Chapter One
Introduction The earth in the solar system is unique among the nine planets; that is it has enough oxygen and plentiful water to support life. It supports Human life but side by side it destructs Human life whenever the nature changes its course based on various geological reasons and that results various Natural disasters. During Jurassic time Gondwanaland was a southern super continent that included the present South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand and India. The outer layers of the earth are always involved in a recycling known as tectonic cycle. Mountain rise, volcano eruption, earthquakes, bending down of sea floors etc. are the result of tectonics. Disasters occur where the earth unleashes its concentrated energy. A large earthquake or major volcanic eruption or Flood or drought is becoming a challenge for the survival of human beings in the affected areas.
Disaster is an event, natural or man-made, sudden or progressive, that seriously disrupts the functioning of a society, causing human, material, or environmental losses of such severity that the affected community has to respond by taking exceptional measures. The disruption (including essential services and means of livelihood) is on a scale that exceeds the ability of the affected society to cope with using only its own resources.
Disaster affects society as a whole these focusing events or destabilizing events have also had an impact on scholarly enterprises shifting the attention of sociologists from more traditional areas of professionals inquiry to the expansion and application of innovative concepts and methods to the study of disasters ( Birkland 1997 Picou and Marshall 2007).
Defining Disaster
‘Disaster’ is defined differently by different people: to some ‘disaster’ is a summative concept’ (Kreps, 1984) or a ‘sponge world’ (Qurantelli and Dynes, 1970). Some researchers mentioned disaster as a ‘collective stress situation’ (Barton, 1969) while others identified it with ‘social crisis period’ (Qurantelli and Dynes, 1977). Britton (1986) argued that “disasters can be more easily recognized than they can be defined”.Disaster is a severe, relatively sudden and unexpected disruption of normal structural arrangements within a social system over which the system has no firm control (Barton, 1974). A disaster may also be viewed as “a significant departure from normal experience for a particular time and place” (Turner, 1978). Disaster is also viewed as a mental construct imposed upon experience. This is because to understand disaster knowing the number of deaths, the value of property destroyed or the decrease in per capita income is not sufficient. The symbolic component requires knowledge of the sense of vulnerability, the adequacy of available explanation and the society’s imagery of death and destruction (Barkun, 1977).
Objectives;
• To know about the disasterous condition of The Earth along with Bangladesh
• To know about different tools of disaster management
• To elaborate various types of approaches
• Specify Environmental approaches and Technical approaches of Disaster management.
• To know the advantages of environmental and technical approaches regarding disaster management
• To know the process of these two types approaches in global and national context
• To know different priority area of action about disaster management
Chapter Two
Situational analysisInternational and Global Context
Disasters are situations or events which overwhelm local capacity, necessitating a request to national or international level for assistance. These are classified into two main categories i.e. Natural disasters which are hydro-meteorological and Geophysical, and non-natural disasters which are man-made and can be industrial related; chemical spill, collapse of industrial structures, explosion, fire, gas leak poisoning, radiation; miscellaneous events such as collapse of domestic/non industrial structures, explosion, fire, and Transport related; air, rail, road and water-borne accidents (World Disasters Report, 2002).
Disasters and how they are managed, have become the subject of increasing research and debate in recent years. This heightened interest signifies that the world has become a more dangerous place for its inhabitants who are becoming more vulnerable to disasters.
Data gathered worldwide over the last three decades suggest that, while the number of people killed by natural disasters has leveled out at around 80,000 per year, the number affected by disasters and associated economic losses have both soared. As during the 1990s, an annual average of around 200 million people was affected by natural disasters nearly three times higher than during the 1970s. Economic losses from such disasters in the 1990s averaged US$ 63 billion per year which is nearly five times higher in real terms than the figure for the 1970s (Brussels-based Centre for research on the Epidemiology of Disasters-CRED)
While the figures sound sobering, they disguise the devastating effects that disasters can have on poorer nations’ development as disasters undermine development by contributing to persistent poverty. As Didier Cherpited says “disasters are first and foremost a major threat to development, and specifically to the development of poorest and most marginalized people in the world. Disasters seek out the poor and vulnerable, and ensure they stay poor.” (World Disasters Report, 2002)
It has been evidently documented that, vulnerability to disaster is not simply by lack of wealth, but by a complex range of physical, economic, political and social factors. Flawed development is exacerbating these factors and exposing more people to disasters. Rapid population growth and unplanned urbanization force poorer communities to live in more hazardous areas. However, even the better-off are at risk as expansion of infrastructure over the past decades including bridges, railway lines and roads have created a barrier across the valley leading to limited access, and excessive rainfall resulting in floods. Growth in infrastructure across the globe has increased both the level of assets at risk from disasters, and the people dependent on such lifelines as electricity, gas and water mains.
