International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

Kathmandu, Nepal 06 February 2013

Regional consultation on resilience

Christian Aid

Hari Krishna hkrishna@icimod.org

Resilience and Disaster Risk

Management in Hindu-Kush

Himalaya Region:

Presented at the Christian Aid – Regional Consultation on Resilience – South Asia

06-08 Feb 2013, Kathmandu, Nepal

Extends over 3500 km from Afghanistan to Myanmar And

Home to 200 million People

An intergovernmental and independent organisation

with eight member states

The Hindu Kush Himalayan Region A regional mountain

knowledge, learning

and enabling centre

devoted to

sustainable mountain

development

Information and

Knowledge are chief

Commodities of the

Centre

www.icimod.org

http://geoportal.icimod.org

www.icimod.org/drr

International Centre for Integrated

Mountain Development (ICIMOD)

HKH Context: Ten major river basins

of Asia

The Himalayas, hotspot for climate

extremes

The third pole on earth

- an area of extraordinary

beauty and a world heritage

site for biodiversity

An ecological buffer

between the North and

South Asia

Himalayan glaciers are sources

of freshwater reserves. They

provide headwaters for 10

major river systems in Asia – a

lifeline for almost one-third of

humanity

ICIMOD’s Commitment & Role in reducing disaster risk in

the HKH Region

• ICIMOD is committed itself to promote and apply new and high end

technologies for the dynamic assessment of water- and climate-related

hazards, to develop real-time regional information systems, to

strengthen community resilience and adaptation strategies, to assist and

inform policy making, and to provide a platform for regional cooperation

towards comprehensive disaster risk reduction.

Climatic hazards: Main Issues in

The HKH region:

HKH region a source of ten large Asian river systems and

provides water, ecosystem services, and the basis for

livelihoods to a population of around 210.53 million in the

region.

Greater risks of global warming in the mountains and threat to

mountain hydrological system.

About 95% population of the total population in the HKH region

depends on agriculture and forest resources but the forest

cover is decreasing 0.36 km2 per year and the agricultural

production decreasing due climate change and several natural

disasters

Climatic hazards: Main

Issues in the HKH region

Climate change and land use degradation accelerating the water-

induced disasters such as flash flood, river-line flood, erosion, wet

mass movement during monsoon period and drought in non-

monsoon period as drying up of natural water springs and

streams

Faster retreat of glaciers in Himalayas than the world average.

Reduction of snow and ice, which in turn leads to low water

storage capacity.

Lives and livelihoods of millions of Himalayan inhabitants under

threat in addition to infrastructure, economic, health and social

impacts.

Differential impacts on different social and gender groups

Differential coping strategies between slow onset and rapid

events

Disaster vulnerability of HKH

countries China: 6 of the world's top 10 deadliest natural disasters,. Floods alone killed over 07

Million in the last 100 years.

India: About 30 million people are affected by flood every year-mainly in Indo–

Gangetic–Brahmaputra plains. .

Bangladesh: Lies less than 10m above sea level and 80% of its land is flood plan. 1998

floods of Bangladesh affected more than 75% of country’s land mass.

Pakistan: The 2010 Pakistan floods affected approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's total land

area and about 20 million people.

Afghanistan: Afghanistan has been hit by 118 medium to large scale disaster events from

1980 – 2008.

Nepal: 6000 rivers and flow from the north towards the south with high velocity due to high

river gradient. Annual floods, land slides and drought cause recurrent losses. Nepal is

also at high risk of GLOF & Earth quakes.

Myanmar: Between 1910 and 2000, there were 12 major floods. Over 2 million people are

exposed to flood hazard in Myanmar every year.

Bhutan: Lies in one of the most seismically active region in the world. Also, out of 2,674

glacial lakes in Bhutan, 25 pose grave threat of glacial lake outburst flood

(ICIMOD/Department of Geology & Mines, Bhutan).

Prevention web/UNISDR:

Hazard Events are increasing

The middle part of the HKH

region comprises of

Bangladesh, China, India

Nepal and Pakistan

experiencing very high

frequency of hazard

events.

