Flood Mitigation:Planning and Community Participation In Pakistan.

Akhtar Ali,gives very simple yet effective measures in flood mitigation and community participation keeping in view the problems and issues in Pakistan especially land allotment and methods to address land conservation, land use and cultivator/poor farmer subsistence. These solutions provide doable and economically viable steps that ,if taken by provincial governments can  markedly reduce the destructive impact and increase resilience and capability of the communities affected.http://developmentpakistan.blogspot.com/2010/08/flood-mitigationsome-suggestions.html

Flood Preparedness..A RED CROSS DOCUMENT.

http://www.redcross.org/www-files/Documents/pdf/Preparedness/checklists/Flood.pdf

The Current State Of Post Flood Rehabilitation Activities In Sindh:Problems and Difficulties.

Post floods 2010 the strategies to rehabilitate the millions of people displaced in Pakistan included building of shelters immediately for the displaced people and those that lost their homes. In Sindh according to Church Relief Services , an NGO working since 1950s to help Pakistanis, some 20,000 dwellings have been built. InSindh they are made of bamboo and straw mats with clay bricks and plastering.The clay bricks moulds have been given to the families to help themselves later and also can help them earn a living from this activity.
I have been following the information from various sources including Mr Zahid Memon frrom Dadu and Mr. Navid Nazim Jatoi, a Karachi journalist active in Sindh for reconstruction activities and Ms. Azra Memon, running an NGO, Nari, in Dadu, Sindh who has been involved with thousands of displaced flood affected people since the floods devastated Sindh.
According to Mr. Zaihid  Memon temporary shelters are bieng built in areas ravaged along right bank of Indus where massive displacement and devastation took place. They have been to villages that were totally destroyed in areas of Dadu, Mehar and other districts where people are rebuilding temporary structures on self help basis. There has been not much or almost invisible help from government and other relief agencies.
As I was involved in linking, SOS for relief with foreign agencies,monitoring the information, mapping and relief activities including proposal making(voluntary) for the people displaced from day one, I have observed the relief activities and mechanisms from their inception by the aid agencies and local and international agencies. Just as relief was something in which we and foreign donors could do very meager and little help, the rehabilitation effort has been negligible too. Pakistan has suffered immensely. The people of Sindh especially right bank areas like Jacobabad, Khairpur Nathan Shah, Dadu, Mehar, Khairpur, some parts of Larkana, Sujawal, Thatta on left bank have not been able to come out of the devastation even 20%. Due to lack of funds and resources by the Sindh government they have not been able to help much. corruption and wadera shahi by a few powerful people has left the poor of Sindh almost like beggars. The sad part is that in the intense heat of May one year later they are still shelter-less, hungry, without clean drinking water, without much medical help in areas destroyed by floods.The relief agencies like OCHA who have helped initially have packed their services and the rest of relief agencies have meager resources and scope of activities.
The priority of the media and the government has shifted towards other issues like war on terror, terrorism , electricity crises etc and these people are a forgotten lot now , left to fend for themselves. While the rich and powerful in Sindh, which are plenty, are busy building their mansions, living in air conditioned houses in Karachi and Hyderabad , as they have three homes for comfort, the poor ,landless peasants suffer even without a temporary shelter. The middle class of towns like Khairpur Nathan Shah have been provided no loans or relief in any kind to rebuild their small businesses. No special small business activity centers for help and coordination, for guidance and networking is set up either by provincial or federal government.The federal government bogged by other issues is totally neglecting these unfortunate souls of Sindh province. Organisations like SMEDA(small and medium enterprise development association) are sleeping  along with their "helping " employees in air conditioned offices,the workers, small traders and businessmen, haris and population of Sindh suffers quietly, majestically, like the sufi spirit of Sachal Sarmast and Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai.
While pseudo-politicians like Imran Khan spout fiery tirades against government and talk about bringing revolution,and criticizing the US where their activity in relief was glaringly absent in Sindh and their relief activity is zero. They even took away the relief goods to Mianwali and  Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa areas donated from Karachi while the devastation was most in Sindh where largest number of people, land, crops, businesses were totally destroyed. The nationalist parties use fiery tirades against non-Sindhi speaking residents of Sindh as the only means to help the Sindhi speaking peoples, the poor in Sindh suffer silently majestically, like beautiful deities, their women, children and weak and old.
They need urgent financial help to set up their businesses. They need help with their agricultural activity. They need proper shelter, schools, clinics, communication systems. They need money in cash and help in kind. The international donors whose help was as meager and short as after a bake sale activity need to reassess the flood relief situation in Sindh and organize special humanitarian needs and assistance to rehabilitate these people. They have to re-energise their funding, organizations and mechanism for these silent majestic people. For the US it will be an investment in their future stability and safety. They should seriously address their aid for development issues and direct it to Sindh .http://mehernewspappar.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-strategies-adopted-by-international.html

Post Japan Earthquake And Tsunami...Nuclear Disaster Survival.11.

http://knowledge.allianz.com/?1393/nuclear-crisis-japan-tsunami-meltdown-radioactive&mcg=2062462492_6238736212&kwg=Broad_2062462492_japan+nuclear


