3
Mainstreaming of Disaster Risk Reduction in Developmental Strategy
The Government of India has adopted mitigation and prevention as essential components of their development strategy. Accordingly, the Tenth Five Year Plan document had a detailed chapter on disaster management.
Mainstreaming has three purposes:
• To make certain that all the development programmes and projects are designed with evident consideration for potential disaster risks and to resist hazard impact,
• To make certain that all the development programmes and projects do not inadvertently increase vulnerability to disaster in all sectors: social, physical, economic and environment,
• To make certain that all the disaster relief and rehabilitation programmes and projects are designed to contribute to developmental aims and to reduce future disaster risk.
Mainstreaming DRR into the developmental plans is an important mandate of the Disaster Management Act 2005. Integration of disaster risk reduction measures into on-going flagship programmes of Government of India is being
used as an entry point for mainstreaming DRR in development plans. Steps for ensuring the incorporation of DRR into various on-going programmes/plans are as follows:
Identification of key programme/projects of Government of India,
Identification of entry points within the programme for integration of DRR (structural, non-structural and other mitigation measures) at various levels viz. national, state and district levels,
Close coordination with concerned departments such as State Planning Commission and Finance Department for promoting DRR measures into development plans and policies,
Advocacy for allocation of dedicated budget for DRR within the departmental plans,
Preparation of guidelines for integration of disaster risk reduction measures into development plans of various departments at the district and sub-district levels.
Disaster Management Act 2005 also provides for constitution of National Disaster Mitigation Fund.
Measures taken for Prevention and Mitigation of Hazards
Risk of destruction and casualties associated with different disasters can substantially be reduced by introduction of prevention and mitigation measures. Mitigation is generally categorised into two main types of activities i.e. structural and non-structural.
• Structural mitigation refers to any physical construction to reduce or avoid possible impacts of hazards, which include engineering measures and construction of hazard-resistant protective structures and infrastructure.
• Non-structural mitigation refers to policies, awareness, knowledge development, public commitment, and methods and operating practices, including participatory mechanisms and the provision of information, which can reduce risk with related impacts.
Some of the initiatives are described below.
Earthquakes
1. National Earthquake Risk Mitigation Project (NERMP):The proposed project aims at strengthening the structural and non-structural earthquake mitigation efforts and reducing the vulnerability in the high risk districts prone to earthquakes. NDMA, tasked with this project has prepared a Detailed Project Report (DPR) which is under consultation with all the stakeholders. The proposed components of the project include techno-legal regime, institutional strengthening, capacity building and public awareness etc.
2. National Building Code (NBC):The National Building Code of India (NBC), a comprehensive building code, is a national instrument providing guidelines for regulating the building construction activities across the country. The salient features of the revised NBC include meeting the challenges posed by natural calamities and reflecting the state-of-the-art and contemporary applicable international practices.
3. Efforts by Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC):The BMTPC undertook projects for retrofitting of life-line structures for generating awareness among the people as well as various government agencies about the need and techniques of retrofitting. The Council has initiated retrofitting of MCD school buildings in Delhi.
4. Initiative by Ministry of Panchayati Raj: It releases funds under Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) for meeting critical infrastructural gaps and other developmental requirements. The ministry has financed several district plans under the BRGF for construction of panchayat buildings, anganwadi centres, school buildings, class rooms, roads, bridges, culverts etc.
Such mitigation steps specific to the other disasters like Cyclones, Floods and Landslides etc. have also been taken.
Institutional Arrangements
Forecasting about climate change as a pre requisite for taking preparedness measure to respond to the disaster is the most important element of disaster management. Government of India has designated the offices as given in the Box
as the nodal agencies for early warning of different natural hazards:
India Meteorological Department (IMD)
Forecasting and Warning of Cyclones: IMD is the nodal agency in the country to monitor and predict the cyclonic disturbances and issue the warning and advisory bulletins.
The cyclone warnings are issued to State Government officials in four stages.
• pre-cyclone watch issued 72 hours in advance,
• cyclone alert issued at least 48 hours in advance ,
• cyclone warning issued at least 24 hours in advance, and
• as post landfall outlook issued at least 12 hours in advance of expected time of landfall.
