HRMP AKPBS,P Habitat Risk Management Programme A Programme of the Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan

Vision of AKPBS,P

‘Peaceful and productive communities with secure, healthy, pleasant and comfortable living environment.’ Design of seismic retrofitted Govt. Primary School, Aminabad, Chatorkhand, Ghizar, Northern Areas, Pakistan, 2008

Programme Overview Local experiences suggest that in the The Programme was the direct outcome Northern Areas people’s lives and health of an endowment fund, titled ‘Fund for Pakistan, with its diverse collection of are extremely vulnerable to natural hazards Sustainable Built Environment’, which was geographical landscapes, is fairly exposed because several lines of evidence show that founded on AKPBS,P’s Alcan Award for to natural hazards. The country, especially one or more great earthquakes may be Sustainability in 2005, a donation from His its northern highlands, falls in a seismically overdue in a large fraction of the region, Highness the Aga Khan, 49th Hereditary active zone with majority of the population threatening millions of people. Imam (spiritual leader) of the Ismaili living in high seismic activity area. Muslims and Aga Khan Foundation The region consists of more than 150,000 Canada. traditional houses of rubble stone masonry The Northern Areas of Pakistan are N 0 50 100 200 300 400 500 or earthen construction. This offers ample Kilometers particularly prone to multiple natural evidence of the weakness and high hazard risks such as earthquakes, glacial Legend vulnerability of the local people towards Seismic Zones movements, floods, snow and ice natural hazards. avalanches, rock falls, landslides, glacial lake outbursts and river erosions. These The poor are particularly vulnerable to hazards make the lives of local communities environmental degradation because of its insecure and threaten livelihoods by impacts on their livelihoods and health, destroying agricultural lands, livestock and and because of their increased exposure habitations. to natural hazards.

The Kashmir earthquake, the most The increasing number and impact of devastating event recorded in the recent disasters, the loss of life and property and history of Pakistan, killed around 87,350 Seismic Zoning Map of Pakistan indicates the challenges that are faced in the earthquake prone areas. Source: Prof. Sarosh people, injured approximately 70,000 aftermath of natural hazards exhibited the Lodi, Chairman, Dept of Civil Engineering, and rendered over 3.5 million homeless. need for establishing appropriate policy NED University, Karachi. Building Codes Seminar Presentation, Gilgit, Nov.07 and institutional arrangements to reduce losses from disasters in future. 5 Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) HRMP Goal occurred during the first six months of The Habitat Risk Management Programme 2008 in the Gojal, Hunza. These have (HRMP) was initiated by the Aga Khan ‘Promote safer communities and seriously affected the lives of local Planning and Building Service, Pakistan in advancement of sustainable development communities by damaging roads, 2007 to serve as a catalyst for Disaster Risk through reducing hazard risks and bridges, houses and cultivable land. The Reduction (DRR). vulnerabilities.’ frequency of GLOF events is likely to increase with increasing climatic changes.

Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan An agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) www.akdn.org Schools can play a key role as the nucleus through with risk reduction knowledge and awareness can reach out to other members of the community. This can be done by children reaching out to parents, teachers Children at Govt. Primary School Gulmuti, District reaching out to community elders, school Ghizar, Northern Areas, Pakistan participating in an management reaching out to disaster earthquake evacuation training. management experts and so on.

