By Maitphang Syiem
“Vikas aise ho jo afat se bachaaye”,” Vikas aise na ho jo afat banaajaaye.” Let’s just take a little time to ponder on these powerful phrases which when translated mean that development should occur in a manner which will prevent disasters and not the other way round where it poses to be a hazard and gradually becomes disastrous to the point of taking away lives and destroying infrastructure and hampering development. The blame for this goes partly to our stereotypical perception of what disasters are. Let us understand the important angles of disastrous events be they natural or manmade. Firstly, hazards have the potential to damage and cause harm. Second, vulnerability is the proneness of the area under development to the impending risks and the coping capacity of the populace. Hence, technically the interaction between these two components translates into a disastrous event. Where there are signs of high vulnerabilities such events can become more complicated to handle. Do we even realize that the majority of disasters that are happening are more human-induced than natural disasters?
We have indeed become ruthless in our approaches towards development. Let us accept and also understand that the Indian Subcontinent due to many factors and in particular the geographical conditions in which it lies poses many kinds of risks which can become disastrous events like drought, tropical cyclones, avalanches, landslides, earthquakes ,flood etc. We cannot deny that the geographical characteristics of Meghalaya also implicate risks; it is a disaster prone area, with Seismic Zone V, prone to landslides, tropical cyclones, flash floods and mudflows. In the past few weeks we have been witness to deaths due to flash-floods and mud slides. We have witnessed videos of houses and buildings destroyed and resulting in deaths. Social media has been rife with such videos and a total of 18 lives were lost due to these disasters in the state.
Let us also take note, that Mother Nature has many facets. It is good when we are in-tune with it but cruel when we disrespect her. If we burden nature to take more than its carrying capacity, the natural flow and harmony is compromised and this is turning against us. We are bound to face dire consequences and it is here that we need to introspect and to ask ourselves what we should do to avoid such chaotic and painful events.
As a matter of fact we humans do aspire for development; we have a natural inclination to spend on infrastructure, to construct buildings, roads and many other projects which of course are meant for our betterment. However, there are missing links which perhaps we have never considered and that is “Disaster” and “Mother Nature.” The fact that we are exploiting nature for developments cannot be denied but are we also reclaiming, restoring, and rejuvenating what we have exploited so that they don’t turn against us? Let’s take time to think or may be do something about it.
Technically, in the race for development we have completely overlooked and forgotten to connect the dots and this is in the context of linking disaster and nature with development. By not linking development to disaster we have adopted a stereotypical approach and when we say this it denotes that many of the developmental projects be it by private builders or institutions have ignored some important factors such as disaster risk assessment, disaster prevention, mitigation, eco-friendliness and disaster based designs and principles. When we do not connect these aspects we are bound to face disastrous consequences which perhaps may be irreversible in nature and the ugly truth is that these are happening even as we speak. It may be assumed that there is a perception of higher costs involved if such principles are to be included in every planning process, therefore they are sidelined, but is this technically and ethically right? Isn’t this leading towards a series of unnecessary chaotic events? We have witnessed unnecessary floods that have destroyed roads, due to compromised flow of streams and rivulets wherein they cannot take their natural course. At times we must ask ourselves if the flooding events were envisaged or if the natural flow of the streams were even considered at the time of planning a building.
With regards to landslides and mudflows there are natural landslides happening perhaps due to the high gradient and high inclination, but more unnecessary landslides and mudflows are happening due to unplanned and unsustainable anthropogenic activities. So aren’t our approaches and ethics also to be questioned? Houses and buildings collapsing due to land subsidence is largely because the structure was built on landfills and without any technical engineering inputs. These are points to consider because there are important aspects of disasters that we need to link with development so that development itself does not become a disaster for us.
With the currents trends of hazardous events happening around us, as laypersons there is a need for all of us to understand that we need to educate ourselves on this matter. We also need to adhere to certified standards, follow the byelaws and seek help if needed. There are resources available which are accessible to all. This is also in line with risks reduction and minimizing the effects of such vulnerabilities. As a matter of fact, communities should also keep themselves aware and it is also pragmatic to have disaster management principles linked with any community developmental projects.
In the stereotypical approach of addressing disastrous events the focus has always been on post disaster relief and response activities. But now there is a huge paradigm shift from relief and response measures to disaster risk reduction planning. And this is the need of the hour! Such knowledge should be imparted to the local communities as they are the first responders during the onset of any events. No doubt we have a very unique local structure of administration which we have been following from ages but in recent times in the context of bridging disaster and development, the local authorities need to be made aware of the facts because many of the developmental projects may also be community based. Therefore, in this regard making them aware of the risk reduction activities and incorporating mitigation principles in their community developmental project planning would help in preventing or reducing the effects of any disastrous events in the future.
Understanding the nature of disasters whether that be human induced or natural is a paramount activity and connecting it with development planning is pragmatic in all aspects. In fact, we all need to be educated in this important matter. Ironically however, every time disaster strikes it has always taught us humans that we ought to be in-tune and harmonize ourselves with nature in all aspects of our development quests. Yet for years we have never imbibed this classic lesson and instead are on a continuous stride towards unsustainable development, endangering ourselves and others.
The rate of human induced disasters is skyrocketing even as we read this and perhaps will keep on increasing until and unless we stop at a point and overhaul our processes and start incorporating and linking disaster principles with development. We have the capability to do it. The choice is ours!