A comprehensive framework for multi-sphere disaster risk reduction in South Africa / Dewald van Niekerk

• Main Author: Van Niekerk, Dewald
• Published: North-West University 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10394/825

Since the 1960s there has been a constant evolution in the common understanding of international disaster management. Various measures and structures were created to plan for emergency relief and the management of a disastrous event. Despite all the international effort which was aimed at reducing the impact of natural and anthropogenic hazards on humankind, very little progress was made. Loss of life, property, infrastructure and economic livelihoods are on the increase without any indication of improvement. Developmental activities could in most instances be blamed for the high level of disaster risk present in communities. On the other hand, very little was done in the international arena (through a multi-disciplinary approach) to ensure a developmental focus on disaster risk. Despite the sometimes dismal situation in which especially the less developed world found themselves, some progress has been made in disaster risk reduction since the 1990s. Major disasters since the 1960s, as well as intensive media coverage of these events, have created a global awareness of the need to reduce disaster impacts. The aspects mentioned above, with the involvement of a variety of different disciplines and professional constituencies, gradually started to investigate and formulate an understanding of disaster risk. This, together with, the involvement of a variety of different disciplines and professional constituencies gradually led to the investigation and formulation of an understanding of disaster risk. The declaration of the International Decade of Natural Disaster Reduction (1 990-1 999) and the formulation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (2000-201 0) confirmed the international importance of disaster risk reduction. South Africa, coming from a history of apartheid and discrimination, realised the void in caring for communities at risk. Severe floods in the Western Cape Province in 1997 heralded a new area in disaster management in South Africa. In 1998, a legislative process started which culminated in the promulgation of the Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002. Despite the international as well as national focus on the prevention and mitigation of disasters, their continuous impact and increase in losses were a clear indication that more than just pure disaster management should be undertaken. A paradigm shift gradually occurred where disasters were no longer seen as events to respond to. A focus on disaster risk reduction emerged. This focus is aimed at reducing the risk in which communities find themselves by using development interventions. Disaster risk reduction is not without its own challenges. The heightened emphasis on the subject matter by a variety of regional and international agencies showed that a concrete theoretical knowledge base was lacking. A need to identify all the aspects of which disaster risk reduction comprises evolved. Several international disaster risk reduction frameworks emerged aimed at providing qualitative and quantitative indicators to measure success in disaster risk reduction. This thesis aimed to develop a comprehensive multi-sphere disaster risk reduction framework that is tailor-made for the strategic management arena in South Africa. The research provides the reader with a background study on the international development of the concept of disaster risk reduction and its components. It focuses on disaster risk management and disaster management within the South African context. Four international disaster risk reduction frameworks are analytically compared and aligned with international best practices. Subsequently the South African national disaster management policy framework (the National Disaster Management Framework) is analysed and compared to the findings of the international comparison. This research further made use of focus group interviews for data collection. Specialists in the field of disaster risk management in South Africa formed part of the focus group interviews which served as a form of triangulation between the described processes and the reality in the South African public sector. In conclusion this thesis provides a new disaster risk reduction framework for application in the strategic management sector on all levels of government. The framework is comprehensive, yet flexible enough, to be adapted for tactical and operational implementation. === Thesis (Ph.D. (Public Management and Administration))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.