Economic growth may increase risks particularly in the poorest countries of the world as economic activities can result to environmental degradation, deforestation which disrupts watersheds leading to more severe droughts, as well as floods. People switch jobs or their mode of crop production in response to improved marketing opportunities, and in doing so, they may increase their vulnerability to disasters. Clearly, disasters are a major threat to the global economy and to society and therefore sustainable development is society’s investment in the future or otherwise; investments will be squandered if not adequately protected against the risk of disaster.
Recognizing the fact that disasters are complex problems arising from the interaction between the environment and the development of human beings, disaster requires complex responses drawing on a wide range of skills and capacities. It requires the cooperation between multilateral development agencies, national and local governments, non-governmental organizations, businesses, natural and social scientists, technical specialists and the vulnerable communities. Central to the United Nations Conferences in Stockholm in 1972, Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg, was global commitment to mainstreaming sustainable development in all aspects of national development.
National Context
Disasters are annual events in Bangladesh. These disasters range from ravaging tornadoes to devastating floods. Of all the disasters the problem of flood has aggravated most from 1955 to 2004 and become one of the main concerns of people in Bangladesh. Abnormal floods submerge about 60 percent of the land, damage crops, property; disrupt economic activities and cause diseases and loss of life. Similarly, cyclones, which are sometimes accompanied by storm and tidal surge, pose multiple threats to human society along with erosion of soils, riverbank and coasts. Surge water creates salinity problem in the coastal belts. Consequently, cyclones are very destructive of property and people and disruptive of economic activities. Another hazard, drought, affects the standing crops, water supplies and plant growth leading to loss of productions, food shortages and famine. (Nasreen and Hossain, 2002). Arsenic, a toxic element and a silent disaster, is teaching a bitter lesson to humankind, particularly to those in Bangladesh who have been suffering from arsenicosis. The excessive level of the presence of arsenic in drinking water is redefining water from 'life saver' to a 'threat' to human survival. Because it takes 10 to 20 years, depending on the amount of arsenic accumulated in the body, to be identified as arsenic patient, people's response to the disease is not so prompt. Because of its severity and frequent occurrence, floods have attracted wide attention and are well documented by the researchers. However, sociological research on disasters, even on flood, is scant in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is beset by a myriad of natural disasters. Tropical cyclones, tidal surges, tornados, floods, droughts and large-scale riverbank erosion all wreak havoc on the lives and livelihoods of the population. The country’s propensity to natural disasters is due to various environmental factors and its geographical location. Recent estimates suggest that about 4 percent of the world’s cyclones hit Bangladesh and that damage and losses to the country amount to about 96 percent of the global total. In November 1970, Bangladesh’s coastal regions were devastated by a cyclone that killed more than 300,000 people and caused over $2.5 billion of property damage. More recently, floods in 1988 and 1998 brought immense suffering to the population. Agricultural production was disrupted and the country’s economy was severely affected in 1998, when nearly two thirds of the country was under water for three months. Bangladeshis and their government are doing their best to prevent and mitigate natural disasters, but there is an overwhelming need to strengthen the country’s disaster preparedness and management capabilities.
At the national level, disaster management issues are gradually being given more attention in national planning processes but until recently was seen in sectoral lens and hardly have the effective structures, policy, legal framework and more so the proper understanding and capacities.
The recurrence of disaster events and the increasing concerns about disaster impacts have attracted a lot of attention from both governments and development partners not the least because the risk calculus for vulnerable groups within society and the infrastructure is enormous.
The DFID Policy Paper entitled ‘Reducing the Risk of Disaster-Helping to Achieve Sustainable Poverty Reduction in a Vulnerable World’ among the developing countries at high risk of disaster. The highest in ranking is Bangladesh followed by Nepal. The implications for The Bangladesh in this ranking are evident in that if no prevention and preparedness measures are taken now to mitigate this high risk, it may erode the significant development gains registered in The Bangladesh especially in the area of infrastructure and the well elaborated poverty reduction strategies among others.
The risk calculus for vulnerable groups within society and infrastructure will be enormous and hence the urgent need to design strategy that would outline the development of standard instruments for disaster prevention and preparedness as well as the organizational mechanisms for plan implementation. The underlying assumption, as indicated in the Policy document, is that disaster prevention and preparedness are crucial entry points for disaster risk reduction.
Despite the potential high risk been posed by disaster, the old view of disasters as temporary interruptions on the path of social and economic progress and should be dealt with through humanitarian relief is deeply rooted in the country. Until recently, disaster issues were treated and handled through our various environmental management programmes and sectors as an added on activity. It is increasingly becoming evident that those notions are no longer credible and disaster issues are too big to be an added on to a sector or being perceived as a sectoral mandate. Disaster issues are multidimensional, multi-sectoral and need to be mainstreamed in all development concerns with a central coordination.
