An-R&R 25 9 04 · 2 southasiadisasters.net August 2013 INTRODUCTION Floods in Uttarakhand: A New Relief Deal The loss of life and assets in Uttarakhand after the sudden floods is

southasiadisasters.net August 20132

INTRODUCTION

Floods in Uttarakhand: A New Relief Deal

The loss of life and assets inUttarakhand after the sudden

floods is most heart wrenching. Atleast 16 lakh people in four districtsof Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayagand Garhwal were affected by theJune 16 rains and floods1. The deathtoll, according to the state's disastermanagement minister, Yashpal Arya,is estimated to have crossed 5,000.Tens of thousands of people have losthomes and livelihood2 and lossesestimated to be above Rs. 3,000 crore3.With potable water almost non-existent, hundreds of people fromneighbouring villages havecomplained of fever and diarrhoea4.Heroic efforts of India Armed Forcesand members of National DisasterManagement Force to rescue lives byreaching out continues to seem notadequate. It is therefore not too earlyto start thinking about the nature andextent of relief and political economyaround it.

The Prime Minister ManmohanSingh's Rs. 1000 crore relief packageto Uttarakhand is indeed timely anddecisive: gone are the days when thecentral team from Delhi would visitthe victim state to assess the loss anddamage over weeks and the victimstates' humble team wouldrepeatedly run up to Delhi withinflated and revised memorandum ofdemand for relief. Negotiations andthe party politics around it would goon over months due to the political

and economic interests of thepoliticians, thus dragging out thesupply of materials and relief whichin turn causes more damage and lossto victims, their lives and theirlivelihoods. However, theUttarakhand flood reliefannouncement seems to havechanged this pattern. If that is so, it isnow possible to think of a new dealin terms of relief package but sadly ithas opened another area for politicalaction around media visibility.Disasters attract media, and mediaattracts politicians. This claim tomedia visibility reached its heightwith the visits of Narendra Modi andRahul Gandhi. But what this cost wastime, and took time away fromthinking about relief for India'scitizens. What can be the key featuresof such a new deal? Let us draw fromIndia's own experience.

Cash transfers to poor households isnow on our national agenda. Therural development ministry as wellas the Planning Commission ismaking best efforts to pilot cashtransfers as an anti poverty measure.Cash transfer has not only worked asdevelopment agenda but has alsoworked in disaster situations in India.But cash transfers is not on reliefagenda. The All India DisasterMitigation Institute (AIDMI) hasmade cash transfers to disastervictims since the 2001 Gujaratearthquake relief, and has done so forover nine disasters in the last twelveyears, reaching upto 26000 families.This decade long experience showsthat if planned well andindependently monitored, relief ascash transfer is time and cost effective.Cash transfer as relief can still bemisused but the misuse is easy to spot

1 Govt to focus on locals affected by Uttarakhand floods, Press Trust of India | New Delhi June 27, 2013 Last Updated at17:42 IST, Business Standards, Friday, June 28, 2013 | 09:48 AM IST, http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/govt-to-focus-on-locals-affected-by-uttarakhand-floods-113062700702_1.html

2 We must learn from the Uttarakhand disaster, By Business Standard, Last Updated: Tue, Jun 25, 2013 02:05 hrs, http://www.sify.com/news/we-must-learn-from-the-uttarakhand-disaster-news-columns-ngzcfhefafa.html

3 Don’t blame nature for the Uttarakhand flood disaster, G. Sampath, Thu, Jun 27 2013. 02 44 PM IST, Livemint, http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/hzKmWekwYOOtYKv8N6dZlN/Dont-blame-nature-for-the-Uttarakhand-flood-disaster.html?facet=print

4 Uttarakhand floods: Threat of an epidemic looms large as people complain of fever, diarrhoea, Yahoo! India News – Wed26 Jun, 2013, http://in.news.yahoo.com/uttarakhand-floods—threat-of-an-epidemic-looms-large-as-people-complain-of-fever—diarrhoea-064803467.html

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and misusers are easier to trackdown. Cash transfer takes cashdirectly to the victim and cuts out thecost of time and money that reliefmaterial businesses cause.

Encouraging ResponseThe international NGOs such as Savethe Children, Plan, CARE and othershave used cash transfer in Odishaafter the 2011 floods with ECHO(European Union) funds. Theexperience of these longstandinginternational humanitarian playerssuggest that cash transfer as reliefreduces time, transaction costs, andincreases household impact onrecovery. In addition as RayKancharla of Save the Children notedat the review workshop of the 2011floods, the impact of cash transfer onchildren and mothers is mostencouraging. Indeed theseorganizations have found thatwomen are, upon receiving cashtransfers, more likely to spend themoney on their children's basic needsand use it for establishing newenterprises. Cash transfer hassuccessfully been used in Sri Lankaafter the 2004 tsunami. In Pakistan,US$325 million were disbursed forflood damage compensation to overone million families in Punjab byissuing debit cards. Cash transfers canbe a key feature of the new deal ofrelief in Uttarakhand. The nationalobjective of financial inclusion willbe even better served by such achange in the relief package.

The utilization of central relief by thestates is not always time bound. Theutilization decisions of central reliefare often taken without enoughtransparency. This is often notbecause of corruption or lack ofunderstanding but because officialsin the national and state authoritiesdo not have time and space forlearning from others so that they can

make system wide improvementsuch as using cash transfers for reliefand recovery. The Uttarakhand floodis an opportunity to find ways ofoffering time and space to nationaland state authority officials forlearning from others so that they canmake system wide improvements.Exceptions are important but systemwide changes are even moreimportant for widespread impact.

The relief can replace what is lost, orrelief can also be a starting point fornew ways of development,development that is protected fromdisaster risk, development that isclimate smart—green and clean—inthe long run. No other region needssuch "green development" more thanour Himalayas. The work ofChandiprasad Bhatt in Uttarakhandhas pointed this need now for almosthalf-a-century. Though half-a-centuryis not a long time to point out anurgent change in our Indian context.The use of solar and other forms ofrenewable energy in buildingcommunity-level energy securitycannot now be left behind. Newhomes and public buildings—schools and hospitals included—mustuse solar and renewable energy. I-Set,an international think tank withleading NGO SEEDS in Gorakhpur hasshown ways to build "green shelter"that has smaller carbon foot print inits construction as well as sustenance.Ashok Khosla and his team atDevelopment Alternatives has madea case for use of eco-materials acrossalmost every geo-agro-climatic zonesof India. The Uttarakhandgovernment has also beenconstructing a number of hydro-electricity power plants, but cautionmust be exercised to ensure that thisdoes not cause environmentdegradation and exacerbates existingflood risks. Work of Practical Actionin Nepal inspired by E.F. Schomacker

has found smaller, safer, andsustainable hydro-power units forHimalayas.

