Preparing recovery plans for Pakistan

FLOODS triggered by unprecedented rains have resulted in a relatively low loss of life, killing 1,600 people out of the 17.2 million affected by the floods, according to the Government of Pakistan. But the homes and livelihoods of millions of Pakistanis have been obliterated.

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 70 per cent of roads and bridges in the flooded areas have been washed away. More than 17 million acres of agricultural land have been inundated.

The Government of Pakistan's Ministry of Agriculture estimates that the floods have resulted in a loss of 37 per cent of rice crop, 17 per cent of cotton crop, and 15 per cent of sugarcane crop. The country's wheat crop was harvested prior to the floods; however, one million MT of stored wheat was reportedly damaged.

The Ministry of Livestock and Dairy Development estimates that floods have killed 1.2 million large animals and 6 million poultry across the country. USAid early recovery programs include livelihood activities that support farmers and pastoralists.

UNDP recovery specialists are currently in Pakistan conducting surveys and assessments of the full scale of damages and losses in collaboration with experts from agencies of the United Nations system and other international institutions. Their findings will feed into the UN's revised emergency response plan, to be launched in September.

Early recovery will help to meet flood victims' needs beyond immediate humanitarian requirements, and to deliver basic services to their communities as early as possible in the immediate aftermath of the flood, UNDP said in a statement on August 30.

"This programme will aid affected Pakistanis to become self-reliant, resume income-generating activities, return home, rebuild local infrastructure, and regain a sense of normalcy, making it the first step towards full recovery," the agency said.

UNDP is actively assisting Pakistan's various disaster management agencies in their rescue and relief efforts.

The National Disaster Management Authority and subsidiary provincial authorities were established with UNDP support in the wake of the deadly 2005 Kashmir earthquake in Pakistan. UNDP led this 'One UN' pilot initiative with the cooperation of any array of agencies of the UN system.

The scope of UNDP's assistance ranges from national to local. Prior to the floods, UNDP-supported disaster risk management coordinator, Omar Zaman Malik, trained 30 community volunteers in the Jhang district of Punjab province in emergency response.

As the disaster unfolded, Malik, the volunteers, and the UNDP-trained district coordination officer were able to save 1,800 people, as well as their belongings and many of their cattle. Malik also brought a team of 14 physicians and 12 paramedics to communities in the district, resulting in access to medical care for 2,600 people.

While flood victims have been understandably vocal in their pleas for aid, the government-led response has been far more coordinated than it would have been in years past, according to UN disaster experts.

"The institutions at the forefront of management of the relief and response operation are the National Disaster Management Authority and the provincial disaster management authorities," said UNDP regional disaster risk reduction advisor Zubair Murshed.

"Were these departments not in place, and had Pakistan's former system been in place, this catastrophe would have been much worse," he added.

Crisis response in Pakistan has also been improved due to training conducted by the National Institute of Disaster Management. With financial and technical support from UNDP, the institute has trained more than 3,000 government officers, including 700 women, members of civil society and students, improving disaster risk reduction capabilities and preparedness in 47 districts.

Beyond its involvement in relief and rescue, UNDP is also planning ways to help the Pakistani population and their national and local governments to recover from what UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called "a slow motion tsunami" of gargantuan proportions.

The United Nations has so far received contributions amounting to US$292 million in response to its US$459-million-appeal, said a spokesman for the UN, Maurizio Giuliano.

Meanwhile, USAid Administrator Rajiv Shah visited Pakistan on August 24 and 25 and met with the President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari, as well as Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Chairman of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lt General (R) Nadeem Ahmed to discuss the ongoing flood response.

Shah announced on August 25 that USAid is providing an additional US$50 million for early recovery programmes, including rehabilitation of community infrastructure and livelihood recovery activities for flood-affected populations.

The Pakistan daily newspaper Dawn reported August 30 that back in Washington, Shah urged more world support toward alleviating sufferings of "around 21 million" affected people in the face of hunger, disease and economic hardships.

Shah said on his return from Pakistan that for its part the United States, by far the biggest aid contributed in terms of logistical and financial support, is committed to helping Pakistan through both relief and rebuilding phases.

"The scale and the scope of this natural disaster is astronomical....This is a core global humanitarian imperative and we need more international support," the USAid administrator said at a Foreign Press Centre briefing.

In the meantime, the magnitude of floods remains a subject of study by scientists. Pakistani Professor M Iqbal Khan believes melting glaciers are the main cause of the floods.

In an interview with the Associated Press of Pakistan, Khan said: Due to the melting of glaciers, the flood situation is aggravated. Khan went on to say that the gradual glacial melting from the Himalayan Mountains will continue to worsen future flooding. His glacial melt theory has been confirmed by findings of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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