Water for people.pdf - WHO Thailand Digital Repository

2 8 6 / M A N A G E M E N T C H A L L E N G E S : S T E W A R D S H I P A N D G O V E R N A N C EMitigating Risk and Coping with UncertaintyFigure 11.4: Trends in food emergencies, 1981–2001Number of countries affected353025201510501981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 200185%1981 1991 200115%Human-induced71%29%Natural disastersHuman-induced disasters have taken an ever larger share in the causes of food emergencies in the last twenty years. This figure highlights the need for evolving towardswider social responsibility to control the causes of disasters.61%39%Source: FAO web site, Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture, 2001.conveyance system (infrastructure risk). There are also localized risksfrom improper sanitation, risks of chemical and toxic pollution fromindustrial sites, as wells as risks from accidental pollution offreshwater water bodies, coastal waters or aquifer systems. Inaddition to the sudden or relatively rapid-onset disasters, there arelong-term environmental pollution risks such as accumulation oftoxic agents in the water and the soil.Data on the linkages between disasters and poverty are notalways available, sometimes for political reasons. However, thestatistics show that the victims of disasters in places wherepreparedness has been low are generally the poor and themarginalized, most of whom live in low-quality housing in floodproneor drought-prone regions or along polluted watercourses. Thepoor are the most vulnerable to disasters, being exposed to theresulting health hazards but without the capacity to prepare forthem or re-establish the life-supporting conditions after thecatastrophes. Another tragic consequence is that flood and droughtare also the main causes of poverty and the displacement andmigration of poor populations.Clearly, there is a close relationship between poverty eradicationand the establishment of Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management(CDRM) strategies, which take account of economic, social andenvironmental dimensions in assessing risk and planning forpreparedness measures in advance of water-related extremes. Inmaking decisions about flood and drought management, it isimportant to broadly involve various stakeholders, even whiledevolving as much responsibility as is feasible to lower or communitylevels. There is an evident trend towards bringing together nationaland local governments, the private sector, non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs) and other representative groups of civil societyin preparedness exercises. Such consultations build consensus aboutpreparedness strategies and can help minimize risk. Encouragingpublic participation in self-protection strategies has been a successfulstrategy in some areas, as the Tokyo case study shows in chapter 22.In many developing countries, women and female children arefrequently the main providers of water for household use. Droughtalleviation could reduce the annual expenditure of many millionwomen years 2 of effort to carry water from distant sources. Women2. A unit of measurement based on a standard number of woman-days in a year ofwork.