DISASTERS AND THE ENVIRONMENT: A REVIEW OF OPPORTUNITIES

1. N. M. Prusty C. Kelly DISASTERS AND THE ENVIRONMENT: A REVIEW OF OPPORTUNITIES

2. Introduction This presentation • Reviews the integration of environmental issues into disaster response • Identifies 6 opportunities to increase the integration of environment into disaster response

3. Where we are at • Rapid environmental impact assessments are done, but results not alwaysused • Environment Advisors are assigned some disasters but not all disasters • Field personnel may have environment-related questions but getting answers is not systematic or linked to decision making • Recovery plans often avoid environmental reviews reasons of expediency. The result is often avoidable environmental damage and a waste of resources and funding

4. Opportunity One FORCE RESULTS FROM ASSESSMENTS • Assessment tools available but results not always used • Identify a champion to  push assessment results • If no champion, there a need to use advocacy to force attention to assessment results, e.g., through environmental NGOs • If there is no champion or advocacy, the assessment will be a waste of time and resources

5. Opportunity Two ANY ENTRY POINT IS BETTER THAN NONE • Given the challenges of integrating environmental issues into disaster response, any entry point is better than none • The timing of the entry point is not as critical as ensuring that the related actions are successful • Success on one issue will lead to more opportunities to address environmental issues

6. Opportunity Three PICK THE BEST POSSIBLE FRUIT • Taking action on assessment results involves balancing (a) the greatest need to be done and (b) what will have the greatest impact when it is done • The idea is not the push for the perfect outcome, or the easiest outcome, but the outcome which best matches the needs identified by the assessment, the disaster survivors and the resources and institutional support available: the best possible outcome

7. Opportunity Four DEMONSTRATE VALUE • Environmental impact assessments can identify problems with relief and recovery assistance • Don’t focus just on finding problems but also on finding solutions • Demonstrate the value of assessments in improving the impact of relief and recovery assistance

8. Opportunity Five CHANGE FROM THE FIELD UP • Identify who at the field level can accomplish environmentally positive actions • Provide these change agents with the knowledge and tools to accomplish environmentally positive actions • Pro-environment policies are worthless if field personnel don’t have the means and methods to implement them

9. Opportunity Six KNOWLEDGE AS POWER, AND A FOOT IN THE DOOR • Many post disaster reconstruction challenges relate to location within the environment • An ecosystem services approach can be useful in defining how best to site and provide recovery assistance. • Demonstrating how to improve one aspect of recovery provides a foot in the door to address other recovery-related environmental issues

10. Conclusions • Integration of the environment into disaster response is a “glass half full”: progress has been made, but there is more to do • Opportunities to move forward include: • Effectively using assessment results • Finding entry points into the relief and recovery process • Focusing on the best possible match of reducing negative environmental impacts and recovery programming • Demonstrating the clear value of an environmental perspective on recovery • Ensuring field personnel know about how to effectively integrate an environmental perspective into their work • Using knowledge about the environment to influence and shape the recovery agenda

11. N. M. Prusty (nmprusty@yahoo.co.in) C. Kelly (disasterkelly@yahoo.com) Thank You DISASTERS AND THE ENVIRONMENT: A REVIEW OF OPPORTUNITIES