d1 02 icimod harikrishna resilience drr hindukush 06feb2013

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International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

Kathmandu, Nepal

06 February 2013Regional consultation on resilience

Christian Aid Hari Krishna

[email protected]

Resilience and Disaster RiskManagement in Hindu-Kush

Himalaya Region:

Presented at the Christian Aid Regional Consultation on Resilience South Asia

06-08 Feb 2013, Kathmandu, Nepal
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Extends over 3500 km from Afghanistan to Myanmar AndHome to 200 million People

An intergovernmental and independent organisationwith eight member states

The Hindu Kush Himalayan Region A regional mountainknowledge, learningand enabling centredevoted tosustainable mountaindevelopment

Information and

Knowledge are chief Commodities of theCentre

www.icimod.org http://geoportal.icimod.org www.icimod.or /drr

International Centre for IntegratedMountain Development (ICIMOD)
http://www.icimod.org/http://geoportal.icimod.org/http://geoportal.icimod.org/http://www.icimod.org/


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HKH Context: Ten major river basinsof Asia


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The Himalayas, hotspot for climateextremes

The third pole on earth- an area of extraordinary

beauty and a world heritagesite for biodiversity

An ecological buffer between the North and

South Asia

Himalayan glaciers are sourcesof freshwater reserves. They

provide headwaters for 10major river systems in Asia alifeline for almost one-third of

humanity


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ICIMODs Commitment & Role in reducing disaster risk inthe HKH Region

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

technologies for the dynamic assessment of water- and climate-relatedhazards, to develop real-time regional information systems, tostrengthen community resilience and adaptation strategies, to assist andinform policy making, and to provide a platform for regional cooperationtowards comprehensive disaster risk reduction.


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Climatic hazards: Main Issues inThe HKH region:

HKH region a source of ten large Asian river systems andprovides 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 tomountain hydrological system.

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

depends on agriculture and forest resources but the forestcover is decreasing 0.36 km 2 per year and the agriculturalproduction decreasing due climate change and several naturaldisasters


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Climatic hazards: MainIssues in the HKH region

Climate change and land use degradation accelerating the water-induced disasters such as flash flood, river-line flood, erosion, wetmass movement during monsoon period and drought in non-monsoon period as drying up of natural water springs andstreamsFaster 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 socialimpacts.Differential impacts on different social and gender groupsDifferential coping strategies between slow onset and rapid

events


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Disaster vulnerability of HKHcountries

China: 6 of the world's top 10 deadliest natural disasters ,. Floods alone killed over 07Million 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. 1998floods of Bangladesh affected more than 75% of countrys land mass.

Pakistan: The 2010 Pakistan floods affected approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's total landarea and about 20 million people.

Afghanistan: Afghanistan has been hit by 118 medium to large scale disaster events from1980 2008.

Nepal: 6000 rivers and flow from the north towards the south with high velocity due to highriver gradient. Annual floods, land slides and drought cause recurrent losses. Nepal isalso at high risk of GLOF & Earth quakes.

Myanmar: Between 1910 and 2000, there were 12 major floods. Over 2 million people areexposed to flood hazard in Myanmar every year.

Bhutan: L ies in one of the most seismically active region in the world. Also, out of 2,674glacial lakes in Bhutan, 25 pose grave threat of glacial lake outburst flood(ICIMOD/Department of Geology & Mines, Bhutan).

Prevention web/UNISDR :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_disasters_by_death_tollhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_disasters_by_death_toll


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Hazard Events are increasing

The middle part of the HKHregion comprises of Bangladesh, China, IndiaNepal and Pakistanexperiencing very highfrequency of hazard

events.The region having average76 hazard events eachyear and highest found for china (25) and India (18).

Afghanistan,


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RESILIENCE

Earlier you called me vulnerableNow you are saying Im resilient

Earlier you were worried about hazard risksaround meNow 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 dealwith increasing risks, over come

vulnerability and cope with Uncertainty!


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Measuring RESILIENCE

Capacity to resist hazardimpacts

Accommodate, or adapt tothe effects of disastersCapacity to manage, or maintain certain basic

functions and structures,during disasters and their aftermaths;Capacity to recover after such events .


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Gaps and Needs

Need to reduce Scientific un-certaininty of data and Knowledge gap andincomplete picture of risk.Need to create greater regional cooperation in strengthening systems andgovernance resilience.Need for a stronger, united and common voices that represent mountaincommunities in different parts of the world.Need to understand the interaction of access to and assurances fromcommons vis--vis resources under private, open access and public control.Need a deeper analysis of portfolio adjustments over, space, time and sector & promote community led adaptationBeyond resilience and coping : Are there risks that people were notaccustomed to dealing or those they had never before experienced- and howare they reacting to such risks.Need for creating a synergy in Development, Disaster risk reduction and anti-

climate change activities.


