Emergency and Disaster Management

Introduction

The Ministry of Planning oversees the financial policies of the Bangladeshi Government, responsible for socioeconomic planning and statistics management. In the last 7 years, Bangladesh has established a new development paradigm through its novel approach to socioeconomic development which is high-growth and yet inclusive, self-dependent and yet collaborative, respectful of heritage and yet opportunistic in its use of new technologies. A Perspective Plan (2010-2021) and two five year plans, 6th (2011-2015) and 7th (2016- 2020), were to implement Vision 2021. The 6th Five Year Plan (FYP) moved the nation from the somewhat investment-driven and resource dependent framework to a broader socio-economic transformation vision, unifying the various state and non-state actors with specific milestones and complementary roles. (SEVENTH FIVE YEAR PLAN FY2016 – FY2020 , 2015)
Disaster risk reduction and emergency response is integrated in disaster management (DM) policy and practice in Bangladesh as exemplified in the vision of the Government, which is translated into practice in the mission of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR). NPDM 2010-2015 has completed its term and NPDM 2016-2020 is a follow-up of the earlier plan. It differs in framework because of alignment with recent global agreements including SFDRR, Climate Change Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Considering all the changes occurring in the interim and recognizing the need for continual development, GoB has decided to take stock of the progress made in the implementation of the NPDM (2010-2015) and draw lessons from the past five years to feedback into the plan for 2016-2020. The new plan NPDM 2016-2020 will be periodically reviewed and updated and thus will be a live and adaptive document. (National Plan for Disaster Management (2016-2020), 2017)
This paper starts with Plan development process, Core Goals of the plan, Institutional Framework for Disaster Management, Overview of National Plan of Disaster Management (2010-2015), Achievements, lessons and remaining gaps and Upcoming Challenges of NPDM 2010-2015.NPDM 2016-2020: Emerging Issues. Vision of NPDM 2016-2020, Purpose and approach of NPDM 2016-2020. Strategic objectives and Scope, Major Challenges (A changing risk environment), Disaster-Development linkages – national and international frameworks, NPDM 2016-2020 focus areas and Opportunities and then conclude the paper.

Plan development process

The methodology for development of NPDM 2016-2020 consisted of a preliminary desktop review which included a review of publicly available documentation on disaster and climate risk management, which was conducted by a team of consultants. A committee consisting of 10 members was formed to guide the drafting committee including drafting the contents of NPDM 2016-2020. A Review Panel was formed to review and finalize the plan. Interviews of and focus group discussions with key stakeholders in DM and climate change adaptation were undertaken to gather information about sectoral needs and priorities and NPDM 2016-2020 linked with intensive review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Climate Change Agreement were done to make synergies between international drivers, the country context and priorities.
Two workshops were conducted on “Disability Inclusive DM” and “Private Sector and Resilience”, which allowed drawing insights from specific important sectors. Four regional consultation workshops were conducted, in Chandpur focusing on floods, Khulna on coastal hazards and Sunamganj on haor hazards. Finally, a national consultation workshop was conducted and feedback was received from a range of GoB and NGO participants through a SFDRR-based framework focusing on specific hazards. Further consultations were undertaken with key ministerial personnel.
The national workshop outputs were made available online for further feedback. Subsequently the draft NPDM 2016-2020 was also made available for online feedback. Incorporating the valuable feedback allowed progressing to production of the plan. (National Plan for Disaster Management (2016-2020), 2017)

Core Goals of the plan

The plan has three core goals:

