December 31, 2005

AMONG the causes of some natural disasters like hurricanes, cyclones, floods, and droughts, man’s role cannot be ruled out. Greenhouse gas emissions is one of the causative agents that aggravate naturally-caused damages. It is an established fact that global warming finds its roots in human activities.

Earthquake is entirely a natural phenomenon that originates miles down the earth’s surface. However, the deadly combination of terrain and over-exploitation of mountainous ecosystem brings more miseries. Loss of lives and property is closely connected with density of human settlements in case an earthquake of high-magnitude hits a certain area.

The October 8 earthquake in northeastern Azad Kashmir and parts of the NWFP was the most ferocious in the area’s recorded history and the ecological cost cannot be arithmetically calculated. Natural disasters had been a regular feature in the Himalayan range. Kaghan valley of the NWFP is a valley of sufferings. Snow slides, mudslides, earth movement and avalanches had been a regular phenomenon and they wipe out anything coming in their way.

Once known ‘Nain Sukh’ (eye soother), Kunhar river in Kaghan Valley got swollen to flow to its farthest banks and the river became ‘Nain Dukh’ (eye soar) within two days of heavy incessant rains on September 8 and 9 in 1992. Population and housing has almost doubled in Kaghan valley in the past 30 years. It has caused a tremendous increase in cutting of trees to finance economic activities. Balakot, Kaghan and Naran are no longer the serene towns that they used to be. Concrete hotels all along have brought additional burden on the perilous slopes. People have replaced mud houses with concrete structures.

It is high time that prudent planning was undertaken to avert any ecological disaster and keep impending damages under control in case of calamities. In the context of Himalayan mountainous system the following suggestions could make the reconstruction efforts eco-friendly, cost effective and more sustainable. Involvement of affected communities in the whole planning process is a pre-requisite as the people will experience considerable changes in their future life style.

1. Given the fragile makeup of Himalayan ecosystem, each piece of land has some limitations and has to be utilized for a particular or a set of activities only. Nature can provide the best guidance for land use. As remarked by Chief Justice of Pakistan in the Margalla Chalets case that if you try to occupy the habitat of leopards, they will react more fiercely. The message is green and very clear.

Since the terrain is generally susceptible to erosion, landslides and snow creeping, the use of more land for certain types of development activities will have ecological consequences. Plain area and gentle slopes can afford some kinds of structures. Important natural areas, scenic waterways, woodlands, and other natural resources have to be protected from conflicting uses. When satellite imageries are available the job can be done more expeditiously.

2. People in the mountainous areas had been living in harmony with nature as long as their life style was in conformity with nature. Empirical evidence suggests that a large portion of the tract is suitable for management as watershed, woodland and pasture land to provide sustainable livelihood to the local communities. There is hardly more than 10 per cent of land that can be considered suitable for agriculture and large scale housing in the earthquake affected area. But for certain reasons, agriculture carried out on slopes will have to be abandoned beyond certain degree.

Similarly, construction of dwellings in the inner sub-valleys must be avoided not only for safety of people but for protection of eco-system as well. The fact is that poverty pushes human settlement up and up in the mountains to bring more natural resources under exploitation. Such people, particularly women and children, always remain deprived of health coverage, schooling and amenities.

Carrying capacity of the terrain is one factor that will determine the limits of human activities beyond which nature offloads extra burden on it. All scattered hamlets should be abandoned and instead centralized settlements should be preferred, even outside the impacted area. This will also drastically cut the capital and maintenance costs on construction and provision of community services and will ensure universal schooling, health facilities, safe drinking water, safe sewerage, electricity, telephone, TV, piped gas etc. Easy access to a centralized settlement will be an added advantage in case of any adversity.

A large portion of the quake-affected area is suitable for forestry and pasturing. Massive afforestation with soil and water conservation techniques is of critical importance for the lush mountains from economic and ecological point of view. Forests also act as a cushion against natural disasters. It has been noticed that areas under undisturbed forests were not even slightly affected by the earthquake. Forests also build future sustainable assets in terms of timber, fuel, fodder and food for local communities, ensure job creation and give boost to the local economy. Land relieved from other uses should be used for plantations and fruit trees should be an integral part of planting operation.

Local people have immense dependence on pastures which should be conserved and not to put to any other use. Now when the livestock has also been wiped out by the earthquake, people will have to be helped to procure stock of high-yielding variety and their number kept in conformity with carrying capacity.

3. The earthquake has also brought other problems into focus. For instance, clearance of massive steel and concrete wreckage and its disposal has serious environmental implications. One factor responsible for increased deaths and injuries is the concrete structure of houses, particularly roofs. It takes too long and lot of efforts to break into and rescue and recover trapped people. The real problem, however, is the disposal of the concrete debris in the mountains where no dumping place is available.

For many reasons, houses and other buildings in the mountainous area should be wood-based. Besides, cement and steel are getting costlier with each passing day and their use can put a heavy load on the budget. Maybe, these items will have to be imported in bulk as local production may not suffice. Brick and mortar structures are likely to aggravate ecological sensitivity and are definite killers in case of a catastrophe. Wooden structures on the other hand are environment-friendly, less heavy to be lifted even if shattered in pieces, when they collapse. Wooden huts constructed more than seventy years ago in Kaghan valley still stand majestically due to their resilience to withstand shocks and tremors.

A huge quantity of treated timber will be required for construction of houses, hospitals, schools, etc. Coniferous forests of the NWFP and Azad Kashmir have the capacity to provide half a million cubicmeter of timber on scientific basis but this will not be available at least for next three years as all infrastructure essential for haulage is completely ruined. The entire needed stock will have to be imported for which possible sources should be identified now. While designing individual housing units and entire towns, all risks will have to be considered. Well treated timber, appropriate architecture and due precautions can reduce the fire hazard.

Private parties investing in tourism and other trades in the affected area should be advised to use imported timber only to prevent them from indulging in any illegal felling of trees in local forests. Makeshift hotels are less expensive and eco-friendly and can be established even in remote areas.

Since each and every thing will have to be raised from a scratch, a policy decision with regard to resource utilization is imperative. The real test will be strict implementation. Once guidelines are in place they could be applied to the entire mountainous tract of the country to avert future risk to human lives and property and create a better living environment. And this is how adversity can be changed into an opportunity. Complete rehabilitation of the affected population will require almost a decade and the process could only start when the harsh winter is over.

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