Hi again
In re-reading James letter, it struck me that sometimes the lessons of the
past are also not fully absorbed. For example the evaluation work of ALNAP
- www.alnap.org in evaluating the lessons from disasters is second to none,
this relatively recently being reflected in the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition
(TEC) reports from the Indian Ocean tsunami - see www.tsunami-evaluation.org
Whilst the situation regarding much of the tsunami was unique, the
comprehensive evaluation reports arising from this cut across many types of
disasters. What really gets my craw is when stakeholders (this
unfortunately including some of the large NGOS, the background from which I
come) can't be bothered in learning these lessons properly..
Cheers
Chris (it's early morning here, and I'm feeling combatative....spelling ?)
Chris Piper, Director TorqAid
PO Box 13, Torquay
VIC 3228, Australia
Tel: +61 41 2497317
Email: [log in to unmask] and [log in to unmask]
Website: www.torqaid.com
Chris Piper, Lecturer
School of International & Political Studies (SIPS)
Faculty of Arts, Deakin University
Waurn Ponds, Geelong 3217
Tel: + 61 3 52271426 or + 61 41 2497317
Email: [log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Natural hazards and disasters
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of James Lewis
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 1:43 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Why do we let disasters happen ?
Another little story from the New York Times, this time this morning
at
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/25/us/25give.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin
reports a clearly apparent regret in the absence of major disasters
in 2006 which is blamed for a reported shortfall in giving to the charities.
Is it just the mood I'm in or am I being just my cynical / realist
self when I wonder what hope there is for disaster reduction when, on
the other side of the coin so to speak, a massive lobby exists that
is almost praying for the next big one. Or, a little more rationally,
what hope is there after the big ones happen of the colossal sums
collected being spent at all on vulnerability reduction ?
Can there not be some kind of follow-up to this kind of reporting ?
James
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