UNIT 16 EMERGING TRENDS IN DISASTER

MITEATION -1
Structure
16.0 Learning Outcome
I 6.1 Introduction
16.2 Disaster Mitigation: Emerging Trends
16.3 Understanding Sustainable Development
16.4 Social Cost- benefit Analysis , , .
16.5 Environment Impact Assessment '

16.6 Policy Areas in Disaster Mitigation

16.7 'Conclusion
16.8 Key Concepts
16.9 References and Further Reading
^.-I

1 6.1 0 Activities
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16.0 LEARNING OUTCOME

After going through this Unit, you should be able to:
o Highlight the emerging trends in disaster mitigation
e Examine the concepts of social cost benefit analysis and environment impact assessment;
and
Identitj, the policy areas in disaster mitigation.

'The challenge in disaster rrritigation is to make development and environmental protection

compatible in a way that the two are not looked upon as antithetical processes; but rather
.as related, as 'mean'- 'end,' in that one is perceived as leading to the other and not
inhibiting the other, as is the general assumption; the argument being that environment is
best protected through development and development in turn is dependent for sustenance
on environmental protectionstrategies that could nip hazards in the bud (prevent hazards
from turning into disasters).
To elucidate, compliance with building standards and norms would save infrastructure and
capital assets from destruction following earthquakes, fires and floods. Land-use planning
involving siting of potentially hazardous facilities like ordnance and chemical factories can
prevent possible catastrophes like fire outbreaks and chemical spills which cause large
scale loss of life and property. Hence, there are policy/decisional issues involved in
environmental protection ranging'from technological and human resource planning measures
to create specialised manpower for structural mitigation strategies like earthquake proofing!
204 Disaster Preparedness

retrofitting of buildings; legislation, administrative improvement and innovative application of

Constitutional principles for environmental protection on the part of the judiciary and social
activism on the part of people for saving the environment fiom the hedonistic onslaught
of development. These strategies are some of the emerging trends in disaster mitigation
which shall be taken up. in this Unit.

16.2 DISASTER MITIGATION: EMERGING TRENDS

Disaster Mitigation, as we have already discussed in the earlier units refers to policies/
measures, taken from the short and long-term perspectives to prevent disasters or reduce
disaster impact through preparedness for speedy and efficient response. Ecological
management, planning, environmental impact assessment (ElA), and building disaster
resilient communities are the basics/components of disaster mitigation strategies. Disasters,
are both natural and man-made. However, even natural disasters have man-made causes,
as incessant destruction of tlie ecology and the environment in the name of develop~nent
has caused imbalances in nature. These disasters can be mitigated to a great extent
provided development is tempered with the concern for the ecology and the environment.
Man-made disasters can be controlled by dovetailing disaster mitigation measures/policies
with development planning. Some of the emerging trends currently emphasised in disaster
mitigation are:
e Fostering a culture of prevention by creating awareness among people regarding
disaster prevention requirements such as water harvesting; earthquake-proof buildings,
incorporating conditionalities for the same in housing loans, insurance schemes.
Providing a long-term development perspective to vulnerability reduction matters like
managing risks in shanty settlements, controlling migration etc., to treat the causes of
problenis over the long run rather than simply tackling the symptoms in the short run.
a Committing resources to structural mitigation measures like earthquake and flood
proofing of buildings, especially critical facilities, such as hospitals, communication
infrastructure, government offices etc.
e Tackling impending urban crises as an urgent measure to create resilient cities.
According to Gordon Mcbean (2005), greater resilience of cities can be ensured
through investments in technical, organisational, social and economic sectors. Technical
or structural investments can be achieved through robustness, redundancy and
adaptation of critical infrastructure. Robustness is incorporated in systems and
structures trough stricter standards and regulations regarding building codes, land-use
planning in risk-prone areas and unrelenting enforcement of the same. Redundancy,
(though used in a derogatory sense) implies conventional back up facilities/systems to
reduce vulnerability to stresses. Adaptations are necessary to change over to newer,
and safer techniques, as they are developed. Organisational innovations are necessary
to impart flexibility to administrative processes and reduce the reaction time to
emergencies. Social investments imply public education programmes targeting vulnerable
groups, such as children to stimulate public interest; economic investments are needed
to impart resilience to business in order to minimise economic losses from disasters.
Developing a disaster management perspective in development programmes in general
with regard to rural and urban development separately/concettedly, wherdas required.
For example, risk management for shanty settlements has to address the wider
 Emerging Trends in Disaster Mitigation - I 205

