Okumura 1998
Okumura 1998
Okumura 1998
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DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION AND
REDUCTION
Margaret Arnold
After2005,
Hurricane
and the Katrina
world wasstruck
shockedthe Gulf
by the Coastof of
images thethe UnitedofStates
thousands victimsin late August
stranded in the Superdome of New Orleans, many people asked, "How could this
happen in the United States?" The images broadcast from New Orleans and other
affected areas resembled too closely what we typically see in developing countries.
Yet while the parallels are many, the most striking one is the impact of natural dis
asters on the poor. While those with the means to heed the evacuation order fled the
area, those left behind were the most vulnerable: the sickest, the oldest, the youngest
and the poorest. Katrina provided a grim reminder that any city can be caught
unprepared for disaster, while also reminding us of the level of poverty that exists in
parts of one of the world's wealthiest nations.
The tragedies that Katrina wrought upon the United States are much more com
mon in developing countries, particularly among the poorer segments of the popu
lation. It is this undeniable link between poverty and the impacts of disasters that
makes disaster risk management an integral part of the World Bank's mission to
fight poverty. Natural disasters are a major source of risk for poor people. However,
this vulnerability also happens to be one of the most overlooked dimensions of
poverty. One possible reason is that disasters have traditionally been considered a
humanitarian assistance issue rather than one of development. Relief and develop
ment were viewed as two different "industries" with very separate mandates, actors
and sources of funds.
Journal of International Affairs, Spring/Summer 2006, vol. 59, no. 2. Spring/Summer 2006 | 269
© The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York
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Margaret Arnold
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Disaster Reconstruction and Risk Management for Poverty Reduction
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Margaret Arnold
reconstruction has yet to begin, and 67,000 people remain in temporary barracks or
rotting tents. While people wait for permanent housing, a program instituted in the
first months of 2006 focused on ensuring that all internally displaced people (IDP)
have suitable transitional housing.3 Although the concept of transition recovery is
useful for agency planning purposes, the design of new phases reflects the failure of
aid agencies to provide adequate support to disaster recovery—just as the very need
for disaster reconstruction assistance reflects the failures of development.
In fact, all of these phases are artificial terms. The ProVention case studies con
cluded that recovery operations converge with the development process, and that
— — — -— many communities live in a permanent state of
Th»p ηίΐίΐςρς nf "rplipf " «
a lie piicidCd til iciici, recovery, because "temporar
"recovery" and permanent coping strategy.4 I
"development" are see l^al temporary housing"
. r. . Λ nent housing for the poor, and, due to improper
artificial terms. . .. . , . , f , K.,.t
construction standards, the cycle of v
continues. The staff of agencies engaged in post-disaster re
should be trained to work flexibly throughout these varyi
Recovery projects themselves are often too short to add
of recovery. Real-time recovery from a significant disaste
more. However, donors often have their own timetable,
from one to three years. For example, U.S. relief for Hond
Mitch towards the end of 1998 had to be spent by Decembe
field assessments revealed that hundreds of people remaine
World Bank policy dictates that emergency recovery proje
although they are extended in many cases, reflecting the l
ery. The pressure to disburse funds can result in hurried d
that renders some projects inappropriate.
In this regard, governments and donors need to be reali
achieved in the short and longer terms. There is certainly
tage of the brief window of opportunity that these situati
numerous disaster prevention components into emergency
comprehensive reconstruction strategy should merge w
and address the long-term issues related to disaster reducti
recovery projects need to take into account the weakene
that disasters bring, while exploiting the opportunity to str
capacity. Emergency operations should focus on urgent
And certainly any reconstruction of housing, public bui
should include disaster-resistant technologies and safe sitin
ing institutions and capacity for effective disaster preventi
ment that requires careful design and an extended impl
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Disaster Reconstruction and Risk Management for Poverty Reduction
World Bank has taken an increasingly phased approach in providing disaster recov
ery assistance, including studies on emergency operations to identify long-term risk
reduction needs, and then designing activities for a follow-on investment.
