OVER the last couple of years, the intensity and frequency of natural calamities have increased substantially in our part of world. This alarming situation is however conspicuous by its absence in long-term policies and priorities of the governments in the region.

None of the states has yet succeeded in developing an institutional framework to respond to recurring disasters and to mitigate/minimize their effects in a systematic way. So far, the approach seems to be very ad hoc.

While this approach contributes significantly in reducing the loss of human lives at the immediate moments of crisis, it does not however provide safety nets against the aftermath of disaster.

The mortality caused by unhygienic living conditions, lack of minimum health care, hunger, malnutrition and epidemics remain unaccounted. It takes several years in the normal pace of operation to reconstruct demolished infrastructure, to reinstate deserted schools, to restore the devastated economy and to reconnect calamity zone properly with rest of the world.

To develop ‘disaster management and preparedness strategy’ at the national level therefore sounds an imperative rather than a choice. This strategy needs to focus, among other things, on a) developing institutional framework for integrated response to emergency situation, b) preparing and practicing environmental protocol for every mega project, c) promoting alternative infrastructure options in calamity prone areas and d) developing early warning with effective information management and command system.

The recent flood experience in country indicates strongly the lack of well- equipped and efficient institutions capable of tackling emergency situation. The visible on scene at the climax of disaster was Pakistan Army. But what about follow up as the situation gets normal.

As record suggests, there lies high probabilities of almost all the natural disasters in most areas of Balochistan, two-third part of Sindh classified as arid zones, long coastal belt and the Northern areas. These areas are populated by millions, have key natural reservoirs like oil, gas and coal, and are situated at the important geo-strategic locations.

What is needed is to develop a viable institutional structure with capacity of assessing probabilities and specifying risk areas in advance. Based on such assessment, a comprehensive planning can be developed with well-defined coordination mechanism and clear roles and responsibilities. An efficient management and command system at the core level can integrate and direct different functioning arms towards the same end-disaster preparedness and risk management.

The current arrangement seems outdated and irrelevant to the context. Sindh National Calamities Act 1958 which for example, confers ‘the power of magistrate of first class under section 144’ on the relief commissioner, when calamity is declared.

However, the sphere of activities is limited to relief administration. Section 4-A(I) of the Act defines the responsibilities of relief commissioner as ‘take such steps as he may deem necessary in order to maintain order, prevent, check or control the calamity or reduce the extent and severity thereof or provide immediate relief to the victims of the calamity in the calamity affected area’.

The transformation, in first place, requires expanding the horizon of emergency operation beyond relief activities. It involves close cooperation (rather than powers) between relevant sections of society to generate, process, synthesize and manage relevant environmental and socio-political information about the nature, probabilities and management of calamities.

There are evidences supporting the claim that some of the mega projects have exacerbated the affects of recurring calamities, including \their adverse affects on ecological system.

The World Bank ordered an inquiry into alleged violations of its policy guideline in implementation of Pakistan‘s Left Bank Outfall Drainage (LBOD) and National Drainage Programme (NDP) that caused large scale loss to the people, ecological system and agriculture in Badin and adjoining coastal areas of Sindh.

Many other projects of the same size are in pipeline. It would be helpful to undertake comprehensive environmental impact studies in advance before initiating groundwork on such projects. Not only that, but the recommendations of the studies needs to be implemented and incorporated in the overall disaster management strategy.

It sounds relevant to quote here an example of alternative option developed in fourteenth century by Jain dynasty. They constructed 200 kilometers long tunnel between Umerkot and Nagarparkar, the two important towns of that era. The tunnel was used in emergency situation when other routes were either blocked or captured. Can we not explore such options in a world advance by seven centuries?

Developing an effective early warning system can also mitigate the affects of disasters. The continuous monitoring of climate changes, settlement pattern, food production and ecological system facilitates early evacuation, rescue operation and rehabilitation activities.

In most of the cases, severity of calamity has direct relationship with delayed information and poor planning. Often, katchi abadis tend to be the primary victim. The early warning system therefore does not comprise only meteorological forecast. It rather implies to the whole notion of preventive measures against possible calamities in advance.