Pakistan National Committee of IUCN
Roundtable Discusses Implications Of Earthquake On People And Ecosystems
Islamabad: A roundtable meeting was held on 28 November, 2005 in Islamabad
to discuss the implications of Earthquake on People and Ecosystems. The roundtable
was jointly organized by the Pakistan National Committee of IUCN and IUCN
Pakistan Programme. The roundtable was attended by 60 participants from all
over the country, representing various government departments, NGOs and International
Organizations.
Maj. Retd. Tahir Iqbal, Federal Minister for Environment was the Chief
Guest on the occasion.
In his address, the Minister underlined the government’s resolve
to mainstream environmental issues in the reconstruction and rehabilitation
process in the affected areas. He mentioned that no wood cutting will
be allowed in the forests and only the timber already lying at the
depots will be permitted for use. However, he requested NGOs to provide
them with statistics about timber requirements for reconstruction so
that Ministry can move on the import of cheaper timber from abroad.
He informed the audience that by February, the ministry is launching
an over arching livelihood project where support will be provided to
affected communities to reconstruct their pathways, irrigation systems
and water & sanitation services.
He mentioned that UNDP has pledged 8 million US dollars to provide
LPG cylinders and stoves to the affectees, living in the camps and
remote areas. He informed that a dairy project is being launched which
will bring “White Revolution” in the affected communities.
These communities will be provided cattle and support to produce milk
and dairy products for income generation.
He vehemently mentioned that no infrastructure development will be
undertaken without Environmental Impact Assessments, which is a mandatory
requirement by the Government of Pakistan. He informed that Ministry
has allocated 25 million rupees under its NGO Fund for the environmental
projects to be carried out by small NGOs.
He called for developing land use and land zonation policies, and a
building code which should then be adopted and implemented in its best
spirit.
Col. Zaheer representing Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction
Authority (ERRA) informed the roundtable that ERRA is setting up a
special unit to make sure the monitoring and transparency of resource
use. This unit will report to the Chairman of ERRA and the Council.
Upon a question, he informed that there was no representation of Civil
Society on the Council; however, this concern will be conveyed to ERRA
Council for consideration.
Karl Schuler, Technical Advisor, IUCN presented the observations and
findings of the recent IUCN Mission to affected areas, outlining environment
risks and approaches for sustainable use of natural resources during
the reconstruction phase.
Earlier, in his keynote address, Mr. Javed Jabbar, Chairperson of the
Pakistan National Committee of IUCN Pakistan deliberated upon the importance
of green development in the aftermath of earthquake. He said that earthquake
doesn’t kill people however, buildings and deforestation kills.
He appreciated the role of the government and Pakistan Army in the
initial days after the earthquake. He also outlined the role of IUCN
members and marvelous contribution for the affected population.
The roundtable deliberated on number of issues and proposed the following
key recommendations for consideration during the reconstruction and
rehabilitation processes:
- To redevelop the seismic map of Pakistan and AJK considering the regional perspectives linking the maps with south and central Asia fault lines.
- Urgent development of Land Use Policy, Land Zonation Plans and it strict implementation.
- Development and enforcement of Building Codes and make use of state of the art technologies to reconstruct seismic resistant buildings and infrastructure in both urban and rural areas.
- Make best use of IT and GIS based systems for hazard, vulnerability and risk assessments in disaster prone areas and information dissemination for coordination and management.
- In order to better prepare the people for such disasters, community based disaster management and preparedness programmes should be launched at the grassroots level.
- Civil society organizations should be made part of rehabilitation processes at all levels.
- Efforts should be made to provide income generation activities for women and disabled youth in the affected population e.g. garments industry, NTFPs etc.
- Funds should be channeled to community organizations in the affected areas for effective and efficient utilization at the grassroots level.
- For debris removal the local population should be involved in cash for work programmes and recycling of the waste locally.
For more information:
Shahzad Ahmad
IUCNP-Islamabad Programme Office, 38-Main Embassy Road, G- 6/3, Islamabad
Cell. 0333-5236060 email: shahzad.ahmad@isb.iucnp.org
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