problem of rural to urban migration. This leads us to the concept of sustainable

development. -

16.3. UNDERSTANDING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

'Environment' has been defined as "the aggregate of all external conditions and influences
affecting the life and development of an organism" (Webster's, 2002). Until recently,
environment was seen as a bo~rndlesscornucopia, to be exploited and rearranged for
profit. Today, it is seen as a limited resource requiring replenishment of depleting
resources by thoughtful conservation strategies (Murthy, 2002). Dr. Hisoshi Nakajima,
(1990) Director-General of World Health Organisation, sounded a warning alarm about
degradation of this planet in his Article "A Wounded Planet". As per his visualisation, it
is now increasingly evident that more and more diseases stem from the degradation
caused by human beings to the environment. The potential harmfill effects of industrial
development on our global ecosystem are now evident. Some of the more obvious
manifestations have been ozone layer depletion, acid rain, climate change, air and water
pollution. Environmental health refers to the ecological balance that must exist between an
individual and the environment in order to ensure a healthy living. The deterioration of the
human environment through population explosion, pollution of air and water, and other
disruptions of the ecological balance pose a health hazard and a serious challenge to life.
Professor J. Logan, in a paper published in the American Journal of Popical Medicine
was able to show that environmentally transmitted diseases are responsible for the
sufferings of 500 million people every year pal-titularly infants and children (WHO, 1972).
The UN Secretary General's report on the problem of the human environment sounds a
similar ominous note: "If current trends continue, the failure of life on earth could be
engendered and thus, it is urgent to focus world attention on these problems which
threaten humanity in an environment that permits the realisation of ttie highest human
aspirations".
The central concern in sustainable development is therefore, ecology. The term 'ecology'
has been borrowed from the physical sciences and it means the "branch of biology
dealing with the relations of organisms to one another and to their pllysical surroundings."
The term ecology had hitherto been limited to the physical environment s~rrroundinga
human being. The close relationship that exists between unhealthy environment and tlie
economic conditions of a community was pinpointed by a panel of experts which met in
1971 to discuss the environmental problems of the develo.pi.ng countries. "Poverty and the
very lack of development", these experts said, "constitute an essential environlnental
problem in the developing countries. They recoinmended comprehensive attack on the
problems of inadequate water supply, poor housing, sanitation, nutrition and widespread
diseases as prime targets in an effort to improve tlie environqent of millions of people,
and to lay the groundwork for their economic'betterrnent."
Rapidly growing population, urbanisation, changing agricultural, industrial and water resource
management, increasing use of pesticides and fossil keIs have all resillled in a perceptible
deterioration in the quality of environment and attendant adverse health consequences.
'Environment pollution due to developmental activities is increasingly beco~ningtlie focus of
concern. The interactive interdependence of health, environment and sustainable development
was accepted as the fulcrirm of action under Agenda 21 at the Earth Surnmit in Brazil
. in 1992. Environmental health in its broader perspective it was felt, wo~lldhave to
address the detection, prevention and management ofi
 206 Disaster Preparedness

ij' existing deficiencies or excesses of certain elements in natural environment;

ii) macro-environmental contamination of air, land, water and food; and
iii) disasters.
The term is used in social sciences in a broader and more inclusive way in the sense of
denoting the physical, social, economic, political and cultural context of living. Hence in
a particular situation, sustainability of a policy is to be judged with regard to the context
in the physical sense; that is the environment or the ecological surroundings, both biotic
and abiotic, and from the social and economic perspective, encompassing welfare
concerns implying quality of life over generations. Ecology, or the study of nature with
relationship to human being became popular during 1960s. Coined by a German
Zoologist, Enst Haekel, it deals with both the organism and its environment. Hence, "the
problems of sustainable development are rooted in the issues of resource use and their
uneven pattern of distribution, along with issues of economic and social inequities."
Sustainable development is also understood in the cultural sense implying trends like
consumerism which have been exacerbated1 introduced with the advent of the market
economy. In this context, development should not lead to widespread dislocation of
communities that disturbs the demographic profile of a land, and introduces alien culture
in distant lands. It has been found in empirical case studies that such moves lead to inter
ethnic clashes because of inutual intolerance of alien practices (MED, IGNOU, 2004).
According to H Ramchandran, sustainable development is the latest 'end' in a linear
continuum of growth concepts. Understanding of developlnent has progressed from the
"simple but nebulous notion of progress to growth (of GNP), to growth with equity in
vertical and horizontal dimensions, to the physical quality of life and currently to
sustainable development or eco-development." The latter concepts have added to the
former ones, not replaced them and hence have developed as inclusive ideas adding
newer dimensions to the prevailing understanding in a particular time period. Thus the
concept of sustainable development encompasses all previous ideas, viz., growth, equity
etc., with the added dimension of sustainability for future use, hence value addition for
fbture generations in terms of provision of tangible assets and a better quality of life owing
to better, healthier ecological surroundings. Hence, sustainable development has both
ethical and utilitarian value in that preservation of environment is as much a duty of the
present generations as a right for future generations, to lead disease-free and accidents1
disaster-free lives and touch higher levels of economic development.
The last decade witnessed a highlighted awareness of the detrimental environmental
itnpacts associated with high industrial growth and economic progress. There was also a
growing appreciation of the fact that sustainable development cannot be achieved in a
climate where socio-economic development and environment planning are pursued as
independent activities. This environmental concern is reflected in the various measures as
are mentioned below:

