FEATURES

REDUCING VULNERABILITY


Timothy Beatley and Philip R. Berke

The prevailing approach of aid and recovery programs has emphasized short-term relief, with little linkage to sustainable development, local roles and capacities, and diverse social, economic, and cultural conditions. This approach presumes that, without aid, communities and citizens are helpless; they are seen as having little ability to cope with losses, much less participate effectively in redevelopment initiatives. Every year, however, relief budgets climb, while multinational humanitarian organizations proliferate in response to media appeals to save yet another population of "helpless victims".

This article is the result of a three-year study (1989-92) concerned with local disaster recovery efforts, how such efforts influence prospects for enhancing sustainable development, and the way in which external donor organizations provide aid in developing countries. The focus is on the four island states of Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, Montserrat, and St. Kitts and Nevis, where there is widespread poverty, and where people and governments are engaged in a sustainable development process.

Using data gathered from in-depth local case studies and a household survey concerning two particularly destructive natural disasters.

Hurricane Gilbert (1988) and Hurricane Hugo (1989)Cwe seek to answer the following questions:1) How can disaster recovery strategies achieve natural hazard mitigation, while promoting economic development?; 2) How can all people, particularly the poor, be assured fair access to the benefits of mitigation and economic development?; 3) How can local people meaningfully participate in formulating aid distribution, mitigation, and economic development policies that affect them?; and 4) How can external aid organizations (government and nongovernmental) support local participatory initiatives? 

Figure: In 1989, before tearing into Charleston, South Carolina, Hurrican Hugo wreaked extensive damage to the Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Pictured here is the Pamead, a cargo ship beached courtesy of Hugo somewhere in the Leeward Islands.

A New Vision

Sustainable development represents a broad framework in which to consider disaster recovery and natural hazards management. While sustainable development's exact definition is debatable, the concept presents an extremely useful framework in which to evaluate the efforts of Caribbean nations, external donor organizations, and others in promoting long-term recovery from natural disasters. While disagreement exists about what sustainable development includes, or how it might be defined, achieving a pattern of human settlement, which generally keeps people and property out of harm's way, is increasingly vital. Land use patterns which fail to take into account the location of high risk areas (e.g., floodplains, high slope terrains, and shoreline erosion zones) are not sustainable. Moreover, housing ill-designed to withstand predictable physical forces (e.g., hurricane force winds) is also not sustainable.

Concepts of sustainability, and sustainable development, also offer a useful framework for integrating hazard reduction with other social and environmental goals. When considering the location of a new development project or public investment, the project should be evaluated simultaneously, using a number of sustainability criteria. Does it provide for a sustainable use of and relationship towards the environment and natural resources? For example, does the project minimize energy consumption, protect renewable resources, and preserve biodiversity? Does it address and provide for social needs, as well as a high degree of livability and quality of life? Does the project provide for the needs of all social, ethnic and income groups, with an equitable distribution of social resources? Sustainability offers an extremely useful framework for integrating these different concerns.

Sustainability and sustainable development, moreover, explicitly call for the adoption of an extensive time frame in our decision making. In developing countries, short-term needs and considerations are frequently given priority. Actions which satisfy a short-term goal or need such as allowing deforestation and environmental degradation for the sake of agricultural expansion may make little sense when long-term goals and needs come into play (e.g., the costs of soil erosion, increased flooding, and loss of fresh drinking water). Sustainable development requires the paying of substantial attention to natural hazards both before and after disaster events.

A New Role for External Donor Organizations

A sustainable development focus on disaster recovery and mitigation implies commitment to a broader developmental process. While aid provided in the aftermath of a devastating natural disaster can be helpful, its focus is often on providing a short-term fix, dealing with immediate needs in the absence of broader, longer term developmental strategies. While addressing short-term post-disaster needs (e.g., shelter and water), such aid could, at the same time, achieve broader sustainable development goals, and reduce long-term exposure to natural hazards.