Central Water Commission
Flood Forecasting Network of the CWC covers the entire major flood prone inter State basins in the country. The flood forecasting involves the following four main activities:
• observation and collection of hydrological and hydro meteorological data,
• transmission of Data to forecasting centres,
• analysis of data and formulation of forecast, and
• Dissemination of forecast
Indian National Centre for Oceanic Information System (INCOIS)
INCOIS gives information to all responders about the origin, time, location of the epicentre, magnitude and depth of an earthquake inside the ocean and accordingly issues bulletins. Tsunami Early Warning System (TEWS) at INCOIS is capable of detecting all earthquake events of more than 6 Magnitude occurring in the Indian Ocean in less than 20 minutes of occurrence and first report on the occurrence of an earthquake in India and the Indian Ocean region is sent to MHA within 25-30 minutes indicating the location and magnitude of the earthquake.
Geological Survey of India (GSI)
The GSI was designated as nodal agency for coordinating geological studies, landslides hazard zonation, monitoring landslides, avalanches, studying the factors responsible and suggesting precautionary and preventive measure.
Disaster Management Support (DMS) – Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)
The Disaster Management Support (DMS) Programme of ISRO, provides timely support and services from aero-space systems, both imaging and communications, towards efficient management of disasters in the country. The DMS programme addresses disasters such as flood, cyclone, drought, forest fire, landslide and Earthquake. These include
• creation of digital data base for facilitating hazard zonation, damage assessment etc.,
• monitoring of major natural disasters using satellite and aerial data,
• development of appropriate techniques and tools for decision support,
• establishing satellite based reliable communication network,
• deployment of emergency communication equipments and
• R&D towards early warning of disasters.
Preparedness
• An annual Conference of Relief Commissioners, Secretaries, to the Department of Disaster Management of States and UTs is organized before the onset of south west monsoon to review the status of preparedness for ensuing Monsoon and to discuss other disaster management related issues.
• Necessary guidelines in the form of checklist, for taking necessary preparatory measures, are issued to the State for their guidance and appropriate action. Instructions are also issued for creating reserves of essential items required during rescue and relief phase.
• Trigger Mechanism has been developed to activate the disaster response system automatically after receiving warning signals of a disaster happening or likely to happen or on receipt of information about the incident.
• Crisis Management Plan comprises of two parts - Part-I deals with aspects, which are common to all contingencies situations and Part-II about the individual Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for dealing with specific crisis situation.
• At the Centre, under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary the National Crisis Management Committee(NCMC) has been constituted in the Cabinet Secretariat. The NCMC gives direction to the Crisis Management Group as deemed necessary.
• Crisis Management Group (CMG)/National Executive Committee is a group under the Chairmanship of the Home Secretary comprising the senior officers from the various ministries and other concerned departments. CMG’s function is to review contingency plans every year formulated by the Central Ministries/ Departments and the measures required for dealing with a natural disaster; co-ordinate the activities of the Central Ministries and the State Governments in relation to disaster preparedness and relief; and to obtain information from the nodal officers on measures relating to the above.
Assessment
The first step after stabilizing the situation by providing sufficient relief is to assess the damage. A meticulously executed assessment exercise would provide an ideal base for the rehabilitation efforts. This exercise is best carried out through multi-disciplinary teams which go into all aspects of damage (social, economic, psychological) in participation with the local community. Based on the assessment of the damage and the needs, a recovery strategy has to be formulated. The strategy should include all interventions - economic, social, political and psychological. The resources should be identified and the roles and responsibilities of all concerned should be defined.
Co-ordination
Following any major disaster, a number of players arrive on the scene and as already stated, ensuring proper coordination amongst them thus becomes very important. Recovery activities are taken up by government agencies, local bodies, international agencies, voluntary organisations and others, through separate, overlapping and uncoordinated interventions. This leads to imbalances in the scale of operations, duplication of efforts in some areas, gaps in others and leakage and misuse of resources. Therefore establishing a framework for coordination is necessary for effective recovery.
The administration is also required to set up a voluntary organisations’ coordination centre to coordinate the relief and rehabilitation activities of the multiple organisations so that they are not concentrated in a few pockets. The role of voluntary organisations including international ones like the Red Cross is extremely useful for mitigating the impact of disaster.
