Local Knowledge and Capacity in Management of Disaster and Vulnerability; A case Study of Coastal Area of Sindh.

Abstract

Coastal belt of Pakistan covers area of 1050 Km i.e. 700 Km from Baluchistan and 350 from Sindh province. The coastal line of Sindh starts from Hub River and last boundary of belt is Sir Creek. This belt is further categorize into two parts i.e. Karachi coastal area and delta of Indus river. The Indus Delta stretches from Port Qasim to Sir Creek and covers a coastal belt of about 180 km. Three districts of Sindh located in coastal area of Sindh, i.e. Karachi, Badin and Thatta. These districts are in coastal belt of Sindh so they are very close to each other. In many aspects like population, Karachi is biggest city of Pakistan and has an active port. Present study was conducted in two district of coastal area of Sindh due totheir socio economic condition and vulnerability towards disaster i.e. District Thatta and District Badin. According to 1998 census combine population of the study area is 2.26 million (District Badin 1.11 million and District Thatta 1.25 million). In study area,eight talkus situated in coastal are from both districts. Population of these eight talukas is 1.14 million which is equal to half population of two districts. In Thatta 0.62 million people are living in six taluka of coastal area and in Badin 0.52 million people are living in two talukas of coastal belt. Rate of increasing population in theses area is 2.2 % per year. The coastal area of Pakistan is highly vulnerable to frequent disasters like cyclones and floods. During 2010 and 2011 the area was continuous slunk in flood water. Moreover cyclones put more threat to the livelihoods of the population and make them highly vulnerable. Increasing climate changes after 1999 increases the frequency and severity of cyclones and floods in coastal areas. Besides this erosion of coastal embankment, increasing salinity, increasing population and pollution and improper fishing practices make the coastal areas highly deprived. The present study investigated the past and present status of local knowledge, skills and coping capacity of coastal community for disaster management in Pakistan generally and in Sindh province specifically for reducing their vulnerability to disasters. For long term and sustainable development of the coastal communities of Sindh province of Pakistan present study highlight the local wisdom. Main idea of the research was to study the impact of traditional knowledge and xix capacity of the local communities on disaster coping stratifies and mitigation measures of the study area at local level. A total of 360 households were selected from two districts, multistage sampling technique was used to select households. The primary data collected from household survey was analyzed. Disaster vulnerability analyzed through Pressure and Release model, vulnerability matrix. Comparison of vulnerability among two districts was done through t-test. To measure disaster destruction Paired test has used. The multiple linear regression results of each district shows the impact of independent variables “vulnerability” and “ hazards” on dependent variable “risk. The multiple linear regression applied to primary data the results revealed that on comparing both the districts it could be narrated that in Thatta both dependent variables “vulnerability” and “hazards” have more impact on risk than in Badin. This is because of more deteriorating socio- economic conditions of Thatta and its more sensitive ecological nature. With the increasing socio-economic changes in this global village, local knowledge is wear away unremittingly and having no severe to sightsee. New peers are accepting new ways of life and grownup groups reminisce very less. Proper utilization of local wisdom, knowledge along with modern tools and techniques can give rid from disaster worst situation and can reduce risk. To measure local knowledge and wisdom of the community statistically new model has developed through primary data, Model for local knowledge. In the model Local Knowledge is dependent variable whereas, age, experience, and living status are independent variable. The impact of these independent variables on dependent variable has measured through multiple regressions. The data results show that in rehabilitation and reconstruction organizations help the vulnerable community only in managing lives lost and recovering land losses although support much less i.e. 7 % and 6% respectively. A huge percentage of community i.e. 44% and 59% of the community recover by self-help. The present study also investigated that the key features of local knowledge and capacity of coastal communities for mitigation, preparedness and recovery from disasters, and how these communities utilized their knowledge traditionally in pre and post disaster situation. Based upon the research findings it is recommended that local people should be taking on trust to use their local knowledge to forecast disaster and adopt preventive measures to have least losses xx by government and other organization. There must be community based organizations at every village level to compel villagers to adopt short term safety measures during and before any disastrous event which they learned from their parentages and modern ways. Local knowledge and wisdom should be added in policies and policy makers have to give importance to local community at all stages of disaster management planning and process because they are the first victims of any disaster. Government should have to develop and implement appropriate environmental laws, acts and ordinances to achieve sustainable development and to reduce further environmental degradation. These suggestions would facilitate and sustained reduction in disaster vulnerability and ultimately play a very good role in sustainable development.