As the World Conference on Disaster Reduction draws to a close today (22nd January) in Kobe, Japan, aid agency Tearfund has accused governments of shirking from their responsibility to protect millions of vulnerable people from environmental disasters like the recent South Asia tsunami, which killed over 220,000 people.
Jostling to take the lead in a high profile tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean overshadowed the development of a much needed action plan with concrete targets. The four-day conference being held on the 10-year anniversary of the Kobe earthquake that killed over 6,400 people, resulted in a watered-down document that fails to include firm commitments to protect millions of people from future disasters.
Tearfund acknowledged that more progressive, forward thinking governments, including the UK and Sweden recognised the urgency of the race against time to protect vulnerable communities, but that others like the US did not.
“It makes no moral or economic sense to ignore the urgent need for disaster prevention,” says Sarah La Trobe, Tearfund’s Policy Adviser for Environment and Disasters. “Thousands of lives could be saved and millions pounds made to go further, if more emphasis was placed by governments on making vulnerable communities more resilient to disasters. For every $1 spent on preparing for a disaster, a further $7 is saved in the cost of recovering from it. It’s just a shame that some governments are too short-sighted to see this.”
Alex Joseph, from Tearfund partner The Discipleship Centre, has been responding to the tsunami in South India and was attending the conference in Kobe. He says: “As I return to India with a heavy heart, I can only imagine what those affected by the tsunami would think if they were to see the outcome document from this conference.”
In light of the tsunami, Tearfund views the breath-taking complacency shown by some governments as illogical and indefensible: “Many clearly haven’t grasped the urgency of this race. In many countries round the world millions of people are at risk of natural disasters. Disaster prevention is not an optional extra, it’s an urgent necessity,” says Marcus Oxley, Tearfund Disaster Management Director.
“We welcome plans to protect the Indian Ocean from future disasters like the recent tsunami, but are very disappointed governments are not as enthusiastic to embrace less glamorous, yet crucial disaster prevention measures.” says Sarah La Trobe. “Simple, cost effective measures like evacuation and rescue training and stores of food and medical supplies can ensure that disaster prone communities are able to cope with disasters when they strike.”
Tearfund believes that the number of deaths in the South Asia tsunami could have been decreased if people had been trained to recognise the signs of impending danger and knew what to do in such a situation.
The last ten years have witnessed an increased number of natural disasters that have killed over 475,000 people, affected more than 2.5 billion people and cost an estimated US$ 690 billion in economic losses.
Taking into account the Indian Ocean tsunami, the number of those killed has risen to over 675,000. Tearfund is concerned that with climate change, more and more people are becoming increasingly vulnerable to a range of environmental disasters.
“I’m saddened that in the ten years since the last Disaster Conference, little progress has been made,” concludes Marcus Oxley. “The political declaration document is strong on rhetoric, but the outcome document does not match it with concrete action. Just four weeks after the tsunami, if there were ever a time for governments to show political will to action, it was now. This unprecedented opportunity has sadly been missed.”
2005 provides many opportunities for governments to move forward on disaster prevention, not least the G8 summit and the UN Millennium Summit. Tearfund is encouraged that the UK government sees climate change and disaster prevention as key priorities this year and urges other governments to follow its lead.
Ends