Shelter
Shelter is one of the most visible and immediate needs in post-crisis settings. Relief efforts are often focused on providing shelter quickly, without taking into account the impact of short-term shelter strategies. Long-term shelter strategies help not only to focus on determination and implementation of realistic and permanent reconstruction plans for the affected communities, but are also concerned with rebuilding community confidence and support structure for civic responsibility and urban governance, through participatory planning of reconstruction. The development of disaster resistant housing is a major factor in reducing vulnerability to disasters. However, shelter issues in mitigation go beyond the structural aspects. Rights to ownership and security of tenure make an enormous difference to the maintenance, management and development of shelter, particularly in urban areas.
Sustainability in Recovery Process
It is often observed that post-disaster recovery efforts tend to focus on rapid and visible solutions to restore normalcy at the cost of sustainable development. The post-disaster recovery phase provides a ‘window of opportunity’ for disaster risk reduction. Risk reduction aspects should therefore be built into the redevelopment process.
Normally, it is also seen that the recovery efforts have a tendency of tapering off with the passage of time. The Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery of the UNDP has also observed “the general experience is that once the initial flurry of activities of providing rescue and relief is over, the attention received by the recovery efforts goes on declining steadily over a period of time and ‘business as usual’ sets in”. The sustainability component in recovery process therefore is important. This could be achieved by capability building of the community and awareness generation and preparing local crisis management plans.
Accountability
A system of accountability needs to be evolved during the relief and rehabilitation phase. This system should ensure that the relief material reaches the target groups and that the funds are being utilised efficiently and optimally. A grievance redressal mechanism should also be put in place.
Evaluation
After the recovery phase, it is necessary to conduct a detailed evaluation of all aspects of crisis management. This should bring out the strengths and weaknesses of the disaster management machinery and also provide the basis for future improvements. Such an evaluation should be carried out by an independent professional agency, like the NIDM, in all major disasters. This assessment should also include a quick audit of the expenditure incurred.
Effective disaster management requires trained manpower to deal with complex situations effectively and speedily to reduce the impact of disaster on human life and property. UNDP describes ‘capacity building’ as the creation of an enabling environment with appropriate policy and legal frameworks, institutional development, including community participation (of women in particular), human resource development and strengthening of managerial systems. It adds that capacity building is a long-term, continuing process, in which all stakeholders participate
Capacity building is much more than training and includes the following:
• Human resource development: the process of equipping individuals with the understanding, skills and access to information, knowledge and training that enables them to perform effectively,
• Organisational development: the elaboration of management structures, processes and procedures, not only within organisations but also the management of relationships between the different organisations and sectors (public, private and community),
• Institutional and legal framework development: making legal and regulatory changes to enable organisations, institutions and agencies at all levels and in all sectors to enhance their capacities.
Following are considered as vital components of the capacity development:
Training: It is a learning process that involves the acquisition of knowledge, sharpening of skills, concepts, rules, or change of attitude and behaviour to enhance the performance of individuals associated with different departments and institutions.
Education: Amidst changes of the past decades in school education sector, the most discussed topic of national importance is planning for more contextual, practical and application oriented curriculum for students at different levels of schooling.
Research: Research is an organised and systematic way of finding answers to questions. Systematic because there are certain things in the research process which are always done in order to get most accurate result.
Awareness: Awareness is generally defined as knowledge created through interaction between an agent and its environment. It cannot be simply referred to as “knowing what is going on.” This concept of awareness involves state of knowledge as well as dynamic processes of perception and action.
The National Policy on Disaster Management (NPDM) describes its approach to capacity development. A strategic approach to capacity development can be addressed effectively only with the active and enthusiastic participation of the stakeholders. This process comprises of awareness generation, education, training, research and development (R&D) etc. It further addresses to put in place an appropriate institutional framework, management systems and allocation of resources for efficient prevention and handling of disasters. The approach to capacity development includes-
• According priority to training for developing community based DM systems for their specific needs in view of the regional diversities and multi-hazard vulnerabilities,
• Conceptualisation of community based DM systems at the national level through a consultative process involving the States and other stakeholders with the state and local level authorities in charge of implementation,
• Identification of knowledge-based institutions with proven performance,
• Promotion of International and Regional cooperation,
• Adoption of traditional and global best practices and technologies,
• Laying emphasis on table-top exercises, simulations, mock drills and development of skills to test the plans,
• Capacity analysis of different disaster responder groups at State, District, and local levels.
NPDM has further elaborated on national priorities, institutional capacity development, training of communities, professional technical education, DM education in schools, training of artisans, training of other groups and licensing and certification. Besides NPDM guidelines issued by NDMA also lay emphasis on capacity development.
