Table Of ContentEnvironmental Hazards
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Thomas A. Birkland
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Naim Kapucu • Kuotsai Tom Liou
Editors
Disaster and Development
Examining Global Issues and Cases
1 3
Editors
Naim Kapucu Kuotsai Tom Liou
School of Public Administration School of Public Administration
University of Central Florida University of Central Florida
Orlando Orlando
Florida Florida
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ISBN 978-3-319-04467-5 ISBN 978-3-319-04468-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-04468-2
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Foreword, Disasters and Development
The UN declaration of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction
(IDNDR) for the 1990s was a major step forward in drawing the attention of various
nations to vulnerabilities from natural disasters. Among other things, the IDNDR
effort institutionalized high-level efforts within the United Nations and fostered a
new strategy for disaster reduction. Over time, these efforts led to a set of resolu-
tions that more closely linked disasters and development. Chief among these was
adoption in 2005 of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2015: Building the
Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters following the Indian Ocean
Earthquake and Tsunami. That framework singled out as one of three strategic goals
more effective integration of disaster risk reduction considerations into sustainable
development policies and programs.
The 2010–2011 UN mid-term report about implementation of the Hyogo Frame-
work addressed progress toward the framework goals based on an analysis of reports
by various governments. The report noted substantial progress by many nations but
an overall pattern of uneven implementation that largely reflected broader econom-
ic and institutional differences among regions and countries. One concern was the
failure to integrate disaster risk reduction into sustainable development policies and
plans. The report noted the mismatch between traditional ways of addressing disas-
ters and development goals in stating: “Handling what is primarily a developmental
issue with largely relief and humanitarian mechanisms and instruments, while help-
ful at the beginning, needs to be reconsidered to ensure that disaster risk reduction
plays the role that it must in enabling and safeguarding development gains.” More
generally, the report noted the challenges governments faced in fostering more ho-
listic implementation of risk reduction efforts.
The chapters in this volume, Disasters and Development: Examining Global
Issues and Cases, help to elucidate important gaps that are highlighted in the UN
mid-term report. Four aspects stand out in this regard. One is gaining a better under-
standing of the reasons for the unevenness of different national efforts to link disas-
ter risk reduction with development planning and programs. The case discussions of
risk reduction efforts by different countries in this volume go beyond the country re-
ports of official UN documents to provide rich depictions of the challenges and pos-
sibilities for advancing disaster reduction and sustainable economic development.
v
vi Foreword, Disasters and Development
Two lessons stand out from these cases. One is that there is no single blueprint for
accomplishing risk reduction and development goals given variation in the political,
economic and institutional settings. Another lesson is that the differences in ability
to bring about change are not captured by simple distinctions between developed
and developing countries. The cases here illustrate examples of notable progress in
advancing risk reduction, particularly at local levels, in developing countries like
China, India, the Philippines, and Turkey. At the same time, other chapters discuss
the limits to addressing the forces of economic development that exacerbate disaster
vulnerability in more developed countries such as Germany, Japan, and Korea.
A second contribution of chapters in this volume is clarifying some of the key
conditions that facilitate and hinder effective progress in linking disaster risk reduc-
tion and economic sustainability. Much has been written, as emphasized in the UN
international strategy for disaster risk reduction ( A Safer World in the 21st Century:
Risk and Disaster Reduction), about the need for increased capacity in carrying out
vulnerability assessments, in gauging the implications of development programs
for vulnerability, and for developing meaningful risk reduction and development
plans. What stands out in the chapters in this volume, however, is the importance
of gaining political commitment—the “buy in” and continuing commitment of
governmental leaders at all levels—for both disaster risk reduction programs and
for smart development programs that consider the implications of development for
hazard vulnerability. This, not surprisingly, is one of the major problems in settings
that have pressing economic, political and social problems that make attention to
disaster and development issues lower priorities. The case studies in this volume of
disaster management in Azerbaijan and Lebanon, and recovery and reconstruction
in Haiti illustrate the dilemmas of limited political commitment.