Analytical Review of Disaster issues in the Bangladesh
The World Watch Institute in Washington estimates that the earth’s continents lose 24 billion tons of fertile topsoil every year and forest destruction put at 15 million hectares of forest worldwide with depletion worst in developing countries such as the Gambia. The expansion of the agricultural frontiers into fragile ecosystems, eliminating stabilized forest cover has increased the frequency of flash floods and lower agricultural productivity.
In 2003, about most of the Bangladesh population lived in village area. Uncontrolled urban sprawl and speculative land markets have pushed many marginal settlements into high-risk areas that are flood-prone areas. The country’s natural resources and the environment are seriously endangered as human lives are increasingly harmed by pollution, desertification, climate change, floods and unplanned urbanization.
Climate change will have repercussions as it can lead to desertification, rising sea levels, rapid shifts in vegetable zones, lower agricultural production and a greater shortage of fresh water. This affects the country in general particularly the poorest who will be worst hit.
In recent years, the Bangladesh experienced a significant number of disastrous events of both natural and human origins. The Hazards Profile of the Bangladesh and its Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment Report indicates that these disasters are related to cyclone,floods,drought, river bank erosion ,environmental degradation and epidemics.
All these incidents, a combination of man-made and natural disasters are causes for concern and thus call for concerted and coordinated efforts to plan to prevent, manage and mitigate the effects of disasters. This should not be done in isolation but integrated into the national development planning framework.
Chapter three
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT POLICY:
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Disaster Management in the BangladeshThe main limitations and major obstacles to effective disaster management policies in the past has been a dominant approach that justifies disaster response. The current debate is now moving from the idea of a basic diagnosis of relief operation to a more proactive strategy of disaster prevention. Existing policy responses of both governments and the international community treat disaster as a series of unexpected events whose remedy lies in the provision of humanitarian relief which in essence is what is called ‘crisis survival’ as the aim is to minimize short-term suffering. The need to move away from the old technocratic, command-and control approach to risk reduction to more innovative approaches and partnerships opens the door for greater success in disaster management.
The paradigm shift in recent years from disaster response to disaster prevention and disaster risk reduction is largely motivated by the high toll of disasters both in terms of human sufferings and the loss of economic assets. What is needed, as clearly indicated in a recent Policy Paper is ‘a well-resourced and prepared response system with a focus on national and local capacity.’
Cognizant of the above, the Bangladesh government developed a National Disaster Management Bill and Policy which emphasizes that any successful mechanism for disaster prevention must be multifaceted and designed for the long-term. The capacity to anticipate and analyze possible disaster threats is a prerequisite for prudent decision-making and effective action. Yet even practical early warning will not ensure successful preventive action unless there is a fundamental change of attitude towards disaster perceptions. An integrated approach that brings together the efforts of the government, UN agencies, NGOs, civil Society, Local authorities and local communities is the most viable, effective and sustainable disaster management strategy.
Currently the UNDP provides project support in the form of a National Disaster management programme aimed at developing a comprehensive disaster management framework in the country and to improve national capacities to anticipate, manage and respond to disasters. Through the project, a secretariat was fully operational and served as the nerve-centre for all disaster related issues in the country. The capacities and institutional memory developed during the project implementation were used to establish a National Disaster Management Agency charged with the implementation of the disaster Policy and Act thus justifying the formulation of this strategy. The project also assisted in the development of a national hazard/disaster profile, restructured regional disaster committees and undertook training and capacity building country-wide in addition to the development of a comprehensive National Action Plan for Avian and Human Influenza.
Justification of the Strategic Plan
To operationalize the Disaster Management Bill and Policy, there is a need to develop a multi-dimensional strategy that provides for disaster mainstreaming in development, the strengthening of the institutionalization of disaster, the strengthening of disaster management analysis skills, research and the development of an information system, advocacy, partnership and policy dialogue.
The critical need for the disaster management agency to have a comprehensive plan that will guide its interventions towards effectively implementing its mandate gives the right to the formulation of the 2008-2011 Strategic Plan. The Plan is a critical instrument to establish, build capacity of the national disaster management office and creating the conditions to effectively execute its mandate.
The strategic plan will serve as the roadmap and building blocks for operating and reaching the disaster management goals and objectives in the Bangladesh.
It will further serve as an integrated document for all stakeholders’ participation in this urgent and important national task.
Vision, Goals and Objectives
Vision
Assurance of safer and resilient communities in which the impact of hazards would not hamper development and the ecosystem and provision for a better quality of life will be achieved through effective emergency and disaster services.