Imaginative Relief WorkEnvironmentalists say that thedisaster in Uttarakhand wasinevitable due to rampantconstruction, felling of trees andbuilding of dams in the name ofdevelopment. They warned that itwill continue if the state doesn'tchange track5. May be this relief isnot only an opportunity to changetrack but change the direction and thepace too. From more growth to greengrowth and higher rate to widerspread of growth. Imaginative reliefin Uttarakhand must reverse this byusing solar and wind power in itsvillages and towns. By doing soUttarakhand can be a model to therest of hilly India on how to go abouta different—greener and cleaner—development path. Rs. 1000 crore isnot a small sum to pilot creating a"green economy" through relief andrecovery. Initial steps may includeadditional forestry plantations withMGNREGA resources as a part of therelief, recovery planning, andreconstruction processes. Such largeamounts offer an opportunity toinvest in long term economic growthof victim citizens and sustainabledevelopment.

The recent disaster of floods inUttarkhand should also be consideredan opportunity to implement thesuggested actions in the State ActionPlan on Climate Change of theGovernment of Uttarakhand6. TheStatement on the UttarakhandCatastrophe by India ClimateJustice7, endorsed by number oforganisations, demand action on anumber of grounds and offersvaluable suggestions for integratingadaptation measures into relief andrisk reduction agendas. It demands:

5 Uttarakhand floods: Deconstructing a disaster, MayankAggrawal, DNA, Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013, 10:11 IST | Place: NewDelhi | Agency: DNA, http://www.dnaindia.com/india/1852688/report-uttarakhand-floods-deconstructing-a-disaster

6 Available at http://www.uttarakhandforest.org/Data/SC_Revised_UAPCC_27june12.pdf7 Statement on Uttarakhand Catastrophe by India Climate Justice, Greg Laden’s Blog, Posted by Greg Laden on June 25,

2013. http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2013/06/25/statement-on-uttarakhand-catastrophe-by-india-climate-justice/


• That the governments at thecentral and state level retreat toa low carbon pathway ofdevelopment that has equity,decent employment, andsustainability at its core.

• That the planning andconstruction of dams in theentire Indian Himalayas bereviewed, and that allconstruction be halted until sucha review is carried out.

• That the use of explosives in allsuch infrastructure developmentworks is completely stopped.

• That, given the likelihood ofextreme rainfall events andother climate extremes in thefuture, extensive and sub-regional warning systems areput in place urgently across allthe Himalayan states, the coastalareas and beyond.

• That a proper assessment of thecarrying capacity of specificecosystems is carried out.

• That the stretch from Gaumukhto Uttarkashi be declared an eco-sensitive zone without furtherdelay.

• That a river regulation zone beenforced such that no permanentstructures are allowed to beconstructed within 100 metres ofany river.

• That the residents and theirorganizations are thoroughlyconsulted in a democratic planon climate change, in the revivalof the local hill economy, and thegeneration of decentemployment.

• That all working people becompensated for the loss of lifeand livelihood, and that urgentplans are put in place for therevival of local livelihoods andagriculture.

• That the central governmentlearn from the Uttarakhandcatastrophe and put in place prioradaptation measures not just for

the mountainous regions butbeyond, the coastal and thedrought-prone interiors as well.

The above ten points throw light onkey areas that must be discussed anddebated by the citizens ofUttarakhand to plan their ownrecovery as well as shape ongoingdevelopment. The opportunity todiscuss should benefit not this or thatgroup but all citizens. The recentannouncement by Uttarakhand ChiefMinister to start tabulating grossenvironment product (GEP), ameasure of the health of the state'snatural resources is welcome step.Provision of relief cannot be confinedto the government. Relief canleverage on private sector investmentsuch as in insurance or risk transferpools and enterprise development.The companies who operate from theregion of Uttarakhand, directly orindirectly, can come forward to workwith small and medium enterprisesand develop new deal reliefmeasures. In addition to providingshelter relief and compensation forloss of assets the corporations canoffer economic stabilization funds tosmall business and the building upof business environment and localmarkets. They can also assist in clusterdevelopment, providing training,offer employment and mentor thebusiness owner. In this processbusinesses owned by women cannotreceive low or limited priority.

Review Tourism SectorThe tourism sector in Uttarakhandneeds a review now more than everbefore. Tourism officials have pointedout that floods in Uttarakhand havebrought down business to 20-30 percent8, and this number will onlyincrease in coming months. It willtake years to rebuild these small andmicro enterprises. The losses toinformal sector enterprises and itsworkers could be far greater and

more devastating. UNDP's ongoingglobal study in Japan, Mexico andIndia indicates that small and mediumenterprises are not only good localdecentralized engines of economicgrowth and markets but are alsobuilders of social capital after adisaster. The study results also showthat disasters affect them moredisproportionally and therefore reliefand compensation need to pay moreattention to their capital skills, andmarket needs. Agencies such as theWorld Bank who are invited by theFinance Minister to help rebuildeconomy can start with the small andmedium enterprise livelihoods.

Similarly, there cannot be any betteropportunity than this to offeraffordable and suitable multi-hazardinsurance coverage to the victims andthe vulnerable citizen inUttarakhand. Priority insurancecoverage for women and children,schools and education buildings,health centres and local roads, andjobs and income for women areinvariably left out in the relief andpreparedness efforts. Insurancecoverage to these sections of citizensand sectors of economy is overdue.Tour operators may have to leaverescue of their clients to publicauthorities but at least own up theresponsibility to protect the localeconomy and ecology it has used byoffering insurance protection.