, * Developing a set of standards for regulating emissions and effluents .from polluting
industries.
Periodic monitoring of the status of polluting industries. This resulted in a significant 1I

increase in the number of units that installed pollution con'trol equipments. I

Seeking to control the discharge of effluents into water bodies by identifying the 851
grossly polluting industries and directing them to install effluent treatment systems or

-
I
face closure. This resulted in 829 out of the 85 1 industries adopting effluent treatment
 Emerging Trends in Disaster Mitigation - /

plants. The remaining plants were forced to closed down.

9 Setting up of Common Effluent Treatment Plants for Small Scale Industry (SSI)
clusters.
Preparing zoning atlas to locate industries in areas where mi~iimumenvironmental
damage can take place,
Encouraging research and development of clean technologies for use in various types
of industries.
Introducing and actively encouraging industry to adopt internationally accepted
environmental management systems like IS0 1400 1 (launched in 1996) (Goel, 2006).
There is an increasing realisation about the need for inter-sector growth strategies. Partial
perception leads to solution of one problem or addresses one aspect of the concern and
development of collateral externalities, which later concretise adinto newer crises9 The
Green Revolution was embarked upon in response to the food crisis of the 60s.To grow
more food, intensive technology application along with extension of agricultural land into
forests and pastures extended agricultural activity considerably which led to increased
demand for livestock and shortage of fodder, Subsequently, poverty alleviation programmes
too aimed at increasing/providing livestock assets to the poor which exacerbated the
fodder shortage. Clearly, the linkage had 'been missed at the planning stage. Case studies
also revealed secondary impacts such as decreased attendance of school going children
among beneficiary households, children being required to tend to the livestock at home.
Not much emphasis was laid on efficient resource use, with the result that water
conservation was not internalisedl enforced as an essential practice either by way of
economic incentives/disincentivesor legislation, or training and awareness generation
campaigns among farmers.
Water logging in canal irrigated areas is an example of injudicious use of the water
resource (excessive use for short term gain) by farmers, reinforced by the indiffeience of
command area authorities who showed no initiative in a possible cooperative arrangement
with the farmers whereby water conservation practices could be disseminated, especially
with regard to groundwater exploitation. The argument is corroborated by Dhingra (2005)
through the statistics regarding soil use in India and the lacunae in planning. It has been
estimated that about 80 million hectares affected by varying degrees of soil degradation1
localised water logging and salinity are most severe in India (27 per cent of irrigated
land), Pakistan (20 per cent) and China (15 per cent). Resultant problems of soil salinity
and water logging can now only be solved with a cost. But, who bears it? How is the
cost to be distributed? Who are the gainers and losers, who are to compensate whom;
1 how are social costs to be computdd and set against benefits are essential questions in
welfare economics and also practical dilemmas for policy makers. Dependence on inputs
such as fertilisers, pesticides, machinery and pump sets for better yield has enriched the
big farmers and impoverished the poor who have mostly borne the costs of environmental
degradation and higher input costs. Pollution from industries and unabated indi~strialisation
at large has depleted soil and water quality, deforested large tracts, widely displaced
communities etc., which brings out the imminence now, of factoring environmental
concerns into development strategy.
b

