All posts by Adam Dimari

Adam Dimari is an environmental consultant who is dedicated to educating people from all works of life on the drastic effects of environmental pollution and the need to tackle them the right way.

Built Environment

BORNO STATE REHABILITATION, RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT

19th October, 2015 Adam Dimari

WHAT PRIMEFIELD LIMITED (PFL) DOES IN THE BORNO STATE REHABILITATION, RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT AS PART OF ITS CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Primefield Limited (PFL) provided part of its Hotel estate in Maiduguri for resettlement and rehabilitation. Also sponsoring NGOs and the disaster management experts to takes stock of the overall situation of disaster-affected local government areas (LGAs) and assesses needs for rehabilitation measures and sustainable recovery of growth and development in the food and agricultural sectors in the medium to long-term. This assistance is aimed at reducing susceptibility to further disasters and emergencies.

Within this framework, PFL team identifies investment opportunities and formulates programmes and projects for donor funding. This includes programmes to assist resettlement and reintegration of refugees, internally displaced persons and ex-combatants.

PFL plays a role in following-up immediate agricultural relief with longer-term programmes such as dams and irrigation systems, markets and crop storage facilities etc.

2.1 BUILDING A PROGRAMME APPROACH

The objectives of PFL activities in rehabilitation, reconstruction and
recovery are to assist disaster-affected LGAs to move from a need
for emergency relief to sustainable development of agriculture, food security and nutritional well-being. This is achieved through the restoration of rural production systems, livelihoods, infrastructure, institutions and services affected by disaster. A coherent strategy and policy framework also must be established and priority programmes and projects for medium to long-term sectoral growth and development must be identified.

EFFORT 20% FOR 80% RESULT — 20% EFFORT FOR 80% RESULT

This may necessitate a wide range of interventions, encompassing the following: rehabilitation of the agricultural resource base;
reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure; re-establishment of reliable agricultural input supply systems; re-activation of agricultural services. Including marketing, processing and distribution systems; strengthening the capacity of local institutions/agencies to identify constraints to household food security and nutrition and the groups most affected, and to design and implement concerted strategies to address these constraints; recovery – or an opportunity for reform or replacement – of state and parastatal institutions for food and agriculture;
examination of technical options for future sectoral growth and
development; and establishment of a strategic and policy framework for selecting and pursuing appropriate options, and of the necessary regulatory systems.

These interventions would normally need to be considered within the context of an overall rehabilitation and recovery programme rather than piecemeal approach. This is due to the scale and range of the interventions required. The programme may need to address basic issues of options, strategies and policies for the agricultural sector. It must also relate to comparable programmes under development in other sectors by other international and bilateral agencies. Indeed donor funding for individual projects may only be forthcoming if those projects are situated clearly within a sector policy framework which addresses the whole range of issues raised by disaster impacts on the sector.

The post-disaster situation may represent a `clean slate’ which may
necessitate looking beyond a restoration of the pre-disaster situation. This is particularly the case with regard to sector strategies and policies, and state institutions and services. Such opportunities include investment in a more productive, equitable and efficient – and less disaster-prone – agricultural sector, development in livelihoods and food security. These opportunities lead to sustainable recovery. They must involve a high degree of participation based on existing community and local civil society structures and systems of authority.

Similarly, not only must longer-term recovery and development programmes build on rehabilitation interventions, but in view of the gestation period required for putting such programmes into practice the process of assessing options and developing strategies and policies for them must also begin early on in the rehabilitation process. Moreover, their design needs to incorporate appropriate elements of disaster prevention and preparedness if the recovery is to be sustainable. Where the risk of emergencies is related to unresolved social tensions, whether latent or overt, this necessarily includes strategies for promoting sustainable peace.

To be continued

2.2 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

2.2.1 PFL’s Policy Co-ordinating Service (PCOS) PFL’s Investment Centre (PIC) and PFL’s Special Relief Operations Service (PSROS) Roles

Built Environment

BORNO STATE RECONSTRUCTION REHABILITATION AND DEVELOPMENT

13th October, 2015 Adam Dimari

BASIC CONCEPT – RECONSTRUCTION REHABILITATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Reconstruction rehabilitation, and development refer to measures that help restore the livelihoods, assets and production levels of emergency-affected local government areas. These measures rebuild essential infrastructure, institutions, and services and restore the means of production destroyed or made non-operational by a disaster.

Reconstruction and rehabilitation assistance is geared towards limiting the need for relief and allowing development activities to proceed towards promoting sustainable livelihoods.

To be continued

ASSISTANCE DIMARI FAMILY AND PRIMEFIELD TEAM (PFL) DOES TO BORNO STATE IDP’S

IDP BLOCK

Tumeur de la prostate : pronostic en fonction du stade, du grade et du risque

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TEMPORARY IDP SETTLEMENT BLOCK

Built Environment

Borno Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Development:

7th October, 2015 Adam Dimari

A Holistic Approach; to the post war development plan of Borno State the commercial centre of North eastern Nigeria.

Borno Future Plan — Borno State Ambition Plan

The process of reconstruction involves partial or complete relocation and rebuilding the essential physical infrastructure and shelter (house) so that vulnerability levels are reduced and families are able to get back to their feet. Reconstruction therefore paves the way for long term rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation primarily addresses the new or increased poverty levels that have emerged due to the disaster. Jobs and income generation measures in the construction sector provide an immediate and emergency boost to the local economy. This is followed by long term improvement in land and water management and economic opportunities that seek to upgrade local economies and reduce community vulnerability in a sustainable manner.

