It's been a good development to apply the phrase 'disaster risk reduction',
as something that is more understandable than preparedness or mitigation,
which, as technical terms, aren't.
The livelihoods and insurance worlds give shocks and stresses, which are
useful for disaggregating sudden impact from slower but often no less
ghastly events.
Vulnerability is a helpful and understandable word - being vulnerable is a
pretty clear concept that implies both an external issue that causes
vulnerability (the risk), and that you can perhaps do something about it to
be less vulnerable.
David Sanderson
-----Original Message-----
From: Brugnot Gérard [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 20 February 2004 10:13 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: The Disaster Name Game
In French prévention/prevention applied to risks seems to be a good
compromise.
It generally includes preparedness and excludes crises management and
recovery.
It is used in the field of health "médecine préventive" vs "médecine
curative".
The meaning might be slightly different in English.
Gérard Brugnot
-----Message d'origine-----
De : Ilan Kelman [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Envoyé : jeudi 19 février 2004 22:10
À : [log in to unmask]
Objet : The Disaster Name Game
The activities of our field have many names including disaster risk
reduction, building resilience, vulnerability reduction, risk management,
adaptation, mitigation, prevention, pre-disaster actions, and variations of
each phrase, often with other words used including emergency, preparedness,
prevention, hazard management, and (dare I mention it?) the intriguing
"homeland security". Many of the phrases and the discussions of their
meanings are appropriate in professional, scientific, and political venues.
I have yet to find a solid, meaningful phrase which can be used for
publicity--to grab, engage, and maintain the interest of teachers, students,
professionals in other fields, and people walking down the street.
"Stopping disasters" might be reasonable, but seems contradictory because a
disaster by definition has happened, so it is too late to stop it. What
should be used instead? Suggestions include "Risk Reduction", "Disaster
Mitigation", "Stopping Disaster Impacts", and "Preventing Disasters".
A simple yet powerful phrase, particularly one generally accepted by our
community, would help the media to promote our messages while reaching out
to the majority of the population. I seek neither definitions nor
justifications of vocabularies; simply words that work.
Or perhaps this ideal is a waste of time to try to achieve because (a) it
trivialises our work, (b) it does not exist, and (c) it would be too
dependent on the whims of public opinion and public perception which cause
many of the problems we face. Would it be better to retain the myriad of
phrases, with selection each time based on the audience addressed and the
specific interests of the speaker?
Although this debate is in English, suggestions and ideas from other
languages (preferably with an English explanation--apologies!) would be
highly relevant. Many thanks for any thoughts,
Ilan
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