Q&A: Why the disaster prevention agenda is growing more urgent
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“This agenda is not a very popular agenda: prevention,” Mizutori said in an interview. “It’s much easier for everybody to talk about disasters after they happen, and then talk about the need to respond to them, and then relief and recovery.”
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“The problem,” she said, “is we don’t have 10 years, 20 years, to get this more relevant.”
As delegates gather for the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mizutori spoke to The New Humanitarian about prevention, the climate crisis, and why emergency aid plans need to think about risk.
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The New Humanitarian: Humanitarians may see the importance of reducing disaster risks, but some may not see it as part of their mandate – especially when you’re talking about really acute, emergency responses. Why do you think disaster risk reduction is clearly within the realm of humanitarian aid?
Mizutori: Perhaps a while ago, maybe there was less blur in a situation where you first had a humanitarian response, relief, and then gradually, that country or that region moves into development, and hopefully into sustainable development.
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The New Humanitarian: Over the last 20 years, there has been a shift in how the public views climate change. Disaster risk reduction goes hand in hand with climate change, but it’s not quite there yet. How do you see disaster risk reduction’s place in the public mindset compared to climate change – should there be more of a link there?
Mizutori: Well, there should be a lot of links there. When we talk about climate risk, the climate emergency, sometimes we’re focusing too much on the direct climate risk that comes from the hazards, whether it’s a cyclone or hurricane, or a drought.
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