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Adaptation to Water-Induced Hazards in Chitral, PakistanThe third chapter describes the general characteristics of the selected areas, patterns of change, and impacts of waterstresses and hazards. The fourth chapter deals with people’s responses to water stresses and hazards, and, in the fi fthchapter, factors infl uencing the adaptive capacity of the people are discussed. In the sixth chapter, communities’ adaptationstrategies have been assessed and evaluated in the context of ideal situations and best practices globally.The overall aim of the study is to understand how people in the HKH region respond to water stress and hazards in theface of climate variability and change. The objectives are as follows.(1) To assess the impacts of water stress and hazards on livelihoods(2) To assess local responses to water stresses and hazards(3) To provide recommendations for adaptation to future climate change.The overarching question that the fi eld teams are seeking to answer is how do people in the HKH region respond to waterstress and related hazards in the context of climate variability and change? This question is approached in selected sites byexamining the following.(1) How are people affected by water stress and hazards?(2) What are the local short and long-term responses?(3) To what extent can these strategies reduce vulnerability to water stress and hazards?Research approach and methodsTeam profileThe profi le of the study team is shown in Table 1.Table 1: Profile of the study teamS.NoTeam Member Academic Background Professional Background Ethnicity Gender Role in researchteam1 Shahid Nadeem MSc. in Sustainable Development (UK)MSc. Agriculture (Rural Development)Monitoring & Evaluation Local Male Team leader2 Abdul Hadi Masters in Public Administration Monitoring & Evaluation Local Male Team member3 Ihsan Uddin MA in Social AnthropologyMonitoring & EvaluationLocal Male Team memberDiploma in Local Government4 Imran Elahi MSc. In GeographySocial MobilisationMonitoring & Evaluation Local Male Team memberDiploma in GIS & Remote Sensing5 Munira Sultana B.A Social MobilisationData collectionLocal Female Part time teammemberConceptsThe is no local word for vulnerability; however, the closest phrase describing this concept in the Khowar language is‘khakavesik’, and this term embraces a level of insecurity for people, their moveable and immoveable assets, and theirenvironment from water stress and hazards. By inference it also covers the inadequacy of options or abilities available forpeople to protect themselves against possible damage, or to recover from the consequences of natural phenomena withor without outside help. ‘Shang’ is the local word used for risk, defi ned by the community as the chance or probability ofdroughts and fl oods occurring and of suffering from adverse impacts from the effects of climate variability and /or changeor any hazard to which people or their livelihoods are exposed. ‘Gherik’ is the closest word describing adaptation. Theterm adaptation was interpreted as adjustment to expected climate variability and /or change (water stress or excess)without damage to the society and livelihoods and the ability to exploit the benefi cial opportunities of climate variabilityand /or change. In addition to these, in order to capture local perceptions of climate change and /or variability, the teamused the following indicators.• Changes in temperature• Rain at unusual times or lack of rain when expected2
Adaptation to Water-Induced Hazards in Chitral, Pakistan• Frequency and intensity of snow and rain• Change in existing vegetation patterns and wildlife behaviour• Change in natural resources (land, water, forests, and so on)Main assumptions of the study• The areas selected have been facing frequent variations in climate which affect the lives of mountain communities inChitral.• Communities whose livelihoods are based on natural resources are becoming increasingly vulnerable to climatevariations.• A poor socioeconomic situation exacerbates the impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities.• Traditional and indigenous systems have a key role to play in facilitating community adaptation to climate variations.• With the passage of time, communities are adjusting to climate variations.• Socially mobilised and organised communities have better adaptive capacities than others.General step-by-step approachData collection commenced with site selection in July 2008. Objectives of the study were shared and feedback wasgathered from AKRSP’s local support organisations (LSOs) and key informants. Visits to the different sites selected alsotook place to witness the actual situation. After fi nalising the sites, based on feedback from AKRSP, the team developeda checklist, and a literature review began in late August 2008. Secondary data were collected from local organisations.When the local literature review was complete, literature held in Peshawar and Islamabad was reviewed. A further roundof visits to the study sites then took place. The whole process ended in mid-September. Khow Local Support Organisation(KLSO) was consulted to help identify and select villages prone to water shortages and to organise focus groupdiscussions. Similarly, the help of local activists was taken to select the most vulnerable villages and organise discussions. Inearly October 2008, data collection started in Mulkhow and lasted for a week. Data collection commenced in Shishikohin early November 2008; and with support from local activists the team was able to complete this work in ten days. Datacollections from the sites were categorised and refi ned. Report writing began in December 2008 and continued untilsubmission of the fi rst draft in mid-February 2009.With feedback provided by ICIMOD and partner organisations, the report was then edited by the study team. In additionto the visits planned, regular visits to the study sites took place to carry out key informant interviews. During the secondround of fi eld work (March to June 2009), additional information was gathered from the study areas through differentmeans (i.e., focus group discussions with women, a report-back workshop, key informant interviews, literature review, andobservation); and this process was followed by data verifi cation and analysis, after which the second draft was submitted.Selection of study sitesInitially a list of water-scarce and water-excess areas was prepared in consultation with the fi eld staff of AKRSP, UnionCouncil (UC) representatives, and the District Coordination Offi ce (DCO). Mulkhow, Ovir, Mastuj, Shagarm, and RechUCs were identifi ed as the main areas suffering from water shortages, whereas Shishikoh, Drosh, Arandu, and AshretUCs located in the southern part of Chitral were categorised as water-excess areas with regular incidences of fl ash fl oods.Two areas were selected from the list on the basis of their long histories of water hazards and the intensity and scale ofimpact or devastation caused by hazards. To ensure proper selection, fi eld visits were carried out to observe and discussthe frequency and scale of devastation caused by water-induced hazards. Keeping in mind the criteria, verifi cation fromrelevant UCs and personal observations, two UCs, Mulkhow and Shishikoh, were selected for the study. In July 2008,Shishikoh was hit by three major fl ash fl oods and the study team postponed their visit because of partial damage toShishikoh’s transport road. District government offi cials were contacted and they confi rmed major losses of infrastructure,especially the road connecting Shishikoh to the main transport road.3
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