Capacity development in India: A realistic National Capacity Development Programme, commensurate with the intensity and extent of the hazard in India needs to be evolved and implemented, keeping in view the available resources. This programme of resource enhancement should encompass all institutions, organizations and individuals that have a role in any part of the disaster management cycle.
Capacity gaps in disaster management: To mitigate the impact of disasters, there is a need to work collectively through multidimensional channels combining the efforts, resources and expertise of the government, non- governmental organisations and civil societies. Managing such incidents holistically is a highly specialised and skilled job which cannot be approached in an ad hoc manner. Disaster Management comprises of multi sectoral issues and accordingly calls for all sectors that play pivotal role in managing exigencies to develop their human resource capacity accordingly. There seems to exist a wide gap in the knowledge, skill, and attitude of the disaster managers for efficiently managing emergency situations particularly at local and state level where according to one study made by NIDM, Capacity-Risk ratio is remarkably low. To bridge this gap, it is important to have specific capacity development plans and strategies.
Target group: In the field of capacity development, priority is to be given to training of DM officials, functionaries, trainers and elected representatives and community representatives. Due importance requires to be given to DM training and orientation of professionals like doctors, engineers and architects apart from those engaged in response and relief. Capacity Development require to be included in curricula of educational institutions at all levels of schooling and should include practical instructions as well.
Realizing the importance of Capacity Development of stakeholders in Disaster Management, NIDM has been given the task of preparing National Human Resource and Capacity Development plan, which is at the advanced stage of its formulation. The first draft has been prepared and presented before the MHA. NIDM is finalizing the plan after holding the discussion with MHA on its first draft.
Financial assistance in the wake of natural calamities is provided in accordance with the schemes of relief funds. These schemes are based on the recommendations of the successive Finance Commissions. The present scheme of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) are based on the recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission.
State Disaster Response Fund: Disaster Management Act 2005 provides for constitution of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) by the state Governments. The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued the guidelines to the state for operation of SDRF. Allocations to the State Relief Funds have been made based on the recommendations of the successive Finance Commissions.
Mainstreaming of Disaster Risk Reduction in Developmental Strategy
The Government of India has adopted mitigation and prevention as essential components of their development strategy. Accordingly, the Tenth Five Year Plan document had a detailed chapter on disaster management.
Mainstreaming has three purposes:
• To make certain that all the development programmes and projects are designed with evident consideration for potential disaster risks and to resist hazard impact,
• To make certain that all the development programmes and projects do not inadvertently increase vulnerability to disaster in all sectors: social, physical, economic and environment,
• To make certain that all the disaster relief and rehabilitation programmes and projects are designed to contribute to developmental aims and to reduce future disaster risk.
Mainstreaming DRR into the developmental plans is an important mandate of the Disaster Management Act 2005. Integration of disaster risk reduction measures into on-going flagship programmes of Government of India is being
used as an entry point for mainstreaming DRR in development plans. Steps for ensuring the incorporation of DRR into various on-going programmes/plans are as follows:
Identification of key programme/projects of Government of India,
Identification of entry points within the programme for integration of DRR (structural, non-structural and other mitigation measures) at various levels viz. national, state and district levels,
Close coordination with concerned departments such as State Planning Commission and Finance Department for promoting DRR measures into development plans and policies,
Advocacy for allocation of dedicated budget for DRR within the departmental plans,
Preparation of guidelines for integration of disaster risk reduction measures into development plans of various departments at the district and sub-district levels.
Disaster Management Act 2005 also provides for constitution of National Disaster Mitigation Fund.
Measures taken for Prevention and Mitigation of Hazards
Risk of destruction and casualties associated with different disasters can substantially be reduced by introduction of prevention and mitigation measures. Mitigation is generally categorised into two main types of activities i.e. structural and non-structural.
• Structural mitigation refers to any physical construction to reduce or avoid possible impacts of hazards, which include engineering measures and construction of hazard-resistant protective structures and infrastructure.
• Non-structural mitigation refers to policies, awareness, knowledge development, public commitment, and methods and operating practices, including participatory mechanisms and the provision of information, which can reduce risk with related impacts.
Some of the initiatives are described below.
