Disaster Recovery and the Road Ahead - IGNOU

opportunities and alternative technologies. It should be remembered that disaster management is a
‘continuum’. All its different phases spill into each other; with actions taken at one stage impacting
the other.
Mainstreaming implies that at conceptualization or funding stage itself, the development schemes
should be designed with consideration of any potential hazardous impact associated with it; and
incorporate measures for mitigation of the same. It means looking critically at each activity that is
being planned, not only from the perspective of reducing the disaster vulnerability of that activity, but
also from the perspective of minimizing that activity’s potential contribution to the hazard. Every
development plan has to incorporate elements of impact assessment, risk reduction, and the ‘do no
harm’ approach. The aim being to ensure that all newly built structures and those under construction
are disaster resilient, and those which have already been constructed are selectively retrofitted in
accordance with priority.
‘Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)’ is integral to disaster-development interface. It is
a process that fully incorporates the concerns of disaster preparedness, prevention and mitigation
into development and post- disaster recovery policy, as well as practice. It means completely
institutionalizing DRR within the development and recovery agenda. Accordingly, a few broad objectives
of mainstreaming DRR into development include: ongoing schemes and projects of the Ministries and
Departments of Government of India and State Governments, as well as of all government agencies
and institutions, including Public Sector Undertakings, which will be selectively audited by designated
government agencies for ensuring that they have addressed the disaster risk and vulnerability profiles
of the local areas, where such schemes and activities are being undertaken.
Globally, the Earth’s climate is warmer today than it has
been at any time in the past. The relationship between
environmental degradation and disasters needs to be clearly
surveyed. There are many International Environmental
Treaties such as:
Kyoto Protocol
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change
Basel Convention on Transboundary Movement of
Hazardous Wastes
Convention on Biological Diversity
Convention on Climate Change, Convention to Combat
Desertification
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS)
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
Source: Global Climate Change/
whataretheywaitingfor.com
These Treaties and Conventions have set guidelines for environmental protection. The disaster
management plan should keep the underlying features of these treaties into view and integrate
environmental protection measures wherever required. The World Conference on Disaster Reduction
52