INTERFACE OF DISASTER AND DEVELOPMENT – ISSUES &

CHALLENGES.

S. Mohammed Irshad

Jamsetji Tata Centre for Disaster Management

Tata Institute of Social Sciences

Introduction

Disaster highlights the inherent weakness of development programmes.

Quality of relief Unequal distribution of compensation

Contd..

Development, on the one hand being virtually synonymous with `progress' and on the other referring to intentional efforts to `ameliorate the disordered faults of progress' (Cowen and Shenton, 1996, p. 7)

Contd

In general the term development refers to the practice of development agencies intervention to alleviate poverty and other problems, so it is applicable mainly to certain context where `poor' exists (Thomas, 2000).

Natural cause and unequal effects

Contd..Natural Disasters from 1980 - 2010No of events 431No of people killed 143,039

Average killed per year 4,614No of people affected 1,521,726,127

Average affected per year 49,087,940Economic Damage (US$ X 1,000) 48,063,830

Economic Damage per year (US$ X 1,000) 1,550,446

Damage assessment

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC Methodology)

Replacing pre-disaster infrastructure

Contd

Rehabilitation...is part of a process of protecting and promoting the livelihoods of people enduring or recovering from emergencies. It aims to provide short-term income transfers, rebuild household and community assets, and rebuild institutions. Its key task is to help reinforce developmental objectives, notably livelihood security, participation, sustainability, gender equity, and local institutional capacity (Hiarvey & Campbell)

From Rehabilitation to Development

The nature of development institutions in rehabilitation of any disaster victims generally requires either the continuation of its mode of operation or additional mode of operation. Continuation of existing institutions is the general practice of disaster rehabilitation.

Additional institutional intervention is generally requires only when there exists an acute shortage of development institutions

Rehabilitation of ‘Asset-less’

Are there any new assets created for asset-less?

Marginalisation of land-less agricultural workers from compensation in Thane Super cyclone

Orissa Super Cyclone 1999-Exclusion of asset-less Dalits

Bihar Floods 2007

Rehabilitation as Basic Need support

In general rehabilitation of victims follows the principle of ensuring minimum necessities i.e. basic minimum support. The idea basic minimum is significantly institutionalized in development programmes.

Contd

The concept of basic needs approach was put forward by the international labour office (ILO) in its declaration of principles and programmes of action in 1976 ( Hoadley,1981). The inspiration of basic needs approach was conflict between higher economic growth and poverty during 1970s.

Missing ‘development’

Disaster rehabilitation is institutionally limited to ‘lost assets’

Structural inequalities are impede sustainability of the rehabilitation

Cumulative vulnerabilities are seldom get proper attention in the rehabilitation

Conclusion

Demand for development is missing in India’s disaster rehabilitation

Legitimizing basic needs de-limit long term asset creation of the victims.

State seldom promote an asset creating disaster rehabilitation plan