Dear Erik Blommerstein
I was perhaps too brief in my conference session announcement. YEs, you are
right that, certainly from the perspective of the South, this melding is not
exactly original - although it is present more in rhetoric than reality
perhaps! From the perspective of the North, it has yet to be as fully
developed (no pun intended). My aim for the session is to underline the
importance of bringing these aspects together in both the North and the
SOuth. And to reverse the dominant trend of information flow - the North has
much to learn from the SOuth. It is imperative that these messages are given
prominence in the the light of the present and recent disasters in Gujarat
and El Salvador. When eyes are turned to reconstruction, resilience to
disaster must be part of development initiatives. On the other hand, when
disaster relief is rushed to disaster-hit locations it should not undermine
long-term social and economic development projects.
It is not so much that I am putting forward a new idea as a call for greater
implementation in practice. I don't believe we yet have all the answers to
exactly how we bring these two together effectively and equitably.
You might like to look at the new RADIX website where some of these issues
are currently being aired.
Radix - Radical Interpretations of Disaster:
www.anglia.ac.uk/geography/radix
Maureen
--------------------------------------------
Dr Maureen Fordham
Geography Department, Anglia Polytechnic University, East Road, Cambridge
CB1 1PT, UK. Tel: 01223 363271 extension 2177. Email:
[log in to unmask]
Web: www.anglia.ac.uk/geography
Disaster Studies Project: www.anglia.ac.uk/geography/dsp
Gender and Disaster Network: www.anglia.ac.uk/geography/gdn
Disaster & Social Crisis Research Network: www.anglia.ac.uk/geography/d&scrn
Radix - Radical Interpretations of Disaster:
www.anglia.ac.uk/geography/radix
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 30 January 2001 19:16
To: [log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Disaster and Development
Dear Ms. Fordham,
I'm not altogether too certain that your premise that disaster and
development are separate traditions within both professional practice and
academic disciplines is correct from the perspective of a practioner in the
South. Certainly in the Caribbean and in Central America (with which I'm
somewhat familiar) there is an acute sense that disasters, vulnerability and
development are closely interrelated. ECLAC and the OAS have been involved
in various aspects of development and disasters, while, more recently both
the IADB and the World Bank have begun to focus more clearly on how
disasters may affect development (and vice versa). Additional information is
accessible through the mexico and Port of Spain websites of ECLAC and the
OAS website. A link to a wide range of Caribbean publications is provided
below:
http://www.eclacpos.org/sustdev/CARLINKS/dislink.htm
Yours Sincerely
Erik Blommestein
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