t Development paradigm has hitherto been limited to the economists' perspective, who have
more often than not limited their analysis to a narrow conceptualisation of economic
growth (profits over losses), ignoring the larger concern for sustainability. Air and water
I are conceptualised as 'free goods' in economics, hence not included in cost benefit
 208 Disaster Prepuredness

valuations. An economist's concern is only with costing natural resources, the cost
reflecting the sacrifice imposed on others to promote 'rational' use of resources, not
'equitable' or sustainable.' Hence, the economic argument has been largely devoid of the
ethical perspective, or rather, has been limited by its own understanding of what is
'rational'; hence, ethical. By economic rationale, all problems of environmental degradation
are subsumed within the 'just' principle of 'cost.' Even by this argument, such rationality
has been hard to maintainlenforce in controlled economies where market forces do not
always control price. By the economic understanding, consideration of the future is limited
to discounting filture value of a prod~~ctin terms of present prices. Hence, there is a need
to broaden the definition of 'rationality' in economics by incorporating environmental
concerns and concern of benefit of future generations in decisions.

16.4. SOCIAL COST- BENEFIT ANALYSIS

The discussion leads us to the idea of social cost-benetit analysis. Social cost-benefit
analysis broadens the concept of pure financial analysis by including tlie costs and benefits
resulting 'from positive and negative externalities (both obvious and tacit as to the extent
can be explored) with respect to the impact on the physical and social environment it1
project appraisal decisions. The aim is to assess the real costs involved in a project. The
first step is to identify all stalteholder groups that have an interest in the policy or plan
being considered. A thorough inventory of stalteholders includes those with direct and
indirect market interests, as well as those who have a stake in the non-market aspects
of the project. A special interest articulation effort is required on the part of public
administrators to identi@ the stakeholders whose interest in the project is intangible. Such
interests concern non-market environmental or cultural characteristics that may be affected
by the project alternatives under consideration. An example could be given of opportunity
costs involved in filling a wetland area. The first step would be to study all aesthetic (and
other) benefits involved in retaining it as a wetland.
There could be two approaches to measure the costs and benefits entailed. According to
the contingent valuation or the EV approach, residents around the area coilld be asked
how much they are willing to pay for the recreational value of the site. This would give
the recreational opportunity cost of filling the wetland. Another method is the conjoint
analysis method, whereby, attempt is made to price the various attributes of the resources,
such as foregone abilitylbenefit to filtei water, support wildlife etc. Value of the wetland
is also inferred from expenditures people are ready to incur on travel to wetland for
recreational purposes such as hunting or sight seeing. Therefore, recreational or other
intangible factors are monetised and included in costing/computation of benefits for
environmental impact assessment studies involved in social cost-benefit analysis (Carter,
Perusso and Lee).
According to 'rhirlwall (2003) social cost-benefit analysis is often viewed as the public
expenditure equivalent of net-present value methods used in evaluating private investments.
There are three interrelated components thereof: financial, economic, and social appraisal.

a) Financial appraisal examines the financial flows generated by the project itself, and
the direct costs of the project measured at market prices.

b) Econolnic appraisal adjusts costs and benefits to take account of costs and benefits
to tlie econolny at large, including the indirect effects of the project that are not
captured by the price mechanism.
 Enierging Trends in Di.saster- Mitigalio~- / 209

c) Social appraisal examines the distributional consequences of project choices, both

