Earthquake Recovery Project Preliminary Environmental Assessment of Wood Usage in Rural Housing Reconstruction Islamabad Earthquake Reconstruction December 2006 and Rehabilitation Authority, Government of Pakistan Environmental Assessment of Wooden Reconstruction Emergency Recovery Project Executive Summary 1. A field visit to the earthquake affected areas in NWFP and AJK was carried out from 9th to 18th October 2006, in order to study the environmental aspects and perform a preliminary environmental assessment of the rural housing reconstruction activities. A summary of the field investigations and preliminary environmental assessment is provided below. Objectives 2. The overall objectives of the assignment were to assess the impacts of rural housing reconstruction on the environment - particularly the forest resources of the area, and to identify measures to minimize these impacts. Methodology 3. Before embarking upon the field visit, meetings were held with some of the experts and stakeholders in Islamabad. These included officials from the forest department, NRM professionals, a biologist and foresters. Some useful background information was obtained through these meetings, in addition to identifying the potential environmental issues that could arise as a result of the reconstruction activities. 4. During the field visit, discussions were held with the HRC personnel in various parts of the earthquake affected areas. These discussions focused the status of rural reconstruction, the construction techniques being used by the affectees, usage of timber in the reconstruction and source of this timber. The rural areas were then visited where timber usage was reported, in order to identify any existing or potential environmental issues associated with the reconstruction activities. Discussions were held with the communities in these areas and their views obtained regarding the timber usage and its source. Additionally, meetings were held with the officials of the AJK Forest Department and information obtained on the condition of the forest, potential impact of timber construction on the forest, and the recommended course of action vis-à-vis rural housing reconstruction. 5. On the basis of the information obtained during the meetings and the data collected during the field visit, a preliminary assessment has been conducted of the impacts the rural housing reconstruction is likely to have on the environmental resources, particularly the forest of the area. Finally, a set of recommendations has been developed in order to minimize these adverse impacts. Areas Visited 6. During the field investigations, an attempt was made to cover as many rural areas as possible in the given time, and to visit areas where wooden reconstruction was reported. The areas visited in NWFP included Pallas Valley, Allai Valley and rural areas in Kaghan Valley (near Balakot). The locations covered in AJK included Muzaffarabad, Patika and adjacent rural areas, Hattian and nearby villages, rural areas between Hattian and Bagh, and villages in Bagh district. Some of the more remote and high-altitude locations could however not be visited because of the limited time available for the field investigations. Wooden Construction Envl Assessment - Rev 02: 4-Dec-06 ii Environmental Assessment of Wooden Reconstruction Emergency Recovery Project Key Findings 7. Following are the key findings of the field investigations: i. The people in the areas close to the towns and along/near the roads are generally following the ERRA guidelines for housing reconstruction. The usage of wood in these houses is generally limited to the wooden truss for roof, and door/windows. The deciding factors in most of the areas visited seem to be the cost and availability of construction material. ii. In the remote, high altitude areas, the communities are finding it very difficult to follow ERRA guidelines (ie, use of bricks/blocks, sand, cement and steel) for reconstructing their houses, primarily because of the extremely high cost of construction material transport. iii. In some cases, the communities are reluctant to abandon their old construction methods, particularly use of wood and mud plaster, because of extreme cold in those areas. The cement mortar construction is perceived to provide poor thermal insulation. iv. Since winter is fast approaching, the people in the above mentioned areas are desperate to reconstruct their houses. The people in some of these areas have thus started reconstruction using local materials including timber. In other parts of the remote areas, people are anxiously awaiting ERRA’s permission to use wood for reconstruction. v. For the timber reconstruction going on in the remote areas, different construction techniques are being followed in different areas. In general people in AJK are using better techniques for reconstruction, compared to the people in NWFP. In all of the techniques being followed, there is a considerable room for improvement in terms of the strength of the houses as well as the wood consumption. vi. In the areas visited, people are generally constructing or planning to construct 2-room houses. This will fulfill their immediate needs however they are likely to increase the size of the houses or build additional housing in the medium term (2-3 years). vii. In general, people in the remote areas are using the wood salvaged from their damaged/destroyed houses for the reconstruction. Their old houses were usually large, and were constructed using big sections of timber. The houses being constructed are generally smaller hence requiring lesser amount of wood. Further, at least in parts of AJK, smaller sections of wood are being used, hence further reducing the wood requirement. viii. In Pallas and Allai valleys, about 70-80% of the total wood requirement for the 2-room houses would be fulfilled by the salvaged wood. For the balance requirement, people are buying timber available in the area. ix. In other parts of NWFP and in AJK (areas which were visited), people generally have enough salvaged wood available with them, which will be sufficient for their immediate needs of 2-room houses. x. Large quantities of seasoned timber are lying in Pattan, Allai Valley and Pallas Valley. Some wood is lying in AJK as well. Wooden Construction Envl Assessment - Rev 02: 4-Dec-06 iii Environmental Assessment of Wooden Reconstruction Emergency Recovery Project Conclusions 8. The following conclusions have been drawn on the basis of the field investigations, and are true for the areas visited: i. In parts of NWFP (Allai and Pallas valleys), the people opting for wood construction generally possess 70-80% of the total wood required. For the balance quantity, the people are/intend to buy wood locally. No new tree cutting is foreseen for this purpose. ii. The remaining parts of NWFP and AJK – which were visited during the field investigations - people generally possess enough wood salvaged from their damaged/destroyed houses. iii. Based upon the above, it is concluded that in the areas visited, no new wood extraction from the forest would be needed at least in the short run (within a year or so) for the housing reconstruction. Hence the reconstruction activities are unlikely to cause any immediate direct impacts on the forests of the area. iv. In terms of potential indirect impacts, there is a possibility that once the wood construction is allowed, illegal tree cutting takes place for commercial purposes (commercial harvesting) in the garb of wood required for housing reconstruction. v. ERRA’s permission to use wood structure may also induce some, albeit limited (estimated to be about 10%), wooden reconstruction. The cost and availability of wood would be the deciding factors. vi. Additional wood (or its alternates) is likely to be needed in medium to long run, ie 2 years and onwards, once people start expanding their houses. Recommendations 9. The following specific actions have been recommended on the basis of the findings of the field investigations presented in para 8 above. i. Timber Reconstruction: ERRA should formally allow rural housing reconstruction using timber frame, provided: X Reconstruction is carried out using salvaged / already available wood, X ERRA can ensure effective enforcement of the tree-cutting ban through joint mechanisms involving respective forest departments and other stakeholders (further discussed below). ii. Timber Construction Design and Guidelines: The timber construction design and guidelines should be provided to the communities, thus ensuring safer houses and minimizing the wood consumption. Capacity building of the communities should be carried out in carpentry and other related skills, to achieve compliance. iii. Tree Cutting Ban: No new tree cutting should be allowed for the housing reconstruction. In areas where the people do not have enough wood (eg, Allai and Pallas valleys), already available timber in the area should be utilized. Strict monitoring should be carried out to enforce these aspects. Wooden Construction Envl Assessment - Rev 02: 4-Dec-06 iv Environmental Assessment of Wooden Reconstruction Emergency Recovery Project iv. Strengthening of Forest Departments: For improved protection of the forest and enforcing the tree-cutting ban recommended above, the forest departments should be strengthened. In particular, capacity building of the forest guards should be carried out and their number increased. v. Joint Forest Management Committees: The Joint Forest Management Committees already exist in NWFP. The functioning