Disaster Recovery and the Road Ahead - IGNOU

SECTION II
THE ROAD AHEAD
Þfodkl ,slk gks tks vkQr ls cpk,]
fodkl ,slk u gks tks vkQr cu tk,AÞ
“ Vikas Aisa Ho Jo Aafat Se Bachhaye, Vikas Aisa Na Ho Jo Aafat Ban Jaaye”
(HPC, 2001)
While disasters are calamitous events, lessons learnt and incorporated into long-term development
planning may serve to minimize future vulnerability. It is certainly possible to prepare for disasters,
even if they cannot be prevented altogether. Disasters are also our little windows of development.
Ample opportunities for growth and prosperity are thrown open in the aftermath of disasters. If these
are lapped up, disasters can be converted into development processes. However, ironical it may
sound, it is true that the destruction of unsafe infrastructure and buildings can provide an opportunity
for rebuilding with better standards, or even relocation from a vulnerable site to a less vulnerable
one.
Disasters also focus on relief aid and rehabilitation investment; thereby providing developmental
opportunities that have been previously unavailable. There is, thus, a significant relationship in the
way disasters and development affect one another. In the present scenario, disasters can no longer
be viewed as random occurrences caused by nature’s wrath. The relationship between disaster
management and environmental protection thus needs to be examined against the backdrop of the
disaster-development matrix, which falls under the Linking Relief and Rehabilitation with Development
(LRRD), as well as the Sustainable Development (SD) Frameworks.
2.1 MAINSTREAMING DISASTER MANAGEMENT
An important factor to note is the increasing smudging of boundaries between natural and man-made
disasters. The frequency and intensity of disasters has recorded an all-time high, as the harmonious
balance between human beings and nature is being disturbed to almost irreparable proportions. If
the disasters such as earthquakes, cyclones occur due to natural causes; their intensity is aggravated
due to human factors, such as environmental destruction. So, no disaster can be categorically labeled
natural anymore. Anthropogenic factors have begun to play an important role.
The ‘connect’ between population growth, poverty and development is strong and complex. When
assessed in terms of growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), India is ahead in economic
growth, yet far behind. Food insecurity, lack of means of livelihood and insufficient capacity to
access resources characterize the lives of the poor even in non-disaster situations. Conditions of
poverty often contribute to greater vulnerability of some sections of population to a disaster. In this
context, development cannot merely be an increase in economic growth. It should focus on effective
disaster management plan, which is sustainable and gives credence to creation of sustainable livelihood
51