HRMP aims to build the resilience of To promote gender equity by involving Establishment of Village Planning communities to hazard risks (both natural women as decision makers in the and Development Organizations and human induced); and to mainstream planning and implementation of the (VPDOs) disaster reduction into development (social, program activities; economic, physical and ecological). The To disseminate knowledge and In order to involve the communities in Programme emphasizes the integration of information on DRR to other areas in reducing disaster risks, HRMP initiates its risk reduction into development through Pakistan and to reflect the best practices projects with the formation of a village implementing structural and non-structural to other compatible geo-physical, and based planning and development risk mitigations. socio-economic contexts within the committee of which 50% women region. participation is mandatory. HRMP has been formulated through consultation with stakeholders at all levels, HRMP Interventions VPDOs play a crucial role in land use and particularly communities at risk. Stories strategic planning of villages, identification of affected communities, voices from the Non-Structural Risk Mitigations and selection of artisans and youth for fields, indigenous knowledge to adjust and a.Awareness-raising on Disaster Risk trainings, participation in design and cope with the calamities have shaped the Reduction implementation of risk reduction measures strategies and approaches of the b.Trainings (female youth in village and execution of seismically safe retrofitting Programme: mapping, and artisans in safe and construction works. construction/seismic retrofitting) To promote ‘Safe Haven Shelter’ c.Technical advice (retrofitting new The establishment of VPDO’s allows concepts within hazard prone, mountain constructions and land-use planning) opportunities of active participation and villages of Northern Pakistan capacity building to each community To encourage adoption of seismic Structural Risk Mitigations member, particularly of women. It also sets resistant building practices a.Retrofitting of existing structures the foundation for participatory disaster To strengthen lifeline systems through (houses and community/public preparedness and response. strategic and sustainable land use buildings) planning b.Incremental support for the new To promote cost effective, culturally construction/reconstruction of disaster sensitive and replicable retrofitting resistant houses techniques for strengthening of existing infrastructure and develop seismic HRMP Activities resistant technologies for new constructions In order to materialize its goals and To raise awareness and enhance disaster objectives the HRMP facilitates disaster risk management knowledge and skills preparedness by following a three-fold through capacity building programs methodology: To build the resilience of communities i) mapping and analysis, to disasters by training artisans in safe ii) development of specific solutions, and construction, communities in disaster iii) physical implementation works. risk management and youngsters in HRMP trains local community members, This methodology contains a comprehensive village mapping and documentation especially women, on hazard mapping and set of activities that constitute HRMP’s safe construction techniques. works implementation strategy. HRMP’s fundamental policy is that there is a lot that can be done to prevent a natural hazard from becoming a natural ‘disaster’. In 2003 an earthquake struck Iran which destroyed close to 90% of Bam’s buildings and killed 26,000 people. Just four days The structural weakness of masonry buildings is earlier an earthquake of equal intensity had evident: A collapsed building after the Kashmir struck California and damaged 40 buildings Earthquake, 2005. Picture courtesy of AKDN's Multi- and killed 2 people. Input Earthquake Reconstruction Programme (2009)

Awareness - Raising Skill Enhancement Strengthening of foundations, Strengthening of walls including Hazard risks are fundamentally local in More than 80% of the houses in the provision of horizontal and vertical terms of their impact, as well as their Northern Areas are of poor structural bands or belts, response. Local communities, local quality and can be regarded as unsafe. This Introduction of ‘through’ or header infrastructure and local economies are high level of vulnerability in the built stones in thick stone walls, and injection directly affected by disasters. Vice versa, environment can be attributed to a range grouting etc, the local communities and authorities are of factors, perhaps most importantly to the Roof repairs, usually the first to respond to any disaster shortage of trained skilled technicians and Modification in the building plan, situation. Therefore, it is crucial to enhance craftsmen, a lack of knowledge about safe Addition of sections of beams and the knowledge of local people to reduce construction practices and the loss of columns by casing or jacketing etc., vulnerability and adequately respond to indigenous building traditions. Addition of shear connectors, and natural disasters. Plinth protections and damp proofing HRMP’s skill enhancement component In order to raise awareness amongst focuses on training artisans in safe Constructions and Reconstructions communities HRMP focuses on risks and construction and training female youth in vulnerabilities at the village level. The village mapping and documentation. The In northern Pakistan vernacular buildings Programme’s awareness-raising activities purpose is to build the resilience of local are regularly supplanted with modern focus on multiple segments of society, such human resource so that they can spur building materials and construction as community- based organizations, leaders positive change that contributes to self technologies. In some cases these modern and elders of the community, teams of sustenance in the long run. building materials have a negative effect as volunteers, members of union councils, local politicians, school children, and local HRMP’s training programmes help locally women to collectively and individually deal trained artisans to replicate safe with disaster risk reduction and construction practices in nearby areas while preparedness issues. increasing their skill set and income.

Before Simultaneously, the training Programme for female youth supports them to prepare, cope, recover, rebuild, and protect themselves against future disaster threats. The training includes village mapping, architectural documentation of buildings After and computer skill enhancement.

Seismic Retrofitting Seismic retrofitting under HRMP involves actions for upgrading the seismic resistance of existing buildings. Seismic retrofitting is a Seismic retrofitting in progress at DJ Primary School, Hasis, Ghizar, Northern Areas, HRMP Reconstruction Project: cost effective technology to improve the Pakistan 2008. The local community is Reconstructed house of Mr. Hazarat Shah, integrity of the existing building. The main actively participating in the retrofitting work Gich, Ghizar, Northern Areas, Pakistan, 2008 items of seismic retrofitting include: “The October 8, 2005 earthquake in South Asia was a cruel reminder of just how vulnerable the region’s schools actually are. Over 17,000 school-age children perished in the collapsed schools, approximately 23% of the total deaths and over 20,000 more suffered serious injuries. Over 80% of schools in Pakistan are unprotected from similar risks.

