South Asia Disaster Report
Encyclopedia
South Asia Disaster Report is a series of intended reports (the first of which covers 2005 and is out) that looks at disasters affecting the South Asian region's "countries and communities (that) are connected to each other geologically, geographically and culturally".
Secretariat at Islamabad
. Bhatti has argued that the report brings together "insights and experiences" of members of the Duryog Nivaran
network in South Asia who have been "engaged in exploring and addressing the social dimensions of 'natural disasters' in South Asia."
In this seven chapter book, the themes looked at include whether disasters in South Asia are "destined or designed". Other chapters look at whether "disasters discriminate"; and offer in-depth focus on the Kashmir earthquake, the tsunami
in Sri Lanka
, the Mumbai monsoon floods]] of 2005, "dand ownplayed disasters" of 2005. Other themes tackled include disaster risk reduction in South Asia
and the emerging issues, options and lessons.
, Bhutan
, India
, Maldives
, Nepal
, Pakistan
and Sri Lanka
, South Asia is a region sensitive to disasters, points out this report. The region has exahusted its land reserves, and is farming soils that are unsuitable for cultivation. Some 35% of productive land is affected by land degradation. South Asia has a population that is vulnerable to risks in terms of sudden fluctations in markets and natural shocks arising from weather. This region is also marked by high disparities in income, health and education.
Says the study (p. 1): "2004-5 was the most appalling period in the history of South Asia. The region became a neighbourhood of disasters." Besides recurring flood and drought, it also had to cope with the December 2004 tsunami
(specially in coastal Sri Lanka
, India
, Thailand
and Indonesia
). There was the October 2005 earthquake in the Himalayan range that killed of 75,000.
, Dr. Vishaka Hidellage, Louise Platt
of Practical Action
's South Asia Programme, and Chandrani Bandyopadhyay of the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) in India
.
Behind this report were the Duryog Nivaran
network working to promote "an alternative perspective on disasters and vulnerability as a basis for disaster mitigation in the region"; Practical Action
(formerly called the ITDG) and an international development agency promoting appropriate technology to fight poverty begun by economist and author of Small is Beautiful
E.F. Schumacher; and the Rural Development Policy Institute
(RDPI), a civil initiative aimed to stimulate public dialogue.
2005 report
The report covering 2005 has Pakistani journalist Amjad Bhatti as its co-ordinating editor. Bhatti is from the Duryog NivaranDuryog Nivaran
Duryog Nivaran is located in South Asia and describes itself as "a network of individuals and organizations who ware committed on promoting an alternative perspective on disasters and vulnerability as a basis for disaster mitigation in the region"....
Secretariat at Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
. Bhatti has argued that the report brings together "insights and experiences" of members of the Duryog Nivaran
Duryog Nivaran
Duryog Nivaran is located in South Asia and describes itself as "a network of individuals and organizations who ware committed on promoting an alternative perspective on disasters and vulnerability as a basis for disaster mitigation in the region"....
network in South Asia who have been "engaged in exploring and addressing the social dimensions of 'natural disasters' in South Asia."
In this seven chapter book, the themes looked at include whether disasters in South Asia are "destined or designed". Other chapters look at whether "disasters discriminate"; and offer in-depth focus on the Kashmir earthquake, the tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, the Mumbai monsoon floods]] of 2005, "dand ownplayed disasters" of 2005. Other themes tackled include disaster risk reduction in South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
and the emerging issues, options and lessons.
South Asia, and its relevance
Covering seven nations (BangladeshBangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Maldives
Maldives
The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, South Asia is a region sensitive to disasters, points out this report. The region has exahusted its land reserves, and is farming soils that are unsuitable for cultivation. Some 35% of productive land is affected by land degradation. South Asia has a population that is vulnerable to risks in terms of sudden fluctations in markets and natural shocks arising from weather. This region is also marked by high disparities in income, health and education.
Says the study (p. 1): "2004-5 was the most appalling period in the history of South Asia. The region became a neighbourhood of disasters." Besides recurring flood and drought, it also had to cope with the December 2004 tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
(specially in coastal Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
). There was the October 2005 earthquake in the Himalayan range that killed of 75,000.
"Understanding issues"
In its first report, this intended series "seeks to understand" issues such as:- How hazards turn into disasters
- What were the consequences of the Indian Ocean TsunamiTsunamiA tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
of December 2004, the Himalayan earthquake of October 2005, the Mumbai floods of July 2005, on people, infrastructure and development. - How did the State and non-state "actors", including the local and international communities respond to these major natural disasters,
- Why some disasters are reported prominently and some remain invisible,
- What are the existing institutional arrangements to address complex emergencies in South AsiaSouth AsiaSouth Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
, and - What could be an alternative framework for effective disaster risk reduction in the region.
Contributors
Core contributors for the 2005 report are Madhavi Malalgoda Ariyabandhu, Dilrukshi Fonseka, Mushtaq Gadi of the Sindhu Bacha'ao Tarla in PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Dr. Vishaka Hidellage, Louise Platt
Louise Platt
Louise Platt was an American theatre and film actress.She is perhaps best remembered for her role as the pregnant officer's wife in John Ford's Stagecoach . A Broadway star, she came to Hollywood in 1938 and returned to the stage in 1942 after the dissolution of her marriage to theatre director...
of Practical Action
Practical Action
Practical Action is a development charity registered in the United Kingdom which works directly in four regions of the developing world – Latin America, East Africa, Southern Africa and South Asia, with particular concentration on Peru, Kenya, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Nepal.In these countries,...
's South Asia Programme, and Chandrani Bandyopadhyay of the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Behind this report were the Duryog Nivaran
Duryog Nivaran
Duryog Nivaran is located in South Asia and describes itself as "a network of individuals and organizations who ware committed on promoting an alternative perspective on disasters and vulnerability as a basis for disaster mitigation in the region"....
network working to promote "an alternative perspective on disasters and vulnerability as a basis for disaster mitigation in the region"; Practical Action
Practical Action
Practical Action is a development charity registered in the United Kingdom which works directly in four regions of the developing world – Latin America, East Africa, Southern Africa and South Asia, with particular concentration on Peru, Kenya, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Nepal.In these countries,...
(formerly called the ITDG) and an international development agency promoting appropriate technology to fight poverty begun by economist and author of Small is Beautiful
Small Is Beautiful
Small Is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered is a collection of essays by British economist E. F. Schumacher. The phrase "Small Is Beautiful" came from a phrase by his teacher Leopold Kohr...
E.F. Schumacher; and the Rural Development Policy Institute
Rural Development Policy Institute
Rural Development Policy Institute is a non-profit whose stated goal is "addressing vulnerabilities of resource-poor rural communities in Pakistan."...
(RDPI), a civil initiative aimed to stimulate public dialogue.