Routes to island disaster resilience

Disasters are a significant feature of life for many small island developing states. Vulnerability indices commonly include a high percentage of small island developing states among countries considered most disaster prone.

Despite their exposure to disasters, there is limited investment in disaster risk reduction (DRR) in small island developing states compared to the money spent globally on disaster relief.

While there are many reasons for this, such as limited donor financing or lack of political will, recent research on Saint Kitts and Montserrat in the eastern Caribbean highlights the low priority islanders give to reducing disaster risk in relation to economic growth, protecting cultural heritage and safeguarding local identity. It is also worth noting that Saint Kitts and Montserrat have experienced numerous disasters throughout their history.

Only 22 small island developing states (of the 51 defined by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs) are signatories to the 2005 Hyogo Framework for Action (a non-binding international commitment to DRR). It is important to find ways to increase DRR in the political and public consciousness.

However, finding routes to island disaster resilience requires an improved understanding of how the particular ways of island life influence action with respect to DRR. Drawing on the findings of research on Saint Kitts and Montserrat, we consider how issues of trust in scientific information and of deliberative decision-making require careful attention.

Contested science

The relationship small island developing states have with the science of disaster risk is different to that of other countries. Few people in any society have an accurate understanding of disaster risk and it is commonly left to hazards scientists, and disasters and emergency managers, to assess and highlight risks and promote preparedness and mitigation.

Small island developing states have few local scientists and scientific information about disaster risks mainly comes from foreign scientists, whose work is often financed by sources external to the island. Where local perceptions of disaster risk and desired outcomes differ from those of foreign scientists, questions of trust and legitimacy arise. Scientific knowledge can then become politicised in different ways to achieve certain goals and views, and attitudes often become polarised and entrenched, increasing levels of vulnerability.

Deliberative processes

As we face growing uncertainties magnified by climate change, we need to recognise that:

• all available knowledge on small island developing states must be brought together, in an effort to achieve the optimal path to disaster resilience
• expert knowledge that is often held by foreign scientists can serve to increase the vulnerabilities of societies dealing with high levels of uncertainty and severely limited human resources
• local people have more accurate and valuable knowledge needed for building resilience
• deliberative and inclusive decision-making processes for questions of how to manage disaster risks and uncertainties should be institutionalised to help promote equity in the diverse voices of different people representing local, bureaucratic and scientific knowledge.

Research from Montserrat and Saint Kitts shows that multi-disciplinary external research teams experienced in the design of participatory decision-making can successfully launch such processes. These programmes must help initiate, or build the capacity of, sustainable strategies and platforms for DRR. External visits from concerned 'experts' must not be left until disasters are imminent or ongoing, when tensions magnify divisions and conflict.

Tom Mitchell and Katharine Haynes

Tom Mitchell
Climate Change and Disasters Group, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9RE, UK
T +44 (0)1273 877529
F +44 (0)1273 621202
t.mitchell@ids.ac.uk

Katharine Haynes
Centre for Risk and Community Safety, Department of Geospatial Science, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476 V, Melbourne 3001, Victoria, Australia
T + 61 3 99253274
F +61 3 99252454
Katharine.haynes@rmit.edu.au

See also

"Volcanic Island in Crisis: Investigating Environmental Uncertainty and the Complexity it Brings", Australian Journal of Emergency Management, 21(4), pages 21-28, by Katharine Haynes, 2006
www.ema.gov.au/ajem

Early Participatory Intervention for Catastrophe to Reduce Island Vulnerability (EPIC), International Journal of Island Affairs, 14 (2), pages 56-59, by Katharine Haynes, Ilan Kelman and Tom Mitchell, 2005

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