Open Forum
New
Delhi, 1 May 2019
Rising Inequality
DISASTERS ADD TO WOES
By Dhurjati Mukherjee
Globally disaster
losses are estimated at $520 billion per annum, pushing more than 26 million
people into poverty every year. As a result, inequality was rising at a far
greater pace than projected, a UN study has revealed. This is worrisome,
particularly for India, as the gap between the rich and poor is widening and if
disasters add to it, then the next Governmenmt needs to do a lot more for the
people. .
Out of 36 States and Union
Territories in the country, 27 of these are disaster prone. Almost 58.6 per
cent of the landmass is prone to earthquakes of moderate to very high
intensity; over 40 million hectares (12 per cent of land) are prone to floods
and river erosion; of the 7,516 km long coastline, close to 5,700 km is prone
to cyclones and tsunamis; 68 per cent of the cultivable area is vulnerable to
drought and hilly areas are at risk from landslides and avalanches.
A disaster is an
extreme disruption of the functioning of a society that causes widespread
human, material, or environmental losses that exceed the ability of the
affected society to cope with its own resources. Disasters caused by floods,
droughts, tidal waves and earth tremors are generally considered “natural
disasters.” The UN defined a natural disaster as: “the consequences of events
triggered by natural hazards that overwhelm local response capacity and
seriously affect the social and economic development of a region.”
It has been seen that
natural disasters cause huge loss to the economy of a country and many Third
World countries, including India, have been a victim of such incidents. But
such disasters have been continuing in the last few years with global warming
aggravating its frequency. India has been vulnerable, in varying degrees, to a
large number of natural disasters such as floods, droughts, cyclones,
earthquakes, landslides, avalanches and forest fires.
With statistics
raising a frown, the proposed global Coalition for Disaster Resilient
Infrastructure (CDRI) – an Indian initiative on the lines of the Solar Alliance
of 120 countries – is a step in the direction which received a boost with India
pledging Rs 480 crores to set up a secretariat in New Delhi.
The initiative has
the support of the UN and the World Bank. Among the 33 countries which have
already supported the Indian initiative, Italy, UK, Australia, South Africa,
and the European Union have agreed to fund the new organization set to be
declared at the UN Climate Summit, scheduled at the UN headquarters this
September.
It is understood that
the CDRI will work to develop common standards in infrastructure building and
invest in research and development that will also determine funding from
multilateral banks towards future investments by countries. The coalition’s
charter provides for facilitating collaborative start-ups between countries to
develop knowledge platforms on disaster and climate risk and resilience for
infrastructure.
Meanwhile, a study by
the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), released October last year,
had found that 91 per cent of all disasters in the past two decades (1996-2017)
were caused by floods, storms, droughts, heat waves and other extreme weather
events. Globally, disaster losses during
this period were estimated at $3 trillion. Low income countries like India
suffered greater economic losses with up to 87% of their disasters not
reported. India suffered losses of $80 billion during the 20-year period.
Among natural
disasters, many earthquakes have been witnessed in the Himalayan region but
India has not learnt from past mistakes to tackle such an eventuality. At an
international workshop on ‘Climate Change & Extreme Weather Events’ held
recently, experts discussed the effects of climate change, melting of glaciers,
increased frequency of weather events, atmospheric pollution etc. Scientists
from various fields of expertise concurred that an earthquake of the magnitude
of 8.5 or more is expected to rock the Himalayan region.
These research
groups, including the one in IIT, Roorkee, are in the process of developing
earthquake early warning systems which could give people up to a minute of
warning before the quake. A section of scientists believe that science can tell
where an earthquake may strike and with what magnitude, but predicting the time
may not be possible.
Though it is
generally regarded that prediction of quakes is a rather impossible task, the
efforts of engineers at Roorkee would go a long way in saving some lives.
However, seismologists believe that even such warning to enable people to
safely vacate their buildings before an earthquake, though many a home may be
destroyed, renders a whole society into refugees. It was pointed out at the
conference that publicly funded government buildings in Himalayan States such
as Sikkim and Manipur could not survive low intensity earthquakes.
The need for
buildings to be quake resilient was stressed at the conference, much like
medical instruments are sterilised before use, irrespective of whether a
patient is rich or poor. Thus the building of proper infrastructure is very
much necessary for which the CDRI may play a significant role in the coming
years.
Another natural
disaster which is almost a recurring problem for India every year is floods.
Melting of glaciers and excessive rainfall in certain parts of the country has
resulted in floods in many regions, specially the North East. Added to this,
cutting down of trees and clearing forests has aggravated the situation. In
such circumstances, lack of infrastructure has resulted in massive loss of
lives and property.
The whole issue is
one of serious concern but planners have not given it enough attention as the
sufferers are mostly poor people who reside in villages and in the coastal
belts of the country. Very few people in cities and urban areas have been
affected and since the focus of our planning strategy is urban centric, flood
protection has not received due attention in terms of resource allocation. Thus,
floods are witnessed almost every year though, in recent years, evacuating
people from flood affected areas has been quite fast than before.
In such a critical
situation, there is need to evolve a strategy to counter all types of natural
disasters in an effective manner. It needs to be pointed out here that unlike
the West, which is economically better equipped to handle climate change and
its repercussions, countries like India and China which bear the brunt of
disasters caused by rising emissions and a warmer planet. If there are no
floods or cyclones in the country, India faces drought in several areas. The
rise in temperatures is rather phenomenal causing natural disasters. In fact,
temperatures in three Indian cities Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi have seen a
steady rise during the last several years.
While infrastructure
development and awareness generation have to be taken up in right earnest by
India, there is need to involve the grass-root organisations in tackling
disasters, specially floods, cyclones and earthquakes. The Human Rights
institutions are uniquely placed to play a role in ensuring that rights of
those affected by natural disasters are promoted. Those that have expertise in
human rights principles and are rooted in locally may have a better view of
what is needed and what is possible than national actors. While specific
national contexts vary and different kinds of disasters require different
responses, the need to uphold human rights in emergency situations seems to be
constant. ---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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