Integrating indigenous knowledge and technology for safer habitat

Integating local knowledge with technology to manage disasters in Pakistan’s villages.

Pakistan has suffered an estimated US $18 billion in damages and losses as a result of disasters over the past decades. The northern mountainous areas – home to some of the most disadvantaged and isolated communities – are especially vulnerable to earthquakes, floods and many other hazards that have caused significant damage in recent years.

Although international and national agencies have undertaken work on disaster preparedness at different levels, the integration of hazard, vulnerability and risk assessments (HVRAs) into planning processes – for disaster preparedness, response, rehabilitation and development – is rare.

The Integrating indigenous knowledge and technology for safer habitat approach set up by the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, Pakistan (AKAH Pakistan) integrates disaster-risk management into habitat planning and development projects at village and community levels. AKAH Pakistan introduced community-based HVRAs in the country for the first time in 2004, combining local and scientific knowledge to map risks, determine residential and economic zones, and develop disaster management plans. AKAH geologists use satellite images and risk-mapping tools, with participation from residents, who contribute local knowledge and receive training on the process. This enables them to build in safer areas and protect against hazards.

To date, AKAH Pakistan has conducted HVRAs in 785 settlements, mostly in the mountain areas of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral regions – home to more than one million people. The project has provided more than 20,000 households with technical assistance in maintaining and improving their homes, constructed over 4,000 shelters for internally displaced people, and created more than 280 community disaster management plans. Weather monitoring posts and community-based early warning systems are also installed.

Over 50,000 community volunteers have been trained across Pakistan in community-based disaster risk management. Alongside AKAH, they have responded to over 200 disasters and – through HVRAs – identified 50 extremely hazard prone settlements for relocation. AKAH Pakistan has also established 190 community-managed emergency stockpiles, which include tents, blankets, search and rescue tools and first aid kits.

Safaraz, aged 55, works as a mason and was displaced by the landslide in Attabad in 2010.

It was the most horrible sight. There was chaos, with people shouting and running everywhere. Some were desperately searching for their family members. Most people had their faces fully covered with dirt; eyes were barely visible… We had no clue that one day, just like that, we would be left homeless, with nowhere to go.

Previously, we used to construct houses merely of mud and stones, without planning of any sort. This house (constructed by AKAH) can’t be compared to our previous house (which was destroyed due to the disaster). They are simply worlds apart. It was more like a place for keeping livestock, with no systems in place.

We are so thankful to God, that now for this house, even the land’s safety was checked. It was only when AKAH had assessed the place (through HVRA) and declared it safer, the construction (of our house) had begun. This house is a proper house, unlike the previous one. It is so thermally comfortable and even keeps us warm in harsh winters. Proper lighting, water supply, and ventilation systems are there. I, along with my wife, had also actively participated with the organisation in its construction – it is ours and we love every bit of it. Most important of all, unlike our previous house, it is resilient, reliable, comfortable, and so, more loveable.

Amanullah Khan, aged 58, works as a teacher, farmer and local guide. He is a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) captain in Gulmit, Hunza – one of 40,000+ volunteers who have received AKAH’s training on community-based disaster risk management.

As the saying goes, saving one person’s life is equivalent to saving the entire mankind. What better accomplishment can there be in life than to be able to serve humanity for such a noble cause? In the harsh regions where we live, disasters both natural and manmade, are extremely common. And since it is a very far-flung and isolated area, the community plays the central role as the first responders in the event of disasters.

I have been serving as a CERT volunteer for around two decades now, and have received numerous training from AKAH, ranging from first aid to critical rescue. We have been well-equipped with not just the skills, but with the emergency equipment too – in the form of community-managed stockpiles. Due to the training provided by AKAH, we as the CERT volunteers know what to do before, during, and after the disasters.

I admire the dedication of AKAH and that it always works with us as partners. Therefore, I always try to volunteer for other activities of the organisation too. I have also participated in glacier monitoring and installation of the Early Warning System. Moreover, as a volunteer, I am also taking care of the Early Warning System installed at the Passu village.  All these efforts are for our safety and so we must be active contributors in them.  I am so proud to share that my daughters are also active CERT volunteers.

I have been an active part of the response during several natural disasters including the Attabad landslide in 2010, Batura glacier in 2015, and the Shimshal floods of 2018 – evacuating people to safe havens, rescuing them from drowning in the rivers, and recovering dead bodies. Even recently, during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I volunteered for AKAH’s response and awareness raising campaign by spreading awareness on the preventive measures in our isolated part of the world.

Looking up to the organisation’s work is always a humbling experience for me.  The organisation is playing its crucial part for this great cause, and I am trying to play mine.

Rubina is from a female-headed household. Their home was one of 250 in Sherqilla Village made safer from the dangers of unpredictable debris flow.

Our life was really worrying and uncertain before the intervention to make our home safer. My whole family used to spend restless days and nights fearing that the debris flow may destroy the houses and even take our lives. It was agonising as we had to carry my paralysed mother-in-law, my late father-in-law and my two young children and run for our lives to the safer sites. Now that the debris flow has a proper channel, our house and family are much better protected, and our peace of mind has been restored.

Arab Khan is a resident of Sherqilla Village, aged 73. He used to work as a watchman and is now retired.

Previously, the locals took turns to monitor the flooding situation so we could evacuate communities, which was a challenging, tedious, risky, and hectic task. Sometimes villagers had to run for safety even during weddings.  Ensuring children and elders were safe during the floods was particularly painful – many times we had to return to the ‘drowning village’ to search for them, also endangering our own lives.

“The Early Warning System is such a blessing for this community. Villagers can now perform their daily chores while being at peace. During the floods in 2018, thanks to the Early Warning System, the sirens gave us approximately 45 minutes to evacuate to the already identified and informed safe havens and avoid the disaster risks and vulnerabilities.  I, along with my entire community, look forward to working with AKAH Pakistan on further risk reduction and mitigation in our vulnerable village and becoming more disaster resilient.

Zeenat lives in Shimshal Village.

The awareness raising sessions and emergency response drills at the community level have made us learn about hazards and the immediate steps we need to take as first responders. Women and children in our village feel much safer than they did a few years ago.