Disaster Recovery and the Road Ahead - IGNOU

INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOKLET
Disaster Management meets its toughest test at the recovery stage. This is the phase when the relief
work is over and the agencies involved in humanitarian aid are on their way out. The space that is
created thereafter has to be filled by the affected community itself. This is also the time when national
and international agencies need to involve themselves full-fledgedly in disaster rehabilitation. What
makes the task challenging is the different stages at which rehabilitation needs to be carried out; namely
physical, social and psychological. The most crucial aspect is that of psychological recovery, as it
requires tremendous adjustment on the part of victims and various stakeholders in the process of
rehabilitation. This Booklet titled ‘Disaster Recovery and the Road Ahead’ deals with these very aspects
in detail.
The Booklet, the 4 th and the last one of the Training Manual, is divided into 2 Sections. The first Section
is on ‘Disaster Recovery’ and deals with the characteristics, principles and typology of rehabilitation. It
brings out the reconstruction strategies for different disasters, especially the earthquakes. In the ‘Concepts
to Remember’, the Section explains terms such as Alternative Cropping Pattern, Canal Irrigation, Crop
Life Saving Techniques, Deforestation , Damageability, Desertification, Ductility, Gender, Monitoring,
Evaluation, Retrofitting and Watershed Management. The constraints in disaster recovery are also
dealt with. Section 2 is on the ‘Road Ahead’ and gives a futuristic perspective on disaster management
by highlighting the crucial components of the Interface between Disasters and Development, Sustainable
Development Framework and Relief-Rehabilitation Development Continuum. Many new developments/
initiatives taken by various organizations in disaster management, especially the NDMA have been
brought out. Most importantly, this Section highlights the role of PRIs and ULBs under the 11 th and 12 th
Schedules of the Constitution. The Booklet will come in handy for you when you engage yourselves in
disaster recovery tasks.