A phase-wise approach is adopted by the plan. This proposes 34 key targets to be completed or initiated by 2020 and continued until 2030. Bangladesh has taken a holistic approach towards disaster management, where emphasis has been given to working together with all stakeholders to build strategic, scientific and implementation partnerships with all relevant government departments and agencies, and other key non-government players including NGOs, academic and technical institutions, the private sector and donors. Significant progress has been made in terms of reducing the vulnerability of Bangladesh’s people, for example through an upgraded early warning system, efficient preparedness and community-based response capacity.
The national institutional structure and policy instruments are well-established to support the country’s efforts in disaster management. Yet again the long, medium and short term plans and programmes of the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) have included disaster management as a priority area. The National Plan for Disaster Management (NPDM 2016-2020) builds on the achievements and existing institutional framework in Bangladesh and aims to guide national efforts to achieve key disaster management priorities. The role of GoB is primarily to continue ensuring that disaster management for resilience is a focus of national policy and programmes. NPDM 2016-2020 serves as a transformational instrument to build the resilience of the vulnerable people of the country by addressing existing risks and avoiding the creation of new risks. It builds on the preceding National Plan for Disaster Management (NPDM 2010-2015). (National Plan for Disaster Management (2016-2020), 2017)

Institutional Framework for Disaster Management

DM in Bangladesh is guided by a number of national and international drivers which among others includes:
a) Disaster Management Act 2012;
b) Standing Orders on Disasters (SOD) first introduced in 1997 and then revised in 2010;
c) National Plan for Disaster Management 2010-2015;
d) Disaster Policy Act 2015;
e) SAARC Framework for Action (SFA) 2006-2015;
f) Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2016-2030;
g) Asian Regional Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction (ARPDRR); and
h) The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). GoB’s Seventh (7th) Five Year Plan reflects the essence of international disaster related frameworks in its long-term sectoral plans that allow translating disaster risk reduction measures into the different sectors. (National Plan for Disaster Management (2016-2020), 2017)
Overview of National Plan of Disaster Management (2010-2015)
The National Plan for Disaster Management (NPDM 2016-2020) is the successor to the previous 5-year National Plan for Disaster Management (NPDM 2010-2015).
 NPDM 2010-2015 was the first policy planning document of its kind and an outcome of the national and international commitments of the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) and the Disaster Management and Relief Division (DM&RD) for addressing the disaster risks in the country comprehensively.
 The plan reflects the basic principles of the SAARC Framework on Disaster Management. NPDM 2010-2015 reflected Bangladesh’s initiatives since the creation of the Disaster Management Bureau in 1993 in line with the paradigm shift in disaster management from conventional response and relief to a more comprehensive risk reduction culture with development linkages.
 The key focus of NPDM 2010-2015 was to establish institutional accountability in preparing and implementing disaster management plans at different levels of the country. It included examples of Development Plans incorporating Disaster Risk Reduction and Hazard Specific Multi-Sectoral Plans to be used as a tool for reducing risk and achieving sustainable development.
 Evident in NPDM 2010-2015 was the purpose of GoB to implement its global and national commitment for establishing a disaster risk reduction framework. Execution of the Standing Orders on Disaster, drafting of the Disaster Management Act, developing the National Disaster Management Policy, launching of the MoFDM (MoDMR was at that time the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management) Corporate Plan, developing the Bangladesh Disaster Management Model, establishing the Disaster Management Information Centre (DMIC) and developing the National Plan for Disaster Management were the major milestones.
These milestones were duly achieved, and particularly, establishing the Disaster Management Act (DMA) in 2012 was a significant achievement.
The strategic goals of NPDM 2010-2015 were drawn from the SAARC Disaster Management Framework. These goals were linked to international and national drivers so that the plan could articulate the long-term strategic focus of disaster management in Bangladesh. NPDM 2010-2015 was informed by the Hyogo Framework for Action, Millennium Development Goals and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Inclusion of a Policy Matrix in the plan on Comprehensive Disaster Management towards poverty reduction and growth in Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) was at the national level an indicator of mainstreaming risk reduction and consideration of disaster-development linkages.

