Mainstreaming matters - The case of Sri Lanka
Colombo, Sri Lanka - An economic boom in the mid-2000s ignited development throughout Sri Lanka, ranking the country as an Emerging Market Economy by the DOW Jones. However rapid development led to growth without consideration of disaster management. Neglect left new projects in a vulnerable state in search of a more sustainable way to develop and to protect their investments from the dangers of natural hazards.
Mainstreaming to prevent loss – a Priority Implementation Partnership approach
Unless systems and plans putting disaster risk reduction (DRR) into day-to-day planning activities are in place, damage will almost inevitably occur. Mainstreaming, therefore, begins at the policy level and should become as standard as other processes, such as
building inspections and routine maintenance, for example.
Mainstreaming and integrating DRR in this way in regional, national and local levels assists with the sustainability and safety of new development projects.
Since 2004, the Regional Consultative Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction (RCC) has worked towards improving mainstreaming disaster disk reduction into development. To achieve this, a Priority Implementation Partnership, led by the Disaster Management Center under the guidance of Ministry of Disaster Management was founded.
In turn, the partnership set up a Technical Working Group with official government representatives from various sectors. Together, with the Department of National Planning (NPD), the Working Group developed a training programme to enhance the capacity of the planning officials of the NPD on concepts, tools and techniques involved in disaster risk reduction, specifically in planning.
Identifying concerns, overcoming challenges
The housing sector in Sri Lanka faces many challenges. Amongst these are legal rights to shelter, which are particularly problematic amongst the urban poor. Inappropriate construction and design practices as well as inadequate drainage systems are other key areas of concern. Adding to this, houses are commonly built alongside canals and on riverbanks, many of which are low lying and flooded during heaving rains.
When identifying how to help to solve issues in Sri Lanka's housing sector, the Working Group came up against several challenges.
It was found that many local government staff and other stakeholders were lacking clear delegation of responsibilities and duties, which made it difficult to incorporate a new thread (DRR) into local development planning.
Preliminary risk assessments were difficult to produce due to a lack of reliable information on historic trends in natural disasters. A = lack of small scale maps further hindered risk assessment at the planning phase.
Additionally, knowledge of poor building practice dangers does not necessarily translate into strategies to overcome the bottleneck and are not inscribed in a legal framework. For example, construction in landslide prone areas are not subject to any legal guidelines, endangering lives.
Review national legal frameworks, a recommendation
The results? Mainstreaming DRR into policies and practices are not born overnight. With this in mind, for mainstreaming to effectively take place, an understanding of gaps and opportunities in existing legal frameworks should be thoroughly understood.
Additionally, discussions between the Department of National Planning (NPD) and the Working Group were tabled at the Technical Advisory Committee of the Disaster Management Committee. The Committee looks into reviewing building guidelines and building codes to reduce the impacts of natural hazards.
The program resulted in a heightened an awareness of the importance of DRR in planning; and was adopted by the other projects implemented by the National Disaster Management Committee to train Technical Officers at local and regional levels.