National Disaster Risk Management Framework Pakistan March 2007.

The Objectives of Disaster Risk Management (DRM) planning are to minimize adverse effects of hazards through effective disaster risk reduction, preparedness and adequate, timely and coordinated response. The plans would include strategies for disaster risk reduction and measures for disaster preparedness. Disaster risk reduction actions may include; dykes, dams, safer construction, retrofitting, rainwater harvesting, relocation, community organizing, training, awareness raising, and provision of safer sources of livelihoods etc. In order to materialize goals and objectives of the National ordinance and the present Framework, community and local level risk reduction projects and programmes will be designed and implemented in selected areas. These may include local level programming on drought and flood mitigation or earthquake vulnerability reduction in priority regions. Considering the fact that historical focus of disaster mitigation in Pakistan has mainly remained on structural mitigation- e.g. embankments, dykes, dams etc- the current strategy would emphasize more upon non-structural aspects of mitigation along with structural mitigation.
The programmes would focus on community organizing, training, awareness-raising, masons training, and volunteers training on search and rescue, first aid, evacuation, fire fighting etc. Based upon local risk assessment small scale schemes for mitigation, strengthening of livelihoods and local early warning systems would be implemented. Disaster preparedness activities will also be implemented at village, neighbourhood, city and school levels. This results in overlooking the damages, needs and priorities of most vulnerable in times of disaster and worsens existing poverty and inequity. Lack of gender sensitive assessments and programming intensify the existing political, social and economic inequality. In-spite of devastation they cause, natural disasters provide opportunities for social and economic change. Women should be empowered as equal stakeholders to act as key resource, before, during and after disasters in reducing loss to lives, household economy and in reducing break-down of social safety-nets.
A number of factors lay behind vulnerabilities of Pakistani society to hazards. These include poor construction practices, poor livestock and agricultural management, and fragile natural environment, weak early warning systems, lack of awareness, education and poverty. Being a cross-cutting issue, disaster risk management has close links with all development sectors. Given below is a list of national sectoral policies and international protocols that have implications for disaster risk management and vice-a-versa. The NDMA would strive to build linkages with these policies and protocols for the implementation of the Framework: Agriculture; Bio-diversity; Climate Change; Desertification; Development; Disaster Risk Management; Environment; Hazardous Waste; Ozone Layer; Poverty Reduction; Water Resources. The incidence of drought is becoming increasingly common in Pakistan with substantial consequences upon sustainable development in sectors of food security, livestock, agriculture, water resources, environment and hydro-electricity.