One of the most basic principles of sound development management is placing
local communities in the driver's seat of planning, design and implementation so
that activities adequately reflect their needs and assure ownership and sustainabili
ty. This same principle applies to disaster-recovery projects, wherein community par
ticipation reaps myriad benefits that include addressing psychological trauma, capac
ity building, improved governance and increased social capital. However, the
urgency of rapid delivery, both real and perceived, can often lead to a perception on
the part of aid agencies that proper community consultation is not feasible. The
ProVention case studies found a high failure rate for recovery programs that did not
explicitly incorporate the concerns of affected populations.
One year after the Indian Ocean tsunami, a report on the recovery status in
Aceh noted that while the event left many government units in disarray, communi
ty leaders took an active role and ensured that nearly everyone had basic shelter in
the immediate aftermath, and that there were no unchecked epidemics. This level of
participation is credited with convincing the government of Indonesia to make a
firm commitment to using a community-driven development approach to the recov
ery efforts. There are certainly difficult tradeoffs involved with ensuring an ade
quate level of participation and promoting swift recovery. The Aceh report noted
that while these tradeoffs may slow the pace of reconstruction, they hopefully
enhance its sustainability. Only time will tell in this case, but there is evidence from
other countries to indicate that affected communities want to participate fully in dis
aster response, even if it implies slower implementation.6
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Margaret Arnold
in order to prevent their slipping deeper into poverty. The World Bank's policy on
financing cash payments has been waived many times and recent reconstruction projects
increasingly include livelihoods components. World Bank policy on emergency lending
is currently under revision, and the new policy will likely incorporate this change.
Housing reconstruction is often a major feature of the World Bank's relief pro
grams. As a top priority for disaster-affected communities, this is sometimes the
most political issue in a recovery program, and one of the most desirable for donors
to support in terms of visibility. However, the complexities entailed in this realm of
disaster recovery go beyond politics. One disaster review goes so far as to suggest
that agencies question whether they have the mandate and capacity to engage in
housing reconstruction.8 In Honduras after Hurricane Mitch, for example, many
NGOs got involved in housing reconstruction for the first time, which led to many
incidents of incomplete or sub-standard housing projects. In Tegucigalpa, some hous
ing resettlement projects remained largely uninhabited and un-serviced four years
after the event. In some cases, the time limit of external funding was blamed for hur
ried and incomplete projects.
The World Bank, however, has extensive experience in reconstructing housing
after disasters. Some lessons specific to housing reconstruction include the following:
important.
♦ Land acquisition should be one of the first steps to take, and take quickly,
after a natural disaster.
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Disaster Reconstruction and Risk Management for Poverty Reduction
Impacts
Major disasters have sometimes been cited as catalysts to enact social chang
issues that would not advance in "normal" times. A shining example from
experience is the peace accord signed in August 2005 between the Free A
Movement (GAM) and the government of Indonesia, bring- ^
ing to an end a nearly 30-year conflict in the region. FVcCUVCl y
Progress on the peace agreement is credited in part to the prOgTcimS C
impact of the tsunami, and with the significant resources pFO
flowing into the region now, there is an unprecedented t.
opportunity for lasting peace and recovery.9 In order to nur- ^ CCJU3.
ture this fragile accord, it will be critical to link the tsunami recovery programs wit
ongoing conflict resolution efforts and to ensure that recovery from both disasters
carried out in an equitable and transparent manner.
The promotion of gender equality is another important area that can often be
addressed easily and speedily in the recovery process. For example, deeding newl
constructed houses in both family names, including women in housing design and
construction, promoting land rights for women, building non-traditional skill
through income-generation projects, distributing relief through women, and funding
women's groups to monitor disaster recovery projects are practical steps that can be
taken to empower women, and, at the very least, to avoid the reinforcement of any
existing gender inequities. In the five ProVention case studies, attention to the pro
motion of gender equity was fairly limited, although some good practices were iden
tified. In Honduras, for example, increased female representation in communit
organizations helped empower women in other areas of life, according to those
involved. In Mozambique, women who were interviewed in Chokwe province
claimed that gender relations had changed as a xesult of the flooding. This was due
to aid agencies insisting on gender equity in the form of participation in housin
committees that supervised construction, as well as their inclusion in training cour
es for craftspeople, which led to the formation of a women's carpenter association.10
Given that natural disasters have wide-reaching impacts, recovery programs
need to be actively pro-poor, and can provide an effective vehicle for poverty redu
tion. Many project documents note that the poor are hardest hit by disaster, an
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Margaret Arnold
therefore seem to assume the connection to recovery programming helping the poor.