The ongoing study of the potential ofmicro-insurance to reduce risk byMicroSave in five Asian countrieswith the support of the UK basedClimate and DevelopmentKnowledge Network (CDKN) showsthat the months after a disaster areone of the most suitable times tointroduce new and structural changesin risk transfer practices andinstitutions. Universal insurancecoverage of the poor in Uttarakhandis now possible to achieve if we start

8 ShishirPrashant | Dehradun June 24, 2013 Last Updated at 20:42 IST, Tourism sector bears brunt of Uttarakhanddisaster, http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/tourism-sector-bears-brunt-of-uttarakhand-disaster-113062400626_1.html


thinking about a new deal of reliefpackage. Thanks to the interventionby the Finance Minister who askedthe LIC to do away with the usualseven years waiting period for thesettlement of claims in cases ofmissing persons, the LIC will nowmake it easier from Uttarakhandcalamity victims to obtain payment9.But this is not enough; the state ofUttarakhand need to do more to covermore people and losses as may Godforbid similar catastrophic eventswith even more severe consequencescould occur. In any case, as theNational Disaster ManagementAuthority (NDMA) is trying to comeup with something concrete on risktransfers for India, it can considerpiloting an initiative in Uttarakhand.AIDMI has demanded universaldisaster risk coverage of all pooramong citizens who hold MGNREGAcard. Relief in Uttarakhand can be afirst step towards this. The GeneralInsurance Corporation can acceleratethe process.

Such a new deal relief will help toimprove the picture of what seems tobe a mixed performance in rescue andresponse after the floods. The heroicefforts of local citizens and army havebecome blurred with stories afterstories of neglect and delay. Thespreading anger and frustration willebb and attention will turn towardsthe constructive challenge ofdesigning and implementing relief.Such a new deal will also address thegrowing feeling among the local

9 Uttarakhand disaster: LIC asked to relax claim norms, PTI New Delhi Last Updated: June 25, 2013 | 23:01 IST, http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/uttarakhand-disaster-lic-asked-to-relax-claim-norms/1/196168.html

10 Don’t blame nature for the Uttarakhand flood disaster, G. Sampath, Thu, Jun 27 2013. 02 44 PM IST, Livemint, http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/hzKmWekwYOOtYKv8N6dZlN/Dont-blame-nature-for-the-Uttarakhand-flood-disaster.html?facet=print

11 ’Children Need Priority’ Says World Vision India Responding to the Uttarakhand Floods, SRINAGAR, Uttarakhand, India,June 25, 2013 /PRNewswire, http://www.telegraphindia.com/pressrelease/prnw/enin201306256297_indiapublic.html

12 Uttarakhand Flood Situation is Catastrophic; Large Dams Partially to Blame Says ActionAid, http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=176347#.Uc0QR_Wqnps

13 Report no.-5 of 2013-Union Government (Ministry of Home Affairs) - Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General ofIndia on performance Audit of Disaster Preparedness in India, http://saiindia.gov.in/english/home/Our_Products/Audit_Report/Government_Wise/union_audit/recent_reports/union_performance/2013/Civil/Report_5/Report_5.html

14 CAG report: No disaster management in Uttarakhand, Posted by: Anisha, Published: Monday, June 24, 2013, 18:17 [IST],http://news.oneindia.in/2013/06/24/u-khand-tragedy-cag-submits-report-1244367.html

15 Dealing with Disasters in Uttarakhand, Understanding how the Government does and does not work Dr NitinPandey, 16-Sept-2010, http://www.pandeyji.com/uttarakhand/114.cfm

citizens that too much governmentattention is given to the rescue oftourists at the cost of attention to theloss of local lives and the future oflocal citizens.

According to media reports, when thefloods struck, about 28 milliontourists were visiting the state, whilethe local population is close to halfthat number10. While most mediareports only reported about the tragicstate of pilgrims and tourists, theextent of the damage and loss to thelocal population was ignored and atpresent is still unclear11. The regionwill face harsh winters in a fewmonths time and all are concerned thatpeople may not have enough shelter,warm clothing and food if relief andrehabilitation work do not proceed ata fast pace12. But urgency must not killthe need to better plan and ponderstrategic actions in Uttarakhand.

Long-term Relief NeededRelief is often confined to short-termmeasures and used to serve short-lived purposes. Such interpretationoften aggravates or leaves existingvulnerabilities unaddressed. TheState Disaster Management Authority(SDMA) constituted in 2007 needsimmediate support to successfullymanage the current surge in demandfor relief and linking the relief withrehabilitation and long-termdevelopment so that it emerges as astrong and credible agency in thestate. In the end performance ofNDMA is dependent on what the State

Disaster Management Authorities arecapable of doing. In its performanceaudit report of 201313, theComptroller and Auditor General(CAG) had highlighted that theUttarakhand SDMA had notformulated any rules, regulations,policies or guidelines for disastermanagement in the state. The reportalso highlighted that the GeologicalSurvey of India had identified 101 ofthe 233 Uttarakhand villages affectedby the disaster of 2008 as vulnerable,but the state did not make anyarrangements for the relocation ofthese villages in the past five years14."While we have identified 101villages in Uttarakhand which are athigh risk for land-slides, but we haveneither money nor land to resettlethem" Suneel Muttoo, Secretary, Dept.of Disaster Management admitted inSeptember 201015. Can current reliefmeasures effectively pave path foraddressing long-term risk reductionissues such as those faced by these 101villages in the state?

Leaders for a new humanitarian actionthat builds on the past but takes a leaponto the future must be found. Letrelief to Uttrarakhand define the newgeneration relief package in India, onethat helps victims recover faster andbetter, and which puts India in theleadership position for defining thefuture of humanitarian action in theAsia-Pacific.

– Mihir R. Bhatt withMehul Pandya and Hui Chi Goh,

All India Disaster Mitigation Institute


INTERNATIONAL RECOVERY PLATFORM

Floods in Uttarakhand: Opportunities toReduce Risk in Recovery

For resilient recovery, whichreduces both existing and future

risk, it is important to invest in keyrisk reduction measures andinstitutions. These investments arebest before a disaster, and thefollowing frameworks and tools existfor investing.

1. Recovery and developmentframeworks must be flexible toallow the space and time forresilient recovery to take place.Short-term projects will lead toshort-term gains. Recovery is notonly 20 years of developmentaccelerated to but a few but alsoneeds to incorporate existingrisk from all hazards and futurerisk from a changing climate.Despite the stresses of a post-disaster situation, one shouldstep back and plan a resilientrecovery based on local capacityand the pace and needs of theaffected population. Because ofthe stresses of a post-disastersituation, one should invest in ex-ante assessment and recoveryframeworks.

2. Invest in progress against theHyogo framework for actionand mainstreaming riskreduction into development fora deeper, faster and moreresilient recovery. The HFAprovides the framework todevelop capacity to reduce therisk from multiple existinghazards and future hazards,including from climate change.Although recovery is only oneof the indicators in the HFA'spriority five, the capacityrequired for recovery is inherentin all priorities and crosscutting

issues. The instrumentsassociated with the HFA allowthe existence of a multi-hazardrecovery framework embeddedwithin the governance and thedevelopment of the area. Theexistence of these capacities, ingovernment, professionalorganisations, private sector andcivil society, provides thelinkage between recovery anddevelopment. These samecapacities are critical in reducingrisk to multiple future disastersincluding from climate change.