Policy Goals
The overall goal of the disaster management policy and strategy is to ensure a proper and effective mechanism for disaster mitigation and preparedness that will save lives and livelihoods in the country. The goals are:
1. Articulate the vision and goals for disaster management in the Bangladesh
2. Outline the strategic direction to guide the development of disaster management policies
3. Align the strategic direction for disaster risk reduction with international norms and framework conventions
4. Mainstream disaster mitigation into relevant areas of activity of Government, NGOs, Private Sector and Civil Society Organizations.
5. Strengthen the governance and accountability arrangements in place that support achievements of disaster management priorities.
6. Build adequate and sustainable capacity at the community level in order to enhance the culture of safety and resilience at the local level.
Policy Strategic Objectives
1. To integrate disaster risk reduction into sustainable development policies and planning;
2. To develop and strengthen institutional mechanisms and capacities to build resilience to hazards
3. To systematically incorporate all international, regional, national and local disaster risk reduction strategies and approaches into the implementation of emergency preparedness, response and recovery.
4. To achieve a comprehensive, all hazard, all agencies approach by achieving the right balance of prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery;
5. Prepare communities to ensure that they are fully equipped to anticipate and respond to disaster events.
6. To promote a transparent, systematic and consistent approach to disaster risk assessment and management.
7. A multi-stakeholder participatory approach including community participation at all levels
8. Develop a database and information exchange system at national, regional and international levels.
Chapter Four
Technical & Environmental Approaches Regarding Disaster Management
Natural and technological hazard
The principal focus of planning for natural and technological hazards is risk assessment and reduction. Efforts to prevent and plan for natural and technological disasters have arisen from the need to protect society from hazards that are prevalent in the area of governmental jurisdiction. This approach to risk reduction and civil protection has been developed through legislation, the defining of institutional responsibilities and the allocation of financial resources (top down), coupled with local responses and community involvement (O’Brien and Read, 2005; Alexander, 2002a). Such a comprehensive approach to multi-hazard planning is a feature of the strategy of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and has evolved from extensive research into both natural and anthropogenic disasters (Lindell and Perry, 2003; Alexander, 2002b; McEntire et al., 2002; Mileti, 1999; Tobin, 1999). Disaster planning is based on risk assessment and lessons learned, which are codified into a set of risk management and emergency plans designed to enable effective and efficient policies and practices. This approach to risk management can be effective in areas prone to natural hazards, such as flood plains, storm corridors and seismically active zones. In Australia, Japan, the US and other MDCs, preparedness and mitigation strategies, combined with high coping capacity (a function of income, savings and insurance), ensure that, although events may cause extensive damage, mortality rates are usually low and communities are able to recover quickly.2 Examples include the recovery of Florida, US, from numerous recent hurricanes (Tobin, 1999), the decade-long recovery of Kobe, Japan, from the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake (Toshihisa et al., 1999) and the recovery of Darwin, Australia, from the destruction of 70% of its building stock by Cyclone Tracy in 1974 (Blong, 2004). The ultimate aim of planning is disaster risk reduction, with the final outcome being a decrease in losses and a speedy return to normality. To work effectively, this holistic approach to planning requires accountable, democratic government institutions, financial support, political will and the trust of civil society. In LDCs, such an approach to risk and disaster management also exists, at least on paper. It involves commissions and institutions at the national, sub-national, regional and municipal level, which have proliferated since the beginning of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) (1990–99). There had been another flurry of similar institution building during the ‘environment decade’ of the1970s, during which institutions were developed to monitor and protect the human environment from pollution. Implementation, however, lags behind institutionalization and planning in many of these countries.
Technical approaches
The technical approach (Bolt et al. 1977; El-Sabh and Murty, 1988) focuses on geophysical approaches to disaster such as studied in seismology, geomorphology and volcanology and seeks engineering solutions. Some plannings;
The goal of the national disaster management strategic action plan is to contribute to the sustainable improvement of the well-being of Bangladeshi’s by:
(I) creating a socio-economic, legal and institutional environment that is conducive to disaster management in the Bangladesh and;
(ii) Effectively mainstreaming disaster management issues into national policies as well as in sector-specific development programmes and projects.
Some Principles
All the activities in operationalizing the national disaster management policy must consider the following crosscutting core principles and mainstream them into national development.• Advocacy
• Service delivery
• Capacity Building
• Community/local empowerment
• Emergency Preparedness
• Integrated planning and programming
• Partnership and Alliance Building
For any disaster and risk reduction management programme, the following features are essential for any success;
• Social cohesion and solidarity (self-help and citizen-based social protection at the neighborhood level).
• Trust between the authorities and civil society
• Investment in economic development that explicitly takes potential consequences for risk reduction or increase into account.
• Investment in human development.
• Investment in social capital.
• Investment in institutional capital (e.g., capable, accountable and transparent government institutions for mitigating disasters.)