NPDM 2010-2015 recognized the need for addressing emerging issues such as:

For the first time, a national document on disaster management had included both natural and human-induced hazards in its action plan, involving government, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. (National Plan for Disaster Management (2016-2020), 2017)
Achievements, lessons and remaining gaps and Upcoming Challenges of NPDM 2010-2015
The experiences from NPDM 2010-2015 offered valuable lessons for the next plan by pointing out several disadvantages in the plan and its implementation, and noted that the following in particular needed to be addressed in the next plan:
 Urban disasters pose a particular challenge: A clearly defined pre-established coordination mechanism and incident command system for urban disasters is needed. The cadres of urban volunteers being developed can be effective in dealing with risk assessment and risk reduction, as well as crisis response, but this will require an institutional mechanism to manage and keep the volunteers motivated and engaged.
 Retraining and‘re-tooling’ district and Upazila administration: At the district and Upazila level, the local officials may be generally aware of the SOD, but often require further capacity building on emerging concepts of disaster preparedness, DRR and resilience, as well as on coordination systems involving international and national agencies in times of major disasters.
 Resourcing the plan: The safety net and social protection programme provides an excellent opportunity to strengthen risk management and risk reduction in Upazilas and Unions and enhance resilience of the poor and vulnerable to shocks and stresses.
 Less integration of gender in the plan: Despite evidence that disasters affect men, women and children differently, the plan – and the actions emanating from it – were weak on addressing the gendered nature of vulnerability and impacts of disasters.
 Coherent information management is the key to good disaster response: The current system of information generation and dissemination by multiple agencies (DMIC, NDRCC and AFD) requires more coordination. The Government needs to develop a vision for the more appropriate system and then move forward towards it so that all future investments in this area clearly contribute to the achievement of the agreed vision.
 Synergy between CCA and DRR plans: There is an increasing convergence between elements of CCA and DRR agendas in so far as climate related stress directly affect vulnerability and exacerbate disaster risks. Greater emphasis will be needed in the future on bringing about coherence and synergy between the two plans (CCA and DM) as well as in monitoring their implementation.
 Monitoring mechanism: The plan needs to be accompanied by an inter-ministerial mechanism for monitoring and for ensuring that rules of allocation of business within different departments/ministries incorporated the activities identified in the plan.
 The concept of integrated DM is complex: There is a need to build leadership and technical capacity on in the Department of Disaster Management (DDM) to provide assistance on multi-faceted DM and undertake advocacy to facilitate a GoB- wide process. With the changing nature of disaster risk, multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder DM needs to be an adaptive field with regular learning.
 Coordination and command system to manage disaster response: The country’s capacity to provide efficient and timely disaster response in times of major disasters is overwhelmed as coordination and incident command system for such ‘non-routine’ disasters are not well established. It will also be critical to define the relative DM responsibilities of military and civilian organizations.
 User-friendliness of the plan: For a plan to be useful, it needs to be practical, concise and ought to clearly spell out how implementation of it would be monitored and resourced.
 Inadequate socialization of NPDM 2010-2015: A proactive communication and dissemination strategy need to be in place to ensure ownership of the plan by various stakeholders. (National Plan for Disaster Management (2016-2020), 2017)

NPDM 2016-2020: Emerging Issues

The focus in the new plan is similarly on disaster risk reduction for achieving resilience, but also humanitarian response, particularly post-disaster response and recovery is an essential part of the plan aligned to the mandate of MoDMR for “Relief” management and provision. (National Plan for Disaster Management (2016-2020), 2017)
Vision of NPDM 2016-2020
Over the last few decades Bangladesh has invested strongly on disaster risk reduction. As a result, despite frequent disasters:
- Disaster mortality has reduced significantly;
- An average 6 per cent GDP growth was maintained;
- Food security is improved;
- Almost all the MDGs were achieved.
However, a changing risk context due to climate change, urbanization and other factors means new challenges, but also opportunities for building resilience. Thus there is the need to build on past achievements and tackle new risks, and the vision of NPDM 2016-2020 is:
“Winning resilience against all odds”. (National Plan for Disaster Management (2016-2020), 2017)

