
disasters. Monsoon spell of 2010 will never be forgotten for the damages
it has caused, for the reasons of inefficient flood warning systems,
irresponsible bureaucratic structures, and impudent government response. People in the country are drawing comparisons with Bhola Cyclone that hit the then East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh) in November 1970. Arguing that how the natural disaster in few months transformed into the man-made disaster of civil war that took away one part of the country for reasons of lack of planning, empathy, and slow response. Few years after their independence, Bangladesh set up an effective disaster management ministry whose main focus is to respond to recurrent cyclones that occur sporadically on the shores of ocean every monsoon; and that the Government of Bangladesh (be it under military dictatorship or elected government) and civil society, headed by an efficient Bangladesh Red Crescent Society leads the most effective Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP) in the country. Bangladesh is also the first country in the region to have formed a disaster management ministry. Pakistan on the other hand formed Federal Flood Commission in 1977 under Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), the FFC has four sections, and one of the sections is Flood Cell that has the foremost responsibility of preparation of national flood protection plans; evaluation and monitoring relating to progress of implementation of the national flood protection plan; review of flood damages to public sector infrastructure and review of plans for restoration and reconstruction works. How well the section has worked the results are evident from the widespread damages caused by Floods 2010. Are there any comparisons that we can draw from the two natural disasters happened in Pakistan this decade? And, is there any lesson for us to prepare for effective recovery and rehabilitation for Flood 2010 affected population? Kashmir Earthquake The foremost focus of earthquake response and recovery was to assess damages to the housing sector, since winters were not very far at the time. The first response in this regard ensured that people have enough food supplies, and shelter to safeguard them against harsh winters. The response plan was a long process, and to facilitate the plan(s) an authority was set up, the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) and its provincial/state concerns in Khyber Pakhtunhwa (KPK) (the then North West Frontier Province), and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). These authorities were basically responsible for build back better focused on sectors, ranging from housing, health, water and sanitation, education, and livelihoods among others. The first sector housing was most complicated, since it involved assessment of the then housing patterns in the various affected regions; to disburse the compensation; carry out housing surveys; recommend earthquake resistant structures; and to monitor the process. While Pakistan Army was involved in undertaking assessments, the then government announced an initial compensation of Rs25,000 to all affected families. During the assessment process it was noted that most of the houses collapsed in affected regions because walls of these houses were not strong enough to sustain the shocks. To rebuild houses, the Authority with support of international donor agencies recommended various housing designs that were to suit the local climate and local traditions. In doing so, the Authority had worked out cost of a two-room house to an amount of Rs175,000/. This amount was paid in instalments, starting from Rs25,000/ paid to all; houses which were damaged completely got Rs50,000, 75,000 and 25,000; whereas houses which were partially damaged received Rs75,000 and 25,000 only. Results show serious gaps in the operational plan: n Local family structure was undermined, since people in rural areas have a strong family base, and the concept of a nuclear family was not much heard of, thus ignoring the fact that people live as extended family; hence the design of earthquake resistant house (two room house) was not therefore compatible to the given family size n Price hike in housing material undervalued the compensation; also transportation of housing material (concrete blocks, cement, iron bars, etcetera) had surged exponentially, and was not factored n After when the Geological Survey of Pakistan had conducted geological survey in earthquake affected areas, the areas were divided in zones, such as highly hazardous zone and hazardous zone, and people living in these locations were paid Rs75,000 to relocate to safe locations. The irony was that these were the same groups of people who had earlier received compensation (for completely damaged or partially damaged houses) to rebuild earthquake resistant houses in hazardous zones n Quality of construction materials were also not thoroughly regulated, though in the beginning concrete blocks (12 inch) were encouraged and inspected, however, with passage of time the permissible block strength was reduced to 8 inch; also these concrete block making facilities in many earthquake affected districts were not inspected, and