Executive Summary

Impetus for the formulation of the ASSD may be traced back to a number of ground-breaking summits and commitments at the international level, as well as key policy documents prepared at home, including the conservation strategies endorsed by the federal and provincial governments. In addition, the conceptual framework of the ASSD takes into account the emerging shape of lower-tier governance, a system launched throughout the country by means of provincial ordinances promulgated in 2001.

The strategy formulation process began with elaborate public consultations held in all union councils and selected villages, as well as the urban and town levels. The combined input of these consultations led to the synthesis of 18 core areas which form the heart of this document. In order to assess the situation on the ground, take stock of developmental initiatives completed or in the pipelines and critically examine lessons provided by these efforts, individual sector papers on these core areas were commissioned and finalised after broad interaction with stakeholders. The ASSD draws on their findings to formulate a strategic vision for sustainable development in Abbottabad.

Even before a strategy can be laid out, it is necessary to recognise the critical link between governance and sustainable development. Indeed, development thinking today favours decentralisation and participatory planning at the grassroots level. Lower-tier administrative entities become all the more important because it is at this level that genuine sustainable development initiatives can be initiated. In this paradigm, processes, coordination, mechanisms, capacity, indicators and continuous realignment are indispensable. If it is to have any realistic chance of achieving measurable results on the ground, the ASSD proposals need to accommodate these conceptual requirements.

Certain constraints on a systemic level also need to be addressed. These include the departmental orientation, where collective interests and integrative mechanisms are sidelined. Similarly, control over critical sectors has not been devolved, leaving the district to confront serious coordination problems. Further constraints on the district governments administrative authority come in the form of uncertainty regarding fiscal devolution, and poor capacity at the district, town and union levels.

One underlying theme of the ASSD strategic vision is the need to diversify economic activity in the district. Economic diversification in turn requires the provision of basic services and infrastructure. But many of the entities responsible for these sectors are not answerable to the district government although their operations cover key areas related to sustainable development at the district level. This too poses a challenge for the district government. 

The Vision

The ASSD does not pretend to introduce wholly new strategies or devise a blueprint for strategic interventions. Rather, this document serves as an umbrella strategy, incorporating the goals and concerns of many plans currently in implementation.

Agriculture is the backbone of Abbottabad's economy. Across the district, subsistence-levelfarming is carried out on small holdings that are overwhelmingly dependent on rain. Repeated interventions have failed to improve yields, and the district is forced to rely on imports of staple cereals such as maize and wheat. The ASSD proposals for this sector include enhancing the impact of agriculture extension services by increasing coverage, improving cultivation techniques, introducing better quality seeds, encouraging crop rotation, and enabling farmers to grow a greater variety of fruits and vegetables. The introduction of techniques such as water harvesting needs to be scaled up, and the rational use of fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides is to be promoted. Innovative practices such as kitchen gardening and off-season vegetable production must be introduced on a wider scale, with a view to optimising current agricultural practice and diversifying production.

Forests play a critically important role in the economic life of the district but forest management remains under the jurisdiction of the provincial government. There is little the district authorities can do to conserve or protect forest resources except lobby higher-tier decision makers. The absence of sufficient powers at the local level also affects the districts ability to capitalise on the economic potential of forest resources. As things stand, the district government has no say in the formulation of working plans or in monitoring their effectiveness. Nor can the district do much to change the current orientation of forest management that is characterised by policing rather than community participation. District authorities are powerless to curb the activities of the notorious timber mafia, or to share profits from timber sales with rightsholders and local communities. The forest departments writ over rangelands and watersheds poses additional problems for the district, where fodder issues are of critical importance. The district must find ways to contend with the forest authorities over-whelming stress on timber and afforestation, at the expense of fodder and rangeland issues that are central to the diversification of the local economy. The principal interventions suggested here revolve around acquiring control over forests and rangelands through gradual devolution, reducing pressure on forests by pursuing alternative sources of fuel, and moving towards a participatory managerial orientation.

Development of the livestock sector is inextricably linked with the management of rangelands, fodder reserves and animal feed production. Administrative responsibility for livestock has been devolved to the district level, but the department has only nominal writ over rangelands. The livestock department favours veterinary interventions rather than measures to improve production techniques. But even this bias has failed to increase outputs or improve the health of animals reared. Coverage of extension services is poor, and further restricted by the fact that the department employs no female extension workers, thereby marginalising women who bear many of the responsibilities related to livestock and poultry rearing at the household level. Poor road conditions in rural areas, coupled with inadequate equipment and facilities, further curtail the effectiveness of extension efforts. The remedial interventions proposed here are aimed at improving coordination between the three departments responsible for various aspects of the sector so that greater attention may be given to fodder and feed issues. At the same time, attention is required to improve health coverage, strengthen breed improvement, and encourage the adoption of scientific transport and storage methods. Capacity building across the board and community involvement are also necessary.