Purpose and approach of NPDM 2016-2020

The purpose of the plan is to guide implementation of the Disaster Management Act 2012. It is a Government-wide framework for the effective integration of disaster management planning and programming focusing on risk reduction and resilience approach across agencies and sectors.
The plan takes the ‘whole-of-Government’ approach to comprehensive disaster risk management and response initiatives. It also seeks to promote mainstreaming of climate change adaptation and mitigation to reduce existing and future risks.
The NPDM 2016-2020 pursues disaster preparedness and mitigation into relevant areas of activity of the entire government, businesses and non-government entities. In the advent of rising significance of the area of private sector investment, the plan attaches importance to the engagement of other sectors beyond the public sector. (National Plan for Disaster Management (2016-2020), 2017)

Objectives

Maintaining the overall goal of building a resilient Bangladesh, the major objectives of the plan are to:
- Identify the priority actions to guide the implementation of DM acts, policies and programmes in terms of action plans;
- Provide a roadmap for progress and implementation of at least 25 core investments;
- Incorporate DM aspects in the plan and programmes of the sectoral ministries and agencies to ensure risk informed development plans;
- Explore the investment areas both in public and private sectors and also in hazard-prone regions, communities;
- Ensure inclusion of disability, class, ethnicity, religious minority and address gender in all plans and programmes;
- Include emerging disaster risks (earthquake), emphasize urban disaster risk (fire, building collapse) and align those in the plan;
- Promote risk governance in the DM programmes, compliance including oversight and accountability; and
- Illustrate to other ministries, NGOs, civil society and the private sector how their work can contribute to the achievements of the strategic goals and government vision for DM. (National Plan for Disaster Management (2016-2020), 2017)

Scope

NPDM 2016-2020 is GoB’s ‘white paper’ document for the management of disasters and associated events. The plan abides by the institutional and policy regimes of disaster management in the country.
 Recognizing the country’s vulnerability to different hazards, NPDM 2016-2020 embodies both rapid and slow onset disasters that strike various parts of Bangladesh.
 It also includes recurrent, anticipated and climate induced disasters.
 NPDM 2016-2020 complies with the objectives, priorities and major activities of SFDRR.
NPDM 2016-2020 is guided by the mission and disaster management focus of the Perspective Plan of the Government of Bangladesh (Vision 2021) and the 7th 5-Year Plan.
 Following the current and upcoming investment scenario of the country and potential engagement of the private sector, NPDM 2016-2020 promotes risk-informed planning and implementation of investment initiatives for business continuity in disasters. (National Plan for Disaster Management (2016-2020), 2017)

Major Challenges (A changing risk environment)

During the timeframe of NPDM 2010-2015, there were 17 high/medium impact natural disasters in Bangladesh and many localized hazard events, with economic losses ranging from 0.8 to 1.1 per cent of GDP. This is a reminder of the necessity to continue improving disaster management in the country to safeguard sustainable development through the planning process of a series of disaster management plans. With increasing urbanization and industrialization, together with climate change, Bangladesh is set to experience newer and dynamic risks, necessitating NPDM 2016-2020 to be flexible and adaptive.
 Bangladesh is as one of the countries in the world most at risk from the negative impacts of climate change including increases in incidence and intensity of extreme weather events and hazards such as soil salinization, rising sea levels and riverbank erosion. There is also the risk of earthquakes, posing a challenge particularly for Bangladesh’s growing cities.
 Women and girls in Bangladesh are disproportionally impacted by disasters. However, women’s contributions to disaster risk reduction are often overlooked, and current national DM systems and mechanisms require more emphasis on managing risks in a gender-responsive manner.
 These emerging risks present major challenges to the continued human development, poverty reduction and economic growth of the country, and to the lives, livelihoods and health of its people. The poorest, most marginalized and vulnerable communities are hardest hit by disasters in Bangladesh as they are repeatedly exposed to natural hazards without the means to recover well.
 The national economy is at risk from disaster events and climate stresses and a large amount of gross domestic product (GDP) is lost each year due to these events.
 The industrial sectors are highly vulnerable to economic losses - the garments sector incurs major losses in floods and is particularly at risk from earthquakes. In addition to causing a devastating death toll, a major earthquake would also lead to large economic losses.
 With urban industrial production facilities and road networks likely to be damaged or blocked by debris, lengthy disruption of business would be expected.
 Main hazards like flood, cyclone, surge, tornado, earthquake, river bank erosion, landslide, salinity intrusion, drought , tsunami, lightning, arsenic contamination etc. are also a great environmental risk and Human-induced hazards like fire, building collapse, Oil & Toxic Chemical Spills, Health Hazard(Use of formalin in preserving fish, fruits). Water contamination with chemical, microorganism also put people vulnerable thus need appropriate preventive and regulatory initiatives to reduce the risk. Biological hazard is the triggering factor for human health. (National Plan for Disaster Management (2016-2020), 2017)

