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Including people in risk governance
for disasters and climate change
Duryog Nivaran, South Asia. Contributors: Ramona Miranda, Buddika Hapuarachchi
and Vishaka Hidellage, Practical Action; Mihir Bhatt, All India Disaster Management Institute;
Abdul Shakoor Sindhi, Rural Development Policy Institute, Pakistan; and Louise Platt, Independent Researcher
I
n a region that has recorded every known type of hydro-
meteorological and geological disaster, South Asians are
frequently exposed to risk that is as much to do with poor
economic development and a lack of good governance as with
exposure to natural hazards.
In 1998, South Asian network for disaster risk reduction Duryog
Nivaran (DN) began to lobby for understanding that many disas-
ters are not natural, but the result of failed development and poor
governance. At the time, the dominant view of disasters was as
‘events’ that should be responded to. Over the past 12 years, this
alternative view has won ground in the region, validated repeatedly
through disasters where death and damage have reflected the devel-
opment and governance status of the country or region rather than
the intensity of the hazard.
South Asia is at risk from floods, drought, heavy
precipitation, landslides and cyclones. It is also exposed
to devastating but less frequent tsunamis and glacial
lake outbursts threats. Covering just 3 per cent
1
of the
world’s land surface with around one fifth of the world’s
population, the region experiences 38 per cent of disaster
related deaths. Between 1990 and 2008, more than 750
million people, 50 per cent of the region’s population,
were affected by natural disasters, leaving almost 60,000
dead and resulting in about $45 billion in damages.’
2
Governance issues in South Asia
‘South Asia is a region which is not only confronting
a challenge of human development but also facing a
crisis of governance.’
3
The Worldwide Governance
Indicator reveals that South Asia is one of the most
poorly governed regions in the world.
4
The develop-
ment trajectory of South Asia continues to see upward
movement in economic growth and per capita income
yet 70 per cent of the population is poor
5
thanks to
economic and social exclusion and socially non-respon-
sive governance. These factors worsen the impact of
disasters on vulnerable groups.
6
Disaster risk began to be recognized in the early 2000s,
but dependence of South Asian states on global economic
processes and financing systems, compounded by the
political instability of governments in the region, resulted
in development continuing to be haphazard.
Political instability, corruption and conflicts have
resulted in a focus on immediate issues rather than
a long-term view, and despite recurrent floods and
droughts in the region, ‘disaster management’ was
limited to relief rather than mitigation.
Maldevelopment exacerbating risk
Despite increasing urbanization, most of the region’s
population is still vulnerable to the increasing frequency
of weather-related hazards and environmental degra-
dation. Further, most of the region’s population is still
dependent on nature based livelihoods, rendering large
expanses of land and people vulnerable to the increasing
frequency of weather-related hazards and environmental
degradation. There are many examples of development
2010
Indigenous risk education. A raft made locally using used oil barrels/drums
Image: RDPI