Earthquakes
1. National Earthquake Risk Mitigation Project (NERMP):The proposed project aims at strengthening the structural and non-structural earthquake mitigation efforts and reducing the vulnerability in the high risk districts prone to earthquakes. NDMA, tasked with this project has prepared a Detailed Project Report (DPR) which is under consultation with all the stakeholders. The proposed components of the project include techno-legal regime, institutional strengthening, capacity building and public awareness etc.
2. National Building Code (NBC):The National Building Code of India (NBC), a comprehensive building code, is a national instrument providing guidelines for regulating the building construction activities across the country. The salient features of the revised NBC include meeting the challenges posed by natural calamities and reflecting the state-of-the-art and contemporary applicable international practices.
3. Efforts by Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC):The BMTPC undertook projects for retrofitting of life-line structures for generating awareness among the people as well as various government agencies about the need and techniques of retrofitting. The Council has initiated retrofitting of MCD school buildings in Delhi.
4. Initiative by Ministry of Panchayati Raj: It releases funds under Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) for meeting critical infrastructural gaps and other developmental requirements. The ministry has financed several district plans under the BRGF for construction of panchayat buildings, anganwadi centres, school buildings, class rooms, roads, bridges, culverts etc.
Such mitigation steps specific to the other disasters like Cyclones, Floods and Landslides etc. have also been taken.
Institutional Arrangements
Forecasting about climate change as a pre requisite for taking preparedness measure to respond to the disaster is the most important element of disaster management. Government of India has designated the offices as given in the Box
as the nodal agencies for early warning of different natural hazards:
India Meteorological Department (IMD)
Forecasting and Warning of Cyclones: IMD is the nodal agency in the country to monitor and predict the cyclonic disturbances and issue the warning and advisory bulletins.
The cyclone warnings are issued to State Government officials in four stages.
• pre-cyclone watch issued 72 hours in advance,
• cyclone alert issued at least 48 hours in advance ,
• cyclone warning issued at least 24 hours in advance, and
• as post landfall outlook issued at least 12 hours in advance of expected time of landfall.
Central Water Commission
Flood Forecasting Network of the CWC covers the entire major flood prone inter State basins in the country. The flood forecasting involves the following four main activities:
• observation and collection of hydrological and hydro meteorological data,
• transmission of Data to forecasting centres,
• analysis of data and formulation of forecast, and
• Dissemination of forecast
Indian National Centre for Oceanic Information System (INCOIS)
INCOIS gives information to all responders about the origin, time, location of the epicentre, magnitude and depth of an earthquake inside the ocean and accordingly issues bulletins. Tsunami Early Warning System (TEWS) at INCOIS is capable of detecting all earthquake events of more than 6 Magnitude occurring in the Indian Ocean in less than 20 minutes of occurrence and first report on the occurrence of an earthquake in India and the Indian Ocean region is sent to MHA within 25-30 minutes indicating the location and magnitude of the earthquake.
Geological Survey of India (GSI)
The GSI was designated as nodal agency for coordinating geological studies, landslides hazard zonation, monitoring landslides, avalanches, studying the factors responsible and suggesting precautionary and preventive measure.
Disaster Management Support (DMS) – Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)
The Disaster Management Support (DMS) Programme of ISRO, provides timely support and services from aero-space systems, both imaging and communications, towards efficient management of disasters in the country. The DMS programme addresses disasters such as flood, cyclone, drought, forest fire, landslide and Earthquake. These include
• creation of digital data base for facilitating hazard zonation, damage assessment etc.,
• monitoring of major natural disasters using satellite and aerial data,
• development of appropriate techniques and tools for decision support,
• establishing satellite based reliable communication network,
• deployment of emergency communication equipments and
• R&D towards early warning of disasters.
Preparedness
• An annual Conference of Relief Commissioners, Secretaries, to the Department of Disaster Management of States and UTs is organized before the onset of south west monsoon to review the status of preparedness for ensuing Monsoon and to discuss other disaster management related issues.
• Necessary guidelines in the form of checklist, for taking necessary preparatory measures, are issued to the State for their guidance and appropriate action. Instructions are also issued for creating reserves of essential items required during rescue and relief phase.
• Trigger Mechanism has been developed to activate the disaster response system automatically after receiving warning signals of a disaster happening or likely to happen or on receipt of information about the incident.
