IDS: Why culture needs to shape responses to disasters and crises? - Opinion
As world leaders come together in Sendai, Japan for the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction conference (WCDRR), IDS research argues that culture must be at the heart of a new approach to disaster risk reduction (DRR). It is hoped that this meeting will set out a clear pathway for the future on DRR.
Coinciding with the four year anniversary of the Fukushima earthquake and tsunami, a key outcome of the conference is the adoption by governments of a post-2015 framework on DRR.
What difference does a decade make?
This meeting needs to learn the lessons of the past decade, following on from the 2005 Hyogo Framework for Action. ‘Disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity, and those exacerbated by climate change are significantly impeding progress toward sustainable development. Evidence indicates that exposure of people and assets in all countries has increased faster than vulnerability has decreased, thus generating new risk and a steady rise in disasters losses with significant socio-economic impact in the short, medium and long term, especially at the local and community level,’ according to the co-Chairs of the Preparatory Committee for the WCDRR.
Although the Sendai meeting comes at a time when the global community are focusing on the final agreement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September; it cannot get lost in the crowd. It is important that whatever comes out of the meeting in Sendai links closely with lessons from Hyogo and current processes, including the SDGs and the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP). If it fails to do this, it could mean that efforts in Japan will be meaningless.
Including ‘culture’ in the conversation
IDS researcher Terry Cannon, who is at the WCDRR, argued that disaster risk reduction and recovery fails if we ignore how culture affects perception of risk within the latest World Disasters Report, published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
As the report's lead editor and author Cannon said: 'Most Disaster and Risk Reduction interventions assume people will behave in ways that minimise the risks identified by the outsider, but fail to take account of the cultural behaviour that often leads to people having different rationalities', He continued, 'It is essential that we bring these complex issues and clashes of cultures into the open for discussion, so that they can be much better incorporated into Disaster and Risk Reduction work'.
Culture and learning from the Ebola crisis
The timing of the WCDRR particularly resonates in the aftermath of the Ebola crisis. As Amber Huff argues, the failure of some working within international development to acknowledge the importance of culture in responding to the crisis has been catastrophic.
‘During the crisis, much attention has been focused on the fact that people in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have avoided health facilities and actively resisted public health teams, which is often attributed to ignorance of biomedicine and refusal to abandon ‘traditional culture’. In fact, these ideas encourage those working in international development to underplay the persistence of inequitable policies and practices of exclusion and neglect that create atmospheres of mistrust between states, citizens, and response partners. These practices underpin the vulnerability of people who live in some of the world’s poorest communities.’
The Ebola outbreak highlighted that looking beyond the immediate response, there is an urgent need to ask some serious questions about how the current development model has contributed to the magnitude of the crisis; and exacerbated the vulnerabilities of communities to protect themselves against disasters and crisis. For example, the current Ebola epidemic highlights that where communities are already more vulnerable to disasters, people living with disabilities are often disproportionately affected. More must be done to ensure the needs and rights of people with disabilities are fully recognised in disaster risk reduction and emergency responses.
Sendai represents a crossroads for the global community to realise a more resilient global future. There is a need for the WCDRR to learn lessons from the past and link with other processes to truly embed culture and communities within its new Framework.