Date: November 24-25, 1999
Venue: Hotel Capital Inn, Islamabad-Pakistan
Organising agency: Journalists Resource Centre (JRC)
Collaboration: South Asia Group on Disaster Mitigation

To proceed with the issues in consent, a South Asian Media Group on Disaster Mitigation was formed to develop linkages, disseminate information and strengthen alternative perspective on disaster mitigation. 

Journalists Resource Centre (JRC) hosts the secretariat of this South Asian group and Amjad Bhatti from the centre coordinates it.

It was suggested at the Policy Forum that incorporation of local knowledge systems in mainstream planning should be accredited, specifically in disaster mitigation matters.

A South Asian perspective to understand disaster and vulnerability could become fully feathered by documenting and sharing the local wisdom behind centuries' old strategies adopted by the indigenous communities. As a result, an advice for integrated intervention in disaster prevention and vulnerability reduction can be offered to the mainstream planning. 

Aims and objectives 

Two days National Workshop on Disaster Reporting in Pakistan is an effort to realise above-mentioned understanding of media's intervention. The understanding– more specifically speaking – is to;

• Realise potential of available media resources in Pakistan to mitigate disaster. 
• Create an interface between media and disaster mitigation efforts in the country.
• Engage mainstream Pakistani media people in mitigation processes.
• Professionally build capacity of the journalists.
• Train journalists as to how they might be more contributory to the social sector in general and the disaster mitigation in particular.
• Create systemic engagement among media, disaster mitigation experts and concerned departments of the government.
• Establish a national media group of disaster mitigation to effectively report, monitor disaster occurrences in Pakistan, and train district correspondents who are generally more close to such happenings. 
• Try to create more conducive environment for journalists working on disaster. 

Wednesday, November 24, 1999: 

"The rich of the country have depleted existing natural resources allowing more frequent natural disaster occurrences in Pakistan," Mr Omar Asghar Khan, Federal Minister for local bodies, labour, manpower and environment stated this while addressing the two-day training Workshop on Disaster Reporting in

It was organised by the JRC in collaboration with South Asia Group for Disaster Mitigation.

The federal minister maintained that natural disasters occur owing to natural phenomena, but these are  human beings,  in fact, who, increase the impetus of depletion and frequencies of disasters. He said the rich should be held accountable for their deeds as they have been plundering resources that naturally prevented disaster occurrences.

Substantiating the argument, he quoted that according to one survey thirty percent of the suspended NWFP provincial assembly members belonged to timber Mafia. They were engaged in plundering the forests that provide a natural safeguard against floods and maintain ecological balance.

He informed that due to illegal harvesting in the area, almost 50 bridges were hit by the illegally stored logs during a single flood season.

While linking the natural with social disasters experienced by the people of Pakistan throughout decades, he said that lands and forest resources are owned by a few owing to the political system and our legal frameworks.

He pledged that the present regime would ensure devolution of power from centre to the lowest possible ebb of society following the 'principle of subsidiarity'.
He also criticised general attitude of the people; in that every one of us wants to be Chaudhry or a Khan and because of this status consciousness, the responsible authorities are made to fall prey to a delusion of grandeur.

Mr Omar Asghar emphasised to invoke principles of responsible journalism. He asked journalists to chalk out a code of conduct and that the press should focus real issues.

Responding to a question, he conceded that the state machinery had not been responsive enough to counter the disaster occurrences. Despite the forecast of surplus cotton, more cotton was imported from abroad due to issuance of Special 
Regulatory Orders by the government ministries.

He also said that ensuring free flow of information for public audit could bring about positive changes, so that the public assets might not be plundered or sold out for peanuts. The authorities responsible for action should ensure preventive checks against disaster, he added.

Mohammad Munir Sheikh, Director National Flood Forecasting Bureau told the workshop participants about kinds of disasters and the government actions to combat the exigencies.

He said that the forecast could never be thoroughly accurate, as even in the developed countries the forecast might occasionally prove wrong.

Giving details of the available infra-structure for forecasting, early warnings and reporting, he told that there were 73 different observatories all over the country but the government has been facing difficulties in providing professional staff in remote areas. However, he added that despite deviations, the accuracy of the forecasts is improving. 

