The December 2006 massive floods in Malaysia presumably for the earliest significant occasion brought to the forefront urban risks issues since substantial segments of affected districts were urban areas. Since then till now there have been a number of flash floods and landslides plus those in Kuala Lumpur which caused much disruption to economic and trade activities and destruction to property. The landslide disaster at Bukit Antarabangsa in 2008 which occurred in an affluent area, albeit at the suburbs of the city was one more calamity which reflected the insidious threats of natural disasters affecting urban areas. This article looks at urban risks in the context of disaster management as a update on where we stand in terms of initiatives taken.

Growth and urbanisations of cities in the Asia-Pacific Rim are necessary features in the developed and developing countries. Nonetheless they come with a catch, i.E. Together with the effects and brunt of climate change  on natural hazards to the urban communities. It has been projected that in the next three decades over 60% of the world?s urban population growth will occur in Asia meaning a greater segment of the future probable victims will comprise those from this region.

 

Acknowledging that some natural calamities and disasters will impact more on the urban population and communities, it becomes imperative for the urban dwellers to be extra aware of the impact and penalties, and make preparations thereof to reduce risks.

Building community resilience of these urban population calls upon an integrated systems tactic in enhancing their capability to cope with the natural disasters. The vulnerability of the urban poor living in areas where the infrastructural services are much lesser is much more acute compared to those staying in more affluent areas.

The perils facing the urban population in this region are projected to be greater compared to those in the rural areas due to their higher population density. Comparatively, the urban poor and other vulnerable groups will be the one at most risk against the natural hazards.

 

With the rate of urbanization picking up vigorously, demand for land becomes such that communities build houses in areas which are environmentally unstable, with risks of landslides, flash floods, and cave-ins. The circumstances is further compounded as seasonal disasters keep alive the poverty of the urban poor through the regular damage to their livelihood and lives. The natural disasters undercut endeavours towards sustaining improvements to the poor urban communities. Reducing their vulnerability for the long-term calls for implementing workable community centred risk mitigation measures.

A principal step in these measures is the conduct of Risk Assessment, involving the active participation of the urban community, which identify the scope of vulnerabilities, capacities of institutions, communities, infrastructure, and the main hazards. The approach allows the development of action-oriented initiatives with sustainable risk reduction measures, the configuration without difficulty forming into a community action plan. Developing these measures through Action Planning Exercises with the involvement of all stakeholders? i.E. State authorities, NGOs, national societies (Red Cross Red Crescent), and community members may pave the way towards disaster risk reduction and also add towards increasing community resilience. [i]   With technological advances notably in IT, its now feasible to incorporate out 3D visualization of Urban Risk which has decisive advantages for urban planning and disaster management.

The UN ISDR recently launched a two-year international campaign for urban disaster risk reduction sustaining the objectives of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) in urban areas. Urban risk reduction efforts however play against a number of challenges including centralized approach, funding constraints, inadequate institutional capacity and insufficient technical resources. These initiatives led to the establishment of the Partnership for Urban Risk Reduction ( PURR) for implementation of Urban Risk Reduction (URR) and enhancing local authorities? capability to put into act urban risk reduction practices in their respective localities. The long-term objectives aimed at achieving mainstreaming of Disaster Risk Reduction in urban governance and urban development.[ii]

How do we operationalise community action in URR?. Joint initiatives led by the state institutions in establishing local campaigns in partnership with local authorities , civil society organizations, Red Cross Red Crescent, NGOs, and the private sector would be an encouraging prospect.

 

Recognising the threats these urban risks pose to the communities concerned, the Asia Regional Task Force on Urban Risk Reduction is actively promoting urban DRR in on-going activities in the Asia-Pacific region. Meanwhile a ?Global Hotspot Study for Urban Areas? is being reviewed by the World Bank. Concerns over urban risks have prompted ISDR to develop a note on environmental aspects of disaster management. Even the prospect of opening urban risk reduction training is being considered. In the same context the RTF would conduct a regional mapping of urban risk reduction initiatives and it will be useful to see how well we fare on measures taken. [iii]

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[i] Reducing urban risk through community participation, Anshu Sharma and Manu Gupta,

Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS).

[ii] Round Table Discussion on Urban Risk: Increasing the Effectiveness of Local Action on Risk Reduction and Adaptation,  17 June 2009, Geneva, Switzerland.  Organized by PURR

 [iii] Minutes of the meeting -ASIA REGIONAL TASK FORCE ON URBAN RISK REDUCTION, 14 February 2008, Bangkok




By: MEReza