Other Challenges

 Most of the UDMC members have no relevant or exclusive training.
 They are not fully conversant with their roles and responsibilities as UDMC members.
 The implementation of many targets are not being monitored by relevant government departments.
 Many sectors of DM don’t follow up and monitoring mechanism for this purpose.
 There is no such provision to allocate budget in the Union Parishad (UP) budget for Disaster Management or to execute Disaster Contingency Plan.
 Lack of fund. It is due to fund constraints many awareness events or mock drill can’t be arranged at the local level.
 The reason for non-implementation of targets is absence of legal accountability
 Negative attitude and behavior of many committee members is also great obstacle for implementation of plans and targets.
 Disaster management is still based on relief oriented activities. Political leaders and Government officials are more interested on relief activities rather than preparedness initiatives.
All these need include in comprehensive disaster risk management strategy, programmes and plans and effective plans and strategies can’t be fully operational without changing this mindset.

Disaster-Development linkages – national and international frameworks

Vision 202: The vision of this perspective plan is to take effective measures to protect Bangladesh from the adverse effects of climate change and global warming. The plan targets to take all possible steps to protect vulnerable people from natural calamities, to take actions for the prevention of air pollution and to ensure disposal of waste in a scientific manner. Steps will also be taken to make Bangladesh an ecologically attractive place and to promote tourism.
7th Five year Plan: Under the 7th FYP, the Disaster Management Act of 2012 will be institutionalized and implemented to achieve adequate decentralization throughout the Government and accountability for delivery. (BCCSAP) GoB has developed and enacted the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) in 2009. It also includes a 10-year program to build the capacity and resilience of the country to meet the challenge of climate change over the next 20-25 years.
Paris Climate Change Agreement: The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse gases emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020. Bangladesh has the opportunity to benefit from this agreement to leapfrog into a sustainable future by investing more on renewable energy.
SDG Officially known as ‘Transforming our World. Disaster risk reduction for resilience is the foundation for achieving the SDGs. Each of the SDGs rely on reduced disaster impacts to meet its targets. NPDM 2016-2020 articulates the disaster-development linkages as relating to the broader national development agenda.
SFDRR: Understanding disaster risk; Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk; Investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience; Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to “Build Back Better” in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Disaster Risk Reduction for Sustainable Development in Bangladesh

Prior to the Sendai framework the government introduced several policies instruments to facilitate the private sector engagement to establish a well-encompassing disaster management framework. The National Disaster Management Plan provides strong emphasis on equitable and sustainable participation of all stakeholders including the private sector. As the capacity to deal with earthquake and human-made urban disasters is yet to reach a satisfactory level, the implementation of disaster management policies and plans in line with SFDRR, SDGs and Seventh Five Year Plan requires huge financial and technological resources and systematic efforts. (Nasreen, 2017)
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is a set of 17 aspirational “Global Goals” with 169 targets between them. The SDGs were adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in 2015, USA. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to place countries and the planet on a more sustainable path by 2030. These goals are the foundation of an ambitious new development agenda that seeks to end poverty, help the vulnerable, transform lives and protect the planet. (National Plan for Disaster Management (2016-2020), 2017)