inter-temporal concerns (i.e. eftkcts over a period of time, today versus the future);
and also intra-temporal concerns (e.g., concerns between groups in society at a
specific point in time).
A comprehensive project appraisal should therefore examine both the engineering feasibility
as well as the economic viability of the proposed investment. The typical appraisal report
would comprise:
a) The terms of reference
b) An engineering study examining the technical feasibility of the project
c) A financial s t ~ ~ dtoy examine the budgetary costs of tlie project at market prices
d) An appraisal of the economic costs and benefits, valuing outputs and inputs at social
prices and including secondary impacts on the economy, and effects on income
distribution
e) Details of the administrative req~~ire~nents
of the project as well as the project
conclusions and recommendations.
Ri& Articulation
It is increasingly being realised that empirical studies by way of risk assessments are
needed to bring to light all positive and negative externalities involved in a proposed
measure(s) and incorporate the same in decision-making with a view to crafting preemptive
pol icy. Such articulation requires active participation of all stakeholders involved since a
holistic appreciation of all issues involved could not possibly be done unilaterally. It is for
this very reason that people's participation in policy formulation (by way of interest
articulation) is being advocated as an administrative imperative. For the same, strengthening
local self-governance institutions, especially those, Inore social in nature such as the gram
sablia, is needed to achieve required integration in po!icy at the local level. Currently,
there are a number of programmes being run separately under varioirs schemes for
provision of clean drinking water, sanitation and public Ihealth for eradication of t~~berculosis,
AIDS prevention etc., which need to be horizontally integrated at the local or district
(whichever considered practicable), which are currently, isolated; or vertically structured
(Thakkar, 2005). Since health and sanitation issues are inter1inked, risk articulation needs
to be brought under a common rubric for conce~tedpolicy. Policy implications regarding
project siting could then be more realistic and comprehensive.
Community- based Risk Management
The active participation of communities in disaster risk assessment and reduction measures
is being looked upon as an imperative in disaster mitigation planning and implementation.
Vulnerable communities adapt to hazardous situations by means of indigenous coping
strategies. The aim of community participation is to formalise such effort through codification
and analyses of the same and consideration of ways and means to augment/develop
inherent capacities by means of policy interventions at desired stages and provision of
a~rtsideinstitutional support in matters such as training and consolidation of infortnal group
effort/instit~ltionalisationwherever required. The aim is to make co~ninunitiesnot only
"disaster resi lielit" but "disaster resistant" (Zenida, 2005). Areas of policy intervention
woi~ldbe malting political processes more participatory, addressing underlying socio-
 Disaster Prepared~uss

economic vulnerabilities of communities, bringing in required legislation or issuing directions

to executive authorities to alneliorate the same, coordinating effon with non-government
organisations and international donor agencies in disaster response as also long-term
mitigation efforts. Hence, peoples' involvement in decisions that affect them is an
imperative for relevant policy. The rationale for community- based risk management is that
"though communities may have Inany commonalities, n o communities are alike. However,
there are lessons learned in one community, which can be studied and applied to another
community setting."

RONMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT

Environment Impact Assessment (EI.4) is a relatively new planning and decision making
tool first'enshrined in the United States i n the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
The phrase 'Environmental Impact Assessment' comes from Sec. 102 (2) of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 1969, USA. EIA is defined as a scientific study to
predict the environmental consequences of a development measure. It involves specialities
which deal with different dimensions o f the appraisal, e.g., impact on health, on
biodiversity, consequences of displacement etc.
Environment lmpact Assessment is attempted to identify the environment and social
impacts of a project prior to decision making. I t aims to predict environmental impact at
an early stage in project planning and design, find ways and means to reduce adverse
impacts, shape projects to suit the local.environment and present environment friendly
options to decision makers. By using EIA, both environmental and economic benefits can
be achieved, such as reduced cost and time of project implementation and design,
treatment and clean up costs and impact o f laws and regulations.
The key elements of EIA are:
e Scoping: identifing key issues and interests of interested parties
e Screening: deciding whether an EIA is required based on information collected
@ Identifying ai?d Evaluating Alternatives: listing alternative sites and techniques and the
impacts of each; and
Adopting mitigation measures: dealing with uncertainty, review, proposed action to
prevent or minimise the impact of disaster.
The structuring of the International Agency for Impact Assessment (IAIA), (the world
body for impact assessments), is as per the emerging objectives of environment related
studies. Such assessments are now imminent to implementlfurther the agenda of sustainable
development on a global level, since environment is an international issue; not limited to
a single nation or a bloc. The following subject areas in sustainable development are
identified by the agency:
* Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
This section of the lAlA explores ways and means of financing empirical studies, which
can provide meaningful policy inputs for ecologically sustainable rural development policy
for agriculture, fisheries and forestry. The purpose is environmentally tenable policy, which
results from a holistic appreciation/anaIysis of a situation(s) at hand, with a view to
minimising the negative and ullintended consequences and maximising related pay off~.
Such analysis takes the temporal (impact over the long run) since the very
Emerging Trends in Disa.ster Mitigation - 1 21 1

idea of sustainable development is to avoid extra costs incumbent on future generations