3. Invest in planning based onassessments, monitoring,evaluation and learningmechanisms. These provide thefoundation for action. Ideally,these investments should be ex-ante, to solidify partnership andstrategies and reduce the stressesinvolved in a post-disastersystem. This will allow for adeeper, faster and more resilientrecovery. Both ex-ante planningand post disaster needsassessments and monitoringsystems need to clearly identify,understand and addressunderlying risk factors. Theseinclude multiple hazards andchanges to future risk factorsfrom climate change andurbanisation. The plans shouldrecognise the and use theinherent resilience of people andcommunities as well as identify,understand and use existinggovernance capacity and supportstructures, linking risk reductionand development. Both ex-anteand post disaster assessmentsand planning tools exist andcontinue to evolve.

4. Invest in understanding andbuilding on the inherentresilience of communities. Tobuild resilient communities onemust understand existingresilience and inherentvulnerabilities, especiallygender. Tools exist and continueto evolve to providecommunities with a mechanismto voice their opinions, beinvolved in decision-making andunderstand their capacities andvulnerabilities in a multi-hazardand climate change context.These tools, and participation indecision making bycommunities including the mostvulnerable and marginalised arecritical in ensuring resilientdevelopment and reducing riskduring recovery and in the faceof a changing climate. Thechallenges of future risk fromclimate change and futureadaption place further urgencyon the need for the centralprotagonist in development andrecovery to be involved indecision-making and actions –people, communities andespecially women and themarginalised.

Disaster risk reduction is aninvestment not a cost. Recovery offersthe opportunity to invest inaddressing the underlying risk factorsfrom multiple hazards and a changingclimate on an accelerated basis forresilient development with anemphasis on "build back better."

– Sanjaya Bhatia,Knowledge Management Officer,International Recovery Platform

(UNISDR), Japan


CAPACITY BUILDING

Real-time Capacity Building in Uttarakhand

Traditionally, capacity buildingfor disaster response is seen as a

'peace-time' activity, to beundertaken in preparation of disasterevents. However, many disasters,like the recent flash floods andlandslides in Uttarakhand witness asurge of new responders whoseefficiency and effectiveness can beimproved through essential technicalinputs and humanitarianperspectives. RedR India's experienceof real-time capacity building inUttarakhand is discussed below.

As the State Government and non-governmental agencies launchedtheir relief work after the flash floodsand landslides in Uttarakhand, 26RedR India members were deployedto support their operations. Thisincluded a 2-member team deployedwith ACC Cement, 23 members as apart of the rapid needs assessmentteam with the State Government andUNDMT and a communicationsspecialist to document and report thedeveloping humanitarian scenariofrom the state.

Based on experiences of deployedmembers, it emerged that thedisruption of connectivity was one ofthe key challenges in themountainous terrain, hamperingaccess to information, essentialservices and relief items. The effortsof local youth, district administrationand organisations were notable in

overcoming this hurdle, wherebytheir knowledge of the terrain,mountaineering skills1 andcommitment was instrumental inreaching out to cut-off villages. Fromthe assessments, inputs from thefield, and operations in which RedRIndia members were involved alongwith on-going SITREPs and IAGupdates; it was noticeable that therehad been a major surge with a host ofvolunteers, non-traditional actors andlocal actors involved in respondingto the post-disaster situation. It wasfelt that the motivation of the actorsshould be complemented withknowhow and technical skills formore effective and efficient results,in addition to an understanding ofHumanitarian Standards and theCode of Conduct. A key challengethat was observable was the need toassess the changing needs of theaffected population and targeting ofpopulation for relief distribution.With the scale of recovery andreconstruction work to be undertaken,provision of essential skills relatingto WASH, project management andtargeting of vulnerable groups wasperceived to be critical.

It was against this background thatRedR India launched a series of field-based training programmes acrossthe affected districts of Uttarakhand,with support from UNICEF. Theseneed based training courses are 1-daylong and aim to develop the capacities

of government officials from relevantdepartments involved in Relief andRehabilitation work, frontlineworkers and aid workers on keyconcepts and issues involved acrossvarious sectors. The programme alsoaims to sensitize them on keyconcepts of humanitarian work alongwith cross-cutting issues like genderconsiderations, needs of the elderly,children and the disabled and,disaster risk reduction.

139 people have undergone real-timecapacity building so far in 3 districts,namely, Chamoli, Rudraprayag andUttarkashi, on Multi-sector NeedsAssessment, Safe Drinking Water andEnvironmental Sanitation inEmergencies, Hygiene Promotion inEmergencies, Managing People andProjects in Emergencies, Children inEmergencies and Logistics inEmergencies. This has included ASHAand AWW workers, Village Pradhans,Teachers, School Principals, BlockLevel Officials, NGO workers,volunteers and medical officers,amongst others who are playing anactive role in the relief and responseefforts. – Sheena AroraCoordinator – Knowledge Management

and Learning RedR India

1 For example, the Nehru Institute ofMountaineering has mobilized itslocal climbers in Uttarkashi to reachout to remote and cut-off villages ina bid to gather information aboutimmediate needs of people.

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Participants carrying out turbidity test during a WaSH trainingin Augustyamuni, Rudraprayag.

RedR India member introducing hygiene promotion IECmaterial to the participants in Guptakashi, Rudraprayag.


BRIEFING NOTE

The Uttarakhand Disaster:A wake call to stop the rape of our fragile Himalaya

The Uttarakhand disaster we havewitnessed at the beginning of the

2013 monsoon season is aconsequence of ignorance and greed-ignorance of the ecological systemsthat hold up the fragile Himalaya, andgreed to profit from the exploitationof the rich natural and culturalheritage of our region.

Uttarakhand is the source of thesacred Ganga and its tributaries, thelifeline of India. The sources of theserivers were made sacred sites inorder to protect the Ganga Himalaya,and hence India. The yatra to the fourpilgrimage centres of Gangotri,Yamunotri, Kedarnath andBadrinath–the Char Dham, was meantto both connect us culturally andspiritually to these "Bhutirths" –sacredsites of the Earth– and to connect usecologically to the sources of life, thesources of our rivers.

