Pakistan

Background

The October-2005 earthquake caused serious concern over its environmental impact. Landslides claimed many lives and continue to pose a major threat to life, livelihood, vegetation and infrastructure. This Program is designed to work through a partnership that has been developed in Pakistan between the Ministry of Environment, UNDP, UNEP, the Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (ERRA), other agencies, local and international NGOs to address the environmental issues triggered by the earthquake. The Program’s development has been guided by needs identified in the joint UNEP/OCHA South Asia Earthquake Disaster Preliminary Environmental Assessment completed in early December 2005. The Assessment also informed the drafting of the United Nations System’s Pakistan 2005 Earthquake Early Recovery Framework.

Objectives

The Programme aims at providing safe, healthy, and viable environment for communities by strengthening institutional and community capacity to mitigate, rehabilitate and manage the environmental impacts of the earthquake, through waste and debris management, landslide/slope stabilization, and natural resource management.

Programme Component

The major components of the Programme include:

Vulnerability assessment/Hazard Mapping and identification of landslides through GIS and ground truthing;

Implementation of engineering, bioengineering, and biological measures for landslide/slope stabilization;

Provision of alternate source of energy for heating and cooking

Integrated natural resource management for sustainable livelihoods;

Situation Analysis quantification of Debris, and its reuse and recycling with the involvement of private sector;

Capacity development

Key Achievements

Field Manual on Integrated slope stabilization techniques prepared and published

Debris/Rubble situation analyses carried out

Successful demonstration of integrated bio-engineering slope stabilization techniques on 18 slopes in Muzaffarabad and 12 in Mansehra

Two integrated watershed management plans for Karli watershed and Kanshian watershed through participatory planning process prepared

Secured parallel financing (PKR.200 apprx.) from ERRA for implementation of integrated watershed management plans

Social mobilization and formation of 27 mix village organizations in Karli Watershed

Formation of 17 female and 17 male Village Organizations in Kanshian watershed

690 persons trained (340 in Muzaffarabad and 350 in Mansehra) in integrated slope stabilization techniques, organization management, agriculture and forestry, and skills development

17 staff members of GSP were given training in GIS. Satellite imagery procured and provided to GSP for landslide hazard assessment