Disaster risk reduction policy for sustainable development in the Southern African development community: A policy perspective

Abstract

A frica is prone to disasters due to various factors including natural disasters and upheavals precipitated by humans. Complementary challenges are a vulnerable population and the low levels of economic wellbeing that predominate in the region. Disasters of every form hinder the development process in a country and it is thus crucial that there be an appropriate disaster risk reduction process to cushion their impact on development.The rationale of the article is to underline the view that countries investing in capacitating institutions with specialised resources will have a signiicant impact on minimising the intensity of disaster risks and thus enhance sustainable development. It is imperative that governments collaborate at regional, national and local spheres to create awareness on the disaster risk reduction (DRR) process. This article utilises oficial reports, scholarly articles and conference proceedings to acquire relevant data in order to explore the status of disaster risk in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. Through an analytical and descriptive approach, the article aims to assess the implementation of the Disaster Risk Reduction Policy in SADC countries from a policy perspective. The gaps in the DRR process are identiied, and corrective actions for improvement are recommended.

Full text

774 Volume 47 number 4 | December 2012
Journal of Public Administration
DISASTER RISK REDUCTION POLICy FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOP-
MENT COMMUNITy: A POLICy PERSPECTIVE
S. Vyas-Doorgapersad & T.M. Lukamba
Department Public Administration and Management
North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus
ABSTRACT
Africa is prone to disasters due to various factors including natural disasters
and upheavals precipitated by humans. Complementary challenges are a
vulnerable population and the low levels of economic wellbeing that pre-
dominate in the region. Disasters of every form hinder the development process
in a country and it is thus crucial that there be an appropriate disaster risk reduc-
tion process to cushion their impact on development.The rationale of the article
is to underline the view that countries investing in capacitating institutions with

of disaster risks and thus enhance sustainable development. It is imperative that
governments collaborate at regional, national and local spheres to create aware-
           
reports, scholarly articles and conference proceedings to acquire relevant data in
order to explore the status of disaster risk in the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) region. Through an analytical and descriptive approach, the
article aims to assess the implementation of the Disaster Risk Reduction Policy
in SADC countries from a policy perspective. The gaps in the DRR process are

INTRODUCTION
Problems posed by disasters have become increasingly important for all Afri-
can governments. Every year a variety of disasters occurs in Sub-Saharan Africa
and these are becoming ever more prevalent, so governments in Africa must
take the occurrence of disasters very seriously. According to the African Union
(AU) (2006:2) with the escalation of disaster risk in Africa, more people are being
adversely affected. This is because disaster events have increased the economic
loss of poor communities substantially – so much so that the impact of disasters on
the African continent has had a negative effect on sustainable development. The

775
S. Vyas-Doorgapersad & T.M. Lukamba
Journal of Public Administration
Southern African region is not an exception in this regard. The impact or the sever-
ity of the disaster may differ from one country to another resulting from drought,

in the disaster sector differs at sub-regional level based on the capacity and exper-
tise to effectively handle the extent of disasters. The interventions are not always
well- implemented due to lack of proactive measures from the government side.
The main purpose of this article is therefore to evaluate the disaster risk reduction
policy for sustainable development in the SADC region from a policy perspective.