As the Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant still leaks radiation into the sea , the threat to our water and ocean environment looms large.http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/japan-nuclear-watchdog-radiation-may-be-leaking-continuously-into-sea 
 The questions to be asked are:
1.What is the concentration, extent of contamination?
2. How and what human population will it affect?
3.Will it enter the oceanic food chain and again what population it will affect?
4. What countries/markets will be affected and how can they help in decontamination/containment/awareness/protection of consumers/healthcare and health rights etc.
5. What is the status of post nuclear disaster human health rights and how do the international tribunals address these appeals?
6. Last but not least; How do the under ocean/ sea water currents carry away from Fukushima ,Japan coast?

http://enviro-map.com/earthquake-epicenter-off-the-coast-of-northern-japan-2011  If you look at the map of Japan as shown above you will notice that one side is the Sea of Japan and the other is the Pacific Ocean. The countries bordering the Sea of Japan are South Korea and further up China. As the Fukushima and other nuclear power plants are located on the other coast of Japan that faces the Pacific Ocean the contamination reaching these shores is least likely. The towns on the Japanese coastline that is affected are Tokyo,Shizouka, Sendai, The shores and harbors which are located on the Pacific rim and to which contamination can be directed are Bangkok, Hong Kong,Kaohsiung(Taiwan), Los Angeles(US), Manila  (Philippines) , San Fransisco(US), Seattle (US), Shanghai(China),Sydney(Australia), Vladivostok(Russia), Wellington(New Zealand), Yokohama(Japan).,Sakhalin (Russia).
The extent and concentration of contamination by radiation is evident from the fact that at Fukushima,radioactive Iodine in seawater near the drains running from the plant was 4,385 times more than the legal limit, according to Reuters. How this contamination is occurring, how will it be controlled and how soon is still not known to public. How will this contamination reach the shores of the towns and human population located around the Pacific rim is the most important question that plagues the minds of these people.This depends on the underwater currents also to a large extent. As most of the Pacific rim countries have large fishing economies through which they supply food to local and international markets, the extent of contamination will also affect the food chain .http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Mi-Oc/Ocean-Currents.html .http://geography.howstuffworks.com/oceans-and-seas/the-pacific-ocean2.htm
.
As to how the international tribunals and governments react to the health and human rights risk is a big issue that is being questioned and red flagged. Post Bhopal tragedy and Chernobyl disaster it has been known how the governments and the international community forgets and ignores the victims and how placid their attitude becomes.http://iicph.org/nuclear-disasters-and-environmental-health
The Green Peace and other environment and human rights groups have to step up their lobbying against use of nuclear and such chemical and largely destructive materials for use.It is high time that these issues find international consensus on moratorium, use and containment.
.

Post Japan Earthquake And Tsunami...Nuclear Disaster Survival.

Rescue teams are pivotal in survival after any disaster especially  earthquake, tsunami and nuclear explosions.

The Monster earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan last week has resulted in the damage to nuclear facilities that was neither envisaged on this scale and scope.The tragedy is that the Japanese have built and prepared maximum for the nuclear attack as they were the sufferers of the only twin attacks of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States of America in history. They utilized the nuclear technology to built their power plants and utilize this for their energy needs. The Japanese have built excellent infrastructure as seen by the electricity and utility cables left standing, bridges in good condition and the hospital in Sendai surviving the tsunami and earthquake attack.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2011/03/13/pkg.Sendai.Japan.tsunami.warning.cnn?hpt=C2
The tragedy of biblical proportions has shown the world that nuclear technology can never be safe and friendly even if built for constructive purposes such as use in power generation and electricity.The whole facility and technology is a hazard to humanity. The effects of Hiroshima and Nagasaki continue to this day. The Bhopal tragedy in India also showed us the threat to humans from chemicals.The supporters of using this technology for weapons purpose and even those that support its use for peaceful purpose especially in the Indian sub-continent and the Middle East need to understand that it can never be safe.

Fire at Nuclear power plant in Japan.

 If a country as peace loving, extremely advanced in discipline, hazard preparedness, technology is numb with shock at the overwhelming scale of the earthquake and tsunami disaster how can these socially and morally backward countries and peoples prepare and deal with a hazard when such occurs. The facilities in Pakistan and India are clandestinely hidden because they are for weapons purposes. Their preparedness for handling disaster and especially for the surrounding innocent population will always be questionable as the cultures in these backward countries is of conspiracy, linking weaponry with religion, no value for human life and dignity.
In Japan the nuclear power plants were well defined and well placed as all their planning and installation was done with safety as the utmost priority. Safety and hazard containment in Japan is a high priority moral and humanitarian issue. With a society such as the Japanese now overwhelmed in their capacity to deal with nuclear meltdowns, where can the primitive and morally corrupt societies that exist in Pakistan and India stand?
This question needs to be addressed by the Indians and Pakistanis themselves.

Japanese nuclear power plants are well mapped out not clandenistine like in Pakistan and India.

We can only write for awareness of citizens of this fragile world some measures that were written by a kind soul , Mr Barry Popkess in 1980 in his "The Nuclear Survival Handbook"...living through and after a nuclear attack.His interest in Civil Defence and Safety stemmed from the fact that his father was a provost marshal and as he writes in his book "Until 1958 I had not even noticed our lemming syndrome. Then , as a result of a series of chance conversations, I realized that most people really thought World War Three could happen......It was said that from a major modern conflict no victor may emerge but the idea of being among the survivors appealed to me enormously....I got down to finding out not so much how to live with the bomb as to how to outlive it...The individual's chance of survival will depend largely on what he does immediately after the particular situation arises.. what preparations materially and psychologically he has made beforehand.