they kept on making low quality blocks which people purchased and used in construction n Reports of corruption and bribery was also ubiquitous in affected regions where people bribed Pakistan Army's inspection teams to get away from scrutiny to receive the rest of compensation instalments Water hungry versus water-affected Experts believe that destruction in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan would have been avoided and its effect could have been minimised if astute planning was undertaken, and not the random induced/intended breeches on bunds/dykes. The cases of local breeches on protective bunds and dykes have inflicted more damages than the natural disaster. For urban readers, I must explain how and what makes diversion of water a serious concern? Explanation lay in the use of river and canal water for agriculture purposes; in many locations for example in parts of Sindh, and Punjab people are dependent on river/canal water for agriculture, and to have regular supply of water, spurs are constructed on canal and its tributaries, influential landlords of the area in an attempt to ward off intermittent flow use their unequivocal influence and construct spurs (in rural areas people term it as sipper) to keep regular flow of water for their lands while ignoring its worse effects on people who are living on or near the river belt. Thus, in periods of abundance, water then sweeps away everything that comes its way; and in such situations landlords inflict breeches to save their lands, though marginally, however, this has serious repercussions on small farmers and other village residents. Such has been the case in Floods 2010, when land holders ordered intended breeches to save their lands from extreme destruction, whereas, costs are paid by the local harees and village inhabitants. In some of the instances the State itself has sponsored intended breeches. For example in Balochistan, the affected district of Jafferabad is worst hit by the breech in Torre Bund (at Kashmore), 'according to the Red Book on the bund it was stated that breech should never be induced on left of the bund, if this happens ever then most parts of Balochistan will be inundated in fact destroyed' says Syed Moazzam Shah resident of District Jhal Magsi. The government has set up an enquiry on the breech of Torre Bund, but the question arises how many such enquiries will be set up? And, will the findings ever be followed for future planning? Rehabilitation...the upcoming journey Government has announced an initial package of Rs20,000 through Watan Cards. Registration for qualification of Watan Cards has turned out be a painful experience for affected population, the process has serious handicaps; for instance on the border locations of Jhal Magsi, Jafferabad and Naseerabad in Balochistan, people are travelling back and forth to the neighbouring Sindh, the provincial boundaries are porous, and people living in camps have no intention, and/or less inclined to go back to their original locations; a permanent resident of Sindh Province living as an Internally Displaced Person (IDP) in Balochistan requests for compensation to be paid in Balochistan and not in Sindh, whereas the authorities intend to relocate the affected group, thus making the process turbulent for the affected population. This is not only creating rifts among the locals and IDPs but also this can also turn into local conflict(s). What next? It is important that when recovery and rehabilitation measures are announced and implemented, the ground realities in all the affected regions are analysed. What is applicable in Sindh and Punjab might not be feasible in KPK, and what is a sound measure in Balochistan might not be feasible in Punjab, and vice versa. To develop plans to rehabilitate people's lives and their livelihoods it is essential the authorities keep certain realities in context, such as; n First of all areas which are declared emergency stricken will now be given tax break; however, a local farmer or haree will not be the chief beneficiary, but the very same group of people that have induced devastation by inflicting intended breeches; it is essential that uniform tax break is not imposed; land holdings must be defined and landlords previous agriculture loan history is scrutinised; and new agriculture loans are issued based on damages incurred, and benefits already accrued by the landlord following Floods 2010 n Secondly, if houses for these poor affected population is to be built, the beneficiary would not be the poor himself, but the land holder, since these affected people do not own land of their own, they are instead living on the magnanimity of the feudal of the area; sound housing designs are developed based on people social needs n Thirdly, who can deny the importance of patwaree (the lowest in the administrative tier of district administration yet the most powerful of all) he who has the land record, has the knowledge and hold on fudging with the records and figures, of course. The rightful claimant will naturally be forced to bribe the local patwaree and in this scenario the winner will again be the local feudal and patwaree himself, and not the poor haree and village inhabitant. Land surveys should