Our sacred mountains have sustainedlocal communities and pilgrims forthousands of years because they havebeen treated with reverence andrespect. Today the ecologically fragileHimalaya, and our sacred rivers arebeing raped.

The disaster which has led to fivethousand deaths on current estimatesand the disappearance of nearly100000 people is a wake up call to stopthe rape. We need to learn once againto have reverence for our sacredmountains and rivers. We need to beinformed by the latest of ecologicalsciences, not by an obsolete"development" model which isnothing more than a greed andexploitation model which has led tothe tragic disaster in Uttarakhand.Contrary to what the politicians aresaying, the disaster is clearlymanmade, not a natural disaster.

Politicians, decision makers,corporations responsible for causingthe disaster through their ignoranceand greed, their blindness andshortsightedness, need to takeresponsibility for the disaster theirpolicies and actions have caused. The"polluter pays principle" needs to beexpanded to cover the scale ofecological devastation we arewitnessing.

The Chief Minister has said thedamage will cost Rs 3000 Crore (Rs30 billion), and it has undone 3 yearsof "development". He obviously isonly looking at profits from concreteand construction. He cannot see thesoil that has been washed away andthe 500 years it will take to build oneinch of the protective layer of top soil,the skin of the mountains. He cannotsee the thousands of years it took forrivers to shape the landscape and thecommunities to create theirsettlements in river valleys. Hecannot see the millions of years ittook the Himalaya to form. He cannotsee the sustainable economies andcultures built by local communitiesover thousands of years of hard workto coexist with the fragile mountains,their home. He cannot see that thedestruction of their lives andlivelihoods cannot be reversed in 3years. In many cases the damage isirreversible and immeasurable.

Today, driven by greed andcorruption, the government hasbecome blind to nature and people,it has become ignorant of the cultureof the sacred, and the ecologicalfragility of the Himalaya. The sacredsets limits. Ecological fragility setslimits. Today these limits are beingviolated, as rivers are dammed anddiverted for electricity, and thepilgrimage to the Char Dhams is

being turned into crass consumeristmass tourism.

In 1916, Rai Patiram Bahadur in hisbook "Garhwal, ancient and modern"wrote "We may say that there is nocountry in the world of the dimensionof Garhwal which has so many riversas a traveller will find in this land.The district has 60 rivers of differentsize, besides these; there are rivulets,rills, springs and fountains inhundreds, showing that nature hasbeen especially bountiful to this landin the matter of its water supply."(quoted in Semwal, p21)

500 dams are planned in our regionon the Ganga system. SwamiGyanswarup Sanand, (Formerly- Dr.G.D. Agrawal) (Ganga SewaAbhiyanam) has been repeatedlygoing on fast to save the Ganga. Hisefforts forced the central governmentto declare the area from Uttarkashito Gaumukh an ecologically fragilezone. The present Chief Minister hasbeen blocking it the declaration ofthis area as an eco sensitive zone inthe name of "development". I hopethat the disaster of 2013 will makehim realize the value of protection ofthe Ganga Himalaya as an ecologicallyfragile zones. And it is not just thestretch between Uttarkashi andGaumukh. We need to protect theentire catchment of the Ganga systemas a cultural heritage and ecologicallyfragile and sensitive ecosystem.

Blasting with dynamite recklessly forthe construction of dams and tunnelshas triggered thousands oflandslides. When the first rain comes,these landslides fill the river bed withrubble. There is no space for the waterto flow. We are literally stealing theecological space from our rivers. Andwhen they have no space to flow, they


will overflow, cut banks and causeflooding.

Local communities, who have beenmade invisible in the media andgovernment reports of the disasterwill never get back the lives of theirloved ones that were extinguished,or the fields and homes that werewashed away. But those that havecaused the damage – the constructioncompanies like JP, GVK, LANCO,L&T etc who are building dams byrecklessly blasting the ecologicallysensitive Himalaya – will not looseanything. They will bailed outthrough our tax money, without ourconsent and approval.

It is time that projects were approvedby local communities who bear thebrunt of the ecological destructioncaused by them, not by corruptpoliticians who make money all theway, including from the relief andrehabilitation packages afterdisasters. It is time to stop andreassess the building of dams andhydel projects in the fragile Himalayawith an internalization of all socialand ecological costs.

Added to the short sightedness of"development" in an old paradigm isthe denial of the deepeningvulnerability of the Himalaya withClimate Change. The Navdanya/Research Foundation for ScienceTechnology and Ecology on Climatechange in the Third Pole had warnedthat climate extremes, untimely rains,melting glaciers created newchallenges for us in the Himalaya. Butthe Government spun into denialmode in the lead up to theCopenhagen climate conference.

Usually floods come at the end of aheavy monsoon. This year they camewith the first rain. The monsoon cameearly, and the rainfall was much morethan normal. This is climateinstability. Meantime, the ecologicaldamage caused by maldevelopmenthas reduced the capacity of themountain ecosystem to deal withheavy rain. Climate havoc adds to thevulnerability. Kedarnath, the 8thcentury Shiva shrine is located at thesource of the Mandakini river. Thedamage at Kedarnath was caused bythe breaking of the Kedar Domeglacier that led to the bursting of the

glacial Charbarilake. These areclimate disasters. Yet just before theCopenhagen Climate Conference, theGovernment issued a report sayingtheir was no impact on our Glaciers.The Kedarnath tragedy shows hawheavy the cost of this denial is. Weneed to recognize that our glaciersare threatened, and melting glacierswill lead to disasters. Disasterpreparedness is the duty ofgovernment. But disasterpreparedness needs honest androbust ecological science, and honestand robust participatory democracy.

Mass tourism has led to constructionon the fragile banks of the rivers.When rivers flood, more damage iscaused.

In my childhood old people did thepilgrimage on foot. Along the mainarteries we had roads for one waytraffic. Today, there is an attempt tomake 4 lane highways in themountains. Highways meanslandslides as mountain slopes aredynamited, and the rubble is throwndown the slope. Landslides createslope instability, with more boulders

Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel, in uniform, help stranded pilgrims on a makeshift bridge cross a stream ofgushing floodwater at Govind Ghati, in Chamoli district, in northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, India, Friday, June 21, 2013.

(Image: mnpprodpublic.s3.amazonaws.com)


and debris causing destruction offorests and fields. Less space is leftfor water, rivers flood more easily.And instead of reaching faster,pilgrims and local people face roadblocks for days on end due tolandslides. Pilgrim tourism needs tobe "slow" tourism to respect thesacredness and fragility of theHimalaya, like there is Slow Foodand Slow Money.

