In an era of escalating natural disasters, understanding the nexus between disaster management, governance and sustainable development is crucial.
In his recent book, “Disaster, Governance, and Development: Perspectives from Bangladesh”, published by Springer Nature, South Asian scholar Professor Mohammad Tarikul Islam delves into the intricacies of disaster risk reduction and development planning within Bangladesh.
Prof Islam’s work explores the historical landscape of disaster management in Bangladesh, highlighting the legislative challenges and imperatives shaping the nation’s approach to disaster risk reduction. His comprehensive strategy fosters collaboration between the public and private sectors, expanding the scope and effectiveness of disaster risk reduction programs.
In an interview with Dhaka Tribune’s Anando Mostofa, Prof Tarikul discusses the relationship between disaster, governance and development in Bangladesh, focusing on the legislative and institutional implications of integrating disaster risk reduction into development planning for inclusive growth.
DT: How does your book integrate disaster management into governance and development?
Prof Tarikul: Governance involves political commitment and strong institutions. Natural disasters threaten development gains, and choices can heighten disaster risks. Adequate institutional, policy, and legal frameworks are needed. Good governance prioritizes disaster risk reduction, allocates resources, ensures implementation, assigns accountability, and encourages stakeholder participation.
Bangladesh, which is highly disaster-prone, has made commendable legislative strides in disaster risk management and has integrated disaster risk reduction into development planning. Recent forward-thinking plans and strategies aim to mainstream disaster management at national and local levels. Relevant ministries and local governments are responsible for implementing these measures within their jurisdictions.
However, local planning shortcomings hinder effective mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction into sub-national planning. Development and investment plans are often non-existent or unlinked, and horizontal and vertical integration within the government is lacking.
How has disaster management in Bangladesh evolved from traditional response and relief methods?
Bangladeshis have shown remarkable resilience in facing natural disasters, developing coping strategies over time. For example, villagers use traditional knowledge to predict and prepare for floods, often matching modern forecasts. This indigenous knowledge is crucial in adapting to climate changes.
The Disaster Management Act 2012 aims to establish an effective disaster management system in Bangladesh. However, simply creating policies is not enough. The concept of a paradigm shift is well understood and included in national policy. Coordinating disaster response remains challenging due to diverse objectives among humanitarian agencies.
How effective has stakeholder engagement been in integrating DRR into development plans?
DRR and development should progress together to foster a culture of DRR, moving away from relief-centric disaster management. Clear leadership and a shared vision are crucial for integrating DRR into development. All stakeholders, including state and non-state actors, must incorporate DRR into their development plans to reduce disaster risk and support vulnerable communities.
The donor community—comprising financial institutions, international agencies, NGOs, and donor governments—recognizes the importance of preventing disaster losses. However, they often collaborate with local NGOs rather than directly funding the government to avoid duplication of efforts.
Why does the gap between policy and practice hinder disaster management and the involvement of disaster-affected people’s voices and capacities in preparedness, response, and recovery?
The gap between policy and practice hampers disaster management, and the voices and capacities of disaster-affected people remain insufficiently included in preparedness, response, and recovery. Although Bangladesh is seen as a leader in disaster management, weak monitoring and evaluation practices prevent evidence gathering.
Political commitment and resource availability are major challenges to disaster risk reduction. We need to examine the government budget and donor funding for DRR activities. Poor countries are most vulnerable to disasters, and even with government commitment, resources are often lacking to fulfill it.
Can Disaster Management Committees ensure accountability?
Accountability in Bangladesh remains insufficient. Despite significant steps to establish institutional arrangements from national to Union Parishad levels for effective disaster management, coordination among Ministries, departments, local bodies, and communities is lacking.
The Standing Orders on Disaster (SOD) guide these mechanisms, with Disaster Management Committees established from the national to the union level. However, these committees often face operational issues and political influence.
How does community involvement ensure local development, preparedness, and disaster mitigation?
Rural communities, especially vulnerable groups, have limited access to Union Disaster Management Committee (UDMC) meetings and decision-making processes, lacking information about roles and functions. No pre-disaster activity by UDMCs was evident, and disaster risk management remains a secondary priority, not well integrated into Union Parishad programs. Disaster Management Committee leaders, often not experts, are given authority by the SOD.
There is a need for the government to establish good quality information on disaster events, quickly identifying response gaps. Advocacy for prompt information sharing and a forum for broad dissemination by non-government actors is crucial.
How is your book’s content relevant to different reader groups?
This book outlines effective strategies to shift from a relief culture to disaster risk reduction (DRR) culture. It examines how political economy influences Bangladesh’s governance and institutional strengthening, identifies challenges and opportunities in mainstreaming disaster management into development, and explores the role of governance in implementing disaster management programs.
Emphasizing public-private collaboration for DRR expansion, the book also highlights multilevel governance as a new approach to professionalizing disaster management. It discusses policy framework development in response to calls from both the disaster-prone Bangladeshi population and the international community for recognizing DRR as a key institutional effort to ensure a safer community.