• Good coordination, information sharing and cooperation among institutions involved in risk reduction
• Attention to lifeline infrastructure.
• Attention to the most vulnerable.
• An effective risk communication system and institutionalized historical memory of disaster.
• Political commitment to disaster management.
• Laws, regulations and directives to support all of the above.
Key Stakeholders
The stakeholders involved in the implementation of this strategy are numerous and can be categorized as follows;
• Government including local authorities
• NGOs including civil society organizations
• Private sector
• International development partners
• Local communities
• Women and Youth groups
• Other vulnerable groups such as children and the physically challenged
Some Priority Areas for Action
The definition and identification of disaster management priority areas for intervention is informed by its’ policy, bill and the outcome of disaster analysis in the country. This strategic plan is thus an important framework for the establishment of an institutional framework for National Disaster Management which will position itself as an Office of excellence by responding to disaster and risk reduction matters in an efficient and prudent manner. The following priority areas will be the disaster management agency’s building blocks to championing disaster management and risk reduction issues in the country.
Priority Area 1: Development of institutional framework and structures capable of preventing, preparing for and responding to disasters at National, Regional and Local levels.
Interventions in this area will aim at creating institutional environment for addressing disaster and risk reductions. This will involve the establishment of a National Office and related technical committees at national, regional and local levels, and the strengthening of capacities of all actors: government, civil society, organized private sector, decentralized agencies, state institutions and development partners.
Priority Area 2: Integration of disaster risk reduction into sustainable policies and plans.
The interventions in this area will focus on mainstreaming disaster management and risk reduction into National policies and Plans through the development of national platform for disaster management, sensitization, and awareness creation on disaster management, capacity building and introduction of disaster risk reduction into the school system. Establishing the necessary linkages and capacity building will be among the key activities. Interventions in this area will aim at building capacity at all levels and develop and implement an effective resource mobilization mechanism and necessary follow ups. Mechanisms will be developed for mainstreaming disaster issues in overall development plans and policies.
Priority Area 3: creation of a body of knowledge that is useful to support government, humanitarian organizations and other partners; to anticipate, plan for and manage disasters effectively
Interventions in this area will aim at developing and improving on effective early warning systems, development of a comprehensive data-base, system development, conduct surveys and develop communication channels.
Priority Area 4: Create broad and effective partnership among government, humanitarian organizations and other partners, to engage in disaster risk reduction activities and addressing the underlying factors in disasters
The national disaster management Office’s intervention will focus on ensuring that the necessary platform or structures and processes exist for genuine partnership and concerted efforts in disaster risk reduction. The interventions will focus on policy dialogue and establishment of effective linkage with the environmental impact assessment process.
Priority Area 5: Develop an efficient response mechanism to disaster management and make available the necessary resources
Interventions in this area will aim at building capacities at all levels; develop strategies for resource mobilization and for monitoring and evaluation.
Priority Area 6: To strengthen national capacity in the timely detection, prevention, control, investigation and reporting of different diseases within animal and human populations
Interventions in this area will focus on training livestock, wildlife and health personnel and other critical partners for early diagnosis and reporting. It also emphasizes the need to provide basic supplies and also strengthen laboratory diagnostic capabilities.
Priority Area 7: Introduction of regional and international best practices in disaster and risk reduction management.
The National Office will establish links with external institutions for best practices and sharing of experiences in disaster and risk reduction issues.
Some Expected Outcomes
• A well functioning National Disaster Management Office under the Office of the Vice –President• Formation of well functioning participatory structures e.g., committees at all levels
• Strengthened National capacities in disaster management and risk reduction strategies
• Availability of sufficient, reliable and timely data for informed decision-making on disaster and risk reduction matters
• Disaster issues fully mainstreamed or realigned in all national policies, programmes and projects
• School system introduces disaster management and risk reduction in their teaching curriculum e.g., integration into social studies
• Resources available for disaster management and risk reduction activities. (Government should take the lead role by making adequate provision as a startup for counter funding.)
• The adoption of the national disaster management bill and policy providing legal and administrative authority for implementing the set actions.
• Existence of a National early warning system which is regularly updated.
• Existence of effective communication strategy and a well informed citizenry on disaster and risk reduction issues.
Priority target groups
This strategy will assist every body in the development sector of the country in particular all the Departments of state, State authorities and agencies, local governments, private sector, civil society, youth organizations, children, women, the physically challenged, reproductive health needs of vulnerable groups, Parliamentarians, opinion leaders the university, technical and financial partners to acquire knowledge, skills and right attitude for the attainment of an effective disaster and risk reduction system in the country.
Special attention will be paid to special interest groups like school (formal and non-formal) and people living in highly disaster prone areas.