40 years ago I joined the Chipkomovement as a volunteer.

The women led Chipko movementstarted after the 1972 Alaknandadisaster, caused by logging in theAlaknanda valley.

Women connected the deforestationto landslides and flooding. As theypointed out, the primary products ofthe forest were not timber andrevenue, but soil and water. Forestsleft standing to protect the fragileHimalayan slopes, provide more tothe economy than when they areextracted as dead timber.

It took the 1978 Uttarkashi disasterfor the Government to recognize thatthe women were right. When thegovernment had to spend on floodrelief was much more than therevenues they were getting throughtimber extraction.

In 1981, in response to the Chipkomovement, logging was bannedabove 1000 km in the GarhwalHimalaya. Today Government policyrecognizes that forestry in the fragileHimalaya has to be Conservationforestry which maximizes theecological services of the forest inprotecting, not extractive forestry.

In 1983, the Supreme court stoppedlimestone mining in Doon Valley,recognizing that the limestone left inthe mountains, contributed more tothe economy than the lime tonedextracted through mining.

The 2013 disaster should wake us upto the social, ecological and economic

costs of destructive policies that havedevastated our fragile and beautifulmountain ecosystems. The Himalayaare the youngest mountain system inthe world. They cannot bear theviolence of deforestation and dambuilding. They need gentleness andrespect.

Chipko shook our policy makers outof their slumber that allowed themto think of forests as timber mines,and woke them to the ecologicalfunctions of the forests in thecatchments of our rivers. The currentdisaster should shake them out of theslumber that allows them to see riversas 20,000 Mega watt of hydro power,and realize that when respected ourrivers are rivers of life, and whenviolated, they can become rivers ofdeath.

Appendix: Dams on the Ganga SystemAmong 37 hydroelectric projects onthe Alaknanda power project on riverAlaknanda in Srinagar beingconstructed by GVK, a South IndianCorporation other dams proposed onthe Alaknanda - Mandakini rivers are:1. Alaknanda (Badrinath) (300 MW)2. Bagoli (72 MW)3. Bowla Nandprayag (132 MW)4. Chuni Senu (24 MW)5. Deodi (60 MW)6. Devsari (255 MW)7. Gauribund (18.6 MW)8. Gohana Tal (60 MW)9. JelamTameh (60 MW)10. Kalnaprayag (160 MW)11. Lakshmanganga (4.4 MW)12. Lata Tapovan (310 MW)13. Maleri Jalam (55 MW)14. Nand Prayag Langasn(141 MW)15. Padli dam (27 MW)16. PhataBying (108 MW)17. Rambara (24 MW)18. Rishiganga I (70 MW)19. Rishiganga II (35 MW)20. Simgoli Bhatwari (99 MW)21. TamakLata (280 MW)22. Urgam II (3.8 MW)23. Utyasu Dam (860 MW)24. Vishnugad Pipalkata (444 MW)(Ref. Hydro electric projects on AlaknandaRiver Basin by South Asia Network on Dams,Rivers and People www.sandrp.in)

The 99 MW power project at Singoli -Bhatwari near Augustmuni, beingconstructed by Larson & Toubro,which will affect 60 villages is one ofthe 12 Hydro electric projects allcoming up on the Mandakini. Mycolleague and local coordinator ofNavdanya Chandrashekhar Bhatt hasbeen part of the movement resistingthe 13 project. In 2008, our teacher andfriend, Dr. G D. Aggarwal, a formerProfessor of I.I.T. Kanpur where Iattended summer schools as a Physicsstudent, undertook a fast into deathat the age of 76 to stop the string ofdams built on the Bkaguella includingthe 600 MW Loharinagpala being builtby Natural Thermal Power Corporation.

The Ganga would be put into a 17 Kmtunnel to generate electricity. Otherdams on the Bhagirathi include the480 MW Pala Maneri, 381 MW BharanGhati. (Ref. http://www.asiantribune.com)

Projects under construction on theBhagirathi include:1. Loharinag Pele (600 MW)2. Kateshwar (400 MW)3. Kotli Bhel IA (195 MW)4. Kotli Bhel IB (320 MW)5. Kotli Bhel II (530 MW)6. Maneu Bheli II (304 MW)7. Pala Maneri I (480 MW)

Projects planned on Bhagirathi andBhulangana:1. Bhaironghati I (380 MW)2. Bhaironghati II (65 MW)3. Bhilangana I (22.5 MW)4. Bhilangana II (11 MW)5. Gangotri (55 MW)6. Harsil (210 MW)7. Jadhganga (50 MW)8. Karmoli (140 MW)9. Tehri PSS (1000 MW)

Projects that are under operation are:Maneri Bhali I (90 MW)Tehri (1000 MW)(Ref. "The Disappearing Ganga: Is there anyhope for this River'' in Dams, Rivers, PeopleSANDRP, August 2008.)

– Dr. Vandana ShivaNavdanya/Research Foundation for

Science Technology and Ecology(written on June 24, 2013)


ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT

Enterprise Development: And Safer Way inUttarakhand?More and more attention is

being given to enterprisedevelopment in conflict and crisisareas worldwide. But is thisdevelopment protected from disasterrisks? And this is not always clear.The floods in Uttarakhand havedestroyed large number of small andlocal enterprise—those related totourism we hear in our media reportsbut those not related to tourism wedo not. What will work in revivingthese small and medium economicenterprise of the region? There arethree areas available for action.a) It is found that cash transfer is

one way to reach out toenterprise with cash incentivesto take both, mitigation andpreparedness measures. Theneed for cash can often beestimated with self assessmenttools that are now available withorganizations such as CDKN.

b) The enterprise in food industryor food trade are morevulnerable to disaster risks butare also more likely to bounce

back and restore food security inthe local area. They not onlyoffer food and food items butalso revive and open up localfood markets. Experience of Savethe Children in Odisha in 2010floods is encouraging.

c) Role of Red Cross has been a keyto responding to disasters in thepast and in its response toUttarakhand flood damageresponse Red Cross has made

effort to play an active role. Thisrole is system wide and bottomup linking government and NGOat local level. Red Cross supportto local enterprise developmentwill be so timely and effective inUttarakhand.

The above three action areas are astarting point. What is needed isfinding ways for safer enterprisedevelopment in Uttarakhand.