often cause more destruction cumulatively than some of the large scale disasters ...
Due to the compounded nature of risks, any small disaster is likely to cause high
levels of damage, since vulnerability is so exacerbated by the recurrent nature
of disasters, which give communities little or no time to recover” (Report on the
Southern African Development Community Disaster Risk Reduction and Prepared-
ness Planning Workshop, 2010:5). Against this background, this article utilises the
          -
spective: “an action taken to reduce the risk of disasters and the adverse impact
of natural hazards, through systematic efforts to analyse and manage the causes of
disasters, including through avoidance of hazards, and improved preparedness for
adverse events” (Hyogo Framework for Action, 2005).
The success of DRR in each country depends on the ability to implement disaster
management policy. It is therefore hypothesised that disaster risk reduction aware-
ness and expertise may promote sustainable development. The key focus of this
article is the SADC region where a process is in place to improve and enhance the
expertise of its member states through the Disaster Risk Reduction Policy. It starts
with an overview of disasters in the SADC region. This is followed by the review of
Disaster Reduction Policy in the SADC region, pointing out gaps and challenges.
OVERVIEW OF DISASTERS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN DEVELOP-
MENT COMMUNITy
The African continent is prone to a diverse nature of disasters caused by either
natural factors or stimulated by mankind. The “fact that most of the African coun-
tries are poor makes this continent the one that is least equipped and least prepared
to cope with the impacts of hazards and disasters” (International Council for Sci-
ence, 2007:4). The intervention across Africa of government in each disaster case is

or man-made disaster. That is why the problem of policy implementation in the
disaster sector is crucial. Table 1 below indicates the number of disasters which
occurred in Africa in 2009 and 2010.

776 Volume 47 number 4 | December 2012
Journal of Public Administration
Table 1: The occurrence of natural disasters and their impact on Africa, 2009–2010
Type of natural
disaster
Occurrence
2009
Occurrence
2010
Number of
victims
(millions)
2009
Number of
victims
(millions)
2010
Damage in
US$
2009
Damage in
US$
2010
Climatological 3 6 4.48 5.44 0.00 0.00
Geophysical 2 1 0.02 0.00 0.00 0.00
Hydrological 46 57 2.50 4.23 0.15 0.06
Meteorological 13 5 0.16 0.20 0.02 0.00
Source: Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disaster (2009–2010).
The table above shows that in 2009 there were three climatological disasters
and two geophysical disasters registered on the African continent (a decrease on the
readings for the previous year). However, the incidence of hydrological disasters
is particularly worrisome at 46 cases and meteorological disasters also increased
markedly. In 2010 there was an increase of disasters in the climatological category
but only one case of geophysical disaster was registered in the continent. Hydro-
logical disasters increased to 57 while meteorological disasters dropped from 13 in
2009 to 5 events in 2010. It appears that the number of disasters in Africa not only

The southern African region also faces the impact of natural hazards. In South
  
also frequent in many other countries in the region. As shown in Table 2 below,
research indicates that southern African countries have suffered periods of severe
drought since the early nineteenth century and at least two debilitating droughts
were experienced in the 1991 to 1994 period, triggering serious water-related
imbalances and causing loss of crops. The shortage of water led to loss of livestock,

in the 1994 and 1995 season caused a sharp decline in cereal production, which
was down by 35% compared to the previous year (Southern Africa Environment
Outlook, 2008:10). Related circumstances were experienced in other countries
such as Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
-
quakes. For example, in October and December 2010, Mozambique faced an
  
part of the country. According to Chilundo (2010:18) the Mozambican government
had gone to great lengths to implement disaster risk reduction measures in the
-
gency plan, preparing emergency site plans, conducting simulation exercises and
    
were a major setback for the economy

777
S. Vyas-Doorgapersad & T.M. Lukamba
Journal of Public Administration

1820–1830aThis was a decade of severe drought throughout Africa.
1844–1849a
1875–1910aThere was a marked decrease in rainfall in southern Africa; 1910 saw a severe
drought.
1921–1930aThere was a severe drought throughout southern Africa.
1930–1950aSouthern Africa experienced dry periods alternating with wet seasons. In some
years the rains were very good. The period 1946–47 were years of severe drought.
1966–73 This 6-year period was dry across the entire region. Some records show a severe
drought in 1967. The equatorial region (including the DRC) experienced above-
average rainfall.
1981–82 There were severe drought conditions in most parts of southern Africa.
1982 Most of sub-tropical Africa experienced drought.
1983 This year saw a particularly severe drought for the entire African continent.
1986–87 Drought conditions returned to the region.
1991–92 The worst drought in living memory was experienced in southern Africa,
excluding Namibia.
1994–95 Many countries in the SADC region were hit by a severe drought, surpassing the
impact of the 1991 to 1992 drought in some regions.
1999– 2000 Cyclone Eline 
Limpopo basin (southern and central Mozambique, south eastern Mozambique,
parts of South Africa and Botswana).
2001– 2002a        
caused damage to infrastructure, loss of life and damage to property.
2005– 2006b
          
