Review strategy

With this disaster experience and the multiple reviews ongoing in different parts of society, several initiatives need to develop momentum and feed into the process of strategic change. There are three basic areas of activities:

• those focused on disaster preparedness;
• those focused on what might be called the "social contract"; and
• those seeking greater integration and development of the "water agenda."

All have a fundamental engagement with people affected by disasters and with government agencies, the difference being in the time frames and roles.

The first is centred in the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) and deals with the immediacy of identifying a potential disaster as early as possible, coordinating and responding for, with, and through the people in the disaster area. There is also the building of awareness, capacity, and partnerships to respond to different sectors of society in dealing with preparedness, relief, and rehabilitation. The NDCC is increasingly seeking to establish active bases in local government (through regional, provincial, and municipal) to support communities as affected.

The second may be championed by a few organizations but basically needs civil society and government to change attitudes, integrate policies, and effectively implement regulations so as to reduce the "contribution" society has in heightening the extent of disasters. If nature sets the terms of volcanic, seismic, and climatic events, then society has to clarify the terms which it has under its potential control. Together, in recognizing what we cannot control of the physical landscape and climate we can strategise and develop a "contract" reducing the exposure of people to disaster events. Society has to should set the non-negotiables in the social landscape. If we know that greatest loss of life is due to land allocation for the poor, then policies and resource allocation should affirm that society will not negotiate or compromise on land access and security for the poor.

The third is the ongoing requirement in all societies for greater integration and planning that supports a coherent water agenda. Parallel to disaster preparedness is the utilization of water resources and the care for the water environment, though working on a different time frame and structure and needs to be better related in a national overview.