Kan man mindske risikoen for naturkatastrofer og deres ødelæggende følger? Det mener nogle forskere, men deres ”risk reduction index” synes ikke at hjælpe alle. Primært fordi der i især udviklingslandene ikke er den fornødne kapacitet og viden til at forebygge naturkatastrofer.
DAKAR, 14 March 2014 (IRIN) – Researchers at the Madrid-based humanitarian research non-profit DARA have developed a new methodology, the risk reduction index, that they say could help more countries assess and reduce the risk of natural hazards and disasters. But an assessment carried out in six West African countries found pervasive risks and limited capacity to reduce vulnerability.
The index assesses the capacities and conditions – such as human resources, laws and social norms – available for disaster risk reduction (DRR), according to DARA. “Basically, the risk reduction index looks at local community perceptions related to underlying risk,” said Belen Paley, advocacy manager at DARA.
“It takes into account natural hazards that the area is vulnerable or exposed to, as well other aspects of that community’s infrastructure, socioeconomic development, governance and other factors.”
The index was used to create a risk map for different parts of West Africa. Guinea, Mauritania, Nigeria and Sierra Leone all scored below 4.0, indicating they are unprepared to handle natural hazard risks. Cape Verde, Ghana and Senegal scored between 5 and 5.9, meaning they have made some progress on DRR. Senegal for instance has set up the Civil Protection department to work on DRR as well as a DRR National Platform, but coordination between these groups is poor, particularly at the local level, and funding remains inadequate, says DARA.
No countries in the region scored above 6.0, which would indicate that governments are not sufficiently prioritizing DRR activities.
These scores are backed by statistics. The number of people affected by flooding in West and Central Africa has steadily increased between 2007 and 2012, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. In 2012, more than 3 million people in the region were affected by flooding, almost half of them in Nigeria. At the same time, droughts in the Sahel have become chronic, and this year 18 million people are estimated to be at risk of hunger across the region, says OCHA.
Climatological hazards, such as drought and flooding, affected more than 34 million Africans in 2012, and caused more than US$1.3 billion in economic losses, between 2011 and 2012, according to the latest data from UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). These are numbers are likely to increase as climate change causes more extreme weather events.
“If people are ready and they are prepared, there is evidence that lives can be saved,” said Sarah Lumsdon, a humanitarian specialist at the NGO Oxfam. “So not only do you use weather systems to warn people, but you build certain structures and places where people can go to for safety.”
But the ability to manage and reduce risk remains low, particularly in developing countries, say DARA and UNISDR. Many African countries have few or no resources available to dedicate to risk management, and in countries where risk interventions are attempted, efforts often remain uncoordinated or misguided.
Læs mere http://www.irinnews.org/report/99778/west-africa-scores-high-in-disaster-risk