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International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

Kathmandu, Nepal

Community resilience andAdaptation

&Role of Policies andInstitutions:

Main Findings


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The role of tree crops in local adaptations to climatevariability in the Himalayas:Case studies in China, Nepal and Pakistan

Monoculture systems in the study areas have proven particularlyvulnerable to both economic and climatic shocks and shifts, whereasdiversified production systems, including through the use of tree cropsprovided 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 cropsin the study areas, which played a key of role in enhancing the adaptivecapacity of the studied communities.Policy environments and institutions are not yet responsive to the paceof change or new needs for highly adaptive and resilient systemsexperienced by agricultural communities.Key Message: Capture knowledge of farmers, local extension workersand scientists on response of tree crops to climate change andvulnerability and develop tools for screening of tree crops and agro-forestry systems for their potential to enhance climate resilience.


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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.


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Role of Local Governance in StrengtheningAdaptive Capacity to Water Stress:Cases in Pakistan

From the research it emerged that traditional water distribution and management practices were the mostpervasive and effective strategy for efficient use of limitedwater resources and reducing vulnerability to climateextremesLocal level institutions through effective water resourcemanagement have been important driving force for enhancing local adaptive capacities to water stress.Key Message : Government organizations have well definedmechanisms, both internal and external, for ensuringaccountability and transparency at all level of implementation and management. Proper enforcing of theserules and regulations and reducing rampant malpracticeswill increase the effectiveness of development interventions.


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Assessing the potential of labour migration as anadaptation strategy to the rapid onset water hazardsin the Hindu-Kush Himalayas

Migration for work is one of the resilience strategy for livelihoodadopted by households to respond to the impacts of floods,droughts, and other water hazards.The influence of water hazards is one of the factors thatinfluence 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 thequality of life of the recipient households and the households

ability to respond to water hazards.Key Message : Need for Strengthening formal and informalmeans of social protection for migrants and those left behind &Fostering vocational skills in the origin communities


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Messages

Livelihood diversification emerges as a centraladaptation strategy but support throughinstitutions and policy is needed for strengtheningthis resilience.

Social networks and local institutions play a vitalrole in enhancing resilience

National institutions and policies strongly affectpeoples ability to adapt at the local level, but thenational level policy is rarely informed byadaptation concerns and priorities.

Eco system contribution to people and systemsresilience need adequately recognized and the

linkage should be strengtened. The provision of basic services is fundamental to

peoples ability to adapt. The adaptation anddevelopment policy frameworks at various levelsare not identical but are intertwined.

Message


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P eoples response and success of their effortsare often influenced by the policy context andquality of governance.Local governance structures may be moreeffective at managing water variability, but may

be at odds with national structures for water management.Long-term recovery and the ongoing challengeof living with water hazard or stress are major gaps in disaster management policy frameworks(India).

Messages


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Resilience and adaptationKnowledge Summary

Need to develop Greater understanding on Portfolio of adjustments thatfeed 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 andtheir impacts.

Community: Reliance on CPRs, group ploughing, sowing, group trading, groupresources of food, fuel wood and other contingencies & community collectives,.

Public Interventions: drought or flood relief from public institutions, seed supply, postDisaster 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 withrisks, etc.


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From vulnerability to resilience and riskreduction-GFDRR:

Disaster risk reduction is the first line ofdefense in adapting to climate change.Need to build resilience now for betteradaptation to a changing climate.Strengthens capacities,Develop appropriate tools and methodologiesto address DRR in changing climate

Augment innovation and knowledge sharing,Ensure additional investment for disaster riskreduction.


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From vulnerability to resilience and riskreduction: ICIMOD approach

Community Level: Working on Disaster Risk Reduction with direct / indirect support to highly vulnerableup-stream & down stream communities. These community level initiatives provide examples of goodpractice in order to build evidence to influence appropriate Development and Disaster ManagementPolicies 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 reducingvulnerability 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 theresources managed by national and local governments and development actors will be far moreeffective when these efforts draw strength from our ground experience through our three strategicprogram areas.

International Stakeholders: International stakeholders are seen as powerful influencers for national levelpolicies and programs. HFA & MDGs in particular guide DRR & Development policies in thecountries. Our DRR programs not only alien with HFA & MDGs, we are also be part of regional andinternational learning forums on implementation of these guidelines. In addition we work with andinfluence international donors, donor countries and various UN entities to increase their investmentand use their clout to influence HKH national governments governments for policy commitments for mountain hazard risk reduction.


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ICIMOD

Regional, facilitator and broker with a mountainperspective

Contributing to country-based knowledgebecoming regionally accessible

Promoting the extension from local totransboundary approaches

Customising international knowledge

Capacity development, common methodologies,regionally accessible data, monitoring, quality

control


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Thank you

Hari Krishna, ICIMOD

d1 02 icimod harikrishna resilience drr hindukush 06feb2013

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