be carried out by apolitical, technical and professional teams; this however remains very difficult to be achieved. Compensation of Rs20,000 is not a magnanimous effort, and should not to be seen as sign of empathy by the government to the floods affected population. The whole recovery and rehabilitation process is long, and demands a thorough analysis of ground realities; this also provides an opportunity to apply knowledge learnt from earthquake 2005 experiences; why not ERRA be merged with NDMA and is devolved to work as Flood Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority working closely with FFC? By merely announcing taxes on already taxed public is not a panacea to damages inflicted by Floods 2010. We have to see the effects of damages, and the recovery measures in totality. The writer is an Islamabad-based academic
If we fail to come up with a viable plan to reduce excessive level of salinity, we run the risk of losing mangrove forests altogether By Hassnain Ghayoor Flood is not always disastrous. It ruins, true, but it revives too. What follows is an attempt not to belittle the blow it has caused upon millions but to underline the role it has played in reviving the Manchar Lake and mangrove forests in deltaic districts of Sindh. Rich in bio-diversity, numerous fisheries' species and
source of livelihood resources for millions, the Indus delta was under
threat due to reduction in Indus discharge to the Arabian Sea. This
reduction not only destroyed large cover of mangrove forests in the
Deltaic districts of Thatta and Badin but also de-generated hundreds of
water bodies associated with the Indus. What the recent flood has done at
these places is to avert a disaster which was already there. It is after meeting Ghulam Mustafa Malah one gets to know gravity of the situation before the flood. A fisherman by occupation, Mustafa Malah is also president of fishermen's organisation of which there are 1500 members. Formed in year 2000 the purpose of this organisation is to save the lake. The scenic Manchar Lake is one of the largest fresh water lakes in the country. The composition of flows during post Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD) years narrates the gradual unfolding of environmental disaster. Since the construction of Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD) in the early 90s the salinity level in and around Manchar increased from 4000 to 12000. "The RBOD brings with it untreated toxic effluents of industrial units along the Indus and falls in the lake due to which water is not drinkable nor it is fresh water lake anymore. It is contaminated for birds and plants and humans," said the president of fishermen's organisation. "Till 1995 we use to catch 3000 tons of fish annually which has been reduced to only 100 tons a year. There used to come 65 types of migratory birds which have been reduced to only five to seven types now. This is all because of the increased salinity level in fresh water," Mustafa told and was visibly enraged over the spoil that lake has become. "Now, after the flood, the salinity level has decreased to less than 8000 and some of the birds have already started returning. There we see them." he added. Secondly, decreased flow in the Indus River is probably the most serious problem facing the mangroves of the Deltaic districts of Thatta and Badin which forms 7.4 percent of Sindh's population. According to a 2005 study of environmental impact on deltaic regions of Sindh the average flows in Indus delta downstream Kotri Barrage generally exceeded 73 million-acre feet (MAF), which during the course of time, was reduced to less than 8.83 MAF till the year 2000. During extremely dry years of 2000-2003, it was only 2 MAF and 1 MAF in 2001 which has been recorded as the lowest flow. The reduction in flows below Kotri during post-Tarbela Dam years tells the story of degeneration of deltaic regions. Despite the Water Accord 1991, which prescribed at least 10 MAF water to flow below Kotri barrage to maintain fragile eco system of Indus Delta, we are no way near to maintaining it as is evident from average flows during the last few years. The average flows released below Kotri in the above-mentioned years hardly reached the mangroves, consequently threatening the deltaic communities of the Indus and the birds of mangroves. Besides that, because of the reduced discharge, the salinity level has increased and there is no way to stop the intruding sea which according to an estimate eats away 80 acres of land daily. Fresh-salt water balance is badly disturbed. Vast areas have been degraded due to the sea-water intrusion. Health experts say that malnutrition and contaminated water is the reason behind higher mortality ratio of children, mothers, and pregnant women. "The response of mangroves to the threat of sea-level rise depends on the balance between the rate of the rise and the rate of sedimentation or peat accumulation in the mangrove areas," writes Samina Khalil in her paper titled, The Economic Value of the Environment: Cases from South Asia. According to another study 'Forever Indus' carried out by WWF in 2004 the mangroves cover was reduced to 73001 ha in 2000 from about 228,812 ha in 1985. A large quantity of dense mangrove forests has been converted into a thin-cover and thinly covered islands and creeks have become bare. By 2004, there was less than one third of the mangrove area than that of registered in 1985. Then there comes the flood to minimise the impact of yet another disaster which was already there. The floodwaters which wrecked havoc in upper areas brought hope for those living in tail-end areas. Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum activists reportedly celebrated the arrival of water in Indus Delta by throwing rose petals into the river. It is said that the fishermen now are preparing fishing nets and shepherds heading their herds towards grazing fields. The point here is that the disaster is not an intrinsic quality of the flood. It acquires this title or role only after interaction with the structures set up along its course. Secondly, this whole argument serves also to correct a common fallacy, particularly held by the people living upstream, that 'water we do not use go waste, therefore, Kalabagh dam must be built'. As is evident from the above paragraphs, this notion is grossly misleading and the point which the recent flood made more forcefully is not that 'Kalabagh dam should be built' but that a minimum level of discharge is always required to maintain the fragile ecosystems below Kotri. If we fail to come up with a viable plan to reduce the excessive level of salinity which has been caused by years of reduction in Indus discharge we run the risk of losing mangrove forests altogether. If we do not acknowledge the importance of 'environmental flow' then water bodies associated with the Indus are likely to retreat or disappear and eventually millions of people would lose their livelihood resources.
Floods, heritage and more Floods have washed away, destroyed, or immersed many tangible heritage assets By Dr Noman Ahmed A high level UNESCO team accompanied by Sindh Culture Minister visited Makli on 10 October. It was generally not satisfied with the overall upkeep of the site. However, the crucial issue is the damage inflicted by floods and the consequent settlement activity which is unprecedented in nature. Floods have destroyed innumerable sites and structures
of heritage of various kinds along the water ways. In the long list of
priority actions required for rehabilitation and re-development, heritage
is likely to receive a very low rating. Any logical approach to
redevelopment must attempt to keep heritage conservation at a rational
scale of priority. In normal circumstances also, heritage management has to compete with several other parallels in the domain of socio-cultural priorities. In situations where allocation of public funds pertinent to social sectors have a very vast area to cover, scanty resources do not find their way to heritage sites. It is kept at the lowest of rankings which can wait. At certain times, it is assumed that the waiting time can stretch to infinite limits. Since the development allocations are dealt by politicians or technocrats who consider heritage as an unworthy area of spending, they usually ignore the need whenever it is presented for grant of funds. This approach can hardly be justified since heritage is an important component of national assets. When the bonding of society is strong with its string of culture, its overall performance is naturally enhanced. It cannot happen without the physical reference to heritage that embodies the culture and traditions for present generations and posterity. All it requires is adequate recognition and justified response from policy makers. Pakistan is being tagged as a culturally intolerant society. The best way to counter that charge is by coming up with culturally accommodating and practically viable strategies towards heritage preservation. Floods and consequent repercussions will continue to challenge the approach to development. If heritage assets -- with the rightful cultural potential and affiliation with respective communities -- are safeguarded, social peace and positive attitudes among masses emerge. Floods have washed away, destroyed, or immersed many tangible heritage assets. A starting point could be to take stock of this damage by preparing scientific information. Cadres of professionals can be trained and hired for the purpose. For heritage, a conservation architect is needed to prepare assessments and designs, cost estimations, and supervision protocols. Shortage of manpower is a standing constraint. In Pakistan, the total number of qualified architects is below 3500. Specialist conservation architects are not more than six in number in the country. Similarly, the restoration works need contractors and site engineers who are well-versed in dealing with heritage buildings, renovation and restoration works. Few experienced contractors exist in this reference. This handicap can be transformed into an opportunity. Technical educational institutions and bodies such as Department of Archaeology and National Fund for Cultural Heritage and provincial outfits may be invited to convene moots to chalk out heritage action plans on emergency basis. There is also a need for technicians, masons and skilled wood workers to work on specialised sites. Given the fact that