Interview with Sálvano Briceño, director of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

The International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) is a UN inter-agency secretariat and task force under the authority of the under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs. January’s World Conference for Disaster Reduction, in the Japanese city of Kobe, was hosted jointly by the ISDR and Japan’s government. Briceño took a moment to talk to IRIN in Kobe about his optimism concerning the event. QUESTION: What evidence is there that Kobe will be different from Yokohama ten years ago? ANSWER: The world has advanced enormously since the Yokohama conference. There’s a higher awareness of vulnerability and natural disasters, and the higher frequency of disasters. More people are affected by disasters, and the disasters in themselves have a greater social and economic impact. More people are now living in the wrong place, or in places where they have an increased vulnerability. [There is] the issue of mega-cities, environmental degradation and unplanned urban growth. We have an increased knowledge of disasters caused by environmental degradation and global warming in particular, which is resulting in a rise in sea levels. There is no doubt that disaster reduction is more relevant; although there is more awareness, there is also more vulnerability, so it is a double-edged sword. Q: To what extent is disaster risk-reduction (DRR) and preparedness a separate pillar that stands between development and humanitarian/emergency efforts? A: Disaster reduction in the wider sense deals with prevention, mitigation and awareness. It is very related to development and the environmental, agricultural and health sector[s]. In all sectors there is a need for raising the issues of disaster reduction. At the same time it needs to be linked with humanitarian work. It is in between both, and for some humanitarians it is at the core, whilst for others it isn’t, but I think the situation is changing rapidly. Some aspects of disaster reduction are close to development and others are close to humanitarian concerns. Q: What evidence is there that international financial institutions (IFIs) are willing to deal with DRR more than most institutions? A: IFIs have been involved in different ways. The biggest, the World Bank, has been working on disaster reduction for many years. The smaller banks have been very active, for example, the Andean Development Bank, because of El Niño [a climate change in the Pacific Ocean]. Very sophisticated models have been developed. Also the IADB [Inter-American Development Bank] in the Caribbean has been very advanced and effective after Hurricane Mitch. They are all developing stronger programmes in relation to DRR. Q: In terms of mitigation, aren’t most effective solutions extremely low-tech and community-based? A: It is not that simple. There is a need for considerable organisation. When considering smaller communities, simple solutions may work, but in mega-cities, the solutions are far harder. The tsunami was different because it hit a very wide area; this is unusual for disasters. But it is true, education is for us the single most important activity; disaster reduction is in its essence about education. Then, secondly, it is about organisation and planning. It is not possible for a conference of this size to come up with concrete methods or guidelines for mitigation generally. The differences between countries are very considerable. But what we need as a secretariat [ISDR] is to have a mandate. This we have. This conference will take it forward and allow governments to agree to commit to do more. We as an inter-agency secretariat at the ISDR will then bring in the different agencies and, using the various structures in place, we will take the commitments forward through different mechanisms.