Many chapters in this volume, as a third contribution, highlight the role of supra-
national institutions, non-governmental organizations, and private entities in build-
ing civic capacity for reducing risks. Financing and technical assistance from the
World Bank were pivotal for establishment of an earthquake insurance program in
Turkey. The private sector is integral to the establishment of housing programs in
India. United Nations and other international non-governmental organizations were
central providers of aid after flooding in Pakistan and the earthquake in Haiti. While
these and other examples in the chapters of this volume make clear the importance
of such contributions, they also serve as a reminder of the development-assistance
disease. Reliance on such assistance undermines development of central govern-
ment commitments and capacity building. Chapters about non-governmental orga-
nizations and capacity building more generally help to inform an understanding of
how civil capacity can be built with inoculation from the development-assistance
disease.
A fourth contribution that crosscuts many of the chapters in this volume is the
importance of various forms of policy and political learning over time to better
design and implement policies and programs that achieve both disaster reduction
and economic development goals. Several chapters show the importance of recog-
nition that these need not be incompatible goals as a basis for learning of how to do
better. Understanding how the physical features of the environment both constrain
Foreword, Disasters and Development vii
and facilitate risk reduction is a central point made in the discussion of flood and
hurricane adaptation in Florida. The importance of overcoming the rush to rebuild
after catastrophic events and taking time to develop an understanding of commu-
nity desires were central to rebuilding efforts in Christchurch, New Zealandthat can
mitigate the impacts of future earthquakes.
The themes noted in this volume will be invaluable as scholars, policymakers,
and others look to future efforts to bridge economic development programs and
disaster reduction efforts. There are no quick fixes or easy recipes. If anything, the
chapters in this volume underscore the challenges involved. The obstacles are the
result of long-standing forces that have made development the engine of national
economies, often at the expense of increased vulnerability to natural hazards. Those
decisions have made more marginalized citizens the most vulnerable given the loca-
tion of their housing and livelihoods. A real challenge is overcoming past develop-
ment decisions that have created an existing hazardous built environment—“killer
buildings” that are especially vulnerable to earthquakes, flood-prone shanty areas
along low-lying coastal areas and rivers, and construction practices that make resi-
dences vulnerable to high winds and other devastating forces. Part of the answer lay
in not repeating past mistakes by being smarter about the location of infrastructure
and development. Yet, more needs to be done to ameliorate the past mistakes to
increase the resilience of the existing built environment to devastating natural haz-
ards.
As the chapters in this volume make clear, the approach to achieving this is as
much a political undertaking as it is an economic and social one. The plethora of
scholarship about the need for increased resilience, economic sustainability, and
enhanced civic capacity gets at the fundamental notion that future efforts need to
foster a shared responsibility for risk reduction among citizens, non-governmental,
and governmental entities that does not undermine the prospects for economic de-
velopment. As stated in the mid-term UN report about progress with the Hyogo
Framework, more successful programs have created “a social demand for disaster
risk reduction so that individuals realize their own share of responsibility in increas-
ing their resilience and in holding governments accountable for the development
and implementation of coherent disaster risk reduction plans and investments.”
Institutionalizing these commitments requires more than networks of actors
working together to overcome adversityas is often the case in the aftermath of a
devastating event. The chapters in this volume note the importance of cultivating
such networks but also of leadership for setting forth a vision that provides a sense
of shared purpose, in mobilizing constituencies in support of that vision, and in
establishing institutional structures that channel attention, information flows, and
governmental activities. When done well, the end result is a policy regime that
serves as the basis for sustained risk reduction and economic development efforts
around common goals of resilience for both disasters and the economy. This also
provides for a more holistic approach that is too often lacking as efforts are parceled
out among various parts of governments and networks of non-governmental actors.