Bangladesh integrated the 2030 Agenda in its 7th FYP (2016-2020). This offered a tremendous opportunity to implement the 2030 Agenda, while reflecting the priorities of the SDGs in the national plan. The Government has adopted “Whole of Society” approach to ensure wider participation of NGOs, development partners, private sector, media and CSOs in the process of formulation of the Action Plan and implementation of the SDGs. To spearhead the process, ‘SDGs Implementation and Monitoring Committee’ has been formed at the Prime Minister’s Office to facilitate and implementation of SDGs Action Plan. (Voluntary National Review 2017, 2017)
The Government of Bangladesh has increased the budget allocation for the education sector over the last few years. However, dedicated budget for children affected by climate change or living in disaster prone areas has not been prioritised. Research reveals that children in disaster affected districts are facing educational disparity in terms of location. For example, a Char called Majher char is 4 km away from the district headquarters but is separated from the town by the Meghna River. (Nasreen, 2017). A recent study indicates that local level disaster management capacities have been improved compared to last few decades for two reasons: knowledge imparted to the members of District, Upazila and Union level Disaster Management Committees and their long experiences in working within disaster affected communities.

Currently the local level disaster mangers have access to systematic knowledge on disaster management and risk reduction issues such as preparedness, mitigation, taking part or observing rescue operation, conduct relief programs and others.
However, although trainings they have received are effective and satisfactory, regular follow-up trainings and effective monitoring are still required. Lack or limited communication equipments to reach and communicate with people in remote devastated areas and villages remain a challenge. Moreover, strengthening existing resilient mechanisms of local people, preservation and dissemination of indigenous knowledge and practices need to be dealt with special emphasis. (Nasreen, 2017)
The SDGs have also given specific focus on disasters and reducing the risks. Disaster risk reduction efforts would become successful when effective communication is established among multidimensional actors including inter-governmental agencies, researchers, academics, development partners, national and local level disaster managers, humanitarian agencies, private sectors and communities who are at risk. Attention must be given to the multifaceted and multilayered governance, global accountability, and South Asian regional risk reduction issues, often shaped by political crises, to reduce the challenges of disaster risk reduction efforts. (Nasreen, 2017)
Disaster risk reduction for resilience is the foundation for achieving the SDGs. Each of the SDGs rely on reduced disaster impacts to meet its targets. NPDM 2016-2020 articulates the disaster-development linkages as relating to the broader national development agenda. Resilience allows safeguarding development efforts and investments from the negative impact of disasters and provides opportunity for socio-economic development through maximizing return on risk-informed investments, revenue, and private and public sector budgets. (National Plan for Disaster Management (2016-2020), 2017)

Conclusion

The significance of disaster management and resilience building is enormous in the developmental context of Bangladesh. Considering the changes in the disaster patterns and other factors over the years, preparation and updating of the country’s plan for DM is undertaken on a regular basis in 5-year cycles. NPDM 2016-2020 is designed to support the government of Bangladesh’s target to become a middle income country by 2021 and a developed country in 2041. The plan, which sets out priorities and core targets for the next five years within a longer term perspective for 2030, aims to realize the country’s economic and development goals by safeguarding them from the impacts of disasters through disaster management (DM) for resilience. And disaster risk reduction actually inter-linked with achieving the SDG’s goals. Bangladesh has incorporated priorities of SDGs in all her development policies. The Government has adopted an inclusive approach to development so that the poorest and the most vulnerable section of the country can be integrated into its national development efforts. As the country moves ahead, challenges in several areas, including in resource mobilization and data management, will have to be addressed. Bangladesh is confident to set the example of a leading SDGs achiever.
The country has a long-term perspective plan as expressed in the 7th 5-Year Plan, the DM Act 2012 and other related frameworks as major policy guidance for disaster management. The NPDM is prepared to deal with and achieve the DM aspects of the country’s long-term plan. SFDRR urges each UN member country to prepare its national plan for disaster risk reduction within 2020. The plan should be aimed at sensitizing the sectoral ministries, their plans and programmes with regards to DM in their respective sectors.