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Mitigating the impacts of disasters289Non-engineered or indigenous structures are dominant inmany cities around the world. For instance, almost 90 percent of Kathmandu’s buildings are non-engineered. 34Although indigenous construction techniques are not alwaysinferior to modern ones, in many disasters, especially thoseassociated with earthquakes, it is the non-engineered orindigenous buildings that are most damaged and that kill themost people. 35 Indigenous styles are not of themselves inherentlydangerous. Where traditional building skills persist andare valued by contractors, and where good quality materialsare used, indigenous building techniques can be hazardproof,as well as retain local built heritage. Unfortunately,under rapid urbanization, the majority of non-engineeredstructures have not been built to such high standards.Indigenous buildings are considered by some to falloutside the scope of engineering science. However, this viewis changing and offers an opportunity for partnershipsbetween engineers, artisan builders and low-income householdsto improve building safety. New knowledge is anecessary component of a comprehensive strategy forimproving the quality of indigenous buildings, most of whichare constructed outside the formal housing and planningsystems. In addition to a lack of knowledge, indigenoushousing is made unsafe by a lack of financial resources andthe number of competing demands on household budgets,many of which require more immediate attention than disasterrisk-proofing.Given the constraints of poverty and the reality ofcompeting demands, complete seismic resistance in indigenoushousing may not be attainable. However, improvementsto enhance security can be made to ensure that key buildingswill not suffer complete collapse and that damage incurredwill be of a type that can be quickly repaired. These are theaims of the National Information Centre of EarthquakeEngineering in India, 36 which has undertaken research onimproved security for indigenous buildings in fried-brick,stone, wood, earth and non-engineered reinforced concrete.Engineering advice is available in the report Guidelines forEarthquake Resistant Non-Engineered Constructionproduced by the National Information Centre. 37 Growinginterest among engineers in research and the training ofbuilders, architects and planners in safe building design fornon-engineered structures offer major opportunities forsafer cities.TrainingUniversities and technical institutes have long been at theforefront of disaster risk reduction through research andteaching on design aspects for disaster-resilient cities. Butmore can be done. There are opportunities for integratingdisaster awareness within curricula, even for non-specialistdegrees. This is a mechanism for fostering awareness ofdisaster risk reduction as a cross-cutting concern for allseeking careers in urban development, engineering design,project management, housing and urban planning. Box12.10 describes some of the initiatives of the Asian DisasterPreparedness Centre (ADPC), which has a long track recordin professional training for urban disaster risk reduction.The potential for e-learning opens much additionalscope for professional training in design for risk reduction.The United Nations Disaster Management TrainingProgramme 38 was launched in 1990. The programme isdelivered at distance, but promotes national and regionalworkshops. Since 1990, more than 70 workshops havebeen organized, benefiting approximately 6000 participantsin developing and transitional countries. The workshopshave supported national efforts to revise national disastermanagement plans and legislation and to create andstrengthen national and United Nations disaster managementteams. They have generated follow-up training eventsthat disseminate learning to community levels, and have ledto the initiation of technical projects supported by theUNDP, other partner agencies and donor governments. It isnotable in this programme that urban disaster risk is notflagged as a priority for action, although many generic issuesare covered that would benefit those engaged in urban riskmanagement. Individual universities also coordinate disastermanagement training courses, often with distancelearning components.Climate change, building andinfrastructure designThe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)expects climate change to affect urban populations throughrising sea levels, increased hazard from tropical cyclones,flooding, landslides, heat and cold waves, as well aschallenges of urban water quality and storage. Changingphysical parameters require adaptation in building and infrastructuredesign. 39 Cities in low- and middle-incomecountries are doubly at risk. Many cities are located in tropicaland subtropical climatic zones where climatic hazards arealready a constraint on development, and face extreme financialand technical constraints and limited adaptive capacity.The location of large urban centres in coastal areas exposedto hydro-meteorological hazards is a significant risk factor.Box 12.10 Professional training in urban risk management:The Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) storyThere are opportunitiesfor integratingdisaster awarenesswithin curricula,even fornon-specialistdegreesThrough educational work and professional training, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre(ADPC) has helped to incorporate disaster risk reduction aims and techniques within relateddisciplines such as engineering, environmental management, hydrology and planning. In Asia, theADPC engages with a number of universities and lists 15 specialist centres for disaster researchin the region among its network. The centre also works in partnership with the EuropeanUnion (EU).The ADPC offers e-learning programmes on disaster risk reduction. South–South learninghas also been facilitated by the centre and delivered by national partners. For example, thePrince of Songkhla University and the University of Chiang Mai in Thailand undertook trainingin risk assessment with planners from the people’s Democratic Republic of Lao’s UrbanResearch Institute.In addition, the ADPC offers a range of short courses for professionals on a regularbasis. Courses include earthquake vulnerability for cities, flood risk management, technologicalrisk management, urban fire risk management, urban disaster mitigation, land-use planning andrisk management, as well as hospital preparedness for emergencies.Source: ADPC, 2005