With regard to poultry production, the district has failed to capitalise on the latent potential of the sector. Extension services are woefully inadequate, disease control is difficult and massive feed shortages persist. The market for poultry is characterised by fluctuations in demand and supply, depriving producers of a fair price. The interventions required here are similar to those that will be needed to develop livestock and dairy production, along with scientific methods to forecast market demand. 

Biodiversity in the district is subjected to the same pressures as other natural resource-related sectors. Overgrazing, excessive harvesting and encroachment threaten species and habitats, while little has been done in the way of in situ conservation except for the creation of the Ayubia National Park and Qalandarabad game reserve. Although this is a step in the right direction, whatever positive impact might accrue from this move is diminished by the fact that activities in other sectors are allowed to continue which defeat the very purpose of designating protected areas. By its very nature, biodiversity conservation is a cross-sectoral challenge. As such, the interventions proposed here suggest targeting actors in a range of sectors that directly or indirectly affect natural resources. Greater involvement will be required not just from administrative personnel but also communities that live in the vicinity of protected areas. An additional option available to the district government is to pursue resources for conservation through the commitments made under various multilateral environmental agreements.

The fisheries sector has long been the victim of neglect. The districts fisheries resources are threatened by pollution as well as the absence of administrative oversight to check overfishing, and the use of cruel and destructive methods. To remedy this situation, a coordinated effort will be required so that the fisheries sector can be developed as a source of income generation while at the same time benefiting from interventions aimed at conservation and sustainable use. 

Mining is by its very nature an unsustainable activity, since mineral resources are ultimately exhaustible. The industry is also notorious for its devastating impact on the environment. Nevertheless, there are ways in which mineral development may be carried out while mitigating its more harmful impacts. This is what is proposed for Abbottabad, where significant mineral reserves exist but have not been properly explored. As a subject that has not been devolved, however, mineral development is not within the jurisdiction of the district government. The interventions proposed for the sector address this issue, alongwith measures to ensure that mining activities are strictly regulated. 

Sustainability and self-sufficiency are key issues in the energy sector, where the districts power generation capacities are practically non-existent. Not only does this mean that Abbottabad relies on the national grid for its electricity, it also puts excessive pressure on the districts forests. Natural gas and electricity supply does not fully cover rural areas, and alternative sources of energy are not sufficiently developed, with the result that the districts rural population depends heavily on wood for cooking and heating. This situation is simply unsustainable in the long term, and will lead to the whole sale destruction of Abbottabad's forests. Initiatives for the energy sector target a wide range of issues, from efficient use and theft prevention to indigenous production and the provision of alternative fuel sources. 

Another area that is not strictly within the administrative domain of the district is waste water and solid waste management, responsibility for which has been devolved to town administrations. Problems arising as a result of inadequate waste management impact such a wide range of human development indicators that they cannot be examined merely at the town level. 

Across the district, the standard of waste management is abysmal. With no major industrial activity taking place, the waste generated in Abbottabad comes mainly from homes, commercial establishments and medical facilities. Much of this waste water and refuse is dumped out in the open or discharged directly into water sources used for drinking and irrigation. The danger this poses to public health goes without saying, but public attitudes regarding the issue are characterised by apathy. With the people themselves showing little or no concern, it is difficult to imagine how measurable gains can be achieved in improving waste management. As such, awareness raising is a key component of the remedial initiatives proposed for this sector. Interventions required here focus onstreamlining waste collection and disposal, framing land use and zoning regulations, and introducing punitive measures for polluters.

Land use and zoning legislation is required to ease the pressure on a public service delivery system that is stretched to the limit. Widespread poverty in the district has led in recent years to increasing urbanisation, with the mushrooming of encroachment and illegal settlements where in many cases no provisions have been made for water supply or sanitation. Population growth increases pressure on land both for housing and agriculture, creating a domino effect where scarce agricultural land is coopted for housing and commercial plazas, while standing forests are cleared for agriculture. Zoning and planning laws are the only way to ensure that the land use needs of today do not leave the area degraded for future generations. Although regulation here has been devolved to the town level, with certain policy matters to be determined by the provincial government, the district has some room to manoeuvre in the form of by-laws on the subject.

Natural resource conservation and wise use go along way in mitigating poverty, particularly in areas with a large rural population and in economies that are dominated by agriculture. Poverty is also linked to education, with more educated populations better placed to pursue employment as well as other income-generating activities. 

The districts education indicators are mixed, with small gains achieved in literacy and enrolment at the primary level, but high drop-out rates as the level of education rises. Despite the resources that have been pumped into showcase projects, overall participation remains low, with a serious imbalance in favour of boys education and schooling in urban areas. Access to schooling for girls, and in rural areas, needs to be the focus of remedial measures. Steps will be required to ensure the relevance of education on offer, with revisions to the curriculum at all levels. Initiatives for the education sector also need to address the training needs of teachers. The interventions proposed aim not just for the construction of new schools but also for existing resources in the sector to be used optimally. This includes upgrading facilities as well as the capacities of personnel. The use of indicators is another measure that will help improve performance. 