which caused considerable structural damage, destroying schools, crops,
telecommunications and roads.
2007c
Cyclone Favio hit Madagascar and Mozambique and affected parts of Zimbabwe.
Flooding killed about 40 people and affected more than 120 000 people in
Mozambique. Nearly 90 000 people were evacuated. More than 700 cases of


2007–2008d     
and Zimbabwe affecting more than 190 000 people by January 2008.
Source: Southern Africa Environment Outlook: 2008:13
According to Table 2, most of the countries in the SADC region recorded natural

trends documented in Table 1 it may be predicted that natural disasters will con-
tinue to occur in the Southern Africa region at frequent intervals. The consequence
of these natural hazards varies depending on their magnitude.

778 Volume 47 number 4 | December 2012
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DISASTER RISK REDUCTION POLICy
The World Bank is engaged in developing international policies that may well
-
ter risk reduction. In 2007, the World Bank developed the Rapid Response to Crises
-
atic, structured and balanced approach to risk reduction. The pillars are risk iden-
     
et al., 2008:6-7). The
World Bank in Sub-Saharan Africa is supporting the region through various disaster
management projects. According to Bhavnani et al. (2008:8-11) these include:
 the Western Kenya Community-Driven Development and Food Mitigation Pro-
ject;
 the Africa Emergency Locust Project;
 the Mozambique Flood Emergency Recovery Project;
 the Malawi, Kenya, Zambia Emergency Drought Recovery Projects;
 the Eastern Nile Flood Preparedness and Early Warning Project;
 the Madagascar Cyclone Emergency Rehabilitation Project; and
 the Malawi and Mozambique Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction Project.
 In addition, the World Bank is directly involved in many Climate Change Pro-
jects, including:
 the Kenya Adaptation to Climate Change in Arid Lands Project;
 the Multi-Country TerrAfrica and GEF Special Programme for Adaptation;
 the Burkina Faso Community Based Rural Development Project II;
 the Madagascar Adaptation and Risk Management Project;
 the Mozambique IDA/GEF Zambezi Valley Market-led Smallholder Develop-
ment Project;
 Managing Risk in Rural Senegal;
 the Multi-Country Policy Nexus of Agriculture and Global Climate Change in
Africa; and
 the Malawi and Mozambique Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction Project.
In order to mitigate the challenges presented by disasters, a number of work-
-
cant policy issues regarding DRR. In 2004, the African Ministerial Conference on
the Environment was held in Libya to explore the connection between DRR and
sustainable development and to emphasise the need for public awareness of DRR.
The First African Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in 2005 in
Addis Ababa, resulted in the establishment of the Africa Working Group on DRR.
Josue Dione, the director of the Sustainable Development Division of the United
Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UN ECA), emphasised in his opening
statement:
No doubt, we in Africa face daunting challenges of improving policies,
building institutions and investing in productive, social and services ... to

779
S. Vyas-Doorgapersad & T.M. Lukamba
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meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Yet, we are severely
constrained in our pursuit of the MDGs by disasters of several orders,
which time and again take many African countries back to square one
in their efforts at paving a cumulative path to getting their people out
of poverty and to a state of sustainable economic, social and environ-
mental development. (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa,
2005:1)
The conference proposed the Programme of Action for the Implementation of
the Africa Regional Strategy for DRR, stressing the need for capacity building as
one of the main priorities. The requirement for capacity-building was furthermore
emphasised during the First African Review Process (ARP) for DRR consultative
meeting held in 2007 in Kenya. This led to the launch of ARP for DRR as a regional
forum linking the Global Platform and National Platforms for coordinated efforts in
minimising disasters. Since then, efforts for the promotion and implementation of
DRR have been on-going and in 2010 the Second African Ministerial Declaration
on DRR was issued at another conference held in Kenya. The event, organised by
the AU in collaboration with the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction (UNISDR), not only emphasised the need to minimise the effects of
       