Stronger regimes foster policy legitimacy and enhance implementation pros-
pects because they develop a shared purpose, capitalize on the supportive efforts
viii Foreword, Disasters and Development
of key players and supporters, and focus the attention and authority of multiple
implementers in support of a common goal. A key concern for any such effort is
to avoid backsliding in commitments as the memories of disasters fade, attention
turns to other pressing issues, and the demands for economic growth dominate con-
cerns about disaster vulnerability. Although somewhat inevitable, these forces can
be resisted when new constituencies—the financial community, leading businesses,
civic groups, and others—recognize the potential for catastrophic losses and invest
their energies in maintaining efforts to avert them. Fostering such “social demand”
for disaster risk reduction is critical for long-run progress in achieving sustained
efforts. This volume helps establish a path toward these ends.
University of Washington, Seattle, USA Peter J. May
Donald R. Mathews Distinguished
Professor of American Politics
Preface
It is apparent that there is a need to integrate disaster mitigation and risk reduction
into disaster recovery, economic and community development, and environmental
policy and management. To reach these goals agencies and disciplines should work
together, share knowledge and consider pre-planning strategies with the goal of
increasing disaster resiliency and the overall economic health of their community.
This book is intended to provide conceptual framework and empirical evidence of
the factors contributing to disaster recovery and sustainable economic development.
This is a unique feature of the book.
This book offers a systematic, empirical examination of the concepts of disasters
and sustainable economic development applied many cases around the world. It will
contribute to the literature on emergency management, community sciences, policy
and planning, economic development, and environmental management. To date the
scholarly literature has tended to approach disaster and development from a case
study perspective. Our proposed book approaches research on disaster and develop-
ment in communities and regions from a comprehensive and integrated manner. The
volume provides results that are more generalizable and more widely applicable to
a variety of circumstances, disasters, and geographic regions.
Ultimately, this book sheds light on how communities can increase their resil-
iency in response to and recovering from disasters through policy interventions and
governance mechanisms. The book will also advance a scholarly understanding of
what influences disaster resiliency and contributes to environmental, economic, and
social sustainability of communities and regions.
Key Elements
1. International and Comparative focus: Disasters are worldwide. Rather than
focusing primarily on disasters in the United States to inform practice and
advance the scholarly literature, this book expands the scope of empirical
analysis to international contexts. This brings additional contextual factors that
improve the general understanding of how communities plan for and manage
disasters and economic development.
ix
x Preface
2. Interdisciplinary Perspectives
a. Sociological and community perspectives: This volume also presents chapters
that measure vulnerability and resilience at the individual level of analysis.
The role of culture, social capital, socio-economic vulnerabilities, and inter-
personal social networks provides complementary evidence to the analyses
conducted at the larger community and regional scale of disaster planning and
management.
b. Planning and development perspectives: The relationships among land-uses,
housing decisions, and mitigation strategies to vulnerability of disasters are
in some cases clearly evident, such as the recent floods in the Midwest and
coastal communities. Chapters in this volume test the relations among these
factors, which have implications for planning decisions and policy for both
inland and coastal regions. In other cases, the implications are more widely
diffuse and long term, but are certainly just as important. The difficulty of
coping with the gradual event of sea level rise is addressed in this volume.
c. Governance and policy perspectives: The literature on disaster mitigation,
preparedness, recovery, and economic development casts the challenges for
communities as creating an integrated disaster preparedness and development
efforts. This refocuses attention away from a “silo” approach to a “collabo-
ration” approach in creating disaster resilient and sustainable communities.
These perspectives will lead to the development of strategies for improved
management in the mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery to/from
natural and man-made hazards.
Key Research Questions
The following questions are not intended to be exhaustive of the propositions ex-
amined in this volume, but indicate some basic questions that we seek to investigate
with the contributing scholars in the field.
1. How can disasters and development be addressed in an integrated manner?
2. How can the concept of resiliency be operationalized/used in a way that is use-
ful as a framework to investigate the conditions that lead to stronger, safer, and
more sustainable communities?
3. What explains the resiliency of communities and regions? In other words, what
factors account for the variation across jurisdictions and geographic units in the
ability to respond and recover from a disaster?
4. What are the various policy interventions and governance mechanisms that can
be developed to improve the resiliency and sustainability of communities and
reduce their vulnerability to natural disasters?
5. How disaster and development strategies conceptualized, operationalized, and
implemented in different parts of the world?
