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Disaster management law on the cards

Aims to ensure effective mitigation of calamities

Porimol Palma
The government is going to formulate a disaster management act with a provision to hold accountable the authorities responsible for reducing disaster risks and protecting lives and livelihoods of people.
Anyone found negligent in their duties in disaster management or involved in activities that contribute to disasters like waterlogging and flooding, will face punishments under the disaster management act.
The draft law will be placed before the cabinet for approval shortly, said Abdul Wadud, joint secretary of the food and
disaster management ministry.
"After cyclone Aila, the Water Development Board failed to repair the embankments damaged in the coastal areas for a long time,” said Disaster Management Minister Abdur Razzaque. "By implementing the act, we wish to hold the authorities concerned accountable,” he told The Daily Star.
The draft was initiated about 13 years ago, but was not enacted due to the indifference of successive governments and complexities within the bureaucracy.
Officials of the disaster management ministry said, some quarters dug holes
through embankments to make way for saline water to enter shrimp enclosures. This consequently contributed to heavy flooding during cyclone Aila, but no action could be taken against the people responsible.
This happened because the present standing order on disaster, which defines the roles of the government and non-government entities on disaster management, does not permit any legal action, they said.
Amid predictions of
intense and frequent disasters like floods, cyclones, tidal surges, river erosion, water logging, droughts linked with the climate change, the authorities concerned have moved to enact the much-needed law, the officials said.
The present Disaster Management Bureau neither has the power nor the capacity to coordinate disaster-related activities.
The draft law proposes establishing a disaster man-agement depart-ment/authority to coordinate
the activities of the ministries and non-government and development partners. It also suggests setting up a national training and research institute and preparing a voluntary force for disaster management.
The Inter-governmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change recently termed Bangladesh as one of the most vulnerable and endangered countries in the world with regard to climate change.
According to the Global Climate Risk Index 2010, an average of 8,241 people died each year in 244 cases of extreme weather conditions in Bangladesh with the damage amounting over $2 billion a year and a GDP loss of 1.81 percent during 1990-2008.
Oxfam, an international humanitarian organisation, says that climate-change induced disasters like cyclones, salinity, storm surges, river and coastal erosion are hampering the lives and livelihoods of at least 2 crore people, while about 2
lakh people are becoming homeless every year in Bangladesh.
According to a seismic zoning map prepared by the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, 43 percent area of Bangladesh is rated as high-risk zones for earthquakes. The 6.9 magnitude earthquake, which occurred on September 18 with its epicentre in Sikkim, has intensified the fear of earthquakes.
Wadud said studies on Ways of Climate Adaptation and Train ing are imperative to
strengthen the national capacity to manage disasters.
He said the law would allow the public officials to acquire properties or land, if required, to reduce the impacts of disasters. He also added that designing the strategies to reduce damage by natural disasters is a major goalofthelaw.
The draft law suggests creating a Tk 100-crore national fund for disaster response, relief and rehabilitation works. Local government bodies will also create funds to meet emergency
relief operations.
Under the law, the authorities concerned will have options to immediately release money from emergency funds if needs arise. Under present arrangements, releasing money even for emergencies requires the finance ministry's permission.
Ziaul Hoque Mukta, policy and advocacy manager of Oxfam Bangladesh, said a law is a must to ensure proper and timely assistance for people affected by disasters.