Abstract
Abstract
Introduction and Objectives
Several national and international agencies have identified Sri Lanka as a high hazard country. Over time, Sri Lanka has faced different hazards, including multi-hazards. COVID-19 is the recent multi-hazard reported in Sri Lanka with other natural and man-made induced hazards. Accordingly, Sri Lanka introduced several disaster management mechanisms long ago to minimise the impacts of hazards. After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami incident, the Sri Lankan disaster management system received significant attention, becoming more systematic.
Nevertheless, there are still gaps in the Sri Lankan disaster management system specifically relating to disaster risk governance (DRG), which is the case for many countries worldwide. Weak DRG has generated catastrophic impacts worldwide during the COVID-19 outbreak. Leading global frameworks have recognised DRG as a key priority for strengthening future disaster resilience within this context. Hence, the study was conducted to explore the challenges related to DRG within the disaster preparedness system in Sri Lanka.
Method
The study was conducted in the Sri Lankan disaster preparedness system due to the high and frequent hazard profile. The study conducted 14 expert interviews as semi-structured interviews with the key informants relating to the disaster preparedness system. The data were thematically analysed to identify the DRG-related challenges under key categories.
Results
The study found more than 40 issues related to DRG within the disaster preparedness system and presented under five thematic areas following the Risk Governance Framework. Accordingly, the challenges are presented under pre-assessment, appraisal, characterisation and evaluation, management and cross-cutting themes.
Conclusions and recommendations
The study recommends decentralisation of power, collaborations between agencies, strengthening disaster preparedness plans, raising awareness and disaster management education, conducting disaster-related research, allocating more resources, strengthening monitoring mechanisms and introducing legislative changes addressing the challenges These evidence-based recommendations will strengthen the DRG within the disaster preparedness system towards a resilient country.
Introduction and Objectives
Several national and international agencies have identified Sri Lanka as a high hazard country. Over time, Sri Lanka has faced different hazards, including multi-hazards. COVID-19 is the recent multi-hazard reported in Sri Lanka with other natural and man-made induced hazards. Accordingly, Sri Lanka introduced several disaster management mechanisms long ago to minimise the impacts of hazards. After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami incident, the Sri Lankan disaster management system received significant attention, becoming more systematic.
Nevertheless, there are still gaps in the Sri Lankan disaster management system specifically relating to disaster risk governance (DRG), which is the case for many countries worldwide. Weak DRG has generated catastrophic impacts worldwide during the COVID-19 outbreak. Leading global frameworks have recognised DRG as a key priority for strengthening future disaster resilience within this context. Hence, the study was conducted to explore the challenges related to DRG within the disaster preparedness system in Sri Lanka.
Method
The study was conducted in the Sri Lankan disaster preparedness system due to the high and frequent hazard profile. The study conducted 14 expert interviews as semi-structured interviews with the key informants relating to the disaster preparedness system. The data were thematically analysed to identify the DRG-related challenges under key categories.
Results
The study found more than 40 issues related to DRG within the disaster preparedness system and presented under five thematic areas following the Risk Governance Framework. Accordingly, the challenges are presented under pre-assessment, appraisal, characterisation and evaluation, management and cross-cutting themes.
Conclusions and recommendations
The study recommends decentralisation of power, collaborations between agencies, strengthening disaster preparedness plans, raising awareness and disaster management education, conducting disaster-related research, allocating more resources, strengthening monitoring mechanisms and introducing legislative changes addressing the challenges These evidence-based recommendations will strengthen the DRG within the disaster preparedness system towards a resilient country.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 131-132 |
| Number of pages | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 16 Mar 2022 |
| Event | International Research and Innovation Symposium on Dengue amidst the Pandemic - Colombo, Sri Lanka Duration: 16 Mar 2022 → 17 Mar 2022 |
Conference
| Conference | International Research and Innovation Symposium on Dengue amidst the Pandemic |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Sri Lanka |
| City | Colombo |
| Period | 16/03/22 → 17/03/22 |