Evidence suggests that external donor organizations must expand their focus in several fundamental ways. Outside developmental agencies, such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank (WB), must incorporate natural disasters and hazards into the projects and programs funded. Their projects sometimes fail to address the issue of disaster vulnerability, and may instead serve to increase exposure and vulnerability. International disaster assistance organizations, like the International Red Cross or Red Crescent, must take a more proactive view of disasters promoting projects, programs, and aid distribution which do not merely treat the symptoms (i.e, immediate response and recovery needs) but also address the underlying causes of disasters. Both types of organizations need to redirect their emphases towards nurturing and expanding long-term community development, and helping communities build the institutions and capabilities to reduce vulnerability.

Promoting Bottom-Up Recovery

A primary conclusion of our study is that bottom-up, community-based approaches to recovery will frequently be more effective and equitable than traditional top-down approaches (as occurred in Saddler's Village in St. Kitts and Nevis). The definitive characteristic of bottom-up approaches documented in our case studies (e.g., Streatham Village of Montserrat) was the leadership role played by a community-based organization. Because community-based nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are deeply rooted in the society and culture of a locality, they enable people to address their real needs and priorities, allowing problems to be correctly defined, and responsive aid and development programs to be designed.

The presence of community-based NGOs also allowed people to respond to disaster situations in a timely and effective manner. In various instances, such as the Streatham Village of Montserrat and Christian Children's Fund (CCF) projects in Antigua, the distribution of assistance by community-based NGOs was efficient and just, eliminating bureaucratic delays and politically driven corruption. In the Streatham Village program, a community-based participant actually was sent to explain to donors in Canada that long-term disaster recovery is a bottom-up empowerment process not just a process of donating materials and food to helpless victims.

Through mobilizing people, and drawing on their local knowledge and expertise, positive results could be achieved through modest aid inputs. Under the control of community-based NGOs, resources were used efficiently and effectively. Community-based NGOs were typically multisectorial, combining disaster reconstruction with other development activities, such as housing, agriculture, and environmental protection.

The support activities of external NGOs and central governments were more effectively used in community-based programs than in top-down programs. For example, the Streatham Village and CCF projects showed how technical assistance and training reinforced and strengthened local organizational capacity, which in turn permitted the implementation of recovery, reconstruction, mitigation, and various developmental measures.

Agents of Change

Some programs showed how disaster was viewed as a unique vehicle for change. The post-disaster recovery period offers an opportunity, not only to stimulate local organization building efforts for immediate concerns related to recovery, but long-term development as well. Such bottom-up approaches lead to reconstructing damaged housing and public facilities, and induce change in the social, economic, and political relations which underpin sustainable development. These same approaches reinforced organizations, built up cooperative networks, and increased awareness. Therefore, these grassroots movements increased people's potential for reducing their vulnerability to future disasters and to conditions of impoverishment, in contrast to the top-down approach.

The most interesting bottom-up approaches were those where external organizational efforts supported and complemented community-based NGO activities, through the redistribution of power and re-sources at the local level. In one case, Antigua's Disaster Relief Committee was widely regarded as successful in involving a cross section of outside and local organizational participants. The committee was established independently by the central government, with a separate identity and authority. This entity was not perceived to be politically motivated by aid acquisition and distribution. Foreign donor organizations were thus supportive of this organization and recognized its legitimacy in handling aid. Local NGOs were represented as well, which allowed for the expression of local needs and capacities. 

Overcoming Politics

Politics is not necessarily a bad factor. In the Caribbean countries we examined, however, allocating scarce post-disaster resources presented certain problems. Politics leads to differential distribution of aid and local recovery, raising significant questions about equity and fairness. The significance of politics is perhaps most dramatically seen in Jamaica, where the division between rival political parties is sharp and contentious. Allocation of disaster aid is subject to these political divisions. Sensitivity to political divisions is crucial in designing mechanisms for distributing aid.

Despite its problems, the Jamaican building stamp program did manage to achieve a high degree of political neutrality. The aspects of this program, which minimized politics, included: an aid allocation system based on clear and objective standards and criteria; a comprehensive damage assessment performed in a fairly neutral fashion; and allocation of the actual aid through the local private sector that is, building supply stores in the actual communities.

