Systems strengthened, but miles to go yet - C. John David

"Capitalising the positive change in the DM environment in the country is the need of the hour. Facilitating policies, supporting structures and better informed communities shall be seen as an enabling environment." - C. John David, TVS, Tamil Nadu, India

While remembering Tsunami-2004 and the affected communities, with a painful heart, it is time to also recognize the efforts of various stakeholders in building back better not only the lives of the affected, but also the disaster management systems in the country.

Systems were either strengthened or developed, support structures were promoted and scope of the subject expanded, resulting in increased awareness and improved management of disasters.  Yet miles to go, before one can rest.

At the National and State levels, Disaster Management Authorities were formed but the alignment between the national and state level authorities need to be strengthened with a clear and unambiguous structural/functional mandate. Operationalization of the said authorities at the state levels, with adequate human resources with appropriate skills shall be made the priority of the State Governments.

DM Policies have been drafted and are in place in most of the States. The policies in many cases lack interdepartmental/interdisciplinary focus, which is pivotal to mainstreaming disaster risk management into the development programmes of the State/Central departments. While it is essential to develop statutes to essentially integrate mainstreaming into the policy, the State Governments shall also enforce implementation of the same through Government Orders and Circulars to ensure mitigation of disaster risks.

States have prepared DM Plans and in most cases are stand alone, without integration with the regular state/district/city plans. This also leads to lack of plan implementation and periodical updation. Integration of the plans into the mainstream development plans of the State/District/City is one of the ways to ensure implementation of the DM plans.  

Early warnings systems in the country have been revolutionized and the country has employed newer generation technology.  Many a milestone, including connectivity to the last mile has been achieved. Yet the response capacities at the last mile, which includes the community and government /non-government machinery at the grass roots, need to be strengthened periodically.

Valuable Information on different facets of disaster management have been greatly mobilized, documented and warehoused. It is now time to establish a system to efficiently administer and timely disseminate the information to the stakeholders especially to the policy makers, administrators, researchers and the last mile community to upgrade understanding and enhance effectiveness in managing disasters at every level.

With technology getting behind the wheels in almost every field, employment of appropriate technology in the areas of vulnerability and risk mapping, risk mitigation and disaster response planning shall foster efficiency in the DM portfolio.

With shift in the paradigm propelling actions under disaster management during the past decade, the allocation of funds for disaster risk mitigation and mainstreaming is still inadequate. Country or the States’ conviction on the said shift in the paradigm can only be demonstrated by employing more resources to relevant activities and hence an understanding on the shifted paradigm shall be reinforced in the Government institutions.

Capitalising the positive change in the DM environment in the country is the need of the hour. Facilitating policies, supporting structures and better informed communities shall be seen as an enabling environment and the Governments, Research institutions and UN agencies shall synergize their efforts to optimize the decade long efforts for creating a robust disaster management system in the country.