Checking for radiation levels.

He writes that the power of nuclear explosion produced in the 1980s is more than three thousand times that of used against Japan in August 1945. When a nuclear weapon explodes, in about a millionth of a second a temperature is produced of up to 18 million degrees Fahrenheit, comparable to that inside our sun.About half of this is immediately lost in the close vicinity of the explosion as a luminous white fireball appears , expands and begins to rise. from a ten megaton (1 megaton is equivalent to a million tons of TNT) weapon this fireball is up to three and a half miles wide.For up to a minute energy is in the form of radiation, light, heat, sound  and blast is released in all directions.The fireball then ceases to be luminous and begins to cool as its cloud rises many thousands of feet at up to 300 miles an hour. As the cloud billows out into the eventual mushroom shape, it sucks up after it a column of dust from the Earth's surface. This dust is mixed with the residue of the weapon and becomes the radioactive fallout.Light travels at 186,000 miles per second eyes should be averted even behind tinted glass. Due to the focusing action of our eyes, its reflection alone maybe blinding. Blindness after initial few days may return.Heat 1/3rd of the energy of a nuclear weapon is emitted as heat which radiates in straight lines at the velocity of light but has little penetrating power and is weakened by haze or mist. Its range (I) however is greater than that of blast or of initial radiation and it may cause injury or death to those exposed and damage to property by staring fires.refuge should be taken away from windows in fire resistance buildings or behind anything opaque and not readily combustible which may absorb the twenty seconds' flash of heat. Even a piece of wood may serve. the thicker the better.Clothing should be thick, loosely fitting, light in color and of wool or other protein fiber such as silk.Not of cotton, poplin, nylon, rayon, Dacron, terylene, Orlon or similar materials which readily burn or melt. the clothing should leave as little skin surface exposed as possible for the most dangerous effect of burns is shock.the area affected is critical to its intensity.Blast Compressed air at the speed of sound at 750 miles/hour lasting several seconds exerts pressure like wind in its path. The objects such a buildings are pushed over and damaged.Blast may enter buildings and push away the roof and walls as if an explosion occurred inside it. injuries from falling debris, fires, electric cables and shock may occur. Ruptured gas mains,chemical explosions and burns may occur. If on a road find shelter underneath a solid structure.If a gas mask is available it should be donned or face covered and shielded away from blast if possible,. The most suitable buildings are concrete or re-in-forced steel structures.Inside a building ceiling is likely to give way in its center so hide at where the ceiling joists enter the wall. Mr Popkess writes that doors and windows should be left open so that air pressure inside may equal that outside but alternatively they may be left shut as precaution against starting and spreading fires.heat will arrive before the blast . One minute is likely to be elapsed The decision depends on the person making it.A purpose built shelter is ideal with the supplies of goggles,helmets, suits& other supports readily available and in place.
It has been observed from the massive earthquake disaster in Pakistan in 2008 that due to almost zero preparedness for natural disasters the most deaths occurred due to being  buried in damaged buildings and structures with no rescue help available. There is a need to heavily invest and update rescue personnel and teams and facilities for nuclear disaster preparedness.Shelters for such hazards need to be built by the governments near all such nuclear facilities to evacuate and shift the vulnerable populations and in larger cities and towns. Preparedness drills and activity should be periodically done with populations and especially with school children.In Pakistan National Disaster Management Authority should take the lead role in planning, mitigation and preparedness.We all should learn from the Japanese catastrophe and fast.

Pakistan Floods Report by UN HABITAT.. SHELTERS

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://unhabitat.org.pk/newweb/Latest%2520Reports/Moonsoon%2520Flood%25202010%2520Pakistan%2520Report%2520UNHABITAT.pdf

The New Strategies Adopted By International Donors & Relief Agencies In Pakistan Floods.

A sustainable shelter designed by Institute of Architects Pakistan. Very versatile.

The August 2010 floods that ravaged Pakistan and exposed all its fragile, corrupt and mismanaged departments and administration & bureaucracy at once for all the world to see also made the major funding agencies and disaster and relief organizations adopt a strategy where the usual donor-recipient relationship for development was avoided in order to curb corruption, pilferage & stealing of direct relief to flood victims. Sindh will benefit more from such a direct relief strategy as here the corruption and societal apathy is at its peak. Here the disaster & poverty of the flood affectees is also large.
The strategy adopted by the World is to give direct relief via Organization of Crises & Humanitarian Assistance(OCHA). It works with all the humanitarian relief organizations like Unicef, WHO, WFP , USAID via clusters which are basically 11 in number. In Sindh , the shelter cluster is the least fulfilled where the gap is very wide. Here are many reasons for this. Large areas are still covered with water. The initial abodes were made in areas that were not permanent shelters and were in the course of the riverine areas as the population is subsisting on agriculture.

