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

1Living with Risk: A global review of disaster reduction initiativesThe political context“Managing risk depends on political will. Political will dependson political leadership and a shifting set of incentives, pressuresand polemics. The political costs of redirecting priorities from visibledevelopment projects to addressing abstract long-term threatsare great. It is hard to gain votes by pointing out that a disasterdid not happen. How can we, who see risk management as acentral priority and who have valuable technical knowledge andskills to contribute, enter this policy arena? This question is at thecentre of the [disaster risk reduction] discourse. We know nowthat we must engage, but do we know how?”I.Christoplos, J. Mitchell and A. Liljelund, 2001Political commitment is an essential quality forsustained efforts of risk reduction. Only politicalwillingness can give disaster reduction theplace it deserves. Obtaining political commitmentfrom public authorities is one of the fouroverriding objectives of ISDR to effectivelyreduce the impacts of disasters. This objectiveneeds to be addressed through increased coordinationat all levels, risk management strategiesand the allocation of appropriate resourcesincluding development of new funding mechanisms.Disaster reduction should be dealt withas a policy issue across relevant fields of gov-The political context in Southern AfricaIn Southern Africa, other forces have combined to influencethe political context of disasters. Decades of armed conflict,political instability and population displacement have conditionedmore recent approaches to disaster management. Inaddition to the loss of lives, war-related damage anddestruction to infrastructure, the prevalence of prolongedrelief operations was widespread in places, creating a senseof dependency on external assistance.International humanitarian assistance that often inundatescountries facing severe drought or flood crises, is seldomaccompanied by support for longer-term institutionalchange that promotes practical mitigation efforts. To a significantextent, the emphasis given to the urgent supply ofmaterial requirements and logistical capabilities born of crisisand responding to the needs of unsettled populations,persists long after the acute conditions have been resolved.Too often a memory of relief supplies or a legacy of externalassistance remains to discourage local initiatives or sustainedinstitutional investments in disaster risk reduction.ernment including health, agriculture andenvironment. National and regional policiesare addressed in chapter three.To be feasible, disaster reduction needs to showit is able to address short-term and immediateneeds of survival as well as to take care oflonger-term objectives of prevention andcapacity building. This approach is illustratedby efforts undertaken in the cities of Manizalesand Medellin in Colombia.There, the death toll and economic damage dueto landslides and floods have decreased considerablythanks to initiatives undertaken by themunicipalities, together with universities, the privatesector and community groups, throughreforestation, plant cover works, improveddrainage systems and engineering works. Insome cases, these investments are even generatingincome through harvesting and tourism.Political change, economic reform and developmentof public policy to protect people andresources are fundamental solutions to treatingcauses rather than only symptoms. Politiciansthat undertake no-regret policies and applyprecautionary principles in matters of environmentalprotection should be able to take thesame stance regarding disaster reduction."The state of a country's . . . political condition atthe time of the onset of a disaster is a major determinantin the impacts on society of that event."M. Glantz, 2000Similarly, the public that exercises great pressureto bring about environmental policychanges should become a political force puttingpressure on governments to protect peoplefrom disasters. If it becomes a popularissue, disaster risk reduction will gainmomentum.While disaster reduction will not reign withoutpolitical willingness, a word should also be saidabout the negative consequences political decisionscan have on disaster impacts. For example,huge hydraulic projects may change landscapereferences of communities and their perceptionof risk, thereby increasing vulnerabilityby reducing the people’s capacity to assessand anticipate hazard-related threats.30