• Crisis Management Plan comprises of two parts - Part-I deals with aspects, which are common to all contingencies situations and Part-II about the individual Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for dealing with specific crisis situation.
• At the Centre, under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary the National Crisis Management Committee(NCMC) has been constituted in the Cabinet Secretariat. The NCMC gives direction to the Crisis Management Group as deemed necessary.
• Crisis Management Group (CMG)/National Executive Committee is a group under the Chairmanship of the Home Secretary comprising the senior officers from the various ministries and other concerned departments. CMG’s function is to review contingency plans every year formulated by the Central Ministries/ Departments and the measures required for dealing with a natural disaster; co-ordinate the activities of the Central Ministries and the State Governments in relation to disaster preparedness and relief; and to obtain information from the nodal officers on measures relating to the above.
Assessment
The first step after stabilizing the situation by providing sufficient relief is to assess the damage. A meticulously executed assessment exercise would provide an ideal base for the rehabilitation efforts. This exercise is best carried out through multi-disciplinary teams which go into all aspects of damage (social, economic, psychological) in participation with the local community. Based on the assessment of the damage and the needs, a recovery strategy has to be formulated. The strategy should include all interventions - economic, social, political and psychological. The resources should be identified and the roles and responsibilities of all concerned should be defined.
Co-ordination
Following any major disaster, a number of players arrive on the scene and as already stated, ensuring proper coordination amongst them thus becomes very important. Recovery activities are taken up by government agencies, local bodies, international agencies, voluntary organisations and others, through separate, overlapping and uncoordinated interventions. This leads to imbalances in the scale of operations, duplication of efforts in some areas, gaps in others and leakage and misuse of resources. Therefore establishing a framework for coordination is necessary for effective recovery.
The administration is also required to set up a voluntary organisations’ coordination centre to coordinate the relief and rehabilitation activities of the multiple organisations so that they are not concentrated in a few pockets. The role of voluntary organisations including international ones like the Red Cross is extremely useful for mitigating the impact of disaster.
Shelter
Shelter is one of the most visible and immediate needs in post-crisis settings. Relief efforts are often focused on providing shelter quickly, without taking into account the impact of short-term shelter strategies. Long-term shelter strategies help not only to focus on determination and implementation of realistic and permanent reconstruction plans for the affected communities, but are also concerned with rebuilding community confidence and support structure for civic responsibility and urban governance, through participatory planning of reconstruction. The development of disaster resistant housing is a major factor in reducing vulnerability to disasters. However, shelter issues in mitigation go beyond the structural aspects. Rights to ownership and security of tenure make an enormous difference to the maintenance, management and development of shelter, particularly in urban areas.
Sustainability in Recovery Process
It is often observed that post-disaster recovery efforts tend to focus on rapid and visible solutions to restore normalcy at the cost of sustainable development. The post-disaster recovery phase provides a ‘window of opportunity’ for disaster risk reduction. Risk reduction aspects should therefore be built into the redevelopment process.
Normally, it is also seen that the recovery efforts have a tendency of tapering off with the passage of time. The Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery of the UNDP has also observed “the general experience is that once the initial flurry of activities of providing rescue and relief is over, the attention received by the recovery efforts goes on declining steadily over a period of time and ‘business as usual’ sets in”. The sustainability component in recovery process therefore is important. This could be achieved by capability building of the community and awareness generation and preparing local crisis management plans.
Accountability
A system of accountability needs to be evolved during the relief and rehabilitation phase. This system should ensure that the relief material reaches the target groups and that the funds are being utilised efficiently and optimally. A grievance redressal mechanism should also be put in place.
Evaluation
After the recovery phase, it is necessary to conduct a detailed evaluation of all aspects of crisis management. This should bring out the strengths and weaknesses of the disaster management machinery and also provide the basis for future improvements. Such an evaluation should be carried out by an independent professional agency, like the NIDM, in all major disasters. This assessment should also include a quick audit of the expenditure incurred.
Effective disaster management requires trained manpower to deal with complex situations effectively and speedily to reduce the impact of disaster on human life and property. UNDP describes ‘capacity building’ as the creation of an enabling environment with appropriate policy and legal frameworks, institutional development, including community participation (of women in particular), human resource development and strengthening of managerial systems. It adds that capacity building is a long-term, continuing process, in which all stakeholders participate
Capacity building is much more than training and includes the following:
• Human resource development: the process of equipping individuals with the understanding, skills and access to information, knowledge and training that enables them to perform effectively,
• Organisational development: the elaboration of management structures, processes and procedures, not only within organisations but also the management of relationships between the different organisations and sectors (public, private and community),
• Institutional and legal framework development: making legal and regulatory changes to enable organisations, institutions and agencies at all levels and in all sectors to enhance their capacities.