The Relief & Rehabilitation involves multifaceted approach as towns and farmlands have to be built side by side with infrastructure of the canal & bunds. As most of the canals & bunds were now merely occupational structures with no clear record with the irrigation departments & the major cause of disruption & disaster was also because of this, there will be great difficulty in repair. There has to be meticulous mapping of the canals & bunds & restructuring and re-designing of the farmlands that were illegally occupied. The chief minister Sindh has made himself the head of a rehabilitation & reconstruction commission.
The humanitarian relief agencies are directly calling tenders for the NFI, shelter, other services activities and plan to give these directly to the flood affectees through their networks with CBOs, NGOs and DCOs. This does bring some relief but the scale of disaster is so big and the infrastructure for relief so small that this seems a daunting task. Financially also donor fatigue and even initial disinterest is prominent as seen in shelter for which some larger, sustainable proposals have not been funded initially.
The pitfalls of direct tendering are that the staff of humanitarian agencies will be both overwhelmed and also the goods and services may be substandard as per requirements & delayed.
Another aspect which the real donors are really interested in funding like protection, gender security etc are not addressed at all this humanitarian response at all..
Due to the under availability of health in rural areas the health coverage has also been very, very poor, of adhoc and low quality in far flung areas in Sindh.There is no future strategy for malaria, cholera or any epidemic control as most hospitals are under staffed and lack facilities.Dengue is already epidemic in all of Pakistan. With winters, pneumonia especially in children will be difficult to deal with.
The issue of clean drinking water & food has now reached a crises level and with the government so overwhelmed with its Watan card, infrastructure development, economic crises issues, this will definitely need international donors and world help. The crises in Sindh remains and is too deep and wide for the OCHA to handle alone, therefore a special help organization or group should be formed by the philanthropists of the world and the world community to help Pakistan.

A PCM child with pot belly.Very common picture in Sindh.

The author at the lush landscaped rest house in Moro.

The Sindh government has decided to built Zulfikarabad near Thatta but the issue of displaced people from the right bank will not be solved by this. They also need to be given land which they can use as an asset. There is ample land in Sindh to be given to these people and also to landless peasants. The international aid agencies should also push for land allotment as explained.
The education sector which was already highly corrupt and has really destroyed the future of the Sindh population needs to be reformed too. This is a good opportunity to build internet & E-learning technology centers in rural areas, redesign the curricula to meet future needs , of which IT industry is one sector that can be very quickly and usefully built in Sindh. The whole education policy needs to be redesigned according to needs. Mother tongue-based curriculum design with additional foreign languages , maths , science and technology based curricula with choices for rapid specialization should be the main thrust.
Renewable energy like solar, wind etc in rural areas should be invested in by US, UK, EU ,RUSSIA & CHINA.Thar Coal should be seriously developed on fast track basis and the Thar Coal Board should include private business experts and de-linked from government agencies in administrative matters. The administration should only be a facilitator and be involved in roads, community rights etc.

A severely malnutritioned child with anemic child-mother.

A peasant worker(Hari) in Sindh, with himself malnutrition, tender age, anemia with three children.Children have no shoes.

Another malnutritioned child of Marri tribe settled around Hala displaced to Jamshoro.

Child playing with broken sandal as a toy.Cannot stand up.

The bamboo & straw shelter designed by Institute of Architects Pakistan which they can use as sustainable shelter.

The mentality of the landlords has not changed at all and this is reflected by a talk by a Spanish wife of a big landlord in Sindh who said that there was not one case of malnutrition in Sindh as the peasants get enough food to eat& all variety and when I told her that I saw 100 percent malnutrition in Moro area both stunted, severe in children, women and men she said that we should be like Spanish where general Franco imposed compulsory medical service in rural areas and where the rural workers are hard working. She also insisted that the produce in Moro area is one of the best in Sindh and as there is fair distribution how can the peasants be hungry. With such escapist mentality even of European descent ladies married to landlords of Sindh how can we expect the extremely corrupt, degenerate landed sons of Sindhi soil. See the real state of malnutrition and poverty in Sindh and then please do help Pakistan for humanitarian reasons.

UNITED NATIONS RESOLUTIONS.

http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/unsc_resolutions10.htm

Health Needs Assessment in Dadu and Thatta Districts of Southern Sindh October.

http://pakresponse.info/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=-IHuifaSpAQ%3d&tabid=86&mid=548

Health Services Minimum Standards In Emergency & Disasters for Public Health Services.

http://www.sphereproject.org/dmdocuments/handbook/hdbkpdf/hdbk_c5.pdf

Safe Drinking Water For Flood Victims: Some Practical Methods For Communities.

It is increasingly identified that in order to mitigate the mortality due to contaminated drinking water needs of flood affected communities especially vulnerable populations of women and children, there is need to offer and train communities in safe, easy, cheap methods of improving drinking water quality. Some methods are as follows:
Boiling: After passing the water through some clean muslin cloth, boil it for at least 10 minutes. Cool and resieve if needed.
Disinfection: This method is more suitable in the present circumstances as fuel for boiling is in short supply and many areas the cooking arrangement maybe deficient. Use household bleach. Liquid containing a 5.2% solution of sodium hypochlorite is safe and effective.
Method: Place water in a clean container. 4 drops for one litre (litre water bottle for measurement or litre Pepsi bottle can be used). Mix thoroughly and leave to stand for 30 minutes. If water is cloudy or very cold leave for standing to 60 minutes. If water does not have a slight bleach odour after the standing time , repeat the bleach treatment and let water stand for another 15 minutes.
Bore Holes: In places where urgent water bore holes can be dug, a hand water or machine water pump can be installed.This is also relatively safer for drinking than surface water.

Solar Energy For Disinfection: Put water in transparent .plastic water bottles for at least 6 hours in sunlight. This is enough to disinfect for safe drinking. (WHO, UNICEF).
Source DFID document on flood mitigation. and Mr Akhtar Ali http://developmentpakistan.blogspot.com/).

