Risks need to be addressed before disasters strike

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) organised the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan on March 14-18, 2015. Through a marathon round of negotiations, representatives from 187 countries have adopted the Sendai Framework as the first major agreement on the post-2015 development agenda on Disaster Risk Reduction for 2015-2030. Margareta Wahlström, Head of UNISDR, said that adoption of this new framework for disaster risk reduction opens a major new chapter in sustainable development as it outlines clear targets and priorities for action which will lead to a substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihood and health.
The 2015 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction states that economic losses from disasters are now reaching an average of US$250 billion to US$300 billion annually. Another report by the UNDP says, in the last 30 years, natural disasters have cost the world some US$ 3.5 trillion. In the Asia-Pacific region alone, the economic costs of disasters have risen. More than 1.3 million people were killed by disasters in the last two decades, almost all of them (95 per cent) in developing countries. Disasters have prevented many countries from achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and increasingly threatened development assistance investments.
 Trends in disaster mortality since 1990 (courtesy of the Global Assessment Report 2015).
In Sendai, Bangladesh presented its experiences about how it made tremendous progress in different dimensions of development aspects facing myriad limitations along with increasing number of disasters. The UNDP recently mentioned Bangladesh as a global leader in its institutional framework for disaster risk reduction and sustainable development, with a number of core government policies and programmes incorporating risk reduction from their earliest stages. Although Bangladesh has made its image as global model for disaster risk reduction, statistics pointed to the disaster vulnerability of our country. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change mentions, rising sea levels will wipe out more cultivated land that will lead to a loss of 17 per cent of total land of Bangladesh by 2050 and create 20 million environmental refugees. The Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme reports that economic growth has been averaging 6 percent for the last decade, poverty has decreased from 40 per cent in 2005 to 24.7 per cent in 2014 and Bangladesh has already achieved five out of eight of the MDGs. This has all been achieved against the backdrop of being exposed to natural and human-induced hazards. It is estimated that 14 per cent of Bangladesh's GDP is exposed to disasters on an annual basis. This is a testament to the innate resilience of the Bangladeshi people, who continue to make developmental progress while living with disasters and climate risk. The report shows, highly dense population (1,203 people/sq km), rapid and unplanned urbanisation (at a rate of 2.9 per cent per year) combined with a significant earthquake risk pose a severe threat to lives, livelihoods and property in Bangladesh's cities. Slow onset and persistent disasters like salinity, water-logging and drought merit increased attention. Drivers to economic growth are currently also contributing to increased risk. This highlights the need for integrated efforts on climate adaptation and risk reduction programming to enhance resilience in Bangladesh.  
So far Bangladesh has taken several necessary and time-oriented steps for disaster risk reduction like National Sustainable Development Strategy, Bangladesh Perspective Plan 2010-2021 and Sixth Five-Year Plan 2011-2015. The government created a division 'Disaster Management and Relief Division' upgrading the bureau of disaster management and relief. The Department for Disaster Management was established through the Disaster Management Act 2012. Although several administrative reforms have been made still we have many rooms to improve.
Overpopulation with rapid uncontrolled growth of unplanned urbanisation and defiance of building codes are very common in large cities like Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet. These have increased the possibility of drastic loss and damages by earthquake and can cause a devastating impact on lives and assets. The earthquake specialists have given warning and expressed deep concern due to higher potential of earthquake threat in Bangladesh. The Earthquake Disaster Risk Index has ranked Dhaka among the 20 cities which are most vulnerable to earthquakes in the world. It is not possible to reconstruct the risky and vulnerable buildings in Dhaka and other earthquake-prone cities within a short period of time as financial factor for reconstruction is a major issue in such a case. Is it fine if we wait until a devastating earthquake happens and causes catastrophic loss of human lives and assets? Are we ready for affording the extreme damage and costs because of such disaster? The only answer is 'no'. So, it is high time the government take a long-term initiative to reconstruct the risky buildings across the country. The government can make zones on a priority basis and start rebuilding the most risky and vulnerable buildings. Certainly, it needs a huge investment but the government must compel the violators of building codes to reconstruct accordingly and provide subsidy through a standard category. This mega initiative can be materialised by synergistic efforts of people, the government, development partners and other potential stockholders.  
The government is working for recruiting 65,000 volunteers across the country as a part of combating disaster risks to respond rapidly in any natural disaster. These volunteers will surely be a resource if they remain active in the grassroots level. But lack of regular training, inadequate knowledge of using rescue equipment, improper monitoring on capacity building and less activeness have made the whole voluntary rescue system less efficient than it is expected. Increasing the number of volunteers will not strengthen the voluntary rescue system except enhancing skills and capacity of the volunteers.
Use of ICT (information and communications technology) can make a remarkable difference in practice. Mobile phone-based early warning and forecasting services for floods and other natural disasters are one of the significant initiatives by the Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme. Introducing digital data bank for disaster issues and using technology in comprehensive disaster management system can be a fruitful initiative.
The government must create a strong implementation and monitoring cell for ensuring sustainability of the initiatives. Regular mobile courts can be introduced to check and maintain administrative policies, laws and regulations at all levels that will make the whole system more accountable, transparent, effective and sustainable.
It has been seen that we are more focused on managing disasters rather than fixing the underlying factors of disaster risk like climate change, unplanned urbanisation, violation of existing laws and policies, population growth, migration, poverty etc. It is noteworthy to mention that development strategies must incorporate the concerned dimensions that have inextricable linkages with disasters. Thus, coordination among different ministries, development partners, civil societies, NGOs and media is a must to incorporate and achieve the sustainable development agenda.
The UN Secretary General has said, development cannot be sustainable if the disaster risk reduction approach is not fully integrated into development planning and investments. Development investment that does not consider disaster risk will lead to the accumulation of more risks. Now after the Sendai declaration, we need to tailor our policy framework and development strategies to make most suitable adjustment with Sendai Framework. Bangladesh must strengthen the total disaster risk reduction and resilience strategies to build a national bulwark for ensuring the sustainable development agenda.
The writer is a Research Associate at RHSTEP.
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