Abstract
Disaster associated with natural hazards can lead to important changes—positive or negative—in socio-ecological systems. When disasters occur, much attention is given to the direct disaster impacts as well as relief and recovery operations. Although this focus is important, it is noteworthy that there has been little research on the characteristics and progress of change induced by disasters. Change, as distinct from impacts, encompasses formal and informal responses to disaster events and their direct and indirect impacts. While smaller disasters do not often lead to significant changes in societies and organizational structures, major disasters have the potential to change dominant ways of thinking and acting. Against this background, the article presents an analytical framework for distinguishing change from disaster impacts. Drawing from research in Sri Lanka and Indonesia, formal and informal changes after the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 are examined and discussed against the background of the conceptual framework. The changes examined range from the commencement of the peace process in Aceh, Indonesia, to organizational and legal reforms in Sri Lanka. The article concludes that change-making processes after disasters need to be understood more in depth in order to derive important strategic policy and methodological lessons learned for the future, particularly in view of the increasing complexity and uncertainty in decision making due to climate change.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
ADPC and BAPPENAS use the damage and loss assessment methodology developed originally by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), which defines damages as the replacement value of destroyed physical assessts while losses are an estimation of economic losses arising from the temporary absence of assests.
Already in 1981, the newly established Coast Conservation Department (CCD) declared a 300-m Coastal Zone under the Coast Conservation Act No. 57. According to this act, any development in that zone requires a permit from the CCD. Every construction without a permit is called unauthorized construction and is by law amenable for demolition by the CCD. In reality, however, large numbers of houses were built in the Coastal Zone without proper clearance from the CCD prior to the tsunami, mainly with the blessings from the politicians in the respective area.
TAFRER, TAFLOL, and TAFREN, which together constituted RADA (Reconstruction and Development Agency), were later on integrated into one organization, the newly established Nation Building Ministry.
References
ADPC (Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre) (2006) Regional analysis of socio-economic impacts of the December 2004 earthquake and Indian Ocean tsunami. ADPC, Bangkok
ALNAP (Action Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action) (2008) List of publications in the internet. Available via http://www.alnap.org/publications/rha.htm. Accessed 5 May 2008
Argyris C (1999) On organizational learning. Blackwell, Malden
BAPPENAS (Badan Perencanaan dan Pembangunan Nasional) (2005) Indonesia: preliminary damage and loss assessment. A technical report prepared by BAPPENAS and international donor community
Beck U (1998) The politics of risk society. In: Franklin J (ed) The politics of risk society. Polity Press, Cambridge, pp 9–22
Berkes F, Colding J, Folke C (eds) (2003) Navigating social-ecological systems, building resilience for complexity and change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Birkland TA (1997) After disaster: agenda setting, public policy, and focusing events. Georgetown University Press, Washington, DC
Birkland TA (2001) Scientists and coastal hazards: opportunities for participation and policy change. Environ Geosci 8(1):61–67
Birkmann J (2006) Measuring vulnerability to promote disaster-resilient societies: conceptual frameworks and definitions. In: Birkmann J (ed) Measuring vulnerability to natural hazards. Towards disaster resilient societies. UNU-Press, Tokyo
Birkmann J (2007) Tsunami: Socio-economic insecurities—direct and indirect impacts and the post-tsunami process. Background paper for the World Economic and Social Survey of the United Nations/Division for Economic and Social Affairs (UN/DESA), December 2007, Bonn/New York
Birkmann J (2008) Lernen aus “Natur”katastrophen—die “letzte” Meile zur ersten machen. Geogr Sch 30(171):11–19
Birkmann J, Fernando N (2008) Measuring revealed and emergent vulnerabilities of coastal communities to tsunami in Sri Lanka. Disasters 32(1):82–104
Birkmann J, Fernando N, Hettige S (2006) Measuring vulnerability in Sri Lanka at the local level. In: Birkmann J (ed) Measuring vulnerability to natural hazards. Towards disaster resilient societies. UNU-Press, Tokyo
Birkmann J, Dech S, Hirzinger G, Klein R, Klüpfel H, Lehmann F, Mott C, Nagel K, Schlurmann T, Setiadi N, Siegert F, Strunz G (2007) Numerical last-mile tsunami early warning and evacuation information system. Geotechnologien Science Report, Early Warning System in Earth Management 10:62–74
Bohle H-G (2008) Leben mit Risiko—resilience als neues Paradigma für die Risikowelten von morgen. In: Felgentreff C, Glade T (eds) Naturrisiken und Sozialkatastrophen. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Berlin, pp 435–441
BRR (Badan Rehabilitasi dan Rekonstruksi) (2005) Aceh and Nias one year after the Tsunami: the recovery effort and way forward. BRR, Jakarta
Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka (2004) Census of buildings and persons affected by the Tsunami—2004. Department of Census and Statistics, Colombo
DHS (Department of Human Services) (2000) Managing recovery from disaster: guidelines. Government of Victoria, Melbourne
Disaster Management Act No 13 of Sri Lanka (2005) Printed by order of the Government by the Department of Government Printing, Sri Lanka
Fitzpatrick K (2005) Land mafia the latest threat to Acehnese. The Canberra Times, February 25, 2005