Perhaps this is a safe assumption in some cases, for example, Mozambique, where
nearly 70 percent of the population live below the poverty line. In this case, the com
munity survey found that following the 2000 floods, agriculturally-based rural com
munities with low levels of capital investment or agronomical inputs were generally
well served by the World Bank's livelihood strategies which
RcCOVCry were restored shortly after the floods. However, the
programs need Mozambique government and agencies generally avoided the
tO be äCtivelv 'ssue °f large asset depletion like that of cattle and fisheries
J equipment, which has resulted in some rural communities
pro pOOr. being significantly more vulnerable than they were before the
floods. It is encouraging that newer disaster recovery projects prepared by the World
Bank have an increasing focus on supporting the livelihoods of the poor through
cash grant schemes, microfinance programs and recovery of small and medium
enterprises. Unfortunately, the impact of recovery programs on the poor has not
been systematically tracked and needs more quantitative analysis.
The lessons described above, among others, are critical to improving the post
disaster recovery support the World Bank provides to its borrowers. Perhaps a more
important realization permeating the World Bank and other members of the inter
national community over recent years is that of the need to treat disasters as part of
development rather than as disruptions to it.
Helping to put disaster risk reduction on the World Bank's agenda as a priority
were the early efforts of the Hazard Risk Management team with several partners to
document the economic and longer-term developmental impacts of disasters. Prior
to this, there was a relatively small body of development literature that focused on
this subject, which relegated disasters to the sole mandate of humanitarian assistance
organizations. When poverty reduction is measured in terms of GDP growth, it is neces
sary to show how it is impacted in order to make disasters a priority for development.11
Some economists argue that disasters can have a positive impact on emerging
economies due to the post-disaster construction boom and the introduction of new
and improved technologies.12 This would not be the case for hazards such as
droughts, which cause little physical damage but severe direct and indirect damages
to household economies. These economists' views also do not account for the
unequal distributional impacts of disasters, nor their social and human consequences.
Over-reliance on international assistance for post-disaster relief and recovery has
major limitations. Multilateral assistance can take a long time to disburse. As a
result, the human impact and level of economic disruption are exacerbated by
delayed responses. There are also limitations to consider regarding the effectiveness
of relief and reconstruction aid. While resource allocation requires careful targeting
to reach those most affected, the urgency of the situation and the pressure (both on
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Disaster Reconstruction and Risk Management for Poverty Reduction
donors and recipient governments) to disburse funding detracts from the planning
process. Resources may be targeted based on bureaucratic or political considera
tions, rather than directed to those expenditures and investments most likely to
restore economic activity quickly. In many cases, there is a great deal of leakage of
funds earmarked for response and recovery, and the aid does not reach the poor.
And while a construction boom may provide some short-term benefits,
researchers such as Charlotte Benson and Edward J. Clay have done much to docu
ment the longer-term adverse impacts of disasters on developing economies.13 The
quantity of funds available for relief and reconstruction may not be sufficient, even
with additional borrowing and grants from the donor community, leaving a sub
stantial resource gap. Moreover, the diversion of limited fiscal resources away from
other key development projects can have longer term adverse economic effects.