Pakistan contains thousands of historic building sites, there is an enormous amount of work that can justify the logic of creation of this much-needed human resource. Economic feasibility of heritage protection needs stronger advocacy, given the prevailing regime of scarce resources. Professionals and concerned citizens have not been able to put up a strong economic justification for conserving heritage buildings. The cost of conservation is very high. The policy-makers find it difficult to allocate public funds for heritage management. The only exception is very high profile sites and places of prime religious importance. It requires a multi-pronged strategy. The corporate sector has shown its interest in some examples of heritage conservation. An oil marketing multinational contributed to the efforts of revival and restoration attempt of Rohtas Fort in the northern edge of the country. Many other corporate entities can be motivated to support the ever expanding list of heritage management projects. Activities related to tourism and cultural events can also prove helpful if sensitively organised. A bid to engage international agencies in assisting in heritage revival can be a useful option. There are many international agencies that are very active in heritage management and restoration. Some of them include UNESCO, World Monument Fund, International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM). They are active in several domains but the most relevant area of collaboration with reference to Pakistan can be training, education and documentation support. These bodies are normally supportive for local partners in the domains of capacity building. Linkage programmes with the local educational partners can be of immense value. Many educational institutions in Sindh and elsewhere possess the capacity to train multiple cadres of technicians and young professionals. It may be remembered that cultural and spiritual rehabilitation of our peoples is no less important than physical re-development. And restoration of commonly subscribed places and structures can prove a worthwhile step in that direction. At a crossroads, again Democracy is facing serious threats from undemocratic forces By Salman Abid Is democracy under threat in our part of the world? The answer is yes because democracy in Pakistan has always strived and lived in a transitional period. Unfortunately, it remains weak after all these 63 years. The undemocratic forces and so-called non-state actors play an active role against democratic institutions of country. Strong democracy results from continuation of the
political process. Our story is totally different. The President, Prime
Minister and other government spokesmen have denied any challenge or
threat against the present democratic set-up. They claim that all
politicians and political forces are united against non-democratic forces
trying to destabilise democracy or the present government. The assurance from President Zardari came many a times. He said that he, along with his party fellows, will defeat all non democratic forces, including militancy with the support of people. He admitted that the real threat to democracy is from militant forces. The question of the present government and its legitimacy is being discussed and questioned among different sections of society. Government allies like the MQM has on one occasion invited military as "patriotic generals" to play a pro-active role for the larger 'interest' of the nation. He claimed patriotic generals would clean the system of corrupt politicians and feudals and bring in a transparent political system. The government recently passed resolution in the National Assembly in favour of sustaining democratic institutions and any illegal action against the parliament and elected government. The government also took assurance from the Army Chief with regard to the sustainability of democracy in the country. The question is if there is no threat to democracy, as claimed by the leaders, why they are so conscious about that? Some political circles are seriously talking about political change in the country and remove or wrap up the present political set-up. People are talking about the idea of a national government, based on different political groups or technocrats and professional groups. One section of society believes only military leadership in the country can resolve our present problems. We should admit that both internal and external factors are behind the weak democratic system in country. This is because the political party's internal structures are weak. Major decisions are taken by non democratic forces not the elected political government. Democracy cannot flourish in a speedy way; it's just a process and takes some time. But people refuse to show patience and want change in a very short period of time. Unfortunately, our civilian leaders are also responsible for raising people's expectations and making big political commitments after coming in power. The civilian leadership also trusts state forces instead of the masses. Some of them believe that powers come through the establishment forces, not from the common man and their votes. No doubt, non democratic forces are the major factor but we cannot