For the process of sustainable development to take off in continuation with reconstruction, it is important that the end objective is not limited to only getting people back upto the base line levels prior to the man made or diaster. The intervention over a longer term should resultant improved quality of life and reduced levels of vulnerability. While families are tuned to picking up the pieces of their life, concepts of improved building practices, sanitation, sewerage, rainwater harvesting, improved land, water management, improved mechanized agriculture and its value chain industries, etc. can be gradually introduced.

It is reported in other places, where development activities of improved shelter, land and water management and livelihoods were in progress at the time of the war, not only was the loss of property and life minimal, and the loss in economic time. People could bounce back easily very soon after the disaster. This is a very strong argument in favour of “total rehabilitation” as opposed to only reconstruction.

Reconstruction and rehabilitation need to be in a seamless continuum with restoration efforts. The issue of correct timing and speed is however, significant. A holistic approach does not negate the need for a fast response to immediate reconstruction.

Time and again it has been seen that people will revert back to their
earlier unsustainable practices very soon if timely inputs are not made and systems that ensure long term continuity of material and skill availability are not set in place.

From Reconstruction to Rehabilitation, the reconstruction of shelter and community infrastructure, in fact, forms an important entry point for the rehabilitation process.

A reconstruction program is the first step towards restoring and
upgrading local habitat. It introduces improved systems of building,
sets up basic building element supply, builds up the skills and
management capacity of families, local agencies and village artisans in a restricted area and sets up local information and knowledge systems. All these to enable “better building”.

A holistic view of “Habitat” that links the process of housing with the capacity to make and exercise informed choices building
construction, habitat improvement and economic betterment is the larger goal.

Re-establishing people’s lives through rehabilitation efforts involves:

Moving up the ladder from house to habitat to livelihood
Local awareness creation including training for all so that people gain control over the housing process.
Capacity Building and linking to enterprises-Livelihood support
Devising livelihood interventions in the farm and non-farm sectors based on new economic opportunities to create economic surpluses (that can be directed to responsive housing)
Creating a basis for community access to institutional housing
finance

A response strategy – facilitating the creation of Sustainable
Livelihoods. A effective response strategy is to understand the need for building materials, buildings and livelihoods and catalyze the conversion of this need into demand. The demand for (sustainable) building technologies and construction practices can be provided through sustainable enterprises.

This response strategy addresses the present (immediate) need of
reconstruction through local building technology-based enterprises. Reconstruction activities, if designed to include local manpower,
provide the essential ( short term) jobs leading to an immediate spurt in the local economy. At the same time, building material and skill based local enterprises ensure continuous supply of quality building materials and skills. In the long term this is likely to result in a sustainable improvement in shelter conditions while also enlarging livelihood options in the region.

The reconstruction program at the outset provides a major advantage to the new enterprises. It forms the initial captive market, provides critical visibility to the new technologies and improved systems of construction and also (if systematically approached) builds up the acceptance of these new “products” in the market. A sensitive reconstruction program will necessarily involve an accompanying process of educating the affected population on the aspects of safer construction; thus inculcating an appreciation of the improved systems. After the initial reconstruction phase, families would preferentially opt for these materials and techniques to extend their houses.

An important aspect here is that new materials and techniques should match the paying capacity of the targeted communities. A multi pronged approach is required here:

First, the selection of the improved technologies and construction
systems should bear in mind the long-term affordability of the affected population. This involves correct selection of raw materials, production processes and scales of delivery. An optimum combination of large industry based materials and village enterprise based production with materials sourced from regional building centers.

Secondly, a parallel intervention in improving quality of life through
enlarged livelihood options and improved land, water, resource
management practices resulting in enhanced purchasing power within communities.

And, thirdly, interventions of housing and livelihood finance are
required that enable people to access available building options.

These building material production centers or the Building Materials and livelihood Banks (BMLBs) are managed by local NGOs with the production component sub-contracted to local community groups. At present, these centers supply improved building elements, technology and skills for the ongoing Rehabilitation Program. In the long run, they are envisaged as centers for total habitat guidance to the village community on housing, sanitation, domestic energy, water storage etc. These would be one-stop shops for all local habitat needs including access to housing finance.

The Banks are centralized material production and service hubs at the moment but these are designed to eventually fission into down-scaled building material enterprises to become the nuclei of a large number of decentralized SME units spread throughout the region.

The technology transfer process during the core reconstruction , rehabilitation already facilitating production and based livelihoods. This is designed to introduce new skills and capacity for improved cyclone resistant building systems within the local area in the form of enterprises. These enterprises would continue to build new houses, extend and upgrade old houses long after the immediate reconstruction interventions are over.

The project funds in the short term will lead to the construction of
many infrastructures and set up building material based enterprises; and as investments in livelihoods, capacity building and information
dissemination these would pay dividends by way of

a. Enabled, Informed Communities
b. Enhanced Building Material Supply
c. Improved Economies

1. BASIC CONCEPT – REHABILITATION AND RECONSTRUCTION

To be continued

Environmental Blog

All posts by Adam Dimari

BORNO STATE REHABILITATION, RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT

BORNO STATE RECONSTRUCTION REHABILITATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Tumeur de la prostate : pronostic en fonction du stade, du grade et du risque

Borno Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Development:

Waste Management Solutions