Pakistan flooding and the environmental impact that may follow
ByWhile the immediate attention in Pakistan concerns flood relief efforts that have impacted a huge percentage of the land and in turn the population and the lingering impacts on environmental scale may be equally concerning once the waters have receded. The traditional rainy season has been extremely harsh the summer resulting in the worst flooding in living memory causing the deaths of several thousand and the loss of homes for many millions more. Three weeks of extreme flooding has caused rivers to become lakes and entire towns to be submerged underneath dirty brown water, the immediate concerns are of course humanitarian in nature as disease increases while the entire infrastructure of the inner regions of Pakistan is crippled by the flooding.
The crisis itself has grown rapidly over the last few weeks, while gaining a full and proper assessment of the damage is very difficult to compile. 
Even while governments and aid agencies are coming together to provide some degree of relief to Pakistan a government report published today looks at the long-term potential implications caused by the flooding and the damage ecologically to the nation. The two highest concerns are naturally water supplies and the impact on agricultural infrastructure and therefore the food supplies for the nation.
Experts are suggesting that this is the worst flooding to impact Pakistan for many generations, as a result gauging the impact is extremely difficult for the country now has a population estimated at 170 million as opposed to just under 50 million in 1960. The pressures on the food and water supplies for Pakistan are naturally greater than the last time such devastating weather impacted the country. The primary source for water in Pakistan is the now overflowing Indus River and beyond the flooding itself is the damage to sanitation and sewage plants caused by the flooding. Even before this event international observers had published reports expressing that the burden on the food infrastructure and security of distribution was already approaching a crisis level. The flooding can only emphasize just how stretched the food management chain within Pakistan currently is. The immediate aid will hopefully bring a level of stability to those displaced and bring urgently needed help to curtail what is rapidly turning into a major health crisis. It’s the period of time after the flooding that perhaps should bring the most concern. How best to provide the crop assistance, irrigation and sanitation support as well as ensure that food and water can be transported equitably and smoothly into the central region of the country which is under such intense pressure at the moment.
It will of course take great organization and planning to help Pakistan through the immediate weeks but also to safeguard the food and water distribution within the country. The United Nations will take an active role with such planning and we must hope the environmental impacts of the flooding do not bring heightened instability to the country which would be the last thing it needs.
3 Comments
August 24th, 2010 at 11:16 am
Great write up.
Pakistan is facing the worst catastrophe seen in recent times with both immediate and long term implications. Immediate concerns are to provide food, water, shelter and clothing to 17 million people displaced due to floods. After the flood water recedes, the bigger challenge would be to provide medical assistance and help in rebuilding the structure so the displaced people could go back to their lands and live. They have lost their land, agriculture and livestock, in essence their livelihood.
The long term affects would be disastrous if meaningful assistance is not provided to the affected people. The destitute people would migrate to urban areas making it over crowded. As most of the lands ruined by floods are agricultural, it will reduce supply of commodities increasing inflation and pushing more into poverty. Corruption and lawlessness will increase. Criminals will gain sympathy by helping and may use affected people as fodder for terrorism.
Pakistan has faced calamity before and have recouped and I am sure would be able to do the same again. The goal, however, is to cut down the human and material loss and help as soon as possible to bring these people out of misery and minimize long term fall outs.
August 24th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Fazal,
Sincere thanks for your comments and added information. There is a lot of work ahead and I hope the international community will rally round the people of Pakistan.
Tim
January 24th, 2011 at 2:05 am
Forecasting food production and food commodity prices is an inherently risky business. Ten years ago, many experts were confident that we could, by 2015, reduce the number of chronically hungry people in the world by half, but last year the number of hungry people in the world crossed the one billion mark for the first time in history. Four years ago, virtually no one was predicting that the prices of corn and wheat would double in the next two years, and that rice prices would triple, but they did. In June of this year, with ample food reserves, no one was anticipating that wheat and corn prices would jump by 50 percent or more in the next four months, but they did. Now Australia will increase its food imports while those pooer natins will have to make do with even less.