Strategies
To achieve this, the National Disaster Agency will embark on the following:
Financing and Resource Mobilization Strategy
To mobilize funds for financing of the strategic plan, two funding sources are identified, namely:
• To take advantage of available resources by incorporating some of the activities of the plan into the regular annual budget of government
• To resort to the mobilization of additional resources from development partners and the private sector for activities that could not be incorporated in the government budget.
For resource mobilization, the government budget is very important for successful implementation of the strategic plan. It will illustrate government’s strong commitment to disaster management and risk reduction.
The Disaster Secretariat will organize mini roundtable discussions with its development partners and other stakeholders with a view of informing them about the programmes of the strategic plan and identifying possibilities for partnership and financing.
Partnership Strategy
The Disaster Agency will establish strategic partnerships and network with key actors involved in disaster management and risk reduction in the country namely:
• Departments of State
• Disaster management focal points
• National Assembly
• UN Agencies
• National, regional and international NGOs
• Traditional institutions and leaders
• Private sector/business community
• Researchers
• Civil society organizations
• Faith-based organizations
• Security and Emergency Services
The Agency will also develop partnership with actors internationally to share knowledge, experience and good practices.
Communication Strategy
Communication strategy is instrumental not only in the implementation of the strategic plan but also in the area of profiling and positioning the newly created National disaster Management Office in the country and beyond.
Within the framework of information and communication technology (ICT) the National Disaster Office will:
• Establish a documentation and information centre responsible for collecting, managing and disseminating reliable information on disaster and risk reduction in the country.
• Develop a national platform that will organize on-line discussions on current and emerging disaster and risk reduction issues in the country.
• Create a bi-annual news letter that will keep all actors informed on national disaster and risk reduction issues
• Involve the private and public media in the activities of the National Office.
Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Strategy
Monitoring and evaluation is part and parcel of any planning process, as it is critical to the assessment of progress against benchmarks.
While monitoring and evaluation are closely linked, it is important to understand the distinction between them. Whereas monitoring is a routine on-going activity to assess programme implementation in terms of resources (inputs) invested in the programme and the outputs produced, evaluation is concerned with the assessment of the programmes’ impacts on disaster and risk reduction management e.g. on the safety and welfare of citizens.
National Emergency Strategy
There is an urgent need to develop a national emergency strategy/plan since not all emergencies are classified as disaster but could be fatal and threaten national security and stability.Risks
During the implementation of this strategic plan, the disaster management agency is likely to face a number of risks that can undermine and or slow down the effective implementation of the well-outlined strategic actions. Some of these risks are:
• Lack of adequate capacity to implement the strategic plan owing to the weak agency staffing (in quality and quantity)
• Lack of enough funding is also an important risk as, without enough resources, the agency will not be able to translate the strategy into concrete actions.
However, giving the high commitment of government and the donor community specially UNDP, these risks could be met.
In Global context, different steps to manage disaster. Different types of conventions are held several times to manage disaster and to raise public awareness regarding disaster. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) also provides the international community with a framework for sustainable development of dry lands. The objective of the convention is to secure the long-term commitment of its parties through a legally binding document. It provides an international framework for States affected by desertification to work jointly with industrialized countries to implement National Action Programmes. The Convention is a powerful instrument for sustainable natural resource management in affected regions and for ensuring long-term, mandatory external support for these efforts. Such declaration calls for the concerted efforts of all UN member states to reducing the occurrence and impact of natural disasters and therefore disaster mitigation and preparedness appear to be firmly on the aid agenda.
Further to the declaration of the international decade for disaster reduction (1990-1999) the UN General Assembly in 2000 founded the ISDR (International Strategy for Disaster Reduction), a coalition of governments, UN agencies, regional organizations and civil society organizations. In 2002, the UN published a document entitled Living with Risk: A Global review of disaster reduction initiatives. In 2005, a major reform within the UN system resulted in some UN agencies, in particular UNDP, becoming increasingly concerned about disaster risk issues by actively engaging in enhancing disaster risk programmes at country level. The road map towards the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration (Secretary –General’s report to the General Assembly) touches on areas which are closely linked to vulnerability to natural hazards such as ensuring environmental stability, the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger and promoting gender equality.
In furtherance of these UN’s efforts, several governments and NGOs championed issues of disaster reduction. During the world conference on disaster reduction held in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, world governments agreed on the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 which was formulated as a comprehensive action-oriented response to international concern about disaster impacts on communities and national development. For its part, the World Bank launched the Global Environment Facility in the mid 1990s and Provension Consortium in 2000, which works towards a more effective public- private dialogue on disaster risk.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) declared by the international community to halve extreme poverty and hunger, combating infectious diseases, ensuring universal primary education and sustainable development, are critical to disaster management. Bearing in mind the importance of disaster management, the UN declared in 1990 the International Decade for Natural disaster Reduction (IDNDR). Thus the realization that environmental threats could result in serious socio-economic and human costs has refocused the disaster management agenda on some critical challenges relating to disaster reduction initiatives. Some of these challenges are in essence development challenges,
especially when many of these threats that confront the international community emanate largely from failures of development.
