OCHA Situation Report
South Asia Earthquake
Logistics Bottlenecks as of 18 December 2005
18 December 2005


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Current issues:
Weather

Only a three-week window remains to deliver all Non-Food Items (NFI) 
before the onset of winter. (UNJLC Bulletin 25)

Surface transport

In Bagh, surface transport is in short supply at the moment. Agencies 
are experiencing problems in sourcing local assets for the onward 
distribution of relief supplies from Bagh. This means the window 
available before winter sets in cannot be fully utilized to deliver 
relief supplies. Already, several agencies and smaller NGOs are not able 
to move goods according to their planning. The use of military and NATO 
assets is being explored. (UNJLC, 16.12.05)

Pakistan Military Withdrawal

Further bottlenecks may occur when the Pakistani Military withdraw from 
Bagh unless an alternative to the Pak Military helicopter landing site 
is prepared or a Standing Operating Procedure put in place so UNHAS or 
other humanitarian helicopters can use the site. A fuel supply for any 
Bagh District air operations may require stocks on the ground or an 
alternative location for refueling. (UNJLC Sitrep, 16.12.05)

The Thakot to Bana Road has been closed by the DSS for safety reasons 
after the road was deemed too dangerous due to potential landslides and 
narrow widths. However, it continues to support large volumes of traffic 
and the Pakistani Military Engineers have judged it safe to travel. This 
is the only road option to Bana, a strategic location for the 
distribution of aid to the Alia valley. (UNJLC Sitrep, 16.12.05)

Customs

In order to obtain a 'Non Objection Certificate' for tax exemption, 
non-standard relief goods, such as non-obvious, technical or specialized 
items need an enclosed explanation on why they are needed for the relief 
effort. There have been delays on obtaining clearance for certain 
equipment. (Logistics Cluster meeting, 15.12.05)

Developments:

Handover military to civil authorities

The Pakistani military will gradually hand over its relief effort to the 
civilian provincial government. It has given assurances that it will 
remain available for support wherever necessary during the transition 
period. (UNJLC Bulletin 25)

Helicopter Overview

The number of helicopters has decreased slightly with foreign military 
assets leaving the country.


Helicopters in-country as at 17 December 2005

|------------------------+------------|
| Operator               |   Quantity |
|------------------------+------------|
| UNHAS                  |    21 (+2) |
|------------------------+------------|
| Government of Pakistan |         36 |
|------------------------+------------|
| Foreign Gov./Military  |    17 (-8) |
| in support of Gov. of  |            |
| Pakistan               |            |
|------------------------+------------|
| Various NGOs           |    15 (+2) |
|------------------------+------------|
| Total:                 |    89 (-4) |
|------------------------+------------|


NATO air bridge

The NATO air bridge is still ongoing and will deliver everything already 
in the pipeline, but it is in need of funding to continue operations. 
(Logistics Cluster meeting, 15.12.05)

Regrouping of camps

UNHCR is setting up improved camps to help relieve pressure from the 
existing camps. 13 new camps to accommodate approximately 2,800 families 
are being established in the Muzaffarabad and Hattian district. UNHCR 
aims to regroup the camps in order to make the delivery of services 
easier. (IRIN, 15.12.05)

Information:

Pipeline information

Donors have been requested to ask the groups they fund to supply their 
pipeline information to UNJLC. This will be consolidated into a database 
to give a broad picture of the current pipeline and identify gaps. DFID 
and USAID representatives have begun soliciting this information on 
behalf of UNJLC. (UNJLC 17.12.05)

This Logistics Bottlenecks report is a joint product of UNJLC and OCHA. 
For queries or comments please contact Ingrid van Beuzekom 
vanbeuzekom@un.org. Sources used are: contact with UNJLC staff, 
ReliefWeb, minutes from cluster meetings and sitreps, Pakistan 
Meteorological Department, press briefings.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Appropriate Donations for International Disaster/Humanitarian Needs
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International             web: www.cidi.org
    Disaster Information         listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
                               guidelines: www.cidi.org/donate.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
South Asia Earthquake               www.cidi.org/incident/sasia-05j