UNDP’s pilot CBDRM project ran from October 2014 to April 2015 in five hazard-prone districts in three provinces. Working with local implementing partner across 30 communities in Chitral and Lower Dir districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, Ziarat and Jafferabad districts of Balochistan province, and Tharparker of Sindh province, UNDP helped communities identify their specific hazards, risks, vulnerabilities and capacity gaps. With guidance from UNDP and its partners, the communities developed risk maps and preparedness and response plans. Community members were also trained in basic First Aid and Search and Rescue skills and were provided basic response equipment.
Alongside this community initiative, UNDP held consultative meetings with line departments at the district and provincial levels, to help ensure that provincial and district disaster risk reduction (DRR) planning and community-level preparedness measures were aligned. District officials were deeply involved in risk assessment exercises, and developed strategies for mainstreaming DRR in their various sectors.
CBDRM in Chitral
In Chitral district, UNDP implemented CBDRM in seven communities distributed across three union councils. A total 286 men and 272 women from the communities were trained on CBDRM and other disaster risk management skills, and learned how to apply them to their own situations.
In Chitral, as elsewhere in the project areas, a participatory assessment approach was used to drawn up village DRR plans, and Village Disaster Management Committees (VDMCs) were established.
Chitral Flood, July 2015
Intervention sites
- Uchusht
- Mughlandeh
- Goldoor
- Balach
- Singoor
- Danin
- Jughoor
Shortly after the end of the CBDRM pilot, Chitral district faced a serious natural disaster. In July 2015, floods engulfed many areas of the districts as a combined outcome of multiple hazards (glacial lake outburst or GLOF, cloud outburst, flash floods and heavy downpour), poor infrastructure and housing construction, the changing climate, and the understudied relationships between all of these. By the end of July, the flood disaster had caused 32 fatalities, and extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure. Access to many areas was cut off, hindering timely response.[1] There were also secondary impacts, such as lack of drinking water, medicine and food, delayed clearance of debris and the displacement of more than 300,000 people.[2]
Though flooding has historically been rare in the affected areas of Chitral district, the district and provincial governments have been aware of the potential impacts of GLOF and climate change[3] In recent monsoon contingency planning, the National and Provincial Disaster Risk Management Authorities (NDMA/ PDMAs) have sought to implement preparedness and mitigation measures in the district. Given the loss and extensive damage caused by the floods, however, this crisis underlines the importance of addressing the underlying causes of disasters, including inequality, poverty and risk perception, and of integrating DRR and climate change adaption into planning.
Impact of CBDRM interventions in Chitral
The July floods offered an opportunity to assess the impacts of the CBDRM interventions including the functionality of VDMCs; the relevance and effectiveness of coordination mechanisms, and the network of volunteers in each village. In short, this was an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of each community’s disaster preparedness strategy.
The VDMCs in all seven communities were instrumental in monitoring the situation and coordinating preparedness, rescue and relief with their District Disaster Management Unit (DDMU). The VDMCs activated and coordinated the volunteer networks formed in each village during an earlier phase of CBDRM.
An assessment of each village is reported below based on discussions with the chair of each VDMC.
1. Mughlandeh
The water supply schemes here were damaged by the floods but no significant damage to houses or other assets were reported. Trained male VDMC members were mobilized during the floods and the VDMC chair coordinated with the district government about potential relief work.
VDMC members met with the KP province chief minister during his recent visit to Chitral and informed him about the VDMC’s contingency plan, the importance of capacity-building for VDMC members, and of the need for better rescue equipment.
2. Uchusht
While drinking and irrigation water supplies were suspended, no other major damage occurred. Male members of the VDMC hold monthly meetings and have regular contact with the DDMU.
The VDMC members were in contact with district government; and through their volunteer network, made community members aware of the possibility and importance of evacuation. In the event, during the floods, trained VDMC volunteers helped to evacuate people residing in the flood-affected areas of Broze and Ourouch to shelters despite the hindrance to access posed by blocked roads.