Environmental Approaches
In Bangladesh It can be said that disaster research from Environmental approach is done only in rare occasions.Past research on natural disasters (such as, famine, river bank erosion, floods or cyclones) in Bangladesh has followed the it of the Chicago-Colorado-Clark-Toronto School of Natural Hazard Studies associated with Kates, 1962, 1971, White, 1964, 1974 and Burton et al., 1978. Disaster response studies (Islam, 1974; Paul, 1984; Alam, 1990, 1991) deal with people's behaviour, such as their perception, attitudes, beliefs, values, response and personalities. These studies fall in the first school of thought (i.e. Environmental approach) described by Alexander. They are concerned with discovering people's choices, behaviour and adjustments to disaster, for example, how people viewed the hazard and how they perceived alternative opportunities available to them in coping with the hazardous events. However, social impact of disaster is also mentioned in some of these studies.A recent publication, following the regarding topic (Ahsan and Khatun, eds., 2004) in disaster focused on gender aspects during disasters. Various disasters such as flood, cyclone, riverbank erosion, earthquake, arsenicosis, famine and others have been discussed from geographical perspective. However, although in some of the writings in the study impact of disasters on people and coping with disasters have been emphasized, majority of them have only a environmental perspective.Hossain et al (1987) examined, from this approach, whether rural people in flood-free and flood-prone areas adopted different survival strategies or not and also focused on the responses of rural people in general, but not on women's responses. Shaw (1989) highlighted the problems of poor women in a relief camp in Dhaka city. She noted how women bore the social burden of shame when living with strangers and drew attention to the difficulties women faced when trying to maintain parda during floods. In his study on riverbank erosion and floods Rahman (1988) argued that people's ability to adjust to hazards should be viewed as an extension of social and natural systems already existing in society. He also pointed out that there are differences in people's reaction to riverbank erosion and flooding according to their socio-economic location.Alam's (1991) study focused on the survival strategies of rural people on the flood-prone and relatively flood-free villages. The author observed that some middle and poor income households sold or mortgaged their lands and other assets to avert hunger during floods.Research conducted following geographical and behavioural approaches are significant in
relation to disaster studies but some of their interpretations regarding people's problems and behaviour are misleading (see for example, Islam, 1974). They see Bangladeshi people as 'traditionally fatalist'. This mistaken idea came from certain answers given by rural people in response to questions such as, "What do you do when flood hits your homestead?" and from the response, "Pray to God". The reasons for such responses were not studied carefully (Rahman,1988). Zaman (1989; 1986) points out that behaviouralists fail to understand the socio-cultural background of adjustment for Bangladeshi people. Alam's (1991) study, however, discusses human behavioural factors in the context of existing social relations. He sees flood-prone people in relation to vulnerability and argues that people's behaviour differs by gender, age, ethnic group and economic status.
There are also some approaches to natural disasters. The structural approach sees disaster
as a consequence of administrative or institutional weakness. This approach makes a valuable contribution regarding structural remedial measures to cope with disasters but lacks an understanding of people's own initiatives to cope with disaster. According to the historicostructuralist approach individual responses to disasters in Bangladesh should be viewed in a broad socio-cultural and historical context ( Haque and Zaman, 1989). Some of the researchers (Latif, 1989; Custers, 1993) have pointed out that any steps to control disasters, e.g. floods, should emphasise both the structural (i.e. building of embankments) and non-structural (i.e.people's initiatives) approach. They have discussed the problems and the negative consequences of floods and flood control projects for the environment, fisheries and many other aspects of life (Adnan, 1990; Boyce, 1990; Rogers et al., 1989; Pearce, 1991; Custers, 1993, Khalequzzaman, 1994).Very recently (Hussain, 2001) anthropological approach to disaster has been discussed with only a few relevant ethnographic examples. The theoretical viewpoints of anthropological approach can be divided into four perspectives: human behavioural perspective, eco-feminist perspective, theories of vulnerability, and theories on women’s oppression. The Flood Action Plan 14's (FAP-14) study (1992) on peoples' responses to floods was conducted under the auspices of the Bangladesh Flood Action Plan. Findings of ‘The Gender Study’ were included in FAP 14's draft final report (Hanchett and Nasreen, 1992). Using the case study method this study dealt with the experiences of a few women in female-headed households. It contributed significantly to the understanding of gender issues in floods through highlighting some of the major problems faced by women during floods. Ahmed (1993) emphasizes the importance of kinship during disasters. The author conducted the anthropological study on the survivors of riverbank erosion and found that kinship, especially patriarchal, bonds are very strong in Bangladesh. In most of the cases the whole patrilineage becomes affected by riverbank erosion due to their proximity. The author argues that under such circumstances, it becomes difficult to seek support from patrilineage and many people depend on matrilineage for their family sustenance.Like flood, cyclone is also a regular phenomenon, especially in the coastal areas and in offshore islands. In the Ain-E-Akbori of the 16th century cyclone is mentioned as a disaster in this belt. During the last three decades almost all of the coastal areas and offshore islands faced cyclones. Detail and in depth sociological study on cyclone is also limited in Bangladesh. Hossain et al (1992) conducted a research after the devastating cyclone of 1991. The cyclone extended from Teknaf in the southeastern seaboard to Barguna – a coast line of 644 kilometers. The study dealt with peoples’ immediate responses to disaster in the context of providing support to the survivors, governments’ relief operation, problems and contributions of women during disaster, warning system, support from NGOs, health, conditions of children and others. Although the researchers emphasized on some of the coping mechanisms adopted by the cyclone affected people and some of the social aspects related to disaster, they were not based on sociological approach and lack proper methods in social research.Though useful, past studies did not take sociological approach into account. Although some of the above-mentioned studies have considered socio-economic and cultural variables in assessing human responses to cyclones, riverbank erosion and floods, they have failed to provide a theoretical basis.
