Abstract
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.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abadi AI (2010) Legal framework for managing disasters in Pakistan: key challenges. [Online] Retrieved from http://criticalppp.com/archives/20818
Abro NA (2011) National disaster system & laws in Pakistan. National Disaster Management Authority Pakistan, Islamabad
Alam S (2010) Globalization, poverty and environmental degradation: sustainable development in Pakistan. J Sustain Dev 3(3):103–114
CDPM (2011) A hand book of CDPM. Centre for Disaster Preparedness and Management, University of Peshawar, Peshawar
Chaudhry QZ, Mahmood A, Rasul G, Afzaal M (2009) Climate indicators of Pakistan. PMD technical report 22/2009. Pakistan Meteorological Department, Islamabad
Government of Pakistan (1997) Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997. Senate Secretariat, Islamabad
Government of Pakistan (2001) Local government ordinance 2001. Retrieved from http://www.jica.go.jp/pakistan/english/office/others/pdf/CGP_01.pdf; http://www.ndma.gov.pk/planahead.php; http://www.nrb.gov.pk/publications/SBNP_Local_Govt_Ordinance_2001.pdf; http://www.saarcsadkn.org/countries/pakistan/disaster_profile.aspx
Government of Pakistan (2007) National disaster management framework. National Disaster Management Authority, Islamabad
Government of Pakistan (2010) National disaster management act-2010. Retrieved from http://www.na.gov.pk/uploads/documents/1302135719_202.pdf
Government of Pakistan (2012a) Economic survey of Pakistan 2011–12. Ministry of Finance, Islamabad
Government of Pakistan (2012b) Disaster risk management needs report. Retrieved from http://reliefweb.int/report/pakistan/disaster-risk-management-needs-report-2012
Government of Pakistan (2013) National disaster risk reduction policy. National Disaster Management Authority, Islamabad
JICA (2008) Pakistan: country gender profile. http://www.jica.go.jp/pakistan/english/office/others/pdf/CGP_01.pdf
Khan AN (2012) Good governance and disaster risk reduction. In: Khan AN (ed) Proceeding of the second international disaster management conference-2011. Centre for Disaster Preparedness and Management, University of Peshawar, Peshawar
Maleeha (2012) Disaster management in Pakistan. Retrieved from http://www.e-spark.co/2012/08/disaster-management-in-pakistan-2/
NDMA (2010) National Disaster Response Plan (NDRP). National Disaster Management Authority, Islamabad
NDMA (2014) National strategy for disaster management. Retrieved from www.ndma.gov.pk/Documents/DRM/…/Disaster%20Reporting.pdf
Rasul G, Chaudhry QZ, Mahmood A, Hyder KW, Dahe Q (n.d.) Glaciers and glacial lakes under changing climate in Pakistan. Pak J Meteorol 8(15):1–8
SAARC (2014) Disaster profile of Pakistan. Retrieved from www.saarc-sadkn.org/countries/pakistan/disaster_profile.aspx
The Pakistan Forum (2011) Managing disaster in Pakistan. Retrieved from http://pakistaniaat.net/2011/09/managing-a-disaster-in-pakistan/
UNISDR (2013) Pakistan: national Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) policy. Retrieved from http://www.preventionweb.net/english/professional/policies/v.php?id=32321
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer Japan
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Khan, A.N., Jan, M.A. (2015). National Strategy, Law and Institutional Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in Pakistan. In: Rahman, AU., Khan, A., Shaw, R. (eds) Disaster Risk Reduction Approaches in Pakistan. Disaster Risk Reduction. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55369-4_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55369-4_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo
Print ISBN: 978-4-431-55368-7
Online ISBN: 978-4-431-55369-4
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)