Background

Pakistan – 2010 Floods

“I have witnessed many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this” said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on his visit to Pakistan during the 2010 floods. 20 million lives were destroyed and 20 percent of the country was inundated, causing a loss of USD 43 billion in total damages.

2010’s floods have not only destroyed the homes of millions of poor people but have also caused damages of an unprecedented scale to crop and livestock. According to an FAO report, the floods ruined the prime agricultural land of Pakistan and caused a loss of over 3.6 million acres of crops and eliminated milk revenue stream of USD 12.5 billion from these already impoverished regions.  In addition to these horrifying numbers, the recent floods in Pakistan have destroyed the homes and means of livelihoods of millions of people. With an economy that is already very fragile due to political instability and poor law & order situation, the recent floods have deepened the social and financial crisis in Pakistan

Rehabilitation is going to be a long haul process and entails not only provision of food and shelter but also restoration of the economic cycle for long term sustainability of the country. Beyond the immediate relief effort, sustainable livelihoods have to be rebuilt and this is typically where countries falter whenever a natural calamity occurs. To address the challenge of

devising a developmental strategy for the flood impacted areas it is prudent to conduct a background analysis of the situation as it was prior to the floods. This analysis can assist in devising an approach that is holistic and is based upon the current skill-sets of the people of this area. Such an approach can maximize the chances of success on a sustained basis.

Historical Socio-Economic Dynamics of the Flood Impacted Areas

The flood ravaged areas are primarily in the form of a strip 20 to 75 miles to the either side of:

River Chenab (starting south west of Multan till the river eventually joins

River Indus)

River Indus (starting from Nowshera/Mardan/Charsaddah (in Khyber

Pakhtunkhawa Province) and down to the Arabian Sea (in Sindh Province)

(as can be seen in the map )

Barring the adversely impacted areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Province and a small portion of upper Punjab, by and large the damaged portion of land

belongs to the landed aristocracy of South Punjab & Sind Provinces. As most of these people are settled in the major urban centers of Pakistan and exercise absentee landlordism, they require a large number of workers to manage their lands on a day to day basis. It is these landless poor people who are at the bottom of the pyramid and unfortunately are the ones who have been most adversely impacted by the floods.

http://www.dfid.gov.uk/floodsinpakistan2010

A cursory evaluation of these people reveals the following facts:

They plough and till the land of the landed aristocracy either on lease or

on share cropping basis which ensures that they do not retain ownership

of the land

The current situation keeps them perpetually at subsistence level and

under the burden of debt that is extended by the landlords. Very

frequently this situation results in successive generations being bound to

their landlords.

Although the Government of Pakistan nearly every year raises the

minimum salary level, prevalent salaries in this belt are substantially

lower.

No laws pertaining to child labor are implemented and children are used

freely in the agriculture fields

The above vicious cycle of poverty results in little or no education for their

children & lack of basic amenities for their families

Livestock rearing contributes a considerable amount of their real income

either through the sale of the animals or through surplus milk

A large majority of the women are engaged in livestock rearing since the

men folk work in the fields

The social and economic imbalance over time has created conditions

under which the landless people of this belt have lost faith in the very

concept of a better future. It seems to them that they are ordained to

follow a life of subservience & servitude.

Understandably, the current economic situation can cause further instability in the region and worsen the current law and order situation in the country. The regressive economic structure of the region coupled with the devastating floods requires immediate action for rehabilitating and rebuilding the lives of these people.

Potential Livelihood Restoration Options for the Flood Impacted People

Evaluating the socio-economic demography of the flood impacted areas; agriculture comes out to be the mainstay and primary means of livelihood and sustainability of the affected people. Therefore for any potential livelihood restoration & rehabilitation program to be successful, it has to be based on the structure of the rural economy and leverage the current skill set of these people. Thus it is agricultural solutions which can target the issues faced by these people most effectively and restore the rural economy on a sustainable basis.

Agriculture based solutions can be, but are not limited to:

Training farmers along modern lines for land preparation

Providing them with agricultural implements such as tractors and ploughs

etc.

Ensure provision of high quality fertilizers and seeds for fodder

production, wheat production and other cash crops production

Train farmers in water resource management

Provide them with subsidized pesticides and herbicides for optimum

yields

Provide training and tools for crop storage and preservation techniques

Provide training on farm management practices related to livestock

rearing

Provide vaccination covers to the animals of the farmers

Genetically upgrade the animals of these poor people to provide a

sustainable means of income over the productive lives of their animals.

The offspring produced through this up-gradation will carry elite genetics

and be able to produce 2 to 3 times more milk than their mothers, thus

substantially increasing the income of the farming families

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https://www.cimicweb.org/cmo/pf2010/Documents/Assessments/AgricultureCluster_Preliminary.pdf

Historical Socio-Economic Dynamics of the Flood Impacted Areas

The flood ravaged areas are primarily in the form of a strip 20 to 75 miles to the either side of:

River Chenab (starting south west of Multan till the river eventually joins

River Indus)

River Indus (starting from Nowshera/Mardan/Charsaddah (in Khyber

Pakhtunkhawa Province) and down to the Arabian Sea (in Sindh Province)

(as can be seen in the map )

Barring the adversely impacted areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Province and a small portion of upper Punjab, by and large the damaged portion of land belongs to the landed aristocracy of South Punjab & Sind Provinces. As most of these people are settled in the major urban centers of Pakistan and exercise absentee landlordism, they require a large number of workers to manage their lands on a day to day basis. It is these landless poor people who are at the bottom of the pyramid and unfortunately are the ones who have been most adversely impacted by the floods.

http://www.dfid.gov.uk/floodsinpakistan2010

The worst floods in living history hit Pakistan in July 2010 affecting nearly 20 million people, destroying 1.7 million homes and damaging essential infrastructure. September 2011 saw the onslaught of more devastating floods.

The floods have severely thwarted Pakistan’s development prospects in a country already gripped with socio-economic problems.

Though the world’s media has moved on, the humanitarian crisis continues and support for the long-term recovery of Pakistan is vital.