Earthquakes

An average of 3.5 million people are affected by earthquakes every year. Risk is normally associated with urban centres but effects on the rural sector and farming communities can be devastating.

Earthquakes impact on food security and agriculture-based livelihoods through:

• loss and injury of family members and workforce
• loss of crop yields and livestock
• damage to irrigation systems
• damage to people’s homes, animal shelters, stock areas and business premises

Livelihood recovery and rehabilitation strategy in Pakistan and Indonesia

To create a more solid link between short and long-term emergency responses in these post-earthquake countries, FAO used the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach to frame needs assessment and response planning. A Rapid Livelihoods Assessment studied the impact on people’s livelihoods, with findings used to design projects and National Livelihoods Rehabilitation Strategies.

In Pakistan, the Livelihoods Rehabilitation Strategy was developed by the National Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA), with support of FAO and the International Labour Organization.

The objective is to rehabilitate people’s livelihoods with an emphasis on agricultural and off-farm income-generating activities. The strategy is based on Community Livelihood Rehabilitation Plans (CLRPs), driven by the communities.

In Indonesia, the plan follows the same bottom-up approach.  

In both cases, rehabilitation activities depend on the choice of the communities themselves as reflected in their CLRPs.