Following are considered as vital components of the capacity development:
Training: It is a learning process that involves the acquisition of knowledge, sharpening of skills, concepts, rules, or change of attitude and behaviour to enhance the performance of individuals associated with different departments and institutions.
Education: Amidst changes of the past decades in school education sector, the most discussed topic of national importance is planning for more contextual, practical and application oriented curriculum for students at different levels of schooling.
Research: Research is an organised and systematic way of finding answers to questions. Systematic because there are certain things in the research process which are always done in order to get most accurate result.
Awareness: Awareness is generally defined as knowledge created through interaction between an agent and its environment. It cannot be simply referred to as “knowing what is going on.” This concept of awareness involves state of knowledge as well as dynamic processes of perception and action.
The National Policy on Disaster Management (NPDM) describes its approach to capacity development. A strategic approach to capacity development can be addressed effectively only with the active and enthusiastic participation of the stakeholders. This process comprises of awareness generation, education, training, research and development (R&D) etc. It further addresses to put in place an appropriate institutional framework, management systems and allocation of resources for efficient prevention and handling of disasters. The approach to capacity development includes-
• According priority to training for developing community based DM systems for their specific needs in view of the regional diversities and multi-hazard vulnerabilities,
• Conceptualisation of community based DM systems at the national level through a consultative process involving the States and other stakeholders with the state and local level authorities in charge of implementation,
• Identification of knowledge-based institutions with proven performance,
• Promotion of International and Regional cooperation,
• Adoption of traditional and global best practices and technologies,
• Laying emphasis on table-top exercises, simulations, mock drills and development of skills to test the plans,
• Capacity analysis of different disaster responder groups at State, District, and local levels.
NPDM has further elaborated on national priorities, institutional capacity development, training of communities, professional technical education, DM education in schools, training of artisans, training of other groups and licensing and certification. Besides NPDM guidelines issued by NDMA also lay emphasis on capacity development.
Capacity development in India: A realistic National Capacity Development Programme, commensurate with the intensity and extent of the hazard in India needs to be evolved and implemented, keeping in view the available resources. This programme of resource enhancement should encompass all institutions, organizations and individuals that have a role in any part of the disaster management cycle.
Capacity gaps in disaster management: To mitigate the impact of disasters, there is a need to work collectively through multidimensional channels combining the efforts, resources and expertise of the government, non- governmental organisations and civil societies. Managing such incidents holistically is a highly specialised and skilled job which cannot be approached in an ad hoc manner. Disaster Management comprises of multi sectoral issues and accordingly calls for all sectors that play pivotal role in managing exigencies to develop their human resource capacity accordingly. There seems to exist a wide gap in the knowledge, skill, and attitude of the disaster managers for efficiently managing emergency situations particularly at local and state level where according to one study made by NIDM, Capacity-Risk ratio is remarkably low. To bridge this gap, it is important to have specific capacity development plans and strategies.
Target group: In the field of capacity development, priority is to be given to training of DM officials, functionaries, trainers and elected representatives and community representatives. Due importance requires to be given to DM training and orientation of professionals like doctors, engineers and architects apart from those engaged in response and relief. Capacity Development require to be included in curricula of educational institutions at all levels of schooling and should include practical instructions as well.
Realizing the importance of Capacity Development of stakeholders in Disaster Management, NIDM has been given the task of preparing National Human Resource and Capacity Development plan, which is at the advanced stage of its formulation. The first draft has been prepared and presented before the MHA. NIDM is finalizing the plan after holding the discussion with MHA on its first draft.
Financial assistance in the wake of natural calamities is provided in accordance with the schemes of relief funds. These schemes are based on the recommendations of the successive Finance Commissions. The present scheme of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) are based on the recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission.
State Disaster Response Fund: Disaster Management Act 2005 provides for constitution of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) by the state Governments. The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued the guidelines to the state for operation of SDRF. Allocations to the State Relief Funds have been made based on the recommendations of the successive Finance Commissions.
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