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Principles of Disaster Management Policy

The given document is a file on Principle of disaster management policy, this is helpful in disaster management syllabus in MBA and BBA, I hope this work will helpful for the students, if it does so, it will give me good pleasure.., Balram Chaudhary, Balram Chaudhary Bikaner

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9K views

Principles of Disaster Management Policy

The given document is a file on Principle of disaster management policy, this is helpful in disaster management syllabus in MBA and BBA, I hope this work will helpful for the students, if it does so, it will give me good pleasure.., Balram Chaudhary, Balram Chaudhary Bikaner

Uploaded by

Balram
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Principles of Disaster Management

Policy
Disaster management is not a separate sector or discipline but an
approach to solving problems relating to disasters impacting any
sector - agricultural, industrial, environmental, social etc. Ultimately,
disaster management is the responsibility of all sectors, all
organisations and all agencies that may be potentially affected by a
disaster. Utilizing existing resources ensures efficiency in resource
utilization and lower costs.

Every disaster management policy is made on the basis of certain


principles. These principles are designed to provide guidance during all
phases of disaster management and are consistent with internationally
accepted best practices. Some of the key principles of disaster
management policy are written hereunder:

1. Integrating disaster management into development


planning: The objectives of the DM policy or any sectoral policy
should sub-serve the overall goals of the state relating to economic
and social development. Hence, policies on sustainable
development should seek to reduce possible losses from disasters,
as a matter of course. In other words, disaster prevention and
preparedness should be an integral part of every development
policy. Therefore, the state’s development strategy shall explicitly
address disaster management as an integral part of medium and
long-term planning, especially for disaster prone districts in the
state.

2. Multi-hazard approach to disasters: Disasters can either be


man-made, natural or even arising out of technological causes. A
robust DM policy must therefore provide, plan and prepare for all
types of hazards and disasters that may be reasonably expected to
occur in a region.

3. Sustainable and continuous approach: One of the objectives of


sustainable development is to increase the inherent strength of all
agencies, including the community to deal with disaster situations.
Achieving this objective requires sustained initiatives encompassing
social, economic and infrastructure issues. Further, once capacity is
built, it must be sustained and this would be an ongoing and
continuous activity.

4. Effective inter-agency co-operation and co-ordination:


Successful disaster response requires a quick and organized
response. The active participation of affected communities, NGOs,
private sector and various Government departments like Fire
Brigade, Police, Health etc. is thus critical to any response activity.
Therefore, the DM policy shall focus on establishing response
mechanisms that are quick, coordinated and participative.

5. Capacity building: Managing disasters using only a handful of


stakeholders would be inefficient. Government therefore should
recognize that the DM policy needs to be strengthening the
resilience and capacity of NGOs, private sector and the local
community to cope with disasters while simultaneously building the
capacity of the Government machinery to manage disasters.
Effective disaster management requires that the community
especially vulnerable groups like women, landless labor etc. be fully
aware of the extent of their vulnerability to disasters to reduce its
impact, prior to its actual occurrence. Further, NGOs, private sector
and the community must understand and be familiar with DM
principles and practices, what their own responsibilities are, how
they can help prevent disasters, how they must react during a
disaster and what they can do to support themselves and relief
workers, when necessary. Training is an integral component of
capacity building. Development of Disaster Management as a
distinct managerial discipline will be taken up to create a systematic
and streamlined disaster management cadre. Gender issues in
disaster management will be addressed and the empowerment of
women towards long term disaster mitigation will be focused upon.

6. Autonomy and equity: Disasters are catastrophic events whose


impact is felt across socio-economic boundaries. Consequently, any
DM effort should be neutral and non-discriminatory. To that extent,
it is necessary that the DM institutions possess the autonomy to
make decisions in a fair, scientific and systematic manner. Disaster
assistance and relief must also be provided in an equitable and
consistent manner without regard to economic or social status of
beneficiaries. Relief / assistance must be provided without any
discrimination of caste, creed, religion, community or sex.
7. Legal sanction: The institutions/ individuals responsible for
implementing disaster-management activities must have the
necessary legal sanction and validity with requisite powers for
managing emergency situations. This is necessary to ensure that
they are recognized by all stakeholders as the legitimate policy
making and/or implementation authorities.

8. Accommodating aspirations of people: The objective of any


effort relating to disaster management is to benefit the community.
People are central to the decision-making process for disaster
management and their priorities should be reflected in the programs
undertaken.

9. Accommodating local conditions: Disaster management efforts


should be sensitive to local customs, beliefs, and practices and be
adapted to local conditions. In addition, changes in the community
and evolving social and economic relationships must be borne in
mind to avoid confrontation and bottlenecks. This will ensure
participation of the local community and foster a culture of joint
responsibility for disaster management at all levels.

10. Financial sustainability: Government should be committed to


allocate funds for the sustainability of the disaster management
programs.

11. Develop, share and disseminate knowledge: No single


organization can claim to possess all the capabilities required to
provide effective disaster management. So there should be an
institute dedicated to conducting research, development and
training activities related to disaster management, shall be set
up. This institute would aid in the sharing and dissemination of
specialized knowledge related to disaster management among
various implementation agencies, NGOs, private sector and the
community in the particular region. Also, basic concepts related
to disaster management and the role of the community therein
shall be included in the curriculum of schools. This shall serve to
sensitize people to the participative approach needed for
effective disaster management. Information and knowledge
embracing all facets of disaster- from mitigation to amelioration -
shall be infused in schools, colleges and teacher's training syllabi.
Reference:
• www.arunachalplan.nic.in/html/docs/AP_DisasterManagementPolicy.pdf

Formatted as per the requirement in the MBA syllabus of Disaster


management by-

Balram Chaudhary (Asst Professor)


MBA, UGC-NET
[email protected]

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