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

experience of National Societies of Red Crossand Red Crescent in Bangladesh and Philippinesdemonstrate a positive correlationbetween integrated participatory planning andenhanced levels of local self-reliance.Traditional community copingmechanisms at stakeCollective and environmentally sound land useand tenure at community level is in manyplaces still based on traditional and commonlyaccepted practices, which help to cope withphenomena such as drought and floods. Thisconventional practice is respected more thanmodern laws in many communities in Africaand elsewhere. However, traditional ways aremore and more being replaced by western or"modern" economic and social interests andvalues, increasing vulnerability and exposure tohazards and weakening coping capacities.Examples can be found in the Brazilian rainforest,where indigenous groups interests arebeing replaced by economic ones that turnforests into pastoral land, thereby imposingland degradation, increasing drought or floodpatterns and forcing social exclusion.Policy and public commitment: the foundation of disaster risk reductionLong before there were national governmentsor development planners, Pacific islanders hadto live with natural hazards and extensive losses.While a considerable sense of traditionalvalues and social conditions remain, the internalmigration from villages to urban areas arethrusting significant numbers of people intochanging lifestyles in the Pacific island statesand elsewhere. Urban immigrants frequentlylack knowledge about local hazards and urbanrisks, and are seldom familiar with appropriatebehaviour to minimise potential losses. Theyare often marginalized politically, and frequentlylack the social network of kin, whichprovides vital support and can be relied uponfor information and communal responsibilitiesin most villages. As far as hazards are concerned,the process of urban adaptationinvolves a shift away from community selfrelianceand shared knowledge towards anexpectation that formal government organizationswill provide protection, warnings, supportand relief.These are considerations yet to be seriouslyaccommodated in national strategies of disasterreduction and risk management.3151