He told the cyclone in Thatta and Badin was forecasted in advance but the provincial government took no measures to evacuate the area and the people did not take it seriously. 

Mr Asjad Imtiaz Ali, Chief Engineer Federal Flood Commission highlighted the significance of trust between the affectees and the concerned departments. He urged media to play its due role in developing bridges between people and the government agencies responsible for disaster mitigation.

He told that the relief activities are a provincial matter. And the federal department is responsible only for arranging funds for the provinces, which are handed over to the authorities before the flood season.

He also appreciated journalists' efforts at disaster mitigation in Pakistan and said that the government would welcome their proposals in this regard. 

General Secretary Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists Ms. Fouzia Shahid, while praising the JRC efforts to arrange a healthy debate for the first time on an issue of prime importance, said that the media and government departments working for disaster mitigation should have more contacts with each other in the future.

She said that media highlights political matters rather statements of the politicians at the cost of social issues; despite that they are more relevant to the ordinary and poor people of our country.

She stressed that the audit of funds allocated for disaster mitigation handed over to the provincial governments and preventive measures should be taken instead of waiting for the disaster to come.

Ms Fauzia Tanveer, while presenting her case study about a village that became part of the river Chenab due to non-action of the concerned groups and departments, pointed out the changes in the livelihood patterns after disaster inundated it.
She deplored that media had not properly reported the issue.

She noted that most of the reporters seem interested in reporting relief measures taken by the government instead of the disaster itself. She also regretted shortage of space allocated by the mainstream media to the disasters taking place in the smaller cities, towns and villages.

Thursday, November 25, 1999: 

Senior journalist, Ahmed Hasan Alvi, while speaking on disaster reporting in Pakistan, maintained that it was responsibility of the newspaper management and government to provide the journalists with adequate facilities and funds for disaster reporting.

He said that in most of the cases journalists focus on mitigation activity  rather than the event. Since the government sponsors media trips, the journalists only record government efforts and not the sufferings of the actual victims,  he added.
He emphasised that the journalists should rethink their priorities in reporting a disaster. He also pointed out that the coverage of international media was comparatively better, as there was competition among various newspaper organisations and agencies. That’s not the case in Pakistan and it costs heavily on the quality of reporting here. While comparing working conditions of the local journalists with that of the foreign journalists he said that the foreign journalists are provided with lucrative salaries and appropriate facilities, which ensure quality reporting.

He said that along with the facilities,  life of the journalists engaged in disaster reporting should be insured.

He stressed that journalists should also avoid sensationalism while reporting disasters. He lamented that some of the journalists have reduced their role to that of clerks and they feel lesser professional and social responsibilities. 

General Secretary of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Ms Fouzia Shahid while emphasising the need to imparting more awareness about disaster reporting lauded the two Pakistani journalists who gave their lives in the line of duty in recent years while covering disaster events. She also said that now when political engagements are out of schedule, journalists can better cover issues of social relevance to the ordinary people.

Amjad Bhatti presented his paper on as to how to report impact of disasters on social sector and illuminated them with techniques of disaster reporting.

Senior Vice President of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) C. R. Shamsi, Secretary of the Rawalpindi/Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ) Najam Usmani, famous political cartoonist Feica and Executive Director of the JRC, Mohammad Tanveer also spoke on the occasion.

Proceedings & critical issues 

Need of media intervention: The Executive Director of JRC, Mohammad Tanveer, while presenting the objectives of the workshop in the first session, pointed out that disaster coverage by media in Pakistan has not been up to the mark. The journalists only focus on the relief packages, state actions and logistics in their reports and they tend to ignore the socio-economic aftermath of the disasters. Any preventive action against disasters and minimising of loss is possible only if the disasters are reported properly.

Disaster for the vulnerable: 

Federal Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Omar Asghar Khan, maintained that the disasters are caused by the natural imbalances but the human acts make this world more prone to disasters. Disasters are happening everywhere in Pakistan, in the form of soil erosion, land depletion, water-logging and salinity, but the mainstream media is oblivious to these upcoming disasters.

The minister observed that the rich have contributed more to the depletion of natural resources, which act as a bulwark against natural disasters. 

