Moving from 2015 to 2030: challenges and opportunities for higher education in developing resilience to disasters

In recent years, the higher education community has played an increasingly important role in moving disaster science from a responsive, primarily technical discipline, to a broad, multi-disciplinary movement that seeks to build societal resilience to disaster. This study sets out some of the key challenges and op-portunities for higher education towards tackling the challenges set out in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 - 2030, which was adopted by 187 UN member states in March 2015. The study brings together existing literature in the field, as well as the results of various analysis and study projects undertaken by a European network project. Five key areas of focus are identified in working towards 2030: Link research, education and action; Integrate all hazards, stakeholders and disciplines; Collaborate regionally and globally; Facilitate policy dialogue, knowledge sharing and capacity development; Develop flexible and customisable education programmes

Review of impact of post-tsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructure facilities

On 26 December 2004, an earthquake in the West Coast of Northern Sumatra set off a series of other earthquakes lasting for several hours which resulted in a Tsunami in the Indian Ocean. This led to widespread disaster, particularly in Sri Lanka, India, the Maldives, Indonesia and Thailand, with damage also in Malaysia, Bangladesh, Somalia, the Seychelles and Kenya. Sri Lanka, the ‘pearl of the Indian Ocean’, blessed with abundant natural resources, faced one of the worst natural disasters recorded in recent history. The Tsunami struck a relatively thin but long coastal area stretching over 1,000 kilometers - two thirds of the country's coastline. The destructive ocean waves killed more than 35,000 people, displaced nearly 2,500,000 people and destroyed thousands of houses. The overall damage to Sri Lanka is estimated at $1 billion, with a large proportion of losses concentrated in housing, tourism, fisheries and transportation. Development Partners range from private individuals both inside and outside Sri Lanka, to governments and NGOs. Coastal infrastructure, namely roads, railways, power, telecommunications, water supply and fishing ports were also significantly affected. Reactions ranged from immediate assistance to communities and local governments in restarting to function as speedily as possible, to short and long-term assistance in supporting communities to rebuild their infrastructure and housing so that they might again have normal lives and eventually recover from the trauma of the tsunami. As the infrastructure consists primarily of transportation, electric and telecommunications, and water and sewerage facilities that provide services to the public through a network of roads, rails, ports, airports, pipes and lines, the effectiveness of infrastructure systems impact on all economic activities. In this context, this paper aims to analyse the impact of the Tsunami on infrastructure facilities in Sri Lanka and how the postTsunami reconstruction process has affected the development of the same. A comprehensive literature review was carried out regarding the Tsunami and its impact on the nation. The infrastructure-related reconstruction and rehabilitation data were obtained from the RADA (Reconstruction And Development Agency, formerly TAFREN) through unstructured interviews conducted among personnel involved in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructure facilities. Results confirm that after almost one and a half years, the Tsunami rehabilitation process is slow as compared to its start

Achieving success in collaborative research: the role of virtual research environments

Due to various challenges and opportunities such as globalisation of research agenda and advancements in information and communication technologies, research collaborations (both international and national) have become popular during the last decade more than ever before. Within this context, the concept of Virtual Research Environments is an emerging concept looking at addressing the complex challenges associated with conducting collaborative research. The research reported within this paper investigated how the success factors of collaborative research can be achieved by deploying a Virtual Research Environment

Addressing housing needs in minimising the problems of post conflict housing reconstruction

Depleted human and social capital, displacement of people, destruction of property, weakened institutions and ruined economy are some of the legacies of conflicts. Within this context, post conflict reconstruction contributes to overcome the legacies of conflict through reactivating the development process that has been disrupted by the conflict. Among the post conflict reconstruction interventions, post conflict housing reconstruction is paramount important as it contributes to development and peace through restoring the economic and social life of conflict affected people. Despite the importance, the success of post conflict housing reconstruction is hindered by a number of problems such as lack of strategies to address the unique challenges faced by vulnerable households, lack of involvement of local people, lack of use of local building material and technology, lack of local economic development, lack of community linkages, lack of cultural and local consideration, overlooked socio-economic conditions of occupants, standardised housing models, housing models imported from different cultures, lack of beneficiary consultation, poor performance of agencies, bribery and corruptions and lack of post occupancy evaluation. If not properly managed, these issues lead to hinder the success of post conflict housing reconstruction and its contribution to the development and peace. This paper argues that lack of concern on housing needs has directly or indirectly given rise for most of these issues through a comprehensive literature review on post conflict housing reconstruction and housing needs. The paper establishes the link between the problems of housing reconstruction and lack of addressing housing needs. Accordingly, it concludes that adequate housing measures provide a general guideline in addressing housing needs and addressing such needs leads to minimise the problems of post conflict housing reconstruction

An exploration of the construction industry's role in disaster preparedness, response and recovery

The construction industry’s role in reconstruction activities following disasters such as the Indian Ocean Tsunami, is well documented. In particular, post-disaster reconstruction has been the subject of a significant body of research, with particular emphasis on developing countries that are less able to deal with the causes and impacts of disasters. There is, however, growing recognition that the construction industry has a much broader role to anticipate, assess, prevent, prepare, respond and recover from disruptive challenges. Advocates suggest construction professionals have a key role to play because they are involved in the construction of the infrastructure, and therefore should also be involved when an event destroys that infrastructure. They also suggest that the construction professions are in the best position to frame the discussion of the costbenefit trade-offs that occur in the risk management process; for example, the need for risk avoidance against the cost of implementing safety strategies. This exploratory paper considers the need for a more expansive view of the life cycle of infrastructure projects: one that extends beyond the traditional cycle of feasibility analysis, planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance and divestiture. This revised life cycle considers the construction professional’s ability to anticipate and respond to events, such as the Indian Ocean Tsunami, which damage or destroy an infrastructure project and reflects the construction industry’s ongoing responsibility toward an infrastructure’s users

Framework for capacity building for post disaster construction & demolition waste management at national level

The entire world is facing frequent and severe disasters In a disaster, generation of waste is unavoidable and critical as it differs from a normal situation in terms of quantity and composition Thus, improper waste management is a major environmental issue in any postdisaster scenario, specifically when it is contaminated with toxic substances leading to environmental degradation and health problems Therefore, measures to control waste generation and management of waste are needed for proper disaster waste management, being an important aspect of the entire process of disaster management Literature revealed capacity gaps in disaster waste management emphasizing the importance of capacity building for post disaster waste management in Sri Lanka Thus this paper presents framework for capacity building for post disaster waste management with special emphasis on C&D waste at national level entities in Sri Lanka Data were gathered through semi structured interviews conducted with experts representing Government, Non government and other sector organizations involved in post disaster waste management Capacity gaps such as fewer opportunities for career development, unawareness, lack of incentives are identified at individual level while unavailability of formal procedures for preparation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes/ projects, policy issues such as unenforceability, inadequate government support and unavailability of institutional arrangement are identified at entity level Framework for capability building in disaster C&D waste management was presented, with suggested approaches to overcome identified capacity gaps Framework can assist national entities involved in disaster waste management to focus on specific capacity building processes based on their institutional priorities It contains evaluated approaches to enhance capacities, providing flexibility to initiate capacity building at different levels such as individual, team, programmes, projects, entity or network of entities and in different contexts than disaster waste management It guides national entities involved in post disaster waste management to enhance their capacities for effective and efficient processes of post disaster waste management with special emphasis to C&D wast