(from possible health risks and increased probability of accidents and disasters) owing to
reduced expenditure in the present.
a Biodiversity and Ecology
EIA in this case, focuses on ecological impact assessment, particularly impact on
biodiversity, explores dimensions of ecological compensation and mitigation, partic~~larly
in
case of protected area establishment and management.
Environmental Management Systems
This deals with the ways and means of incorporating auditing and impact assessment into
environmental management systems in the corporate sector.
Health Impact Assessment
This deals with the emerging area of health impact assessment throughout the world in that
it champions integration of human health concerns into impact assessment by way of
human health risk assessment.
Integrated Assessment of Trade-related Policies
This section maintains relevance of policy by keeping track of rapid developments in this
area. The Trade Section promotes and publishes scholat-ly and general information on
policy development, case studies, metliodologies and codes of good practice that will
enable practitioners in the developed and developing countries to conduct impact
assessments.
Indigenous People
This section deals with indigenous issues in impact assessment. It develops guidelines for
the recognition and full inclusion of indigenous concerns in all aspects of impact
assessment.
a Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA)
It deals with all aspects of strategic environmental assessment, development of legislation
targeted towards a- particular objective such as aesthetic requirement or prevention of
some particular hazard such as mining and resultant pollution etc.
a Local and Regional Government Policy and Impact Assessment
The urban governance section studies all aspects of urban planning from holistic planning
to a specific project. This section seelcs to present a deliberative platform to all
stakeholders involved such as representatives from local authorities, private business and
civil society for meaningful discussion, This section specifically reaches out to local
authorities and invites them to contribute their experiences and questions to the discussion
on urban development.
a Disasters arid Conflicts
This section concentrates on ensuring that environmental itnplications are taken into
account into, the recovery processes, which are often speedy and run the risk of being
ill considered. This section wi l l enable lAlA inembers to share and disseminate infonnation
 212 Disastet- Pt.epa~-edness

on disaster-issues and to participate in the development of sustainable disaster management

strategies.
r Environmental Impact Assessment, Law, Policies and Practice
Environmental legislation plays a vital part in effective environment assessment systems.
This section focuses on environ~nentallegislation in environment assessment policy and
practice.
r Public Participation
This section explores principles and techniques of effective public participation' as part of
environment assessment. In India the term 'Environment' figured for the first time in the
Fourth Five Year Plan (1 969-74) which recognised the significance of comprehensive
examination of environmental ~ ~ n c e r nThe
s . Tiwari Committee (Committee on Review of
Legislative Measures and Administrative Measures), in its report in 1980, recommended
creation of a Department of Environment as a nodal agency to ensure environmental
protection, to carry out environmental impact studies of proposed development projects,
and to have administrative responsibility for pollution monitoring and control. The department
came into being in 1980 within the Ministry of Science and Technology under the charge
of the then Prime Minister. In 1989 the sul3jects of wildfife and forestry were added to
the list and a new Ministry of Environment and Forests was created with the Prime
Minister holding its charge. Since its inception the Department (under the Ministry) has
issued various guidelines on EIA for various projects. (Read: WEMRI, India at httpll:
www.adrc.ora/uem/document.s.htnzl
Role of Environmental Information Centre in Environmental Impact Assessment
in India
The Environmental Impact Assessment experience in India indicates that the lack of timely
availability of reliable and authentic environlnental data has been a major bottle neck in
achieving the full benefits of EIA, Environment being a multi-disciplinary subject, a
multitude of agencies is involved in collection of environmental data. However, there is no
single organisation in India which tracks the data available amongst these agencies and
makes it available in one place, in a form and manner required by practitioners in the field
of environmental impact assessment in India. To address the shortcoming, Environmental
Infotmation Centre (EIC) has been set LIPto serve as a professionally managed clearing
house of environmental information that can be used by Ministry of Environment and
Forests (MoEF), project proponents, consultants, NGOs and other stakeholders involved
in the process of environmental impact assessment in India. EIC caters to the need of
creating and disseminating of organi&d environmental data for various developmental
initiatives all over the country.
Environmental appraisal committees constituted by the MoEF for various types of
developmental projects including rivir valley, multipurpose irrigation and hydroelectric
projects; atomic power and nuclear fuel projects; mining projects, industrial projects,
thermal power projects, tourismltransport and rniscellane~usprojects; port and harbour
projects. The MoEF has developed guidelines for the preparation of EIA reports along
with questionnaires and check lists for the following sectors namely industry and mining
projects, thermal power projects, river valley projects, rail, road, highway projects, ports
and harbours, airports, co~nmunicationsprojects, new towns, parameters for determining
ecological fi-agility.
 Emerging Trends in Disaster Mitigation - I 21 3

MoEF amended tlie EIA notification (S.O.No. 60E) on 10 April 1997, making public
hearing mandatoly for environmental cleara~~ce.The public Iiearing will be co~iductedby
the State Pollution Control Boards before the proposals are sent to MoEF for obtaining
environmental clearance and, for site specific projects, it is done even before the site
clearance applications are forwarded to MoEF.