In the health care sector, indicators present a picture that is deceptive. The presence of a single mega-project in Abbottabad city has skewed statistics for the district as a whole, where health coverage is patchy and of poor quality, and large segments of the rural population do not have access even to the most basic medical facilities. The interventions proposed for this sector focus on expanding rural coverage to address the current imbalance, improving the performance of existing facilities by providing adequate supplies and equipment, and promoting preventive medicine.

Equally distressing is the district's demographic profile, which is predominantly youthful. Although the district shows lower growth than the province, population density in Abbottabad is rising at an alarming rate. These two factors alone spell disaster for the future, when increasing numbers will enter the work force and in all likelihood migrate to urban areas to improve their economic prospects. The impact of unchecked population growth is felt in every other aspect of the district's social and economic life, from issues such as food security and employment to the provision of basic services such as education, sanitation and health care. Population welfare activities have so far failed to achieve the desired effect, and are the focus of the remedial interventions proposed. More accurate and meaningful indicators also need to be developed so that progressor failure in this critically important sector can be closely monitored.

In terms of infrastructure, the district is relatively well served both by major roads and telecommunications networks. This is of course a double-edged sword since infrastructure development often comes at the cost of the natural environment. Trade-offs will be required,along with strict enforcement of legislation aimed at curbing the adverse impacts of infrastructure development projects. Farm-to-market roads are needed to provide growers with improved access to wider markets. Abbottabad city is a major hub for transit traffic and so witnesses severe congestion as well as pollution. These issues are addressed in the interventions proposed for the sector.

Drinking water supply is an area where coverage is relatively high. Here, however, quantities supplied are insufficient to meet the needs of the population and quality is suspect. Remedial measures proposed include improving quality, reducing waste and introducing more rational user charges.

With its stunning mountain landscape and rich biodiversity, as well as a number of picturesque hill stations, Abbottabad ought to be a favoured holiday destination. This, unfortunately, is not the case. Little has been done to enhance the district's profile as a tourist haven, with the result that visitor numbers have declined steadily over the past few years while Abbottabad city has become a transit point en route to more popular spots elsewhere in the region. The district suffers the negative impact of this traffic while receiving none of the benefits. The strategic initiatives proposed for this sector involve developing tourism to create much-needed jobs in the district. By promoting ecotourism and nature-based activities, the district can also indirectly support conservation. The trade-offs requiredhere can be managed by ensuring that activitiesin the sector retain a pro-poor focus.

Poverty alleviation is a key component of the sustainable development paradigm. In a district where unemployment is high and many other avenues for income generation are either saturated or intractable, at least in the short term, an effective way to boost economic activity is by establishing small businesses. Micro enterprise development is currently addressed haphazardly, largely by means of micro credit extension programmes. Without the necessary support in skills, credit utilisation or project selection, much of this money is invested in run-off-the-mill enterprises or used for non-productive purposes.Lending of this sort only serves to deepen poverty by increasing indebtedness. The strategic interventions proposed here call for the formulation of a coherent, integrated poverty alleviation plan in which micro enterprise is a key component but not the sole component. The focus of initiatives should not be simply to provide credit, but to enable communities to utilise these funds optimally. This in turn requiresthat support is available in areas such as skills training and marketing.

While pursuing development, it is important to keep in mind the specific cultural norms and traditions of Abbottabad's residents. Urban areas are undergoing a process of modernisation, with the attendant erosion of traditional values. This transformation has yet to hit the vast majority of the districts rural residents, who are not only key stakeholders in the ASSD vision but also responsible for implementation. The success or failure of the strategic interventions proposed here will depend on the active ownership and involvement of these communities.

Traditional cultural norms are nowhere more clearly visible than in the social and economic role of the district's women. The interventions proposed here require that the gender imbalance is redressed in every sector from education and health care to employment and credit extension. This includes enhancing womens role in natural resource management activities, where they are already key players. It is also imperative that the federal and provincial governments honour their commitments to establish employment quotas for women. 

Implementation

Many of the inputs necessary for sustainable development to take root are complex and time-consuming, requiring major changes both in the macro-structural environment of the district and the attitudes of its people. A crucial first step towards implementation is to understand the broader themes and deeper issues at stake. Abbottabad's future prospects for sustainable development depend on diversifying the economy and improving institutional efficacy. In addition to poverty alleviation, issues related to the standard of living must also be taken into consideration. 

