National Strategy, Law and Institutional Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in Pakistan

Disasters are on the rise, and we cannot estimate the full range of impact of natural hazards, climate change and climate variability. Water scarcity is a major challenge for some part of our country. Increasing urbanization and pressure on land use will continue to increase our vulnerability and as a result more and more people will be at risk. We need to stop environmental degradation, enhance information exchange and cross border cooperation to ensure disaster risk reduction. However, there is a need of sustainable and coherent institutional mechanism with a vision of long term planning. Governments will still be judged by how they respond to a disaster. Disasters do give us windows of opportunity. We need to use these windows to ensure that people are not put back into the same vulnerable position again and again. There is a need to change the traditional one-dimensional focus on response and to build a stronger understanding of the need to evolve strong and disaster resilient societies. The earthquake 2005 was an eye opener for the government of Pakistan and the whole nation. The establishment of Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Provincial Disaster management Authorities (PDMAs) and FATA Disaster Management Authority (FDMA) reveal the significance of the disaster management. Beside, this development the efforts of the private sector institutions and organizations cannot be ignored. They not only responded to the earthquake, 2005 and flash floods of Peshawar, 2008 but are also engaged in providing services to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and still providing services to the affected communities of floods 2010 throughout the country. It is clear that a radical change in the approach towards comprehensive disaster management is needed, with far greater attention toward prevention and preparedness rather than relief and rehabilitation. Perhaps we should begin by tackling the matter at the most fundamental level in order to ascertain and apportion the moral responsibility for the safety of the marginal population that inhibits risk zones. The present chapter is an attempt to explore the institutional structure for disaster management in Pakistan. The chapter focuses on an overview of disasters in Pakistan, causes of Pakistan’s vulnerability to disasters and climate change impacts as well as legal framework for disaster management in Pakistan, Institutional and organizational arrangements and problems in the current system is also discussed in the chapter.