Mountain Partnership

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Over the last century, earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters have killed more than 1.5 million people in mountainous countries. Due to their nature, mountain ecosystems and the people who live in or near them face greater risk from natural hazards. And this high level of risk contributes to the vulnerability of mountain people - already among the world’s poorest and hungriest.

The recent devastating earthquake that hit a vast area between Pakistan, India and Afghanistan with its epicentre in the Kashmir region has painfully demonstrated the precariousness of life in the mountain regions of the world. The Mountain Partnership Secretariat would like to extend its heartfelt sympathy to all those affected by these recent events and to voice its support for our partners from around the world - governments, UN organizations, NGOs, the private sector and the general public - who are assisting in the relief, recovery and rehabilitation efforts. Coupled with these essential activities, there is a clear need to enhance awareness of hazards and risks in mountain areas and to build capacities in mitigating hazards through planning and engineering and in managing disasters to reduce their effects



The South Asia Earthquake

Action on the ground by Mountain Partnership members

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), based in Nepal, is a focal point for research, institutional strengthening, cooperation, and information sharing among the mountain areas of Asia, especially in the Hindu Kush Himalyas. ICIMOD is responding to the earthquake in various ways, from providing tents to shelter victims from the rain and snow to providing information on work previously done by ICIMOD on construction and infrastructure planning in mountains that will help communities better deal with earthquake and associated hazards. Read more about how ICIMOD is gathering support for earthquake victims.

WWF - Pakistan join hands with UN - HABITAT to develop low cost environment friendly shelter for earthquake affected areas

Shelter is the primary need of these earthquake stricken people at this stage as over 90% of houses have been demolished or severely damaged by the quake, forcing people to live out in the open. Relief and development workers are currently looking into suitable housing that will provide shelter from the harsh winter climate as well as avoid putting pressure on the forest resources. Indeed, it has been estimated that the pressure on the forest and forest products will escalate threefold if the population of the Alpine region is forced to use the forest resources for creating shelter. To mitigate the situation WWF - Pakistan has formed a partnership with UN-HABITAT to develop shelters that minimize the use of forests resources in their construction and, in so doing, to reduce the ecological pressure on forests. Find out more: http://www.wwfpak.org/02-11-05joinhandundp.php .

Business is emerging as an important actor in both disaster preparedness and response. A first team of doctors has been deployed by the World Economic Forum's Disaster Resource Network in earthquake-struck Pakistan. They will help provide critical medical care to victims including pulmonology, cardiac-thoracic surgery and internal medicine. The World Economic Forum created the Disaster Resource Network in 2001 to mobilize the resources of the international business community to rebuild the lives and livelihoods threatened by natural and man-made disasters. Read the press release.

Many hospitals in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Northwest Frontier Province were completely destroyed or made unusable by the earthquake, which has left millions homeless. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has rushed supplies to the aid of pregnant women and newborns in the area and issued a $3.2 million appeal to donors . Even in the best of circumstances, some 15 per cent of pregnant women require emergency obstetric care to avoid maternal and infant deaths. The Fund is concerned that the physical and psychological trauma caused by the devastating quake could push this figure even higher. Read more.

The smallholder farmers in northern Pakistan practice a mixture of farming and livestock rearing. But once rescue and relief activities are over, how will these farmers restart their agricultural activities? Assistance is necessary during the next six months to help them re-establish their livelihoods. The Food and Agriculture of the United Nations (FAO) has launched an appeal for $7 million that will go towards needs assessment and targeted interventions for some 100, 000 affected farm families. FAO's appeal is part of a joint UN appeal to the international community for support to the earthquake victims. Read about the appeal. 

The World Bank is mobilizing teams of disaster reconstruction experts and immediately available money, doubling its initial commitment to hardest-hit Pakistan to US$40 million. Much of the recovery effort will also engage non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and local government bodies with experience in the damaged areas. The Bank supports the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund which channels money to communities countrywide through a network of NGOs which work closely with communities building small-scale infrastructure and businesses based on micro-finance. These same NGOs networked across the rural areas will now be well-placed to help communities build back. Read the World Bank press release.

The Italian Ev-K²-CNR Committee is active in development cooperation by promoting projects aimed at education, social services, environment and health to the benefit of the people of the Hindu Kush – Karakorum – Himalaya region, in collaboration with public and private organizations, local authorities, and NGOs. Its Karokorum Trust  – set up in collaboration Cooperazione e Sviluppo (CESVI) – is building partnerships with local networks and acting as a catalyst for humanitarian aid and assistance to local people. Read more.

Networking, advocacy and information exchange

Mountain Forum, the global network of information networks in mountain issues has posted a range of comments and opinion from local and international partners on the South Asian disaster in its discussion lists, including a call for legislation for construction rules in the mountain areas of Pakistan to an appeal for international NGOs working in the field of mountain development to come forward and help mountain people in the devasted areas. Read more.

Information resources from Mountain Partnership members


Factsheet

FAO - 'Hazards -  Natural hazard plus vulnerability equals disaster'

Web sites

UNDP - Crisis prevention and recovery – Pakistan
ICIMOD - Mountain Risks and Infrastructure in the Hindu Kush-Himalayas – An Introduction

On-line journal

Mountain Research and Development (MRD) - Hazard Management and Resilience in Mountains  (vol. 24/1 – February 2004)
FAO - Mountain risks and hazards- some approaches for assessing, mitigating and preventing risks in mountain regions  (UNASYLVA, Vol. 53 2002/1)

Article

Ev-K²-CNR Committee -  "Montagne, luoghi più vulnerabili "Mountains, the most vulnerable places" (in Italian), by Ismail Khan, writer and development analyst from Pakistan

Research findings

United Nations University (UNU) Project on Sustainable Mountain and Forest Development. UNU contribution to the Agenda 21 Chapter 13 Managing Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development

Featured story

World Food Programme uses packhorses and mules to reach quake victims in remote mountain areas

With helicopters grounded by low cloud, rain and snow and many roads still blocked by landslides, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has begun using packhorses and mules to bring emergency rations to survivors of the 8 October earthquake in remote mountain areas in Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir. Read more.

Other resources

Learn about the UN's relief efforts

The UN is engaged in extensive earthquake relief and reconstruction efforts. A summary of several key UN agencies' relief activities can be read here.

Global map of natural disasters

Launched to coincide with the International Day for Disaster Reduction (12 October 2005), the new interactive global map of natural disasters by Maplecroft maps profiles 170 countries and the occurrence of natural disasters, between 1 January 2000 and 12 October 2005. It explores the severity of geological, hydrological and meteorological disasters - looking in particular at the impact of these events on the health, well-being and wealth of individuals in each country. The map focuses on the impacts of natural disasters so far this century,  highlighting countries which are still recovering from recent events and where the impacts of those disasters on the social and economic fabric of the countries are still in evidence. Go to: http://maps.maplecroft.com

Reducing the impact of disasters through microfinance

On the occasion of the International Day for Disaster Reduction (12 October 2005) and to mark the International Year of Microcredit, the Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) launched a global debate on how microfinance can reduce the impact of natural disasters on vulnerable communities. Read more.

World Disaster Reduction Campaign  - Disaster Reduction for Sustainable Mountain Development (2002)

The 2002 World Disaster Reduction Campaign aimed to increase global awareness of successful disaster reduction efforts in mountain areas so that vulnerable mountain populations could benefit from already existing experiences. The Campaign also served to raise awareness more generally on disaster reduction, so that past and emerging solutions in vulnerability and risk reduction can be explained and shared. Read more.