Folke C (2006) Resilience: the emergence of a perspective for social-ecological systems analyses. Glob Environ Change 16(3):253–267
Görg C (2003) Regulation der Naturverhältnisse. Zu einer kritischen Regulation der ökologischen Krise. Westfälisches Dampfboot, Münster
Holling CS (2003) The backloop to sustainability. In: Berkes F, Colding J, Folke C (eds) Navigating social-ecological systems, building resilience for complexity and change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
IRP (International Recovery Platform) (2007) Learning from disaster recovery: guidance for decision-makers. IRP, Kobe, Hyogo. http://www.recoveryplatform.org/newBook_E/Learning-From-Disaster-Recovery.pdf. Accessed 11 May 2008
Kates RW, Colten CE, Laska S, Leatherman SP (2006) Reconstruction of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina: a research perspective. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103(40):14653–14660
Kelman I (2007) Disaster diplomacy: can tragedy help build bridges among countries? UCAR Quarterly, Fall 2007: 6
Kelman I, Gaillard J-C (2007) Disaster diplomacy in Aceh. Humanitarian Exchange Magazine 37(March):37–39
Kingdon JW (1995) Agendas, alternatives, and public polocoes. HarperCollins College Publishers, New York
MDM (Ministry of Disaster Management) (2005) Towards a safer Sri Lanka: a road map for disaster risk management. Disaster Management Centre, Ministry of Disaster Management, Colombo
Olson R, Gawronski V (2003) Disasters as ‘critical junctures’ Managua, Nicaragua 1972, Mexico City 1985. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters 21(1):5–35
Pelling M (2006) Incentives for reducing risk. Provention Consortium, Geneva. Accessed from http://www.proventionconsortium.org/themes/default/pdfs/Forum06_Report.pdf. Accessed 11 May 2008
Pelling M, High C (2005) Social learning and adaptation to climate change. Benfield Hazard Research Centre, Disaster Studies Working Paper 11. Benfield Hazard Research Centre, London
Pelling M, High C, Dearing J, Smith D (2008) Shadow spaces for social learning: a relational understanding of adaptive capacity to climate change within organisations. Environ Plan A 40(4):867–884
Post J, Zosseder K, Strunz G, Birkmann J, Gebert N, Setiadi N, Anwar, HZ, Harjono H, Nur M, Siagian T (2007) Risk and vulnerability assessment to tsunami and coastal hazards in Indonesia: conceptual framework and indicator development. A paper for the international symposium on disaster in Indonesia, Padang, Indonesia, 26–29 July 2007
Quarantelli EL, Dynes R (1985) Community response to disasters. In: Sowder B (ed) Disasters and mental health selected contemporary perspectives. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, pp 158–168
Relief Web (2008a) in the Internet. Available via http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/dbc.nsf/doc100?OpenForm. Accessed 11 May 2008
Relief Web (2008b) Appeals & funding: Sri Lanka funding received 2005. Available via http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/fts.nsf/doc105?OpenForm&rc=3&cc=lka&yr=2005. Accessed 11 May 2008
Tjhin CS (2005) Post tsunami reconstruction and peace building in Aceh: political impacts and potential risks, Politics and Social Change Working Paper Series. Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta
Twigg J, Steiner D (2002) Mainstreaming disaster mitigation: challenges to organisational learning in NGOs. Dev Pract 12(3/4):473–479
UN (United Nations) (2005) Hyogo framework for action 2005–2015. Building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters. United Nations, Geneva. Available via http://www.unisdr.org/wcdr/intergover/official-doc/L-docs/Hyogo-framework-for-action-english.pdf. Accessed 11 May 2008
UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) (2006) Sri Lanka Tsunami report. Report No. 6. Available via http://www.unep.org/Tsunami/reports/Tsunami_Report_No_6.pdf. Accessed 11 May 2008
UNISDR (United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction) (2004) Living with risk. A global review of disaster reduction initiatives. United Nations, Geneva
UNISDR (United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction) (2007) Words into action: a guide for implementing the Hyogo framework. United Nations, Geneva
van Brabant K (1997) Organisational and institutional learning in the humanitarian sector—opening the dialog. A discussion paper for the active learning network on accountability and performance in humanitarian assistance, London. Accessed from http://www.odi.org.uk/alnap/pdfs/other_studies/kvblearn.pdf. Accessed 11 August 2008
van Eijndhoven J, Clark WC, Jäger J (2001a) The long-term development of global environmental risk management. The Social Learning Group, Learning to Manage Global Environmental Risks, vol 2. The MIT Press, Cambridge
van Eijndhoven J, Wynne B, Dobell R (2001b) Evaluation in the management of global risks. The Social Learning Group, Learning to Manage Global Environmental Risks, vol 2. The MIT Press, Cambridge
Wisner B, Blaikie P, Cannon T, Davis I (2004) At risk: natural hazards, people’ vulnerability and disasters. Routledge, London
Acknowledgment
We are grateful for the various contributions and the stimulating discussion at the UNU-EHS Expert Working Group on Measuring Vulnerability in Bonn in October 2007, which was the initial starting point for the discussion on how disasters might open opportunities for change. We acknowledge that our conceptualization is still in development and that more empirical studies will have to follow in the future.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Birkmann, J., Buckle, P., Jaeger, J. et al. Extreme events and disasters: a window of opportunity for change? Analysis of organizational, institutional and political changes, formal and informal responses after mega-disasters. Nat Hazards 55, 637–655 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-008-9319-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-008-9319-2