Can Pakistan break cycle of destruction in flood rebuilding?
What’s the context?
From building waterways to crop insurance, Pakistan urged to implement a holistic climate resilience plan to stem future disasters
- Donors pledge $9 billion for Pakistan flood rebuilding
- Recovery plan targets climate resilience and adaptation
- Poor water management, urban planning blamed for damage
- Holistic approach seen vital to averting future disasters
It is nearly five months since floodwaters swept away Muhammad Fazal's general store in southern Pakistan. Today, he is rebuilding his shop on taller, sturdier foundations - hopeful he will be better prepared the next time floods hit his village.
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More than 1,700 people were killed and 8 million were displaced by the flooding, which also destroyed about a million homes and businesses across the country of 220 million people, disaster management officials say.
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Now, it aims to use the money to implement its Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Framework, dubbed 4RF, a recovery strategy that sets out to build long-term climate resilience and adaptation.
That will mean boosting its flood defences to prevent a repeat of the loss of lives, livelihoods and infrastructure, and government officials say swift action is vital as climate change impacts gather pace.
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This time, lessons must be learned, said Amir Ali Chandio, a political economy and human rights academic who recently retired from Sindh's Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur.
Like many other experts, he says the loss of lives and property over the years has been aggravated by poor floodwater management at a time of rapid development and population growth.
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