Disaster Recovery and the Road Ahead - IGNOU

(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
CBRN Preparedness
Medical Preparedness
NDRF – Strengthening Emergency Response
Capacity Building; and
Mock Exercises
A completely fresh perspective of linking disasters with development can draw from these developments
in the area of science and technology, legal and administrative framework, education and research,
as well as information dissemination. Development has to be environment-friendly and sustainable.
It should give due regard to the goals of equality, human rights and social justice. Disaster planning
has to, therefore, be a crucial component of overall development planning of a country.
Disaster management is being mainstreamed into the development planning process through: structural
measures, non-structural measures and mitigation projects. Under structural measures, all new projects/
programmes would be revisited to build in disaster management concerns to ensure disaster resilience.
All the development schemes
would be pragmatic, incorporating
the awareness of local disaster risk
and vulnerability, and ensuring that
the schemes have addressed these
concerns and included specific
provisions for mitigating disaster
concerns. A futuristic perspective
would have to look into the
contours of disaster-development
interface and come up with a
systematic disaster recovery
strategy. The design of ongoing
programmes will also be audited
and disaster management issues
will be addressed. Non-structural
Graphic 2
measures would incorporate legislation, and other such instruments as building bye-laws, land-use
regulations, which create an enabling regulatory environment. Mitigation projects will be taken up to
enhance the status of preparedness in the country.
The road ahead is full of complexities, as well as promise. In consonance with the new perspective,
disasters can be viewed as developmental opportunities. Howsoever paradoxical it may sound, it is
true that whereas faulty development policies may lead to disasters, many disaster events also open
up new possibilities of development. An often quoted phrase needs to be reiterated over here;
“Development should be such that guards against disasters, development in itself should not give rise
to disasters”. We may conclude by saying that we still have miles to go from here. It is indeed a
long and arduous tread ahead. However, with your cooperation, understanding and involvement, we
will take up one step at a time to cover this long road to effective disaster management.
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