The preparation in advance of a detailed usable disaster plan, which laid out coordinating responsibilities, required actions and clear recovery/reconstruction standards and criteria to minimize the role of politics. 

Making Disaster Plans Relevant

The experiences documented here suggest that major reforms are also needed in the designing of national disaster plans. Such plans can provide a crucial coordinating framework following a disaster. More attention should be paid to making public officials, public and private organizations, and the general public more aware of the existence of these plans, and how they can be useful during response and recovery. The plans primarily focus on preparedness and emergency response plans. They should be further expanded, to: 1) explicitly address recovery and reconstruction; and 2) foster long-term development. Disaster plans should be widely disseminated, made the focus of community fora, and frequently updated. 

Achieving Fair and Equitable Recovery

Considerable questions have been raised by the case studies about the fairness of recovery and reconstruction. Poorer people and communities, for instance, are less likely to receive their fair share of disaster assistance in a timely fashion. Any program for disaster recovery must incorporate the goal of social equity. Criteria and procedures for damage assessment, and allocation of short- and long-term disaster assistance, should treat, in an equitable fashion, all regions, communities, and socioeconomic groups, unless there are clear and compelling reasons to do otherwise. Resource needs may be greatest in poorer communities, where the ability of residents to recover on their own may be much lower. Any disaster plan or recovery framework must explicitly address the issue of equity and strive to achieve it.

A number of specific recommendations might enhance equity in recovery. These include giving greater responsibility to locally based NGOs, which are likely to be more insulated from political pressures and have a much clearer, sharper understanding of the relative needs of individuals and groups following a disaster. More-over, there is a strong need in many Caribbean countries to address the issue of land tenure. Our cases illustrate that those without secure land tenure those living in squatter communities frequently do not receive the same level of disaster assistance or aid. Programs like the building stamp program in Jamaica, for example, are restricted to those who can show property ownership. Those living illegally (i.e., in squatter settlements) are less likely to seek out disaster assistance programs. These tend to be the poorest of residents, in the poorest of communities; they are frequently at the greatest risk.

Promoting equity in disaster planning requires some strategy to deal with the land tenure issue. Among the possibilities are efforts at designing aid programs that are not contingent on proving land or property ownership; tenure reform to redistribute land or property ownership; and special outreach programs with squatter communities in mind.

Reducing the long-term exposure of people and property to natural disasters in the Caribbean will require a number of specific mitigation actions. These are actions that, for effective implementation, will require the concerted efforts and support of the public and private sectors.

Figure: A satellite image if Hurrican Gilbert. After an eight-hour rampage across Jamaica, Gilbert veered towards Mexico's Caribbean coast. Photo: National Occeanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Strengthening the Building Stock

Obviously, the low quality of the housing stock in much of the Caribbean region, and its vulnerability to wind and other forces of nature, is a major cause of high damage and loss of life. In countries such as Jamaica, general conditions of poverty translate into large numbers of people living in housing that will not withstand a hurricane or any other natural disaster.

In the future, then, substantial attention must be given to strategies for strengthening housing stock, both in new construction and retrofitting of existing units. There are many obstacles to these strategies in developing countries. The existence of an official building code is rarely an issue the Caribbean building code has been widely adopted. If adequately implemented and enforced, the code would strengthen the building stock in the region. The problem, in most cases, is one of enforcement, and greater attention needs to be directed here. There is an especially strong need for trained personnel, and an administrative structure for enforcing the code. In many urban areas in the Caribbean, there already exists some form of construction permit and inspection process.

But while improvements in such a code implementation/enforcement system can and should be made, this recommendation is not an appropriate strategy for many parts of the Caribbean. First, as stated earlier, much of the construction (and reconstruction) occurs through an informal housing sector, especially in rural areas, often outside the jurisdiction and scope of a permit review. Much of the new housing in the Caribbean is constructed without going through a code review and inspection process. Other strategies are needed to address the informal housing sector. The possibilities include programs to train carpenters, craftsmen, and trade workers in construction strengthening techniques and designs, and the education of the general public about appropriate construction techniques.