16.6 POLICY ARIEAS IN DISASTER MITIGATION

Disaster mitigation entails a series of both short- term and long- term policies to curb the
imniediate threat of disasters from existing hazards (str~~ctilral
and positional vulnerabilities)
and enhancing capacitylresilience of communities to withstand threatslface eventualities with
minimum damage. The following issues engage decision makers in the context of short-
term and long- term measures required for disaster mitigation.
Creating/furthering social capital within cotnmunities through institutionalisation of
cooperative effoi-t through neiglibourhood communities, by involving them more
closely in matters of daily governance; soliciting opinions, inviting complaints and
,. factoring the same in decision making.
I~nparting'voice' to communities, particularly inert backward sections, through enabling
mechanisms like proactive state initiative in interest al-ticulation, as a collaborative
entelpriselundertaking along with social action groups and volu~~teer organisations and
provision for transparent governance through right to informatio~iand political
communication regarding govertime~itinitiatives underway for their betterment as
people remain largely unaware of government schernes for their betterment.
Creating alternate service provision to impart the 'exit' option to people in case of
inadequate service provisionldelivery, through activating the private corporate sector
and non government organisations in public service provision as per public choice
stipulates and breaking thereby the monopoly of government service provision in
essential services like water, electricity etc. (though ~nodalitieslstipulatesfor the same
shall differ wit11 cultures).
Accounting for resource use in balance sheets of fir~ns;factoring environmental
concerns in the concept of risk in management and public administration.
I
Providing for personnel, ensuring req~~ired technical input through education and
training etc.,.to create the know how for structural and non-structural risk reduction.
Encouraging Human resource planning that implies building up, qualitatively and
quantitatively, manpower reserve, to service the demand fi-om various organisations,
in time, and up to the requisite quality. Specific requirements i n human resource
planning for disaster mitigation with respect to various hazards have to be kept in
view.
e Developing syllabus for civil engineering in technical institutes with a view to creating
expertise for disaster proofing/retrofitting of infrastructure, and reducing physical
vulnerability to earthquakes.
Providing a disaster perspective to education in general, at the primary and secondary
levels, and in specialities later, such as management, law, social sciences, medical
sciences, eartli sciences etc.
 214 Disaster Preparedness

a Placing accent on disaster management in training of civil servants, gazetted and non-
gazetted, to increase the lkvel of risk perception (awareness) in them and imparting
know-liow to better tackle disaster situations.
Training of local volunteers, especially among the 'at risk' communities for better
disaster response.
e Organising self-help effort on the part of people through catalytic state action, to
build social capital in rural areas.
* Training of local craftsmen, such as stonemasons, for more resilient indigenous
infrastructure; incorporation through research, of local engineering practices in modern
technical database.
There is a need for providing administrative prerequisites like integration of policy,
ensuring coordination in implementation, technical upgradation through computerisation of
ofice set-up, entailing record keeping etc., introduction of modern management techniques
in governance and innovative resource use. A study by the United Nations University in
2004 Iias indicated that the number of people worldwide vitlnerable to a devastating flood
is expected to increase to two billion by 2050 due to climate change ,deforestation, rising
sea levels and population growth in flood prone lands. Disasters from hurricanes like
"Katrina" and "Rita" this year in United States notwithstanding,this is a clear indication for
the human race to stop,assess the ecological degradation and redistribute funds to meet
the challenge. Natural resources are finite and need to be managed equitably for, as
Gandl~isaid, "nature has enough for evelybody's need, not greed"(Parsai,2005).

16.7 CONCLUSION
As Amartya Sen obsetves, the end of any development effort is enhancement of freedom
and that is the right criterion for judging any development effott, in other words, for policy
evaluation studies. A development effotdattetnpt is positive if it contributes to "substantive
freedoms" I ike enhancing opportunities for 'capacity enhancement' through better education,
law and order, health and equity; on gender considerations, political participation, access
to basis services like public health, basic education, sanitation etc. Hence, development
cannot be construed by the 'narrow criterion of GNP growth rate or industrialisation but
rather in terms of augmentation of substantive fieedoms. Hence, suppression of political
dissent, denial of the right to information or transparency in governance amount to denial
of freedom and retard development. Generaliy people are denied opportunities to better
their quality of lives which has a negative cumulative effect on development since it
reduces the capacity to engage in productive activity which leads to tangible gains and
adds to the gross domestic product of the country. Policies addressing long-term
vulnerability reduction have to be attempted for long term disaster mitigation. Developing
countries like l ndia need to foci~son essential public facilities like education, sanitation and
public health.