Development Goals for sustainable development.
The outcome of these consultations led the African Union (AU), in association
with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the UNISDR, the
United Nations Development Plan (UNDP),and the African Development Bank
(AfDB), to initiate a recovery plan entitled the African Regional Strategy for Disas-
ter Risk Reduction, to be implemented within the 2005–2012 timeframe. Because
the African Regional Strategy needs to be implemented at sub-regional levels,

demand, a sub-regional strategy was prepared by the Inter-Governmental Author-
ity of Development and was duly approved by the Economic Community of West
African States.
The SADC based on the social, economic, and environmental analysis of their
member countries, has accepted the sub-regional strategy with required amend-
ments. According to the Report on the Status of Disaster Risk Reduction in the Sub-
Saharan Africa Region, a study commission by the World Bank (2008:19):
disaster management has been an important component of the overall
    -
ommended the development of a regional disaster management strat-

2001, it launched a Sub-Regional Disaster Management Strategy cov-
ering food security, climate and environment and water management.


780 Volume 47 number 4 | December 2012
Journal of Public Administration

SADC Regional Early Warning Unit develops information on weather
threats, drought conditions and food security. (World Bank, 2008:19)
Although the sub-regional policy is in place, there are associated challenges
that require vital attention. According to the Report on the SADC Disaster Risk
Reduction and Preparedness Planning Workshop (2010:5) held in Botswana, the

for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, stated that there are:
key challenges facing disaster risk reduction implementation in the
region [and these] include institutional frameworks for disaster risk
reduction at the regional, national, and in some cases, local/community
level, which are often under-funded and not coordinated; lack of com-
prehensive and constantly updated risk assessments and analysis; weak
 
risk areas; and the need to reduce underlying risk factors.
These developments for DRR demonstrate that relevant “policies and institu-
tional mechanisms do exist at various degrees of completeness in African coun-
tries” (UNISDR, 2009:2), but admittedly their effect is limited and an analytical
review of the DRR Policy is necessary to identify and address challenges and short-
falls.
POLICy REVIEW
Through the analysis of statistics on the extent of disasters in the SADC region
and a close examination of the available literature on disaster risk reduction policy,

➢ there are challenges related to the policy processes:
          
whereby the people responsible for execution of the Disaster Risk Reduction
-
agement. This capacity-gap hampers the effective implementation and monitor-
ing of the process that has been devised to minimise the impact of disasters;
            

projects;
 
adequate capacities to coordinate the disaster risk reduction projects and pro-
grammes; and
 
that is required for pro-active recovery measures.
➢ there are gaps at the institutional level, including the following:

781
S. Vyas-Doorgapersad & T.M. Lukamba
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 
strategy;
        
implementation of disaster risk reduction projects and programmes; and
 
programmes required as post-disaster reactive measures.
The review of the 2010 SADC Vulnerability Assessment and Analysis is summarised
as follows:
 capacity and resource constraints. The trained members
of the Botswana Vulnerability Assessment Committee (BVAC) have other work
commitments apart from their BVAC activities. In addition, there is a high turn-
over of trained BVAC members.
       no data available for some sectors.
Quality information is sorely lacking, as is monitoring/evaluation of various
activities. The available budget is restrictively small and there is a lack of coop-
eration between provinces.
         