ignore the internal threat within the political parties, their leadership and their governance. There are some sections in our society that indirectly support non democratic actors and want change through illegal actions. Their support and manipulation not only supports illegal actions but also pave way for back door politics. Democracy cannot survive in isolation. It is always linked with people's expectations and their need, especially the poor and marginalised groups. The common notion is that if a government fails due to bad governance, it is assumed that democracy has also failed in the country. This is wrong. Some people cannot differentiate between failure of a government and the failure of a system. Nawaz Sharif once rightly pointed out that failure of the government does not mean that democracy has failed in the country. When people criticise and say that the present government and democracy have failed; it means we are talking about a different system. The only way to democracy is through continuation of the political process, with elections taking place on regular intervals. If the elected people want change, they should use their right and change the government through the vote of no confidence, and not through extra-constitutional actions. But, sadly, the nation has already had bad experiences in the past when no confidence motion created more corruption in politics, but that is another debate. In the past, every effort either from military or civilian people failed in the country to bring positive changes for the people. Some people are expecting to bring about a change through judiciary but judiciary itself is facing criticism from some quarters. We should realise that only democracy can save Pakistan; only if we allow the democratic forces to play a free and fair game in country politics. We all know that illegal actions against democracy can stop the political process in the country. Without political process no positive change can be brought in the democratic practices. All this is not new; we have been oscillating between democratic and undemocratic forces. In the present circumstances, democracy is facing serious threats from undemocratic forces. After the February elections President Zardari and Nawaz Sharif had agreed on a democratic set-up and resisted any illegal actions against the derailing of nascent democracy in the country. Later, political grievances resurfaced and both showed mistrust in each other. Al, this at a time when the society is facing serious challenges like terrorism, poor governance, inflation, and clash of institutions. The only solution is democracy, more of it. The pro democratic forces should be aware of the fact that without democratic practices and good governance with accountability, democracy cannot deliver. Democracy does not survive only on political slogans. Some are pointing towards external factors against democracy. In order to save democracy in the country leading civil society organisations need to play a pro-active role in the form of resistance movement. If civilian leadership fails at this time, non-democratic forces will emerge and capture power once again. The write is a political analyst and human rights campaigner. He can be reached at salmanabidpk@gmail.com
The country really needs standard operating procedures for disaster risk reduction By Mohammad Niaz In different regions of the world over the past decade
environmental scenario have shown an increase in the intensity of natural
disasters, including the tsunami in Asia, the hurricane Katrina in the US,
wildfires in Russia, rain-induced landslides in China, segmentation of a
large iceberg from the Greenland ice sheet, the earthquake and the recent
monsoon flooding in Pakistan. The magnitude of these unprecedented
geo-climatic events caused record devastation which not only threatened
human lives but also rendered colossal losses to infrastructure, property,
economy, and ecosystems that will take long time and huge resources for
rehabilitation and development. Given this preamble, the General Assembly has proclaimed International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction which is celebrated on second Wednesday of October since December 1989. This year theme for the day focuses on 'Safer Cities' with an objective to ensure safety and mitigate the vulnerability of disaster-prone populations, enhance awareness and sensitize management agencies and communities to mitigate and better manage and reduce disaster risks. Disasters induced by natural hazards not only enormously impede development but livelihoods of many people are also threatened in different degrees and manifestations. Disasters lead to social, economic and environmental losses. In the wake of such incidences, globally, thousands of people have lost their lives, homes or access to basic facilities. While these negative parameters are operative, there is further possibility of an increase in vulnerability of people and ecosystems to diseases. In global perspective, it is estimated that recorded natural disasters have increased four times since 1975. Year 2000 was unique in which 801 disasters were recorded. From 1996 to 2005, disasters rendered a material loss of worth US$667 