The region having average

76 hazard events each

year and highest found for

china (25) and India (18).

Afghanistan,

RESILIENCE

Earlier you called me vulnerable

Now you are saying I’m resilient

Earlier you were worried about hazard risks

around me

Now you are clapping over my coping

capacity

Earlier you came to help me prepare

Now you say that I must adapt to change

Are you giving up?, unlike me!

Or

You found a better way of helping me to deal

with increasing risks, over come

vulnerability and cope with Uncertainty!

Measuring RESILIENCE

Capacity to resist hazard

impacts

Accommodate, or adapt to

the effects of disasters

Capacity to manage, or

maintain certain basic

functions and structures,

during disasters and their

aftermaths;

Capacity to recover after

such events.

Gaps and Needs

Need to reduce Scientific un-certaininty of data and Knowledge gap and

incomplete picture of risk.

Need to create greater regional cooperation in strengthening systems and

governance resilience.

Need for a stronger, united and common voices that represent mountain

communities in different parts of the world.

Need to understand the interaction of access to and assurances from

commons vis-à-vis resources under private, open access and public control.

Need a deeper analysis of portfolio adjustments over, space, time and sector

& promote community led adaptation

Beyond resilience and coping: Are there risks that people were not

accustomed to dealing or those they had never before experienced- and how

are they reacting to such risks.

Need for creating a synergy in Development, Disaster risk reduction and anti-

climate change activities.

International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

Kathmandu, Nepal

Community resilience and

Adaptation

&

Role of Policies and

Institutions:

Main Findings

The role of tree crops in local adaptations to climate

variability in the Himalayas: Case studies in China, Nepal and Pakistan

Monoculture systems in the study areas have proven particularly

vulnerable to both economic and climatic shocks and shifts, whereas

diversified production systems, including through the use of tree crops

provided some amount of protection from such impacts.

Markets and government policy have greater impact than climate

change awareness on the diversification of agriculture using tree crops

in the study areas, which played a key of role in enhancing the adaptive

capacity of the studied communities.

Policy environments and institutions are not yet responsive to the pace

of change or new needs for highly adaptive and resilient systems

experienced by agricultural communities.

Key Message: Capture knowledge of farmers, local extension workers

and scientists on response of tree crops to climate change and

vulnerability and develop tools for screening of tree crops and agro-

forestry systems for their potential to enhance climate resilience.

Governance of flood mitigation infrastructure:

A case study in the Brahmaputra Basin in Assam,

India

Local communities in Assam developed coping capacities to floods

based on their traditional knowledge and support networks.

Embankments moderate floods, but can also exacerbate them

depending on whether or not these structures are well managed. In the

study area (Assam), embankments found to be one of the most

important strategies for protecting people from floods under the present

flood management regime.

Embankments influence peoples adaptive capacities to cope and

adapt to floods, depending on (i) the extent and impact of flooding, (ii)

the extent of peoples dependence on these structures for protection,

(iii) the degree of protection these structures provide.

Key Message: Institutional and policy reforms are urgently needed to

make the flood governance system more accountable and transparent,

more flexible and responsive to the needs of the vulnerable

communities.

Role of Local Governance in Strengthening

Adaptive Capacity to Water Stress:

Cases in Pakistan

From the research it emerged that traditional water

distribution and management practices were the most

pervasive and effective strategy for efficient use of limited

water resources and reducing vulnerability to climate

extremes

Local level institutions¸ through effective water resource

management¸ have been important driving force for

enhancing local adaptive capacities to water stress.

Key Message: Government organizations have well defined

mechanisms, both internal and external, for ensuring

accountability and transparency at all level of

implementation and management. Proper enforcing of these

rules and regulations and reducing rampant malpractices

will increase the effectiveness of development interventions.

Assessing the potential of labour migration as an

adaptation strategy to the rapid onset water hazards

in the Hindu-Kush Himalayas

Migration for work is one of the resilience strategy for livelihood

adopted by households to respond to the impacts of floods,

droughts, and other water hazards.