Health Information 30th August . Pakistan Floods.

http://www.pakresponse.info/sitreps/Health_Cluster_Bulletin15_29August.pdf

Development Pakistan: Is Land Reform off the Menu?

Development Pakistan: Is Land Reform off the Menu?

Pakistan’s Floods 2010: Historical Background and Current Challenges.

 Pakistan’s Floods 2010: Historical Background and Current Challenges

DR.Meher Zaidi.

In August 2010, as Pakistan reels under the devastating flood of depair and catastrophy of Biblical proportions, there are some real questions that need to be answered and some urgent trials that will eventually have to be put in place both for the administration and to the people in a socio-moral perspective.

In 2006, the World Bank  Report on Pakistan’s Water Economy (Oxford) emphasized the creation & training of a new generation of multidisciplinary water resources specialists and promised the stimulation of “ centers of excellence” for water resources sciences. It concluded  that over the recent decades the capacity for modern resource management has not evolved rapidly enough to meet the emerging challenges.

As I watched the interview of Mr. Nizamani, director, Sindh Irrigation Authority (SIDA)  to Sindh television anchor while sitting on Kotri barrage with a piece of paper in his well fed pudgy  hands , on the very, very ample girthed-belly, saying that Inshallah Kotri barrage will see this flood pass and nothing will happen, I was thinking about the plans to train the new generation of multidisciplinary water scientists as envisaged in their report.

In Thul thousands are trapped with sudden inundation of their area and even cutting of gas supplies. How will they cook or even boil the unpotable water that is flooding with the cattle dead in the water. There are thousands of pesticide bags, many of them even expired (My husband had done a study in 1997 which showed 1000 tons of expired pesticides over Sindh and Punjab of which 300 tons were sent for disposal to Germany).The elected representative Dr. Shoaib Sarki has given a few rusks to a very few people gathered in a small piece of land that was not submerged when they were telling them their difficulties Another man even said something about him giving him a hundred rupee note to get something for himself.. So much for the relief with food supplies. This was shown on Mehran television. The residents of Thul do not want to leave now. They just want their gas restored and they want some food and medical relief. They appear very angry with the elected representatives leaving them in times of dire need.

On another channel, the KTN news network there were live call in from various people including a PPP MPA, complaining how some influential parliamentarians and feudals  had tempered with the dykes and bunds and saved their own  lands and inundated very large areas of other people. This is a widespread complain now. By August 9^th this was only starting. The Mounder town with 10,000 residents had to be emergency evacuated by the army because five private bund breaches were made there without warning to the residents.

All over Sindh people are sitting helplessly on bunds or the little available high ground, without shelter or relief. The government agencies and infrastructure as it is dilapidated, corrupt and weak, seem overwhelmed. The lack of local bodies and any community based organization at the village level is reflective in the disorganized and helpless plight of millions of people in Sindh. These people who were living off the land, farming, cattle herding and sustaining their poor livelihoods are suddenly ravaged with the floods. The question now arising is that was this scale of flooding envisaged in Pakistan or Sindh? Was there a flood disaster management plan? What did we actually do to prevent or contain such a catastrophe? What ugly truths have been laid bare by this enormous calamity?

From the perspective of a citizen, I did try to study the few documents available on the net  and some books and reports, out of which some things I will share with the reader.

The World Bank did emphasize the fact that “ in service delivery the state water institutions have not made the transition from the era of development & construction to the era where management of resources and services is the primary challenge”. This has become so obvious in what has really happened in Sindh. Here the primary layering and repair of water channels has not happened. The transparency and fairness in water allocation has resulted in “illegal” bunds and dykes which the feudal landlord has without coordination and warning with the authorities, broken to let the ravaging waters loose on the hapless other neighbors. The decentralization of irrigation management along modern management lines has not occurred at all. The corrupt practices of the irrigation department has added to the disaster impact.

 In a country like Pakistan wherethe World Bank says “ the Indus plain offers the most complex challenges in water management”, the priority and the resolve of the Pakistan’s military & political forces to manage this complex challenge is evident from the fact that less than ----amount of the development budget is spent on the priority of improving the infrastructure like the repair of dams and barrages, cementing of the water courses etc. In its report it says that “Pakistan has a large endowment(with an estimated replacement value of US$ 60-70 billion) of water resources infrastructure, most owned and managed by the provinces , and much of it is quite old. As described in this report, the condition of this stock  of infrastructure is a major cause of concern. In some instances- such as Taunsa and Sukkur barrages, the precarious state of major structures puts the well being of tens of millions of people at risk”.

It identified the increase in water lending to Pakistan from 2000-04 to about US$ 1 billion. The Sindh Water /Irrigation Sector Improvement Program (US$ 140 million) was to improve water productivity through a reform agenda/ investments leading to a better management system that would link canal command areas, the distributary, and the water course level. Components included were; capacity building; civil works, agriculture & irrigation technology; and management and & administration.

As always discretion and lack of accountability are handmaidens to corruption. As seen in this report the facts are evident as to what really happened in the implementation of the civil works  and improvement of management program.

Mr Nawaz Sharif in his utter niavette is opposing the Flood Disaster Relief Commission, to which the prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has responded with the word “Council”. The fact is that ;

Federal Flood Commission (FFC) was established in 1977 to provide the necessary infrastructure at the federal level to help

the provinces in meeting the technical and financial resources required to carry out the Flood Mitigation Measures.

