ISLAMABAD, Nov 2: The World Bank has decided to offer a new action plan to mitigate adverse impacts, including severe flooding risks, of two bank-funded water management projects on livelihood, environment and natural habitat along the coastal areas of Thatta and Badin districts in Sindh.
The decision has been taken by the bank’s executive board after an investigation by an independent inspection panel that has found a number of shortcomings in design and implementation of the National Drainage Programme and the Left Bank Outfall Drain. The panel has held the World Bank responsible for violating its own policies on environment, livelihood and natural habitat while extending assistance for the projects.
Improving livelihoods of thousands of poor families who have suffered adverse impacts at the tail-end of the Indus River system is at the core of a new water management action plan, said a World Bank announcement released here after the board meeting in Washington.
In its investigation, the panel found that the LBOD design had underestimated prevailing conditions and the risk of extreme meteorological events. According to the panel, it has contributed to the breakdown of the LBOD outfall system and the suffering of local people in lower Badin district, and to significant adverse impacts to important fisheries and wetland habitats known as Dhands.
The panel found instances of non-compliance with provisions of several bank policies, including assessments of environment, natural habitats, indigenous people and cultural property. The panel also found non-compliance in the area of bank supervision, determining that it had been less than adequate in respect to the LBOD system. The people in southern Badin “fell outside the field of vision of those who designed and appraised the project,” said the panel report.
The action plan comes in response to the panel’s investigation requested by residents of Badin. The requesters, on behalf of local communities, pointed out that they had been adversely affected by the bank’s failure to comply with certain operational policies in connection with the bank-financed NDP Project and earlier LBOD project.
The action plan is designed to address with urgency the plight of the poorest people of the lower Badin and Thatta districts and help them deal with the risks inherent in living on this exposed and low-lying plain, the announcement said.
It said a flood response plan would be worked out with local officials to ensure better management of this risk, including early warning and evacuation plans and flood refuge structures. The programme would focus on those people living close to the LBOD for whom the panel found the LBOD was a contributing factor to flood damage.
The bank will report on progress before the next monsoon season in June 2,007. In the medium and longer term, coastal zone and Indus River management will be a priority focus.
The board also emphasized the importance of the World Bank remaining engaged in Pakistan’s challenging water sector and managing the risks associated with large complex projects.
The statement quoted the WB President Paul Wolfowitz as saying that the panel had shown that the World Bank and everyone involved in the projects could have done a better job of mitigating the risks and impact of natural disasters on the poor within and outside the project areas.
The board members heard details of the action plan to address extreme poverty, impacts on the affected population and environment and help manage the severe flooding risks in the lower Indus basin of Sindh province, particularly in Badin and Thatta districts along the coastal zone.
The panel has found that in recent years, a number of severe meteorological events have affected Sindh, including the heavy cyclone in 1,999 which caused extensive damage to components of the LBOD system, the tidal link canal and the Cholri Weir. In 2,003, the largest rainstorm on record struck southern Sindh, causing widespread flooding and loss of life across the area as far west as Karachi.
The board agreed that the management would submit a progress report on the plan’s implementation in 12 months.