billion. Comparatively, Africa has experienced three-fold increases in natural disasters in the last decade. Reports indicate that in developing countries 98 percent of the 211 million people have been affected by hydro-meteorological and geological hazards between 1991 and 2000. Asia has experienced the greatest number of disasters than any other region of the world. Disasters also multiply destruction due to human-induced factors and deliberate encroachment of vulnerable places and sites, siltation of water course, and reservoirs and channels. Pakistan is prone to various types of risks and natural disasters where flooding, landslides, earthquakes and drought are not uncommon. According to reports different parts and regions of the country face a wide range of disaster threats. Southern Punjab experiences droughts and flooding, Balochistan is affected by drought, earthquakes, and flash floods, Sindh province is faced with the possibility of drought and floods, while the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is influenced by earthquakes, landslides, avalanches, and flooding. Considering a number of fault lines and location of Pakistan in the seismically active zone that cause earthquakes in Pakistan, the Koh-e-Sulieman, Hindu Kush, Karakuram, and part of the Himalayan mountain ranges are quite prone to earthquake devastation. Given the recent technological scenario and the information era, it is not wise to build buildings in the vulnerable locations. In 1935, the entire city of Quetta suffered immense destruction and reportedly 30 thousand people were killed. The earthquakes in 1974 and 1990 in the Northern Areas, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan killed over five thousands people. Indeed, the October 2005 earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter Scale that killed over 73,000 people and about 450,000 houses were damaged and destroyed in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. About 60 percent of the country is classified as semi-arid and arid region, where droughts are also a serious hazard with wide range of socio-economic and environmental implications. The droughts of 2000-2002 were so severe that the livelihood of people were destroyed, thousands of people were forced to migrate and about 15 million livestock were killed which has been estimated to have caused an economic loss of about $ 2.5 billion. The impact of the drought in 2001 can be gauged from the fact that it caused economic growth rate declined from an average of 6 percent to only 2.6 percent. Pakistan experiences both river related floods as well as hill torrents as frequent natural hazard that affects large number of people and causes huge economic losses. In the history of the country a number of flood incidences caused by torrential rains and glacial lakes floods have occurred in Pakistan that caused a significant amount of damage, particularly during 1950, 1992 and 1998, which resulted in a large number of deaths and a severe loss of property of an estimated worth $1.3 billion. In 2007, flooding due to monsoon rain damaged the rice crop in Sindh and Balochistan and reduced production by as much as 200 thousand tons, which equals approximately 3.5 percent of the crop. According to an estimate, since 1926 to 2006, Pakistan has experienced 53 flood events with a total death toll of about 1200 people, however, the natural catastrophe in the form of recent flash floods scenario in Pakistan has alone caused 1600 causalities with damage worth million of dollars. Comparatively, with increase in area of intersection of human with the river system in terms of expansion in human population and settlements in the hazards prone areas for prospects of farmlands damages have become costlier by the recent flood scenario. The agricultural and livestock sectors have suffered a loss of about 250 billion rupees. On January 4, 2010 the sliding section of mountain in Attabad buried most of the village, along with the people, cattle, houses, fields and orchards. The land mass that slid off has completely blocked the Hunza River gorge forming about 21 km long lake posing great risk to the low-lying villages of Gojal Valley. It further compounded the impact on socio-economic conditions in the area. The climate story of the decade is that the recent decade (2000s) is on track to be nearly 0.2°C warmer as compared to the 1990s. The traditional focus of disaster management strategies has been the delivery of relief after a disaster. However, the country really needs standard operating procedures for disaster risk reduction. There is a growing realisation to place more emphasis on a holistic approach to disaster risk reduction through a number of important inputs. Besides other, a couple of most important factors that need immediate consideration include effective land use planning and policy regarding discouraging sprawling of habitation in disaster prone areas and integrating disaster risk reduction into livelihood-related activities. These will effectively reduce social, economic and environmental costs of disasters.
The writer is Deputy Conservator Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Department
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