The lack of transparency and non-merit appointments of the irrigation department especially in the Sindh province where such a large network of waterways is spread to provide livelihood to such a large population and where the major dams and barrages are structurally in very old and poor state is beyond imaginable and sane comprehension. The ingrained culture of corruption, nepotism, sycophancy and feudal mentality is so obvious now that the way the floods were or are being managed in the whole of Sindh. It is a shame and a time of deep introspection for all of us that claim to love and live of this beautiful tolerant land, that gives us so much. Who will answer this? Can we truly blame the new government? No, not really, as the Sindhi nationalists are vocalizing. What have they really done to fight off corruption and nepotism. What have they done to envisage  any disaster and prepare the local communities to mitigate its effects. Just by racist remarks and violent expressions of hatred the pain and miseries of the folks cannot be removed. The sheer lack of any food, medical relief to the people who are being affected shows the apathetic communal cushion of support to the average resident.

The people of rural areas that have been badly damaged in Sindh are complaining that their standing crops, entire villages are inundated at the expense of the larger towns. This has a background.

 This mainly happened because the provincial relief organization as part of the plan was almost non-existent.

Provincial relief organizations were envisaged with the responsibility of disaster preparedness, emergency response, and post disaster activities

including floods. Flood preparatory actions required to be taken by the relief Commissioner included

(i) Arranging inspection of the flood protection.

(ii) To establish flood warning center and the flood centers at the district and Tehsil levels.

There  is a very large population in Kacha areas and along bunds which have established residential villages and were not included in the earlier disaster relief map. (As such there is no mapping along modern GIS lines in any part of Pakistan including very populous Karachi, where cantonment including Defence , civilian, residential areas are secret to GIS mapping)

 As I studied the disaster mitigation plan document the following facts were seen:

The FFC prepared the National Flood Protection Plan 1978 (NFPP-1978), that comprised of a viable future flood protection plan.

The main thrusts were:

a) To reduce the flood losses

b) To give priorities to flood protection to the areas of greatest economic risk

c) To provide protection from flood damages to areas out side flood plains i.e. cities & vital infrastructure installations.

d) Improvements in existing flood protection/flood control facilities.

The other background is as follows:

Pakistan faced much damage from floods in 1973 after which the federal government decided to strengthen all mechanisms of flood warning system and also initiate a flood disaster response system.

The army is playing a vital role in rescue and relief of the flood affectees. It was given a role in the 1977 plan which it has fulfilled with diligence and utmost valor. Its flood related function encompasses all the three phases of flood operations from the pre-flood to post flood.

 After reading the documents available and seeing the real time damage and evolution of the current flood disaster I have reached the following few conclusions:

-That there is a need to devolve the disaster management plan to the lower community level, including the revival of the local government right now without elections so that some structure is in place for relief and later rehabilitation.

-That there is an urgent need to complete overhaul and restructuring of the technical and manpower human resource of the irrigation department.

-There is urgent need of capacity building & training of existing staff in modern management practices.

-There is urgent need of reforms and restructuring of the water distribution and resources such as water rights etc.

-There is urgent need to develop political consensus on all water issues in order to early development of new infrastructure.

-Last but not the least there is a need for accountability, transparency and merit in appointments of all manpower in water and irrigation departments.

In the end a few words about Mr. Zardari. As he was so defensive about his presidency in the news conference today with Mr. Kerry Lugar on being questioned by a foreign journalist and links it to the derailment of democracy and his contribution to the averting of civil war post Benazir’s killing, he needs to realize that his label as a corrupt person is now a dead weight on the government of Pakistan Peoples Party and the whole of the relief funding  effort in Pakistan and the world. The prime minister is the CEO and in his own words the government is of consensus. If he leaves the presidency and as the unanimously elected prime minister is favored by all so can a president be chosen. In no way the democratic government will be derailed. He needs to make a dignified exit. His expression of resolve and passion to build new villages in place of the ones inundated maybe sincere but a more viable and tenable is a social and political contract to remove corruption especially in all government departments in Sindh, bring about meritorious appointments of all staff  irrespective of ethnicity or religion, transparency in all public dealing and true accountability at all levels. May God give us all to bear the brunt of the devastation of floods in Pakistan with courage and hope.

The Role of Occupational Therapist in Disaster Management.

http://www.aota.org/Practitioners/PracticeAreas/Emerging/39659.aspx

This is a good concept paper. All people can gain insight into disaster handling and preparedness.

Children's Health In Pakistan.. A UNICEF article.

There is a dire and urgent need to address the Child Health Issues in Pakistan. UNICEF gives a timely, comprehensive background and describes the avenues to work in.

Background

Pakistan Water Woes

Pakistan’s Water Woes.

Dr Meher A. Zaidi.

As Pakistan faces acute water shortages and crises in distribution and division of water resources occurring, the following misunderstandings need to be cleared , problems addressed and clear solutions and remedial plans of actions  made to be taken .