The major concern regarding implementation is of course related to devolution and the administrative uncertainty that has been created by the decentralisation of mandates from the province to the local level. Lower-tier governments, themselves undergoing a radical structural metamorphosis, have been handed new responsibilities while the necessary civil service transformations are still awaited. Across the board, the expanded mandate of various tiers has not automatically resulted in an accompanying enhancement of capacity. In addition, the status of fiscal devolution and local-level revenue generation remains unclear. 

As the devolution plan unfolds, new and un-expected problems are likely to arise. At the same time, age-old constraints both on the structural and administrative level will also need to be tackled. Departmental thinking has long prevailed in administrative circles, where a holistic, integrative, cross-sectoral approach is now urgently required. Another formidable hurdle for development planners is the absence of reliable data for key sectors. Lessons learned from past experience will also need to be incorporated into a vision for the future. Key issues that have emerged as recurring themes include poor governance; the exclusion of local communities from decision making, project identification and implementation; and the lack of adequate funding for operation and maintenance. 

The ASSD will be implemented through the new institutional framework that is emerging under devolution. The district administration works under the leadership of the nazim, who is assisted and advised by grouped functional offices, while the district government will provide an umbrella for the integration of sectoral policies at the local level. 

A number of additional implementation mechanisms are also available, both at the district level as well as higher tiers of government. At the district level, the Mushavirat Committee will serve as a platform for coordinating the policies and programmes of various tiers of local government; the District Development Committee is vested with the authority to give the technical green light to projects; and Citizen Community Boards will allow the people to access public-sector funds to implement development projects for their own communities. At higher tiers, the Local Government Commission will prescribe standards and norms for various sectoral functions; the Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) will determine the amount of funds allocated to the district by the provincial government; and the SPCS has the potential to act as a coordinative entity for the implementation of ASSD proposals. The implementation process will also be influenced by the federal government, particularly where the country's national, regional and international commitments intersect with matters that are operationally under the jurisdiction of the district. An additional implementation mechanism comes in the shape of the District Roundtable, which brings together a variety of stakeholders. It will act as a think tank for environmental policy, serve as an advocate for sustainable development and provide a forum for the articulation of civil society's interests.

In the ultimate analysis, responsibility for achieving sustainable development rests with a composite of stakeholders, including the district government, elected representatives, devolved offices under the administrative control of the district government, non-devolved entities that continue to operate under the provincial or federal hierarchy, and civil society. The success of the endeavour will depend on their level of commitment. The ASSD vision cannot be attained through a routine and cavalier approach or by means of compartmentalised thinking. Nor will the strategic interventions proposed here benefit from the pursuit of a narrow political agenda characterised by quick-fix, pseudo-developmental interventions.

There is a long-standing tradition in developing countries to look to the government for the delivery of services in a wide range of areas. Perhaps as a result, the general trend in development interventions has been to seek external funding, either through donors, the federal and provincial governments, or non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This system is not sustainable. It is, rather, a form of `fund addiction' - a subsidy-dependent mindset that will prove to be a serious handicap in the long term. Pursuing external funding is, there-fore, not the central thrust of implementing ASSD initiatives. The ASSD aims to chart a course towards sustainable development which by definition means that interventions must beself-sustaining.

The ASSD examines options for revenue generation at the local, provincial and federal level. The ability to generate funds locally will provide fiscal space for the implementation of pro-grammes aimed specifically at sustainable development. At the same time, current public-sector expenditure will be streamlined. Additional revenue options that will be pursued include provincial and federal government funding windows, and resources earmarked by international donor agencies. The Abbottabad Fund for Sustainable Development (AFSD) will be established to coordinate and channel resource allocation towards sustainable initiatives.

The success or failure of the ASSD vision cannot be gauged without systematic monitoring. To this end, the district government will develop indicators to assess progress towards sustainability. These indicators will take into account key facets of each sector and will be designed to cover all major components of the sustainable development paradigm, moving beyond the analysis of purely economic variables which tend to ignore a range of critical social and environmental realities. The assessment processwill require action at more than one level and participation from more than one stakeholder. Assessments will be carried out at frequent intervals, preferably to coincide with annual decision making, particularly the budget cycle. Embedded in the idea of monitoring is the assumption that at some point political change and programme alterations will be required.

The pursuit of sustainable development is a formidable challenge where progress is at best painfully slow and only incremental changes canbe expected. For those who might be tempted to see the ASSD as a quick fix for all of the district's problems, it is important to introduce an element of pragmatism. As such, it is worth repeating that the pace of change is gradual, that the consolidation of processes and systems is incremental, and that capacity gaps, particularly in the transitory stage of devolution, can sometimes be disheartening. 

For the ASSD vision to become a reality, support for the strategy will be needed across the board, regardless of ideological and political divides. Strong political will is also required to reconcile the conflicting agendas of various interest groups and stakeholders, whose commitment and involvement is critical for the success of ASSD implementation. 

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