From Poverty to Power Green, Oxfam 2008 - weman

4 RISK AND VULNERABILITY NATURAL DISASTERcutting down branches that might fall on houses, checkingreservoir walls or dams, cleaning wells, identifying places toevacuate animals, and so forth.Source: Oxfam America (2003) ‘Cuba – Weathering the Storm: Lessons in Risk Reductionfrom Cuba.’www.oxfamamerica.org/newsandpublications/publications/research_reports/art7111.htmlDisaster risk reduction not only reduces suffering and saves lives, itcan also limit the economic damage. During the 1998 floods inBangladesh, for example, the value of cattle saved by a four-acre floodshelter exceeded the construction cost of the shelter by a factor of17. Reconstruction costs for a new deep-water port in Dominica after itwas hit by Hurricane David in 1979 were equivalent to 40 per cent ofthe original investment, compared with the 12 per cent extra that itwould have cost to build the original port to a standard that couldresist such a hurricane. 91In both economic and humanitarian terms, it may be a no-brainer,but reducing risks before a disaster is uphill work politically, as UNSecretary-General Kofi Annan recognised in 1999: ‘Building a cultureof prevention is not easy. While the costs of prevention have to be paidin the present, their benefits lie in a distant future. Moreover, the benefitsare not tangible; they are the disasters that did not happen.’ 92Governments often find it easier to raise money internationally whendisaster has already struck, and television coverage is raising money indonor countries.The key to overcoming such political obstacles is a combination ofpolitical leadership, pressure from an informed civil society, and ashift in the international aid system towards prevention. Followingthe 2004 tsunami, the international community came together to tryand create this shift, adopting a ten-year blueprint for disaster riskreduction known as the Hyogo Framework, which to date has beensigned on to by 160 countries.The Framework sets out the responsibilities of states and internationalorganisations in creating a robust disaster risk reductionsystem and marks a great step forward, both in recognising the leadingrole of national governments and in moving from the traditionally253