1.    The Indus  Water Treaty / partition of waterheads and river flows in Pakistan:

On Pakistan’s creation in 1947, the Punjab was an irrigated heartland and supplied by rivers Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej. A treaty between India and Pakistan was negotiated bt the World Bank to give Pakistan the rights to use water in Indus, Jhelum, Chenab which comprises some 75% of the whole flow of the Indus water system.Large dams like Tarbela were built and link canals were built which supplied Punjab’s agricultural  fields. India eventually built dams over the rivers Ravi, Beas and Sutlej water heads which emanate in India and China. Eventually these rivers have run dry in Pakistan.
The debate raging in Pakistan and especially the Sindh province which is at the tail end of Indus, is that what is the future of this river and why was the Indus Water Treaty negotiated in which we sold these rivers to India. Recently due to stoppage of water in large areas in Pakistani Punjab, large crops were destroyed and effected the already deteriorating economic situation.

2.    Sindh is opposing the Kalabagh dam as there is  a perception that it’s construction will further decrease downstream flow to Sindh province, particularly the deltaic area.

(see article Sindh’s opposition to dams by Akhtar Ali  http://developmentpakistan.blogspot.com/)

3.    Pakistan is already  one of the most water stressed countries in  Asia, and according to the     World Bank due to a high population growth, water will become a scarce commodity.

How does water become scarce in Pakistan?

Pakistan is one of the world’s most arid countries. The average rainfall is under 240 mm per year.The Indus river system supplies 180 billion cubic meters of water.the population is 160 million people. As there is only one river system which caters to the whole country, the decrease in rainfall, environmental effects, wastage of water and misuse will result in acute water scarcity.

4.    salinity is a major problem.approximately 15 million tons of salt are accumulating in the Indus basin every year, and the saline water ingresses into overpumped fresh water aquifers. Delta is degrading by silt and ocean is coming up. Pollution, industrial waste and agricultural pesticide use is also affectingthe quality of water for drinking purposes.( See Guidelines for drinking water quality.http://www.WHO.org/)

5.    The massive disconnect between public, bureaucracy and policy makers adds to the already chaotic deficiency in indigenous experts  on water management. Due to the lack of problem- solving and  consensus building approach, the water woes are compounding.

Recently on a  Karachi visit, the president made some statement about cutting down Punjab’s water in certain river and a very pungent conflict situation developed between Sindh and Punjab. This somehow ‘put the lid on’ situation is controlled for a while  but the simmering continues. Lack of political consensus leads to lack of political will.

6.    Governance issues are affecting the  implementation of quality projects. The world Bank states that the factors affecting implementation are;

·       Weak planning and management.

·       Litigation related to land acquisition

·       Non-compliance with agreed resettlement and rehabilitation programs

·       Lack of attention to environmental issues

·       Delays in procurement.

·       Delays in preparation of accounts and carrying out audits

·       Lack of preparation for transition from construction to operation.

7.    Financing problems of water infrastructure. Corruption is also a major  hurdle here as there is a lack of transparency in all such programs.

8.    India produces more crops per acre per cubic meter of water while Pakistan has much less productivity.

Solutions and Plans of Actions on Some of the Above Mentioned Problems:

The need for urgent action on solutions ha sto be taken as conflict resolution measures as Pakistan is already riddled with conflicts and add to it the future of food shortages and we will be unable to handle any conflicts.

We have to take the  ‘Problem Solving and Consensus Building Approach’

The first priority is developing a socio-political consensus of all the stakeholder provinces and building an adequate political will to resolve the water division issues.

President Zardari and the Pakistan Peoples Party stand at the advantageous prepice of history today, where they will be able to solve the  Sindh’s water issue and amicably resolve the conflict of opposition to dams and develop building of Dam’s infrastructure for the benefit  of Pakistan as a whole.

For the first time in Pakistan’s history and at a crucial  juncture, the World Bank and ADB and all the other developmental bodies should help Pakistan build it’s water infrastructure as a representative government is in place to carry out a consensus approach.

This opportunity lost will be disaster.due to environmental effects, the glaciers will melt and there will be flooding of the rivers. This will be the opportune time for dams’ and reservoir storage. These will have to be in place already. The next phase will be that of drought . Many areas of Pakistan especially those in Baluchistan are already in drought phase next to Afghanistan.Water management and use practices will have to be inculcated beforehand.

The  antagonistic attitude of Sindh’s nationalists to Indus Water Treaty has to be changed and countered in  the true context of what this treaty actually means.What is India’s stand on this issue and what is Pakistan’s stand.

As most of the 90% irrigated land in Pakistan with rivers with heads not inside it’ s territory, a major challenge was created. Both Pakistan and India agreed to work with the World Bank to solve the issue and equably and amicably resolve the water division issues. The first proposal was of a asingle integrated basin authority. This was impractical and was rejected. During the negotiations the following things were noted;

Pakistan was given 75% of waters of the system including full use of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab except for some use by Kashmiris.This was not driven by legal principles by principles of  water engineering and economics. India was permitted to tap the considerable hydropower potential of Pakistan’s three rivers before they entered Pakistan. ( the current Daimler- Bhasha dam is one such contentious project over which negotiations are being done in a very large influx of water to Pakistan irrigated crop is blocked.).

This treaty was not first but best for either side.

Indian parliamentarians objected to Pakistan’s 75% water share  as violations of principles of ‘ equitable utilization’. Ironically speakers in Lok Sabha in 1960  debated the same way and criticized the government of India for a policy of appeasement aned surrender to Pakistan and ‘other ‘ Indian interests had been let down in the same way as Sindhi nationalists accuse the Pakistan government nowadays. However, President general Ayub Khan said ‘we have been able to get the best that was possible ‘.’ Very often  the best is the enemy of the good and in this case we have accepted the good after careful and realistic appreciation of our entire overall situation’.They based the agreement as realistic and pragmatic.