The informality of much of the Caribbean housing sector is greater following a disaster. We found substantial anecdotal evidence that in Jamaica, following Hurricane Gilbert, a large portion of the recovery and rebuilding took place without any type of government review or approval. In many cases, housing occupants scavenged building materials and made repairs themselves. We also noted that because of the large amount of repair and reconstruction work available, not to mention the higher demand for building tradesmen, many inexperienced and unskilled individuals were employed in rebuilding. There is a special need to find effective ways to promote mitigation and construction strengthening techniques during this informal rebuilding process. Locally based education and training programs are, again, potentially effective. Such efforts in Montserrat, following Hurricane Hugo, are positive examples albeit on a small scale. A similar training program was instituted in Jamaica, through the Hexcell house program, but it was short-lived and also relatively small.

Efforts at strengthening the Caribbean building stock will require strategies for both the formal and informal housing sectors. External aid organizations should consider long-term investments in disaster reduction, yielded by development programs, which will lead to safer building practices in both formal and informal housing sectors.

Poverty affects vulnerability to natural disasters in the Caribbean. Much of the population of the Caribbean basin lives in the most rudimentary housing frequently, single-room, tin-roof wooden structures. Poverty prevents the population from living in stronger, better built structures resistant to the forces of wind and water. Housing recovery programs, like Jamaica's building stamp program, and the Hexcell house program, can only go so far to improve the post-disaster housing stock, given the low levels of income and resources of residents. Similarly, programs to educate about appropriate building practices can achieve limited success in light of these conditions. This shortcoming further reinforces the importance of overall economic development programs and efforts to alleviate the basic problem of poverty. 

Sustainable Land Use Patterns

Generally, a natural hazard does not exist until people and property are placed in harm's way. At this point, a natural process or function becomes a hazard, and eventually, a disaster. Our study finds that past and recent developments in these Caribbean nations have occurred in the most dangerous locations, for instance, in low-lying shoreline and inland flood-prone areas.

Given the context of developing countries, promoting sustainable land use may require a number of different efforts. Greater attention, at the national level, should be given to land use planning. Countries such as Jamaica do have a rudimentary land use planning framework, modeled after the British town planning system. Such systems, where they exist, are basic in scope, with limited efficacy. Yet while such systems do suffer from many limitations, they represent a useful regulatory and management framework from which to proceed. One problem has been a limited understanding of the spatial extent of natural hazards present. A lack of a series of floodplain maps, in Jamaica, has impeded efforts to manage land use to reduce exposure to that hazard.

Efforts should be made to enhance the capability of Caribbean nations to effectively manage land use. Among the specific areas that should receive attention are: preparation of systematic and accurate maps of hazardous zones indicating the type, magnitude, and spatial extent of hazards; expanded funding for planning and the training of planners; efforts to strengthen land use and town planning laws; and the existing processes through which building and development proposals are evaluated.

As with building codes, however, land use planning will have difficulty influencing many of the locations and decisions in the informal housing sector. It is not uncommon for squatter communities to emerge illegally on public lands. Often such squatter communities emerge in some of the most dangerous locations along floodplains, and in areas vulnerable to slides and other hazards. This trend suggests the need to supplement more formal procedures and processes of land use planning and control with more informal mechanisms. Community-based NGOs (e.g., churches, civic groups, and neighborhood organizations) have great potential in many Caribbean nations to educate and advise citizens on appropriate land use decisions. 

Environmental Protection

Disaster planning can, and should be, integrated with environmental management and protection. The relationship between these areas is clear. First, evidence suggests that exposure of people and property increases, as a result of environmentally destructive actions. Second, many features of the natural environment serve important mitigation functions; preserving these features can represent an effective disaster reduction strategy. Wetlands absorb floodwaters, for instance, while beach and dune systems serve as natural seawalls, absorbing the force of surge and waves. A long-term strategy for reducing exposure of people and property to disasters must preserve and protect such natural mitigative features. Third, there are many opportunities to accomplish both environmental conservation and disaster reduction/recovery goals. Many nations in the Caribbean are taking significant actions to protect their environments, and realize that maintaining their natural heritage is extremely important in achieving long-term economic development goals. A number of Caribbean countries have established parks and protected areas, which have the potential to help reduce natural disasters. Jamaica, for example, has established a Blue Mountain/John Crow National Park, with the potential to preserve significant parts of the island's natural heritage. Similar areas may be established in the future, as efforts to increase tourism will most likely burgeon. Many of these protected areas are, however, "paper parks" established on paper, with little or no management capability or personnel. The establishment of protected areas, and systems of protected areas, has considerable promise for reducing disaster vulnerability as well. Yet natural hazards must be taken into account in designing these parks and park systems, with sufficient resources and personnel, to ensure proper control and management.