KEY CONCEPTS
Political Communication : The task of political communication is ascribed to the
elected representatives of the people by Gabriel
Almond. By direct contact, they apprise people of
policies pursued in public interest by the government
Emerging Trends in Disaster Mitigation - I 215

and how to access involved benefits and other

information.
Public Choice : It is the study of how government makes econolnic
decisions. Public Choice Theory is a branch of
economics that studies the decisio~i-making behaviour
of voters, politicians and government oficials from the
perspective of economic theory.
(en.wikipedia.ordwiki/p~~blic choice)
Social Capital : Like physical and human capital, there is social capital
whicli inheres in collective associations like filial ties
and social ties or informal contact between institutions.
By the economic argument there is tangible social
benefit inherent in such ties which can be exploited
for policy implementation purposes. Deliberate effort
to generate social capital involves organising self-help
on the part of communities through ~ieighbourhood
corn~nunitiesto enable them to articulate their interests.

16.9 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

Environmental lnformation Centre, 2004, "Envil-onmental Data on India, Environmental
lnformation for Environmental Impact Assessment, India," 2004, lnitiative of the Ministry of
Environment and Forests, India, at WWM?eicinformation, org/ -
David, W. Carter, Larry Perruso and Donna J. Lee, "Full Cost Accounting in Environmental
Decision-Making", at http://www.edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY-FE3 1 0#
Delica, Zenaida, G, "Commugity Risk Management: A Living Agency," HTML Document.
Goel, S.L., 2006, Encyclopedia of Disaster Management, Vol I , Deep and Deep, New
Delhi.
lndira Gandhi National Open University, 2004, Course Material on Sustainable
Development: Issues and Challenges, (MED 002), New Delhi,
Kabra, Kamal Nayan, 2005, "Disequalising Growth: The Achilles Heel of Liberalisation",
Alternative Economic Survey, 2004-05, Danish Books, New Delhi.
Mcbean, Gordon, "Disaster resilient cities- a goal for the future," at http://
www.opinioncanada.com
Murthy, S, 2002 "Economic Growth and Environment, Some issues in Environmental
Challenges of the 21st Century" in S. Radha and Alnar Singh Sankliayan, (Eds), Deep
and Deep Publications, New Delhi:
Nakajima, Hiroshi, 1990, "A Wounded Planet," World Health, January - February.
Parsai,Gargi,2005, "Whai nature strikes back", The Hindz1,25 December.
Ramachandran, (Ed.), 1 990, Environnie17tul Issues in Agriczilture, Concept, New Del hi.
Thakkar, Himansh, 2005, "Water", Disequalising Grovi~t17: The Achi1le.r Heel qf
Liberalisation, , Alternate Economic Survey, 2004-05, Danish Books, New Delhi. I
Thant, U, quoted in Clellan, MC and S Grant (Eds.), 1990, Protecting our Environments,
New York.
Thirlwal I, A. P, 2003, Growth and Development: With Special Reference to Developing
Countries, Chapter 10, in DlSCARE CASE STUDY SUPPLEMENT, Palgrave Macmillan,
London.
Webster's New Collegiate Dictionacy, 2002, quoted in 0 . P Monga, Ecology, Developn7ent
and Society: Future Challenges, The Asian Institute of Society, Law and Economics,
Deep and Deep Publications, New Delhi.
World Health Organisat ion, 1'972, World Health, May.
Websites
Activities and P~vjects: Key Activities .for IAEIA members, at v v ~ ~ ~ ~ . i u i a . o r n /
Non Memhers/Activity Resources/kev ucrivric,s.h[tu
"EIA (Environment Impact Assessment Practice) in India", at http//~~w.teriin.org/disc~~ssion
environ//thermal.i~tm

6
- -
0 ACTIVITIES
I) Prepare a note on the concept of sustainable development. In what ways can
environmelital and developmental concerns be made compatible?

2) Do a physical and social profile of your neigllbourhood and list the hazards you are
exposed to. Find out the vulnerabilities and recommend what should be done to
address tlie concerns. Wtiat all can yo11 do at your own level to protect the
enviro~zment?Make an Action Plan.