The treaty was again reaffirmed by the presidents of both the countries in the recent past.

After this as part of the Treaty , the canals and Dams’ infrastructure was built. This brought a fundamental change , where storage and dams is the main feature of development and management of water resources.

The Tarbela dam has given both direct and indirect benefits ( direct benefits assessed by Pervaiz Amir exceeded 10%. It’s impact on economy is massive, about 40% of population benefits from it’s water, 30% of installed generation capacity.

Indirect benefits are increased outputs of agricultural commodities, increased seeds, fertilizers, pump sets,deisal engines, electric motors, tractors, fuels, and electricity, increased job creation, increased food processing such as sugar factories, oil mills, rice mills, bakeries etc,.

Electricity production( Hydropower) directlyimpacts and increased output of industry such as steel, chemical, textiles. Pervaiz Amir in his study for the World Bank says that the indirect impact is considerably  larger and adds to the benefit by dams.

The Sindhi peoples should take this into consideration and the federal government should devise ‘ an industry or income generating opportunity to Sindh in exchange  for consensus for a dam’ program. This income generating opportunity/ industry should be set up in rural and under –developed areas of Sindh where local crops such as sugar cane, cotton etc., should be utilized.

The Water Accord 1991 does solve a lot of problems  like entitlements, use of water by other provinces till the province uses full quota of it’s share etc and should be followed.

Some measures to reduce water stress suggested by experts are;

·       Development of more dams and storages,

·       Dater entitlements, and water rights,

·       Unbundling, and competetiveness,regulation,

·       Transparency in governance,

·       Building up water knowledge base and capacity for water management,

·       Financial and investment improvement,

·       Human resource base

·       Linking agriculture and industry.

Water management awareness and improved practices should be devolved at community level. The local bodies , councilors, nazims are a good base at grass roots level. Sustainable use of water resources should be taught and practiced at the community level.

As many measures of water logging and salinity reduction previously improved the land especially in Sindh, same measures and also the management and abatement of pollution in drinking water reservoirs and sources should be improved.

Governance in water issues should be improved and all things should be mad transparent .Public information on all issues should be available easily, corruption should be addressed immediately and very sever punishments instituted.

Effective measures to improve yield/production per acre of crop per d4rop of water should be taken.

Only urgent and consistent measures to improve the water crises taken now , will reduce conflict looming large on the horizon.

( Source: World Bank, Internet, Akhtar Ali, Dawn Newspaper.)

Barack Hussein Obama brings news on Climate Change talks on his latest blog entry.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/12/18/a-meaningful-and-unprecedented-breakthrough-here-copenhagen

see the news and post for yourself.

This Year’s Sachs Student Lecture

This Year’s Sachs Student Lecture

Women's Health, A Most Vulnerable Hinderance In Socio- Economic Development.

The United Nation's Women's health report is released.The various aspects of women's health and how it affects the development paradigm are reflected in the initial press release.http://www.un.org/ .The point  I noted most is that no matter what paradigm you see it from, human development and social justice are directly affected and very seriously affected by women's health.

In Pakistan there is a true picture of this reflected in every aspect of a person's life. If the mother is young she is affectted by morbidity ,childbirth complications, anemia,mental health problems like depression, osteopenia etc. Her productivity both as a homemaker and her work like in agriculture,worker in factory, house help etc is severely affected. She is under constant stress to provide income to support the family and now increasingly in large urban areas. The domestic or household help workorce is coming  from  Southern Punjab where poverty is leading the rural population to increasingly migrate to urban areas like Karachi, Lahore, etc to  f ind jobs as domestic help..These women constitute  a major household help workorce and are not registered as such. Their work carries no acknowledgment from the labour department and they get no benefits as a group of workers. For health needs they visit private practitioners ,often quacks in 'Katchi Abadis' or slums where they are residing in overcrowded , unhygeinic conditions. Their water supply is often contaminated and they use unboiled water for drinking and cooking also. It is to be mentioned here that the girl child is equally vulnerable as she often goes to 'work' with her mother and if she stays back often 'looks after' her other younger siblings. The staying back ordeal exposes her to hazards such as child abuse, fire or c ooking accidents and other mental stresses and problems. Not going to school is just one aspect of her deprivation.The irony is that the religious people in Pakistan who are otherwise so vehement in opposing UN and WHO work are not even inclined to acknowledge this problem. They are not concerned with addressing the health issues and neglect and poverty related issues in Pakistan. They can do much to help as they have vast resources, means and influence in Pakistani society.
The health issues faced by poor women in Pakistan are kaleidoscopic. All aspects as mentioned by Dr. Chan are represented here. It is high time that the governments, civil society organisations and religious groups realize the gravity of the situation and address these issues in an urgent basis. The incidence of violence against women, now also in the context of conflicts of terrorism targetting girls education is increasing . This will again adversely affect womens health and thus the health of the nation that is Pakistan.
We need to prioritize and devise a plan o action to improve the health and well being status of Pakistani women keeping in mind the millineum development goals. The UN and WHO are already working to help in Pakistan.We can gain much from them. There is a dire need to take the religious groups and organisations on board and build their confidence in institutions to improve women's health and socio-economic status in Pakistan.