Part of the answer here lies in a long-term process of expanding public awareness of, and concern about, the environment. Local, community-based environmentalism is beginning to emerge in many parts of the Caribbean. In Jamaica, for instance, a group called Portland Environmental Protection Association (PEPA) has been instrumental in expanding environmental awareness and mobilizing local resources to oppose certain environmentally destructive practices. Environmental education holds great promise for broadening the political base and constituency supportive of sustainable development practices. Such programs are beginning to take hold in some parts of the Caribbean, and are worth expanding. Part of the objective is to promote a greater sense of causal connection between environmental destruction (e.g., deforestation) and the long-term negative results of such destruction (e.g., increased flooding).

Understanding Natural Hazards

One major obstacle to achieving safer, more sustainable land use patterns is the limited understanding of the location and nature of hazards. Many Caribbean nations have limited (if any) mapping of hazard zones, such as the 100-year floodplain. Only recently, for instance, has Jamaica undertaken detailed floodplain mapping. It is difficult to expect that serious development efforts in floodplains can take place without detailed mapping of such hazards. Similarly, few Caribbean nations have had their coastlines "modeled" to understand likely inundation levels under different hurricane landfall scenarios. Puerto Rico, however, has had the Sea Lake and Overland Surge from Hurricanes (SLOSH) model applied to its coastline. This information will serve as an important basis for gauging the amount and types of properties at risk, the number of people and communities at risk, and the likely future evacuation needs. Understanding the potential long-term effects of future sea level rise is another example of an important information need, lacking in most Caribbean nations.

Many Caribbean nations lack the funding and expertise to undertake such studies. Development agencies can help in this regard. Generally, the cost of these types of studies and analyses should be viewed as essential investments in long-term land use sustainability. 

Further Considerations

In the future, any effective long-term reduction in vulnerability to natural disasters will occur through a broader, more holistic framework of sustainable development. While the vision of a "sustainable" future remains ambiguous, and in need of definition, it is clearly one which seeks to direct people, property, and social investments away from high hazard areas, protects and sustains ecological functions, and explicitly balances short-term needs and long-term goals. Each Caribbean nation should, ideally, develop a strategy for sustainable development one which considers strategies for economic development, location and timing of public investments, taxation policy, and natural resource conservation. A sustainable development plan for Montserrat, for example, would require a much longer time frame than most conventional development or land use plans perhaps such a plan should project as far as 500 years into the future.

Where will people live? How will people earn their livelihoods? What will be the condition of the environment? How much risk and exposure to natural events, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, will be acceptable? A long-term sustainable development plan could pull together the many disparate national plans and policies from tourism, to infrastructure, to economics that are frequently developed and implemented separately. Some Caribbean nations have already embarked upon a course to develop integrated development schemes. Jamaica, for example, has developed a national environmental inventory, as well as a physical development plan. Similar planning would be useful in guiding the distribution of developmental funds and disaster assistance by development agencies and international disaster assistance organizations. Such agencies could make the funding of national sustainable development plans a priority. While merely attaching the label of "sustainable" to such a national planning effort does not guarantee long-term development, a serious attempt at applying the theory and principles of sustainable development would advance the long-term goal of reducing exposure to natural hazards in the Caribbean. n

Timothy Beatley is associate professor of Environmental Planning at the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning, University of Virginia. Philip R. Berke is associate professor of Land Use and Environmental Planning at the Department of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina. They are coauthors of After the Hurricane: Linking Recovery to Sustainable Development in the Caribbean (Johns Hopkins University Press, forthcoming).