The lessons from disasters
Traditional disaster studies and emergency management have not prepared our communities for the peril at hand, writes Bruce Glavovic.
Flooding ravages communities. Climate change is causing more intense and frequent extreme events in many parts of the world – often concentrated along rivers and the seashore. In Aotearoa, this reality has been laid bare, most recently on the West Coast and in the upper South Island. Future prospects are bleak for those in exposed locations.
Unbelievably, new development continues to be approved in areas prone to coastal and/or riverine flooding, despite seemingly sound policy provisions. Many local government staff are aware of the risk associated with such approvals. But they lack the regulatory authority to refuse highrisk development applications, and worry that councils will end up in court only to fight a losing battle.
To make matters worse, they fear such development approvals will expose their council to future litigation for having allowed development in ‘‘unsafe’’ localities.
It is time to chart a new course. The historical focus on ‘‘natural hazards’’, reliance on protective works and policy prescriptions informed by risk quantification have helped to manage flood impacts.
But traditional disaster studies and emergency management have not prepared communities for the perilous times at hand.
Little is done to identify the people most vulnerable to harm. Incredibly, even after devastating flooding, homes are rebuilt in situ. No action is taken to relocate people facing inevitable future floods.
A critical social science perspective is foundational to understanding and charting a new course for addressing natural hazard risk in a changing climate.
Critical disaster scholars have identified lessons for charting a new course. Based on a recently published book which I co-edited, titled A decade of disaster experiences in
tautahi Christchurch: Critical disaster studies perspectives, 10 key lessons are:
The Māori proverb is apt: He tangata, he tangata, he tangata. But understand that vulnerability has a history – from colonisation to more recent forms of marginalisation and oppression, it predisposes people to disaster.
1. Put vulnerable people first.
2. Strengthen local democracy because it is foundational for building resilient communities.
Meaningful public engagement, common vision and purpose, deliberation and reflexivity help to reveal and address the causes of vulnerability and to future-proof our communities. Create ‘‘safe spaces’’ for all voices.
3. Take action now to contain the compounding impacts of climate change, but maintain a long-term perspective.
Keep options open to adjust responses.
4. Avoid putting people in harm’s way.
Do not allow new development in hazardous locations.
5. Privatisation of disaster risk may be necessary but it is not sufficient.
Insurance can assist recovery but it is not a panacea. Civil society holds collective responsibility for past, present and future choices about patterns of human development in ways that are best supported by both the private sector and government.
6. Post-disaster recovery is much more than physical reconstruction.
Recovery is about rebuilding the soul, culture, livelihoods and social fabric of impacted communities.
7. Post-disaster recovery cannot be dictated from ‘‘on high’’.
Joined-up recovery efforts by mana whenua and communities, supported and enabled by local and central government, are vital.
8. Aligned civic and political leadership is a force for positive change.
9. Resolve the question of how to apportion the share of adaptation costs between central and local government and vulnerable communities.
The National Adaptation Plan does not provide an answer. The climate adaptation legislation being drafted needs to.
10. Navigating these perilous times will be contentious.
Create safe arenas of engagement for inclusive, informed and empowering deliberation, reflexivity and collaborative problem-solving. Local knowledge, matauranga Māori, and science and technical expertise are all vital in building shared understanding and enabling joint problem-solving. But charting a new course is fundamentally relational and rooted in bonds of trust.
Ultimately, we all have a role to play in future-proofing flood-prone communities. Working collaboratively across party lines is vital because we face a shared future characterised by deep complexity, uncertainty and contestation.
Bruce Glavovic is a professor in the School of People, Environment and Planning at Massey University.