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A Case Study in Uttarakhand, Northern India - Geological & Mining ...

A Case Study in Uttarakhand, Northern India - Geological & Mining ...

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2. Ownership – with<strong>in</strong> the cont<strong>in</strong>ued relief and development debate, no one really“owns” preparedness and risk reduction, it lays adrift <strong>in</strong> no-mans land. Also, themisconception that by simply adopt<strong>in</strong>g a pro-poor development focus risk reductionwill be achieved, where <strong>in</strong> reality a heightened awareness of context and the rootof poverty would contribute more to reduc<strong>in</strong>g vulnerability and subsequent risk.3. Competition - the out of sight, out of m<strong>in</strong>d nature of DMP can hardly competewith seem<strong>in</strong>gly more press<strong>in</strong>g and visible issues such as health care or education.2.3.2 Where does mitigation and preparedness fit <strong>in</strong> the“disaster cont<strong>in</strong>uum”?Literature cover<strong>in</strong>g the debate of l<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g relief and development is more thanabundant and has been ongo<strong>in</strong>g for some time. Documentation of DMP with<strong>in</strong> thisframework, on the other hand, is scarce. As the literature implies, thema<strong>in</strong>stream<strong>in</strong>g of DMP is cont<strong>in</strong>ually recognized as an important step forward <strong>in</strong>disaster management. This begs the question why mitigation and preparednessare not more prom<strong>in</strong>ently <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> the disaster cont<strong>in</strong>uum? The benefits ofpreparedness and mitigation would seem obvious to most, but ironically are rarelyfactored <strong>in</strong>, thereby conf<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g disaster strategies and approaches to the context ofthe relief-development cont<strong>in</strong>uum. In fact, some would argue that DMP is regardedas “a type of activity rather than someth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>tr<strong>in</strong>sic to susta<strong>in</strong>able development”(Alexander, 1997).Houghton (2005) stated, “disaster preparedness/mitigation is cited as the mostimportant issue to emerge from recent (humanitarian assistance) evaluations”. It isrecommended time and time aga<strong>in</strong> that disaster preparedness can effectively beused to educate local communities about the risks they face, and assist them <strong>in</strong>develop<strong>in</strong>g their own cop<strong>in</strong>g mechanisms and emergency plans for when the next<strong>in</strong>evitable disaster strikes. In other words, an ounce of prevention is worth a poundof cure. An educated community, equipped with strategies for adequate reaction <strong>in</strong>an emergency situation, will most certa<strong>in</strong>ly help to ease components of a reliefoperation, and <strong>in</strong> turn speed up the process for the road to recovery. Early Warn<strong>in</strong>gThe Role of NGOs <strong>in</strong> Disaster Mitigation and Response – A <strong>Case</strong> <strong>Study</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Uttarakhand</strong>, <strong>Northern</strong> <strong>India</strong> 27

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