“School safety needs to become a national priority. Policies, guidelines, implementing and monitoring mechanisms are needed. This translates into actions that address identifying resilient school needs, retrofitting existing structures, creating evacuation plans and safe havens, improving community and student awareness through outreach and simulations. Selection of safe sites, design and construction technologies and materials also apply to the larger built environment.” Islamabad Declaration, School Safety Conference, Pakistan 2008 they are either too expensive or less To addresses this habitat vulnerability issue foundation for future structural risk environment friendly or their behaviour in HRMP offers technical solutions in three mitigation works in other earthquake disasters is not well understood. areas: prone regions of Pakistan. Provide innovative and cost effective HRMP provides options to local 13 local female youth have been trained retrofitting techniques for existing in village mapping, documentation, communities for upgrading traditional buildings; building systems in ways that are cost hazard mapping and vulnerability effective, disaster resistant, reduce Develop guidelines on seismic safe assessment in three villages of District vulnerability and are culturally and socially construction standards for new buildings; Ghizar appropriate. The technology makes little Advice on land use planning and 50 artisans (masons and carpenters) have use of factory equipment or imported structuring community-based been trained in safe construction trades materials and can be easily self-replicated infrastructures and lifeline systems and seismic retrofitting in relatively poor communities. (roads, irrigation channels, bridges, PRA workshops on DRR have been potable water supply systems, first conducted in three hazard prone villages Provision of Technical Advice aid/basic health units, electricity and – Gich, Chatorkhand and Faizabad- communication systems) Ishkoman The Northern Areas of Pakistan consists HRMP Achievements of more than 150,000 traditional dwellings Disaster Risk Reduction awareness of rubble stone masonry or earthen HRMP has attempted to secure the lives raising workshops and safety drills have construction. This will increase by and livelihoods of approximately 13,000 been conducted in 15 schools in approximately 5% every year as rapid people in the Ishkoman/Ponial Valleys Northern Areas, Pakistan (962 children urbanization has resulted in a growing of Northern Areas, Pakistan from future and teachers participated) demand for basic shelter. There is also an disasters, particularly earthquakes The Islamabad Declaration on School increasing demand for public buildings Seismic retrofitting of 27 private housing Safety 2008 – an outcome of a such as schools, health units etc. units, 4 schools and 1 hospital has been Conference organized by AKPBS,P and Construction technologies for new buildings carried out in District Ghizar of the Focus Humanitarian Assistance are not well understood and a lack of land Northern Areas, Pakistan (Pakistan) – urged the government and use and strategic planning has placed civil society to dedicate resources for extreme pressure on the built environment. HRMP’s land use planning workshops protecting children through safe school have benefited thousands of people in planning and construction. the Ghizer district and have set the

Aga Khan Development Network: AKPBS,P Head Office: Gilgit Regional Office: 1-3 Avenue de la paix Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan, Gilgit 1202 Geneva 310-311, 3rd Floor, Kassam Court, River View Road, Opposite FCNA Helicopter Chowk, Switzerland BC-9, Block 5, Clifton, Karachi-75600, Pakistan Jutial, Gilgit, Northern Areas, Pakistan Telephone: +41-22-909-7200 Telephone: +92-21-536-1802, +92-21-536-1803, +92-21-536-1804 Telephone: +92-5811-52819, +92-5811-54266 Facsimile: +41-22-909-7291 Facsimile: +92-21-536-1807 Facsimile: +92-5811-55890 Email: [email protected] Website: www.akdn.org Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

Chitral Regional Office: Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan, Chitral Sindh Project Office: Baltistan Project Office: Merajuddin House, Near Govt. High School, Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan, Baltistan Balach, Chitral, Pakistan C-31, Makli Hashimabad Housing Society, Abbas Town, Shaheen Manzil, Near Baltro rest house, Telephone: +92-943-412883, +92-943-413547 Makli, Thatta, Sindh, Pakistan Skardu, Baltistan, Pakistan Facsimile: +92-943-413531 Telephone: +92-298-772278 Telephone: +92-5831-50965 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] c AKPBS,P, August 2009. Information contained in this brief can be reproduced with acknowledgment to AKPBS,P Photo credits: AKDN