– Khyati Halani

– Gautam Bhut

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EMERGENCY WARNING

Early Warning and Alert Systems

During major incidents such asacts of terror, natural or man-

made catastrophes, the population isexposed and vulnerable. In suchsituations, warning the citizens andalerting the first responders is ofutmost importance to reduce the riskof people from being harmed, injuredor killed. Through prompt, targetedand informative warnings – before,during and after emergencysituations – people can takeprecautions and protect themselvesand their loved ones.

"Warning and information are just asimportant as food and water before,during and after the occurrence of anemergency situation." (Red Cross,World Disaster Report).

A system designed for this purposeMUST WORK during emergencysituations when human lives may beat risk. It should be able to try to alertthe population through multiple

communication channels (mobilephones, TV, radio etc). Thecommunication that needs to be sentout to all people in a selected area,should not get stuck in the congestionof communication channels.

Requirements:• Alert all people in a certain area

about situations, where they arein danger.

• Respond to requests for helpfrom the people in a selectedarea, in times of crisis.

• Improve response time foremergency handling.

• Better co-ordination amongstfirst responder groups.

• Provide efficient tools to theemergency managementpersonnel.

UMS Solution OverviewThe UMS solution consists of fourbroad components. One can pick and

choose from these as per requirementsof the specific scenario.• Population Alert System (PAS) -

Alert all people in a certaingeographical area withcustomized messages.

• Location Based Alert System(LBAS) - Alert mobilesubscribers in an area byprioritizing them over othertelecom network traffic.

• Group Alert System (GAS) -Alert a pre-defined group ofpeople (e.g. list of firstresponders) on their mobile orfixed phones thru voice/smsmessages and other channels.

• Traveler Alert System (TAS) -Alert all travellers in one orseveral locations withcustomized alerts on their mobiledevices.

• Population Alert and RiskManagement (PARM) - Pre-define risk scenarios for

Figure 1 Emergency Warning System


triggering even faster emergencyresponses.

PAS (Population Alert System) ofUMS, is a centralized &comprehensive emergency alertsystem with a GIS based userinterface. This enables the emergencyauthorities to simply select or drawthe area to be alerted on a digital map.The system will immediately identifyall cell phones - including those ofvisitors -present within the affectedarea in real time and alert them thruSMS. This is made possible throughsome unique technologies developedby UMS AS.

PAS provides detailed logisticinformation as well to the user, suchas number of people within theaffected area. It can identify variousnationalities and configures theemergency messages accordingly.The system can also monitor andlocate those citizens who respond tothe alert message and request help. Itgives an immediate overview ofaffected population across multipletelecom operators, even beforesending messages. This feature givesthe authorities a real-time and

actionable summary of thesituation.

LBAS (Location Based Alert System):In an emergency, LBAS is the onlyproven technology that ensures alertmessages reach their intendedmobile subscribers in an area byprioritizing them over any othercommunication traffic of the telecomprovider. It has capabilities to evenhalt non-essential traffic, in/out of theaffected area, thus preventingwireless network congestion.

GAS (Group Alert System): Webbased system for alerting pre-identified individuals by simplyiterating through a group database -irrespective of their geographicallocation - through different channels.Eg. a group of flood relief responders.

TAS (Traveller Alert System) is asystem for localizing andcommunicating thru voice/SMS withnational citizens traveling abroad,based on the same reliable, flexible andscalable platform as PAS and LBAS.

PARM (Population Alert and RiskManagement): Through risk

assessment, risk objects and scenariosare identified. This makes planningfor different kind of incidents andhazards possible.

ABOUT UMSUMS was founded in 1997 and is apioneer and leader in thedevelopment of advanced criticalmessaging systems. UMS is amember of the UNISDR (UnitedNations - International Strategy forDisaster Reduction) partnershipprogram. UMS has several patentsand patent applications for someinnovative technologies to locate &alert people and also to handlecongestion in telecom networks.

UMS is today the leading companyof automated emergency warningand notification services in theScandinavian countries. UMS hasoffices in Norway, Sweden, Denmarkand India. It also has operations inother countries in Europe, Asia andLatin America. UMS has more real lifeimplementations that any otherorganization worldwide.

– Saket Jha, Director,Special projects, Unified Messaging

Systems and Services Pvt Ltd.,Bangalore

EVENT

Global South-South Development Expo 2013

For the first time since it'sinception, this year’s annual

Global South-South DevelopmentExpo will be held in the South.

The Expo will bring together high-level policymakers, solution providers,solution seekers and solutionsupporters at UNEP's Headquartersin Nairobi, Kenya, from 28 October–1 November. It will showcase andexchange scalable, replicable andinnovative South-South developmentsolutions that have significantdevelopment impact on-the-ground.

Under the overarching theme,Building Inclusive Green Economies:

South-South Cooperation forSustainable Development andPoverty Eradication, the GSSD Expo2013 will be an occasion todemonstrate the global collectiveresponse to relevant provisions of theRio+20 Outcome and its capacity tofacilitate South-South Cooperationand an exchange of experiences ongreen economies.

The five-day event includes aLeadership Round Table which willbe an interactive dialogue on criticalthemes of development and a seriesof “Solution Exchange Forums”covering building inclusive greeneconomies, clean technology and

green industry, agriculture and foodsecurity, sustainable developmentand decent work, ICT, environment,women and health, sustainabledevelopment and poverty eradication.

Throughout the Expo, a paviliion willhost an exhibition space for amarketplace of solutions that willbring together the providers, seekersand supporters.

For more information about theGlobal South-South DevelopmentExpo: http://ssc.undp.org/content/ssc/services/expo/2013.html (Source: http://www.unep.org/south-

south-cooperation/GSSD/)


INFORMATION SHARING

NSET Completes 20 Years of Action

We need to scale up andinstitutionalize our programs and

approaches. We have to collectively decideabout the simplification of technology andscientific approaches and this requires theacademia and the implementers to worktogether. We have to have a conducivepolicy that is comprehensive and thereshould be a common vision of thegovernment and all the stakeholders.Hence, promoting Partnership amongstakeholders, getting everybody engaged,with a focus on the private sectorbusinesses who have so far been somehowleft out – should be the strategy, stressedMr. Amod Mani Dixit, ExecutiveDirector, NSET.

National Society for EarthquakeTechnology – Nepal (NSET) hascompleted 20 Years of Action towardsenhancing the seismic safety of Nepaland the region. NSET celebrated itsanniversary as 'A day to reaffirm theCommitments to Earthquake Safety'at its premises on Tuesday, June 18,2013 amidst the gracious presence ofdistinguished personalities fromvarious walks of life in Nepal and atlarge the representatives fromvarious NSET partners: GovernmentAgencies, NGOs, INGOs,Community Representatives,Academia, Professional Societies,Private Sectors Institutions, Media aswell as NSET family members.

