A global review of disaster reduction initiatives - Welcome to the ...

Policy and public commitment: the foundation of disaster risk reduction3Challenges for regional interaction in AsiaThe following issues have been cited by Asian practitioners as contributing to either sporadic or inconsistentattention being accorded to disaster risk reduction in international exchanges or regionally-basedendeavours:Tunnel vision that relegates risk awareness to marginal consideration in contrast to predominantpolitical visibility in responding to disasters that have occurred.Different constituencies and mandates pertaining to various sectors of disaster risk management.Scarcity of resource allocations for risk reduction, in contrast to emergency response.Weak or inconsistent reliance on dynamic risk assessments in national development strategies.No single umbrella organization representative of regional interests and priorities related to disasterrisks.Lack of awareness, policy or economic motivation to include disaster risk impact analysis in projectdesign.Different, over-lapping or over-looked, geographical coverage of countries’ or donor’s interests andproject distribution.Lack of programmatic mechanisms for matching regional providers with local needs – decisionsoften influenced more by political affinities than potential disaster risks.Nationalist motivations, or competing initiatives and duplication among donor interests.Bilateral versus multilateral initiatives, donor, or supply-side influenced projects.National policy objectives contrasting with broader regional collaboration.Insufficient working-level cooperation and knowledge transfer, duplication of information collectionand dissemination.Limited opportunities for dialogue on a regional level. Lack of structured communication andknowledge of other agencies’ programmes.the benefit of a wider audience. The followingtable gives an indication of criteria beingconsidered as suitable measures to gaugeaccomplishment in selected areas of responsibilityacross the region.From the AUDMP expereince, the followingconditions highlight current constraints whichremain to be addressed:• Lack of interest and willingness of governmentsand organizations to takeresponsibility.• Other political preoccupations or institutionalimpediments.• Scarcity or non-allocation of funds andhuman resources.• Lack of awareness of roles of other agencies.• Lack of recognized mechanisms for informationsharing and coordination.• Lack of consistent donor policies or limiteddonor collaboration.• Cooperation not sufficiently institutionalisedwithin countries, so that if a keyindividual leaves, cooperation and collaborationmay lapse.• Different, overlapping concepts of subregions,or even definitions of the Asianregion.The extent of cultural variation and politicaldiversity across Asia works against regionalcooperation. However, at least some of theselimitations could be overcome, or measurestaken to resolve them if the international donorcommunity and regional organizations alikecould work towards a more consistent andfocussed approach to accord disaster riskreduction a more distinctive and visible role indevelopment strategies.Pacific small island developing statesPacific small island developing states and territotiesquite diverse in their physical and economiccharacteristics and exemplify many differentcultures, languages and traditional practices.Most of these island countries comprisetiny areas of land widely dispersed throughoutthe Pacific Ocean, so that even within singlecountries, the distance between islands can beenormous.131