Overseas Development Institute notes that disasters have little impact on overall aid
flows, and that donors respond to disasters by reallocating money rather than pro
viding fresh funds.14
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Margaret Arnold
and training for mainstreaming disaster risk into the design and implementation of
investments. These include methodologies to better analyze the costs and benefits
of mitigation investments, and construction guidelines for disaster resistant hospi
tals and health centers. The benefits at this level are obvious: in Grenada, the World
Bank funded retrofitted emergency shelters and an education development project
that included the retrofitting of schools. After Hurricane Ivan hit the island in
September 2004, the damage assessment mission found that the retrofitted shelters
operated effectively, and the two schools under the World Bank's education program
not only survived without significant damage, but were also used as shelters. The
World Bank is also exploring more efficient and effective mechanisms for financing
disaster risk. For example, the Marmara Earthquake Emergency Reconstruction
Project has implemented the Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool (TCIP). The intro
duction of liability and compulsory property insurance shifts the financial burden of
natural disasters to the TCIP, which in turn arranges for risk transfer to global rein
surance and capital markets and builds up national earthquake reserves. In
Colombia, the ongoing Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project will support invest
ment in local risk reduction measures and include a fast disbursing component that
will be activated in the event of a disaster emergency.
Other projects provide support at the community level for a bottom-up
approach in risk reduction. For instance, in Nicaragua, communities are implement
ing flood monitoring and early warning systems. In Ecuador and Peru, one initia
tive is exploring how indigenous knowledge and scientific technologies can be com
bined to better manage the impacts of El Nino events. A guidebook for microfinance
institutions was also developed so that they can both protect themselves as institu
tions during disasters, and better support the recovery of the communities they serve.
Conclusion
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Disaster Reconstruction and Risk Management for Poverty Reduction
Education and awareness at all levels is key to changing how we think and act
towards natural risks. Local communities need to be educated and empowered both
to live with the risks of their environment and to demand better services from their
local and national officials. At the national and international levels, we need to find
the right incentives and rewards for effective risk management, as there is still too
much to gain politically, both for donors and governments, from making disaster
response an apparent aspect of the development agenda. Until this happens, the
cycle will continue, and disasters will continue to widen the gap between rich and
poor—seemingly, but erroneously, with no one but nature to blame, d?
NOTES
1 World Bank, "Emergency Recovery Assistance", (Operational Policy 8.50, World Ba
DC: August 1995). This policy is currently undergoing revision to reflect the lesson
international experience.
2 UNDP, "From Relief to Recovery: The Gujarat Experience" (report, October 2001).
3 Badan Rehabilitasi dan Reconstruksi NAD-Nias (BRR), "Aceh and Nias One Year Af
The Recovery Effort and Way Forward," (December 2005).
4 Tony Beck et al., "Fighting Poverty While Supporting Recovery from Natural Dis
Report;" World Bank, Washington, DC: forthcoming).
5 John Telford et ah, "Learning Lessons from Disaster Recovery: The Case of Hondu
World Bank, Washington, DC: June 2004).
6 ProVention Consortium and ALNAP, "South Asia Earthquake 2005: Learning from Pre
Relief Operations."
7 Beck ibid.
10 peter Wiles, Kerry Selvester and Lourdes Fidalgo, "Learning Lessons from Disaster Recovery: The Case
of Mozambique" (report, World Bank, Washington, DC: April 2005), 54, www.sarpn.org.za/documents/
dOOO 1856/8-Mozambique_WB_Apr2005_Full.pdf.
11 All World Bank publications related to disaster risk management are accessible on the web at
www.worldbank.org/hazards.
12 Overseas Development Institute (ODI), "Aftershocks: Natural Disaster Risk and Economic
Development Policy," (briefing paper, ODI, London: November 2005).
13 See for example, "Understanding the Economic and Financial Impacts of Natural Disasters" (report,
World Bank, Washington, DC: February 2004); "Bangladesh: Disasters and Public Finance" (report,
World Bank, Washington, DC: November 2002); "Dominica: Natural Disasters and Economic
Development in a Small Island State" (report, World Bank, Washington, DC: October 2001).
14
ODI Ibid.
13 Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), Linking Poverty Reduction and
Disaster Risk Management, (Eschborn, Germany: GTZ, 2005).
16
Keith Smith, Environmental Hazards, (London: Routledge, 1996).
17 Maxx Dilley, et ah, "Natural Disaster Risk Hotspots: A Global Risk Analysis," (report, World Bank,
Washington, DC: 2005).
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