NSET was founded by a meeting ofprofessionals on June 18, 1993 withthe vision to make "Earthquake SafeCommunities in Nepal by 2020".NSET is a multi-disciplinaryprofessional society registered withthe Government of Nepal as a Non-Government Organization in 1994.Membership of the Society comprisesprofessional engineers, architects,scientists and others seriouslyinterested in earthquake phenomena

or in the reduction of the effects ofearthquakes.

This year's celebration was startedwith the national anthem recited byNSET Cultural Group.

Mr. Shree Ram Singh Basnet, ChiefEditor of National News Agency ofNepal and Executive CommitteeMember of NSET welcomed all theguests and highlighted that thegathering was mainly to review thepast and get guidance for futureendeavors. He further mentioned thatNSET has been able to achieve muchin terms of initiating andinstitutionalizing earthquake riskmanagement efforts but the need ishuge, those efforts need to bestrengthened and for that collectiveand collaborative efforts are the verymuch desired.

Mr. Amod Mani Dixit, ExecutiveDirector of NSET in his statementhighlighted the progress and ongoingactivities of NSET. He further urgedthat without the participation of all

the stakeholders, including privatesector, the overall disaster riskreduction process is not possible.

On the occasion "Safer Society", theAnnual Report of NSET 2013 wasrevealed by Mr. Shiva BahadurPradhanang, President of NSET.

Further on the occasion, NSEThonored the country's renownedSenior Musician Mr. Ambar Gurungfor his precious contribution incomposing music to the lyrics onEarthquake Resilience written byNational Poet Mr. Madhav PrasadGhimire upon request from NSET.

Mr. Amod Dixit, Executive Directorof NSET felicitated him and handedover the 'Plaque of Appreciation'. Theearthquake song recorded by histroupe has been instrumental inraising awareness on earthquake riskand need for preparedness in theschools as well as communities at large.

Later as an honor to the respectedcomposer, NSET cultural group sang

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NSET Group singing national anthem.


the song in front of the guestsgathered in the NSET DayCelebrations. NSET troupe alsoperformed an earthquakepreparedness dance act as the themeperformance.

Among from the distinguishedguests, Mr. Tulsi Diwas, Senior PoetLaureate; Mr. Umesh Dhakal,Executive Director of Nepal Red-Cross Society and Mr. Madhu Sudan

the state can be attributed to the sharprise of roads being constructed andthe intensity of traffic on these newlyconstructed roads. Data with theUttarakhand State TransportDepartment confirms this. In 2005-06there were 4000 vehicles registeredin the state. This figure increased bymore than 1000 percent when in 2012-13 the number of registered vehicleswent up to 40,000.

This catastrophe has some veryimportant lessons to offer to theauthorities. Experts aver that theHimalayas are a young mountain

range and they can only remain stable(read not exposed to the risk oflandslides) if they are not tamperedwith indiscriminate construction ofroads. There is thus, an urgent needto evolve a better method of roadconstruction that does not imperil thesafety of the people in the hill state. Itis only through the adoption of thesemeasures that such disasters can beprevented in future.

– Kshitij Gupta(Source: Man-made reasons for Uttarkhand

disaster http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/man-made-reasons-uttarakhand-

disaster)

The Indian state ofUttarakhand, referred to as

the Land of Gods has witnesseda great human tragedy. Struckhard by heavy torrential rainsbrought in the wake of themonsoons, the state ofUttarakhand has experiencedmassive flooding andconcomitant landslides. Thesehave caused death anddestruction on anunprecedented scale. While therescue work is still ongoing,media reports confirm thatthere have been 60 causalitiesand estimate that 60,000 peopleare still stranded.

The ostensible cause of this catastrophemay be attributed to nature but severalexperts and academicians from thefields of environmental sciences anddisaster management hold man-madefactors equally culpable. It has cometo be recognized that the scale ofdevastation has been escalated by theindiscriminate construction of roadsto accommodate ever increasingdemands of religious tourism and theunabated expansion of hydro-powerprojects.

The local people too, claim that theincreased frequency of landslides in

MAN-MADE DISASTER

Man-made Reasons for Uttarakhand Floods: An Epic Tragedyin the Land of the Gods

Acharya, First Vice President ofNATTA gave their remarksappreciating the collaborative worksdone by NSET and their respectiveorganizations towards earthquakerisk reduction.

As a concluding remark of the formalprogram, Mr. Shiva B Pradhanang,President of NSET extended gratitudeto all the national and internationalpartners for their continuous support

in the quest to make communitiessafer. The program was concludedwith an appeal to everybody for theirguidance and support towards NSET'squest to serve the nation.

The formal program was facilitatedby Mr. Surya Narayan Shrestha,Deputy Executive Director ofNSET.

– Khadga Sen Oli, Advocacy andOutreach Manager, National Society forEarthquake Technology (NSET), Nepal

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PRINTED MATTERBook-Post

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TITLEKNOWLEDGE PRODUCT

Disaster, Conflict and Society in Crises: Everyday Politicsof Crisis Response Consonance between policy and practice

is imperative in the field of humanitarian action. Humanitariancrises that emanate from natural disasters, political anarchy orconflict need interventions on a war like footing to restore thenormal order of things. There is an underlying need to haveinstitutional responses to these emergencies that will help inmitigation of the damage caused. In this respect, there ought tobe greater degree of alignment between policy and practice.

Dorothea Hilhorst in her new book called, ‘Disaster, Conflictand Society in Crises: Everyday Politics of Crisis Response’provides an overview of the responses to disasters in terms ofinternational policies and local responses. This book is a seminalwork that gives rich insights into the ways structures andpolicies are framed to cope up with disaster and conflictsituations.

This book gives students and researchers in humanitarianstudies, disaster studies, conflict and peace studies as well ashumanitarian and military practitioners an invaluable wealthof case studies and unique political science analysis of thehumanitarian studies field.

For more: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415640824/

Disaster, Conflict and Society in Crises: Everyday Politicsof Crisis Response

Documents

An-R&R 25 9 04 · 2 southasiadisasters.net August 2013 INTRODUCTION Floods in Uttarakhand: A New Relief Deal The loss of life and assets in Uttarakhand after the sudden floods is