3. Danin
No flood damage was reported here. Since the implementation of CBDRM, male members of the VDMC have met monthly, but women have not been able to attend due to cultural constraints, while male volunteers have passed information on to their female counterparts. VDMC members coordinated with FOCUS Humanitarian Pakistan, an NGO working in the area.
The chairman of the VDMC actively engaged with district government and was in regular contact with DDMO during the floods. The VDMC volunteers offered their services to DDMO on a voluntary basis until the army was deployed in the affected areas.
4. Goldoor
Goldoor was affected by the Chitral Gol hill torrent which occurred due to GLOF. Parts of the village were inundated thrice during the last two weeks of July and 10 houses were damaged. VDMC members actively disseminated early warnings through religious facilities and helped evacuate people to safe areas. Vulnerable groups comprising women, children, and the elderly of about 200–250 households were evacuated to elevated sites during times of high flow. The VDMC facilitated evacuation thrice during the last 20 days in July. VDMC members gathered community members trained in Search and Rescue and prepared for a possible intervention in their own villages. As in other villages, trained community women were not allowed to participate due to cultural constraints.
5. Balach
No damage was reported in Balach. [FI4] The VDMC here was established with gender equality in mind, and comprised 30 trained male and female members. The male members of the VDMC registered as volunteers with a registered village organization, the Humnasheen Village Society-Balach. After the end of the CBDRM initiative, the VDMC continued to coordinate activities, and a network of volunteers trained in search and rescue remains active for potential interventions.
6. Singhoor
High level flooding in upper Chitral, caused the water level in the Chitral River to rise and inflict damage on its banks. On 18 July it was reported that the rising water would damage a power plant north of Singhoor. This was on the Eid holiday, and immediately after the morning prayers the VDMC mobilized community members to construct a wall on the river bank to protect the power plant. Throughout the three days of Eid, volunteers continued to work to prepare for floods. The VDMC members evacuated families living near the riverbank and after the end of the crisis, submitted a resolution to the DDMO for disaster risk management volunteering activities.
7. Jughor
The VDMC here issued an early warning of floods to people living near the banks of the Chitral Gol hill torrent through existing networks of mosques and individual contacts. They mobilized community members to construct temporary embankments using logs, and evacuated at-risk residents to safe places. Since the first phase of CBDRM, the VDMC has organized four monthly meetings to inform village people on disaster risk reduction.
Lessons learned and way forward
The lines of communication established between UNDP, the VDMCs, DDMU and the PDMA during the floods demonstrates how a coordination mechanism between vulnerable communities and the authorities can be established. This is one of the main achievements of the first phase of the CBDRM project.
The recent floods in CBDRM villages were not disastrous, but the activation of volunteers at the initiative of each VDMC chair demonstrates the importance of active village disaster management committees. The regular VDMC meetings after their establishment in the first phase showed the strength of the initial activation, and the continuation of these regular meetings, especially after disasters, as initiated and planned by VDMC chairs, show the commitment of VDMCs to strengthen their own coordination mechanisms.
VDMCs have stated their intent to organize further coordination meetings including all members, including women, to improve emergency preparedness through more active and wider participation throughout the process of disaster risk management. This will be included as a key activity in the second phase of CBDRM.
The two key challenges, frequently mentioned by VDMC chairs, are (1) the inadequacy of search and response equipment and (2) the difficulty of involving women volunteers during disasters, especially in rescue activities for remote communities.
These challenges will be taken into further consideration during the second phase of CBDRM in Chitral. The second phase will also strengthen village organizations and existing VDMCs through disaster management plans and the division of responsibilities in preparedness and response.
UNDP aims to replicate this initiative in other communities which have been identified as vulnerable in the hazard and risk mapping section of the national disaster management plan. This is an integral part of UNDP’s long term commitment to helping to reduce the vulnerability and build the resilience of at-risk communities to the effects of a changing climate and the risk of frequent natural disasters.
For more information, contact:
Muhibuddin Usamah, PhD
Disaster Management Specialist - UNDP Pakistan
DRR in Pakistan Project Manager
muhi.usamah@undp.org