The influence of water hazards is one of the factors that

influence the decision to migrate for work.

Labour migration is a positive response to water hazards for

many, though not all, of the households studied.

In spite of relatively low volume, remittances have improved the

quality of life of the recipient households and the household’s

ability to respond to water hazards.

Key Message: Need for Strengthening formal and informal

means of social protection for migrants and those left behind &

Fostering vocational skills in the origin communities

Messages

• Livelihood diversification emerges as a central

adaptation strategy but support through

institutions and policy is needed for strengthening

this resilience.

• Social networks and local institutions play a vital

role in enhancing resilience

• National institutions and policies strongly affect

peoples ability to adapt at the local level, but the

national level policy is rarely informed by

adaptation concerns and priorities.

• Eco system contribution to people and systems

resilience need adequately recognized and the

linkage should be strengtened.

• The provision of basic services is fundamental to

people’s ability to adapt. The adaptation and

development policy frameworks at various levels

are not identical but are intertwined.

Message

People’s response and success of their efforts

are often influenced by the policy context and

quality of governance.

Local governance structures may be more

effective at managing water variability, but may

be at odds with national structures for water

management.

Long-term recovery and the ongoing challenge

of living with water hazard or stress are major

gaps in disaster management policy frameworks

(India).

Messages

Resilience and adaptation

Knowledge Summary

Need to develop Greater understanding on Portfolio of adjustments that

feed resilience and adaptation.

Intra Household: Asset disposal, migration, reduction in consumption, reallocation of

resources and dependency on external humanitarian assistance.

Inter-Household: Labor, credit, land related bi-lateral contracts, exchange of favors and

their impacts.

Community: Reliance on CPRs, group ploughing, sowing, group trading, group

resources of food, fuel wood and other contingencies & community collectives,.

Public Interventions: drought or flood relief from public institutions, seed supply, post

Disaster infrastructure Development, community capacity building .

Cultural: Drawing strategies and options form myths, folklore, sanctions on private profits

during stress periods, use of traditional systems and calendars to anticipate and cope with

risks, etc.

From vulnerability to resilience and risk

reduction-GFDRR:

Disaster risk reduction is the first line of

defense in adapting to climate change.

Need to build resilience now for better

adaptation to a changing climate.

Strengthens capacities,

Develop appropriate tools and methodologies

to address DRR in changing climate

Augment innovation and knowledge sharing,

Ensure additional investment for disaster risk

reduction.

From vulnerability to resilience and risk

reduction: ICIMOD approach

Community Level: Working on Disaster Risk Reduction with direct / indirect support to highly vulnerable

up-stream & down stream communities. These community level initiatives provide examples of good

practice in order to build evidence to influence appropriate Development and Disaster Management

Policies at the international, national, and local levels and support their implementation.

National & Regional Level Stakeholders: Our ultimate goal is to influence government policies,

programs and practices of HKH nations so that they are consistent with our goals for reducing

vulnerability and increasing resilience of mountain communities. We also seek to influence other

development actors’ activities at the national level. We understand that mobilizing and redirecting the

resources managed by national and local governments and development actors will be far more

effective when these efforts draw strength from our ground experience through our three strategic

program areas.

International Stakeholders: International stakeholders are seen as powerful influencers for national level

policies and programs. HFA & MDGs in particular guide DRR & Development policies in the

countries. Our DRR programs not only alien with HFA & MDGs, we are also be part of regional and

international learning forums on implementation of these guidelines. In addition we work with and

influence international donors, donor countries and various UN entities to increase their investment

and use their clout to influence HKH national governments government’s for policy commitments for

mountain hazard risk reduction.

ICIMOD

Regional, facilitator and broker with a mountain

perspective

Contributing to country-based knowledge

becoming regionally accessible

Promoting the extension from local to

transboundary approaches

Customising international knowledge

Capacity development, common methodologies,

regionally accessible data, monitoring, quality

control

Thank you

Hari Krishna, ICIMOD