Drought Risk Reduction in Pakistan: A Case Study of Quetta City

Abstract

The forms and manifestations and global horrific trends such as migration from the rural areas to the urban areas, urbanization, the ticking bomb of population, global warming, earth thermos state and climate change, desertification, urban growth and economic restructuring have been culminating in water scarcity and deficiency to the point of starvation and survival in many a cases of the contemporary world. These are, by and large, the driving risk factors that prepare the ground for drought to strike any terrain of the world. It merits a mentioning here that in comparison with rural areas where the flora, fauna, natural vastness and resources are teeming with bounties, cause less water shortage and thus a drought like situation is lesser in frequency and severity, it is the urban area that is at the standing danger of water shortage and drought. Most significantly in such a straight, severe and stressed situation, it is the poor, down-trodden, resource-less, voiceless and marginalized people and the lowest strata of the civil society who are badly affected in the process. The aim of this research is to articulate the drought risk reduction strategies and provide solutions to the policy makers and regional planners to help create water resources conserve them and supply water to the urban areas, particularly the poor sections of the society. Research and development organizations and academia are focusing research on the rural areas in most of the cases as the word "rural masses" is a buzz and catchy one and little research is conducted on the plight of the rural poor in the wake of chronic and intimidating water shortage and drought situation. This sorry state of affairs in the realm of research conducted and carried out inadequately and insufficiently on the very theme and focused on the urban areas hints to a research gape in Pakistan. This gage is further reflected by lack or least research in the poor water deficient and drought prone cities of the country including Quetta. Quetta city is, therefore, is focus of this research. Thus a timely necessity is felt to conduct this thesis on the subject. In light of the objectives of this research study it is concluded that the present world is prone towards the risks of droughts due to the driving forces that precipitate them such as global warming, lack of planning and water preservation strategies, population, forest decline, land erosion, lack of timely and robust institutional response and absence of this issue prioritization to deal with it. Moreover, the entire world, regional countries and Pakistan are equally facing its ramifications in the urban areas in the form of ill effects on the victim population, agriculture, small medium enterprises, economic development and the common life. Zarghoon and Chiltan Towns of the Quetta City as urban areas have being the study area are also badly facing drought situation every now and then that has badly fractured local life in numerous ways. Thus drought risk mitigation measures are empirically unveiled and proposed towards the policy makers and implementers as one of the objectives of this study.