UNDP | Europe & CIS | Humanitarian Emergency in Tajikistan: the UN response

Humanitarian Emergency in Tajikistan: the UN response

Tajikistan, 20 February, 2008 – An unprecedented period of cold weather and heavy snow has brought a humanitarian emergency to Tajikistan. The country is heavily reliant on hydroelectric generation for its energy needs; freezing temperatures mean increased demand for heating, but they have also frozen the streams which feed the hydroelectric generators. Following an appeal for $25 million to meet immediate needs, Michael Jones, the UNDP Resident Representative and UN Resident Coordinator in Tajikistan, explains what has been happening, how the UN has responded and what to expect for the future.

The figures are striking: daytime temperatures in January averaged minus 15 degrees centigrade, freezing the streams which provide over three quarters of Tajikistan’s energy. Winter snowfall has been fairly stable over the last twenty years, but this winter it has snowed for three months rather than the usual one; on top of that, snowfall has been almost 250% heavier than average. No wonder, then, that an appeal to cover just the immediate food, water and fuel needs has asked for $25 million.

Heat, food and movement
The extreme weather conditions have had far-reaching effects on life in Tajikistan. The primary impact has been the severe shortage of power – the cold weather has frozen streams which feed the reservoirs behind the hydroelectric power generators, leaving many parts of the country with only a few hours of electricity per day. Surges in demand at times when power is available have strained and damaged electricity infrastructure.

In urban areas, there is heavy reliance on government electricity supplies. The capital, Dushanbe, is home to just less than 10 percent of the Tajik population. Around two thirds of these residents live in high-rise buildings, where electricity is the overwhelming source of heating. In rural areas, there is less reliance on electricity and people use a range of energy sources, notably coal. Another implication of the lack of energy has been damage to the aluminium industry, an important source of exports for Tajikistan. The lack of currency has meant difficulty paying gas bills to neighbouring Uzbekistan, which in turn has restricted gas supplies.

Under typical winter conditions, a brief snowfall would soon be burned off by the sun. Farming – the main source of both food and income for much of the rural population – could continue through the winter. This year, the snow did not melt and farmers have seen their livestock suffering malnutrition and death. Over $300 million of vegetables and wheat have also been lost, meaning both a shortage of food and the destruction of assets among the rural poor. On top of this lack of income, the cold has meant that money otherwise available for food has been spent on fuel instead.

The heavy snows have also restricted mobility, with many urban centres largely separated from one another. Movement between the south and the north of Tajikistan is particularly hard, with up to four metres of snow on mountain roads. Due to high prices, shortages and mobility problems, around 30 percent of Dushanbe residents and 75 percent of people in cities outside the capital reported having difficulty purchasing food in January 2008. Food supplies in rural areas are almost completely exhausted.

The UN response
Disaster management is not new to Tajikistan – every year, thousands of homes are affected by floods, avalanches and landslides. In 2001, government ministries, UN partners, including the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and NGOs established REACT, the Rapid Emergency Assessment and Coordination Team. REACT has sectoral groups across the country, which have provided the information underlying the detailed appeal for international assistance. A UNDP consultant has recently completed a project on a National Disaster Preparedness Action Plan, and given funding a further person will be brought in to coordinate this with the government and other REACT partners.

Much of the response focuses on meeting immediate needs – food, as well as blankets, coal-stoves, utensils and clothing. With the thaw in the weather expected by April 2008, additional risks of flooding and landslides threaten to make many families homeless, raising additional demands from displaced people for tents and other basics. The UNDP Resident Coordinator is responsible for maintaining an emergency stockpile of non-food items, while all UN agencies have emergency spending capacity for at least a month’s emergency activities.

Oil stocks will run out within two weeks, by which time UNDP and the World Bank will have completed the purchase of 6000 tons of mazut oil for heating and thermal power generation. The World Food Programme and others will coordinate millions of dollars’ worth of food aid.

Business as usual?
What does the extreme weather mean for an unrelated project in a UNDP field office? This varies according to the type of work being done, the other local actors, the geographical location and the local nature of the emergency, but it is far from business as usual. UNDP has offices in six locations, with activities in six thematic areas, while there are over a dozen other UN agencies active in the country.

A legal specialist working on anti-corruption with a ministry in Dushanbe may continue that project work. But under the official designation made by the Resident Coordinator on Tuesday 19 January, UN staff in affected areas are shifted into “Crisis Mode”. Over two thirds of staff across all agencies are estimated to have moved or be going to move into emergency relief activities including provision of food aid, fuel and blankets, pumping water to high-rise buildings and repairing the electrical grid.

This is a contingency foreseen by the country team and understood by donors and other partners, and extra-budgetary funds are available. Agencies pool resources and divide the response, working all the while with government partners – for example WHO and UNDP work together to provide potable water, while UNICEF takes responsibility for orphanages and schools.

Even in the context of their crisis activities, UN staff have to remain alert and flexible. “We are planning under a great deal of uncertainty,” says Michael Jones, “there are a great number of variables.” If there is a drop in gas or oil supplies, for example, which can happen at short notice, demand for electricity will increase, with implications for the stability of the infrastructure.

And while this year’s weather may be a freak occurrence, the situation – in Tajikistan and the region more broadly – may get worse before it gets better. The Humanitarian Futures project models trends in crisis management and humanitarian assistance needs. Particularly concerned with the complex effects of climate change, the project foresees that spending and aid will have to increase dramatically in the coming years even to maintain the status quo. For now though, a good start will be to make sure the needs of the next few weeks are met.

Additional sources:

Tajikistan Compound Crises Flash Appeal 2008, http://www.untj.org/files/React/UN_Appeal_TJ_FINAL_ENG.pdf, and press release, http://www.untj.org/files/React/UN-Appeal_Press_Release-English.pdf.

IRIN report, TAJIKISTAN: Bracing for a humanitarian emergency, 11 February 2008, http://www.undp.tj/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=258&Itemid=78.