The minister stressed that the forests and land resources have been monopolised by a few, who abuse them for their vested interests. These resources cannot be prevented from further depletion unless they are distributed equitably among the people. The real owners of these resources have to be empowered. They should have authority, power and share in these resources. The possession of these resources would prompt people's participation in protecting the environment. He further stressed on the need for engaging natural checks to counter natural disasters.

The minister, while admitting the lack of responsiveness on part of the past governments, urged the mainstream media and civil society to act as watchdogs on the state actions, so that constant monitoring could facilitate the state in combating natural and social disasters. He, however, conceded that incentives for working journalists are very less, hence lack of motivation to cover social issues. Also, the curriculum set by departments of mass communication requires over-hauling. It should respond to the needs of practical journalism rather than being only class based. 

The minister also urged the concerned government departments to make information free for the public, so that the people may know before hand what the government has in store for them.

Appropriation of disaster mitigation funds: One of the participant-journalists, Mohsin Babbar questioned the minister about the visits of dignitaries and government officials to the sites of disaster. Millions of rupees are spent on these visits, he added.

He also maintained that these visits might have political significance for the visitors, but they provide little relief to the affectees.

The minister reproached that the risk analysis in terms of environment is not calculated before executing a public project. He substantiated his argument by quoting the example of -Islamabad motorway, which has been made east-west, whereas the water-flow is north-south, and thus the erosion of the road is going to be at a faster rate.

Forecasting, early warning, reporting procedure, and types of disasters in Pakistan: Mohammad Munir Sheikh, Chief Meteorologist/ Director National Flood Forecasting Bureau, Pakistan Meteorological Department, while presenting his paper, elaborated on the various kinds of natural disasters in

Mr Sheikh, while discussing the mechanisms available for forecast, early-warnings and reporting, highlighted the lack of co-ordination among government departments, which aggravate the losses in case of a disaster. He claimed that the 1992 flood forecast was made much before hand and the Mangla Dam authorities were asked to open the gates of dam to channelise the water surge. But the dam authorities refused to respond. 

He told that the dam management was linked with Meteorological Department only in 1998.

The director informed the participants of the workshop that there are as many as 73 Mett. observatories all over Pakistan; and with the help of satellite pictures and weather radar, the forecasting is being made close to accurate.

To a question about authenticity of the forecast, the director maintained that even in the developed countries weather forecast could not be accurate at all the times.
Pointing out the difficulties facing the government departments in improving forecast and early-warning mechanisms, the director mentioned lack of human resources and absence of equipment maintenance as the basic problems.

To a comment about the cyclone in Sindh, the director maintained that the forecast of the cyclone had been made but the Sindh provincial government refused to carry the alarm as they thought it would create panic among the people. Also, the attitude of the general populace became a hindrance for they are accustomed not to believe such news rather take necessary actions only when they are in a state of emergency.

Ms. Fozia Tanveer, an independent researcher, questioned the inability of government departments to evacuate the disaster stricken area, which resulted in great loss of lives. She furthered her argument by quoting the minimal loss sustained in Gujrat (India) due to timely intervention of the Indian government in evacuating the area.

The functioning of flood relief agencies:

Chief Engineer Federal Flood Commission, Mr. Asjad Imtiaz Ali, speaking on the role of Federal Flood Commission in flood management, clarified that the flood commission has nothing to do with the relief job. It is only responsible for policy level decision making, structuring of the system, and arranging funds from the foreign donor agencies.

The chief engineer maintained that the increased loss sustained as a result of disasters owes a great deal to the attitudes of the people. They tend to forget results of the previous disasters and underestimate the losses resulted from them. Then, the population along riversides have also been multiplied to further damage the disaster mitigation mechanisms.

He conferred to the lack of resources which do not allow free mitigation for disasters; however, government agencies are trying hard to minimise the adverse effects of disaster.

Amjad Bhatti, the co-ordinator of JRC Islamabad Chapter, raised a question about the distribution of lands by the former Prime Minister in hazard-prone areas in Thattha and if the government departments were aware of the lands being hazard-prone.