The pioneering disaster research (Nasreen, 1995) based on sociological approach portrait a detailed picture of a disaster experienced by rural households. It focused on the pre, during and post disaster activities performed by men and women during floods. The author argues that disaster affect both women and men but the burden of flood coping falls heavily on women.During floods men in rural areas lose their place of work while women shoulder the responsibilities to maintain households’ sustenance. Nasreen (1995, 1999) argued that although poor rural women have very few options open to them to overcome their problems, their roles in disasters are obviously not simple: they relate to a complete range of socio-economic activities.During floods women continue to be bearers of children and responsible for their socialization,collectors and providers of food, fuel, water, fodder, building materials and keepers of household belongings: they also represent a productive potential which was not recognised earlier. The study argues that it is women's strategies, developed over the last few years, those are vital in enabling the rural people to cope with disaster. Government and many other bodies dealing with disaster management mainly communicate with wealthier, influential landowners who do not represent or serve the interest of the poor or of women. Nor does it seem to have occurred to policy makers that women might be involved in activities different from men or experience disasters differently than men.Vast majority of the rural people is inextricably linked with the arsenic contaminated water for their daily survival. It is reported that most of these people neither had the idea of arsenic contamination, or the future impact of the catastrophe of arsenicosis. However, there has been very limited discussion on the socio-economic impact of arsenicosis in Bangladesh.
A research (Nasreen, 2002) has been conducted on the problem of arsenicosis from
a new environmental paradigm. It has been argued in the study that arsenic contamination in Bangladesh ground water is a widely recognized fact and that is causing suffering to millions. The author identified some of the social consequences related to arsenicosis such as social instability,superstition, ostracism, diminishing of working ability, increase of poverty, impact on women,disruption of social network and marital ties and causing death.Hanchett (2003) argued that there is a gender side to the arsenic problem because women and men are affected in different ways.
Chapter Five
Conclusion & ReferencesDisasters are frequent events in Bangladesh. Disaster research in Bangladesh has been
dominated by environmental approach probably because disasters are mainly considered as physical phenomena. However, although many disasters are related to physical phenomena, they mostly affect society, community, people, institutions and the overall environment. In this paper it is argued that much attention has been given to conducting in-depth research on disasters,especially from sociological perspective. In times of disasters government and otherorganizations pay attention to identify causes of disasters, mechanisms to control disasters and disaster mitigation instead of focusing on coping strategies. There is a need for timely and wellfocused policy to solve disaster related problems. Raising of awareness regarding the coping mechanisms of disaster should be given priority. Sensitization of community people, lawenforcement authority and policy makers to manage disasters and support to survivors are also necessary. Rehabilitation programme for disaster victims/survivors should be taken by all.Adopting environmental & technical approach is necessary to exhilarate any programme to manage disasters.Sociological research is very much relevant to identify what attempts should be made to grasp the different issues relating to disasters, such as the problems, coping with the wounds and gender based differential impact of disasters on the survivors. It has been argued by the disaster research that women are the major victims of disasters due to their lower status than men in society. Thus attention should be given to special groups such as women and children.Programmes on disaster management will be most effective if they are backed by strong policy support and guidance. This paper lends support to the policy that a sociological perspective is necessary to involve disaster survivors in planning, that takes into account the disadvantageous position, especially of poor and of women and give priority to them.Different approaches are available to protect these distressed condition.Appropriate measures should be taken to implement these approaches. Public awareness should be raised.
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