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

1Living with Risk: A global review of disaster reduction initiativesLearning risk reduction frompractices in the pastThere are early historical examples of societies protectingtheir people and their important resources. This was accomplishedfirst, by anticipating potential catastrophes based onknowledge of hazardous conditions and possible destructiveevents, then by investing in protective measures. Inca rulers,living in the Andes between the thirteenth and fifteenth century,took great care to create terraces on steep slopes to conservethe scarce soil and water necessary for their crops.Many of these terraces remain today, as do similar constructionsmaintained for over a thousand years in themountain provinces of Indonesia and the Philippines.Local crop preservation techniques were alsoused as a hedge against possible drought or otherconditions of food shortage.Traditional practices of farmers around the worldhave been influenced by locally developed knowledgeof weather patterns or naturally occurringindicators in plants and animals, to forecast particularlyharsh conditions. If imprecise, such methodsdid demonstrate an awareness of potential riskthat led people to consider alternate courses ofaction in order to protect their livelihood.More recently, with the increase of scientificknowledge, policies have developed in somecountries that have tried to protect people from orto control the forces of nature. With mixed successover the long term, these efforts grew from conceptsseeking to prevent or to reduce the immediateconsequences of potentially hazardous conditionsand the adverse effects that they could causeto nearby human life, habitation and property.The Japanese experience of monitoring volcanicactivities, early warning and effective evacuationfrom Mount Usu in Hokkaido is a telling exampleof how science and technology do save livesand assets.16Structures were built in places to provide protection fromfloods, like the embankments in Shanghai and Singaporewhich have protected lucrative commercial and port activitiessince the middle of the nineteenth century.Low countries in Northern Europe, such as the Netherlands,are famous for having constructed an extensive systemof sea dykes that have both reclaimed land and protectedinhabitants from flooding since the eighteenth century.In Viet Nam, villagers are obliged to clean, repair andstrengthen their crucial irrigation channels and sea dykesprior to the start of every annual cyclone season. This wasrecognized as a necessary precaution to ensure the continuedcultivation of rice, on which the society depends.Traditionally, Pacific islanders built their houses from local,lightweight, but strong materials that could absorb torrentialrains, yield superficially to the high winds of typhoonsand withstand the shaking of earthquakes.Long-accepted policy measures and principlesdesigned to prevent forest fires are now understoodto have created conditions of fuel accumulationthat resulted in more intense, uncontrollable,and ultimately more costly, wildfires at alater date. Now more subtle measures are beingemployed in managing the relationship betweennatural fire hazards, human use of forested naturalresources and sustainable environmental benefitsfor a vital society.