Disaster Reduction and Development in Developing Country

Dr． Yoshiaki KAWATA

Director and Professor　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Disaster Prevention Research Institute,　

Kyoto University

Natural Disasters in The World

No. of the disasters

No. of the dead

No. of the damaged people

Property damage

thousand million billion $/Year

Earthquake magnitude

No. of the dead

2005 Pakistan earthquake: 75,000 dead

Number of disasters

40 to 50% of the world

Death toll(Unit: thousand)

More than 90% of the world

Number of people affected

75 to about 100% of the world

Property damage

40 to 85% of the world

Natural Disasters In Asia and Comparison with World Totals (bracketed figures)

Why Natural Disasters Occur?

• External force is larger than physical and social resistance force.

• In developing country, social vulnerability is very large.

• Catastrophic disasters will frequently occur in developing country.

• It is necessary to understand the social vulnerability.

• Damage amplification factors determined the disaster scale.

Contents of Vulnerability

• Physical vulnerability and social vulnerability• Physical vulnerability is social infrastructure.• Social vulnerability is disaster culture.• Disaster reduction is to reduce vulnerability.• Vulnerability changes with time and area.• Disaster vulnerability depends on environmental

vulnerability.

Mitigation and Preparedness in Grand Design of Disaster Reduction

• Disaster Management Cycle (DMC) includes mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery and reconstruction.

• We have to discuss from view point of self help, mutual help， public help and international help.– Mutual understanding between developing country and developed

country– Effective support of international help

• Usable resources in DMC and well-combination of technology and social disaster countermeasures

• Importance of ownership of developing country, evaluation of self help and selective investigation through ODA

Four Misunderstandings in Development Support

１．Mainly response activities just after disasters

２． Construction of infrastructures is major support.

３． Public help is major, and self help and mutual help are small and exclusive.

４．Weariness and collusion in support

Self help and mutual help are basic and public help fills up the advocacy. International help covers them.

Basic Solution of Development Support

1. Multi functions of disaster reduction equipped in ODA. Economic benefit must be accompanied,

2. Society includes automatic maintenance system of any kind of countermeasure. Disaster reduction is the most important function in ODA.

3. Projects must be digested in the society.

4. Long period must be needed to get good solution.

Not Sustainable Development in Construction of Hard Countermeasures

• Poor understanding of disaster countermeasure function（ over expectation on modern tool），Misunderstanding of construction purpose (construction is purpose)

• Neglecting of maintenance cost（ deterioration in quality in short term, insensible disaster reduction mind）

• Ignorance against maintenance and monitoring• Beneficiary exclusively occupies benefit.

Without highly sophisticated systems established in developed country, it is impossible to maintain any kind of modern facilities in developing country.

Non Structural Countermeasures

• Countermeasures for long term maintenance of structures

• Countermeasures for disaster awareness of residents

• Gathering and communication of weather/climate information, understanding of disaster prone area

• Countermeasures for mitigation such as evacuation recommendation and hazard map

• Countermeasures for preparedness such as relief activities and donation

Why Disaster Reduction Works Delay (1)

• Poor ability of social leader for politics, economics and decision making ｰｰｰ he/she can not believe that social security in living level has top priority in government responsibility , ODA from experience

• Responsible person in charge of disasters has over/unfair evaluation for scientific and engineering technology

• Disaster reduction is forgotten, and remains unsolved under rapid changes of society

Why Disaster Reduction Works Delay (2)

• Political leaders can not believe that destruction due to war enlarges disaster vulnerability

• Society is immature and many feudal systems in developing country

• Simple apply of cost benefit analysis for developing country

• No disaster reduction strategy or misunderstanding of strategy goal setting

International Support for Capacity Building

• Approach– Expectation of development effect through support– Action of development support for disaster reduction

• Logic of support intervention– Purposes are poverty dissolution, social development

and environmental maintenance • Support Intervention for empowerment of capacity

building• Project for empowerment of capacity building• Factors of disaster vulnerability in developing

country

Shift from Possible Support to Must Support

• Poor expectation of infrastructure without any support of social elements

• Structure mitigation may disturb traditional potential of disaster reduction in the community.

• Sustainable promotion of adoptable methods in developing country

• JICA and other organization have promote exhibition of overcome mechanism against disasters in the community– Promotion of organization, capacity building of

organization and leaders, improvement of livelihood