Mr Imtiaz, laying aside the political correctness or incorrectness of the distribution, maintained that hazard mapping started in Pakistan only six years back.
The chief engineer also suggested for legislative reforms to stop people from stationing at the river-banks, but the idea was resisted by the workshop participants on the grounds that people should be allowed to benefit from the increased fertility of lands after floods. The participants added that traditionally, people living along the riverbanks are aware of the seasonal flood schedule, hence only the new settlements at the riverbanks need to be discouraged.

Disaster Management in Pakistan:

Director General Emergency Relief Cell, Mr Amjad Sheikh gave his presentation about the functioning of his department.

Amjad Bhatti questioned if the government aimed at relief for the disaster affectees or it also had plans regarding reconstruction of the disaster-stricken area?

The director general informed that the relief subject fell in provincial jurisdiction and there was no long term planning to counter disaster or the aftermath of disaster.
The director general said that people sustain more losses because they do not act according to the Met office advice. And, it was army's responsibility to evacuate the areas where disasters are about to strike, he added and invited preparedness plans from the journalists and NGOs.

It was suggested that the people should be made aware, through print and electronic media,  as to how to react to a disaster situation. 

It was also pointed out that the government only focused on the floods in prone areas, but for other disasters there are no arrangements to counter the catastrophe..
Joint Director JRC, Iqbal Haider Butt commented on the inherent paradox of government functioning; that despite a centralised functioning, the director general was constantly terming relief as a provincial issue. He noted that structural issues like this one need to be addressed at the policy level. 

Amjad Bhatti made the point that whether Pakistan could afford to extend relief support to the other countries i.e. Recently in Turkey. He also questioned whether the government makes any need assessment regarding disasters. And, as to whether the unused funds for relief could be spent on preparedness for disasters?
Mr Amjad Sheikh maintained that the federal commission was only responsible for allocation of funds to the provincial governments before the flood seasons and the provincial departments are free to use those funds without any audit.

The participants questioned that if the federal department does  not have even to audit the provincial accounts, was there any need of this federal department?
Secretary General Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ) Mr Najam Osmani suggested that JRC along with the support of journalist unions could form a network for information exchange, which may also assist the government in planning against disasters.

It was also debated that in the absence of local participation relief fund could not be made available to the deserving people, which has been a case as yet.

Post-disaster livelihood patterns – Plight of a village diminished off non-action: 

Ms. Fozia Tanveer, while presenting her case study of a flood-stricken village in Punjab, spoke about impact of disaster in terms of shaping livelihood patterns.

She mentioned the lengthy bureaucratic procedures due to which preventive measures could not be taken to save the under-researched village from disaster.
She told that in this particular case the local correspondents had filed news to the headquarters about the endangered village but the news item was never given space in the media, resultantly the infrastructure prevailing in the village was washed away by the floods and no one at the policy making centres were aware of the plight of this village.  She attributed this negligence to a general urban bias that's prevalent in our mainstream press. 

Ms Fozia also maintained that media has remained ineffective in evaluating the changes in the livelihood patterns of disaster stricken localities.

She pointed out that the dislocated people who lose their lands as a result of floods, have to move to the cities where they have to live in urban slums and the reshuffled livelihood are never compensated or evaluated.

Secretary General PFUJ, Fouzia Shahid lamented that journalists were only interested in reporting with political events and the social aspect is usually overlooked. She said that it was mainly because the editors of newspapers were not interested in the social sector.

Disaster Reporting – A critique: 

Senior journalist, Ahmed Hassan Alvi of daily Dawn while opening the first session on the second day, observed that lack of resources is no alibi for inappropriate coverage of disasters in the media. The newspaper organisations should cater to the needs of the journalists on special assignments  like disaster reporting.

Mr Alvi maintained that the disaster reporting mainly focuses on government actions against disasters since the government sponsors media person's trips to the disaster stricken area.

Regarding poor coverage of disaster by the national media in comparison to the international media agencies, Mr Alvi said that the national media lacks competition and a mechanism for accountability.

He observed that disaster event should be reported with utmost objectivity, but it needs to be ensured that the news item may not spread sensationalism. Here, Director National Floods Forecasting Bureau mentioned one example of irresponsible journalism when in 1973 floods, a national English daily reported that the clock tower of Faisalabad was about to drown.