(MVAC) is poorly understood by many stakeholders. A high staff turnover cre-
ates the need for continuous training, even in the most basic policy implemen-
tation.
 
activities; and a dire need for specialised technical support (for example a food
security consultant, agro-economist and nutritionist). In addition, decentralised
provincial monitoring is required for more regular and updated information
and it is necessary to conduct an Urban Assessment Vulnerability programme.
Consolidation of food security is necessary and a nutrition data base should be
set up. There is also a need for training and dissemination on food security and

  methodologies needs to be developed to address the
increasing levels of urban poverty.
     
     
when needed for critical circumstances. The mobilisation of resources is still
unresolved and data management processes are weak (e.g. the collection, stor-
age, access at national and sub-national levels). Furthermore, the database
for livelihood systems is incomplete; work plans differ from one institution to
    
Tanzanian data management system is uncoordinated.
 lack of institutional buy-in on the recovery and contingency plans
which focus on the medium to long term activities. There is also an inadequate
food security and nutrition monitoring system and limited funding for imple-
mentation of long-term interventions. Capacity building and training through

782 Volume 47 number 4 | December 2012
Journal of Public Administration
sustainable approaches, i.e. mainstreaming VAA in research methodologies
within tertiary institutions of learning, is of limited scope.
 
-
tise1 of personnel and institutions is imperative for effective implementation, for-
mulation, and monitoring of disaster risk reduction projects and programmes.
The assessment of the common limitations of the policy indicates that there is
a lack of participation of disaster-affected communities and stakeholders during
the DRR policy formulation and implementation processes. The inappropriate
involvement of community members during the design of disaster risk reduction
programmes leaves a gap in the effective implementation of the DRR strategies.
This gap is widened with the lack of needs analysis surveys conducted by the

disaster risk reduction planning that explores a lack of regional understanding of
the policy. There is an absence of established links between disaster management,
       
(it is holistically stipulated). A shortfall can be noticed in alignment of the DRR
programmes at national and regional levels in the SADC. There is a need for an
adequate data management system to establish the regional links on disaster risk
reduction through information and communication technological means or infor-
mation management systems. The assessment of the policy guides that “it is impor-
tant to continue to pursue the set track towards holistic disaster management, of
which both disaster reduction and response are essential components. However,
it is unfortunate that ... the regional frameworks have addressed international –
i.e. beyond the regional mechanism – relief and recovery assistance to disasters”
(Field, 2007:18-19).
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on an analysis of the information, this article supports the hypothesis that
      
in achieving sustainable development. The extent of disasters that have struck the

in Table 1. Hydrological disasters were particularly prevalent in the region in 2009
and 2010 (although occurrence differs from country to country). Based on an
  
the following recommendations: there is an urgent need to create awareness of
area-bound disasters. People living in these areas must have a clear understand-
ing of disaster preparedness. DRR area personnel must be pro-active and prepare
the relevant disaster risk plans, response plans, emergency measures and be fully
appraised on post-disaster reconstruction and rehabilitation plans.

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Journal of Public Administration
Disaster risk management expertise must focus on a number of crucial aspects.
The relevant personnel must be trained in dealing with disaster preparedness with

the risk analysis with early warning systems (an alarm technique) in place. The
gaps in the level of expertise have hampered the success implementation of DRR
Policy at the SADC region. Expertise (at regional/sub-regional government levels)
           
human resource development, community vulnerability assessments, and post-
rehabilitation training, is vital.
In conclusion, the article establishes that there are challenges regarding the
-

enhance the cross-sectoral plans for improvement. There is a need to implement
regional cooperation, Millennium Development Goal 8, to aid the least developed
countries in the SADC region. This issue is one that calls for wider research in the
future.
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______________________________________________
(Endnotes)
1 The Hyogo Framework for Action stipulates that “while each State has primary
responsibility for its own economic and social development, an enabling international envi-
ronment is vital to stimulate and contribute to developing the knowledge, capacities and
motivation needed to build disaster resilient nations and communities. States and regional
and international organizations should also support the capacities of regional mechanisms
and organizations to develop regional plans, policies and common practices, as appropri-
ate, in support of networking, advocacy, coordination, exchange of information and experi-
-
ment and to deal with disaster risks” (Capacity for Disaster Reduction Initiative, 2012:5).