Mr Alvi responded that lack of accountability permits journalists to get capricious. He termed such journalists as clerks and pen pushers, who lack human factor as well.
Secretary General PFUJ Ms Fauzia Shahid said that journalists in Pakistan work in the worst circumstances and it is really hard for them to come over the professional and personal challenges facing them.

Ms Fauzia Tanveer suggested that there should be some legislation to bind the journalists to responsible journalism. She also emphasised the need for a press commission to handle the small complaints, as the legal system is too expensive for the common man.

She explained that there were as many as sixteen laws regarding press conduct. The journalists had also thought of making an independent press council but the idea was dropped. In a country where independent press is taken over by the government, an independent press council could not stay independent for long, she added.

Mr Alvi said that journalist unions should interfere on their own to develop a campaign against irresponsible journalism and also against photographers and reporters who are indulged in taking bribes.

Mr Ahmer Kureishi, Editor Online News Network, said that the discussion was getting carried away and that the workshop was focussed on disaster reporting, rather than corruption among journalists. Mr Amjad Bhatti replied that the two were inter-related. He gave a comparison of two news items, the one in which relief efforts from the government side was given space of three columns and the one reporting five person's death in the same incident was spared with a single column. He maintained that the reporting of a disaster is usually celebrity oriented rather than issue-based.

How to report natural disaster and its impact on social sector:

Mr Amjad Bhatti gave his presentation on as to how to report impact of disasters on social sector and illuminated them with techniques of disaster reporting.

He specifically took three areas among the social sector – health, housing and education – and described ways to report them correspondingly.

He emphasised to take three situations before, during and after  of disasters into account and to assess both direct and indirect damages caused or likely to be occurred by them.

He pointed out that the loss evaluation made by the government and the journalists take into account the infrastructure and not the population. However, Mr Muneer Sheikh objected that disaster precedes hazards according to the official definition and the word 'hazard' was being used inappropriately. Hereby, a thorough discussion was done on the definition and differentiation between 'hazard' and 'disaster'.

The journalist participants mostly advocated for taking hazard as the potential disaster while the government officials saw otherwise. 

This was generally observed that this definitional difference also reflected in the government disaster policies whilst they tend to take up such issues only when they occur rather than preparing a pre-disaster plan and preventive measures to avoid these happenings.

Follow-up targets

The last session was to sum up the discussion continued for the last two days. It was culminated into what's been described in the outcome section of this report [please see below].

Recommendations

It was recommended that an informal group of journalists along with the government representatives should be established at the end of the workshop to share information on disasters and disaster mitigation.

It was also discussed that the office of the editor should be restored as presently the owners of newspapers and not the professional journalists hold the office. Hence, mis-reporting, lack of enough space to social issues, and politically and commercially motivated news are highlighted at the cost of the coverage about vulnerable groups of the society. 

It was stressed that the government should take measures against the hazards before the actual disaster occurs.

The reporting of a disaster should be process based rather than event based, so that the event and its pros and cons could be assessed and disaster be linked with development.

It was recommended that the government departments should open their records before the journalists for a voluntary media audit, since it was revealed during discussions that the federal relief agencies have no such arrangements; they only transfer funds to the provincial governments. Also, it was suggested that committees should be formed for the public audit of the relief allocations with the help of the locals and journalists of the area.

The need for developing trust between the saviours and the affectees, and the media was also emphasised. It was thought that the mainstream media should take a lead in this regard.

It was suggested that gradual disasters like water logging and salinity should also be taken into account while discussing disasters.

The involvement of district correspondent to ensure better coverage of any disaster was also proposed. 

It was maintained that where the journalists need training as to how to report disaster, their organisations and the government should also be pushed to provide them with basic facilities, equipment, and to insure their life against any adversity that they may come across while reporting disasters.

It was recommended that the reporters should consult technical people before publishing the news item.

Outcome

The participants resolved to form a national media group for disaster mitigation, which would include journalists, government representatives and other experts. This group would monitor and enhance capacity of the government departments and media for concerted efforts on disaster mitigation.

The participants also suggested producing awareness literature and a publication about this workshop to apprise the people of the ways to react to a disaster.

Iqbal Haider Butt, Hussain Sajjad