4.8. Learning from Good Practices

So, the government wants to make sure that no victim is left out and no one gets repeated supports because it is very common in any relief stage but one person because they are always craving for certain benefits or some needs which they are able to get in that phase. So, they want to make sure that something should be transparent and someone already got it they should not get again and again.

The government aims to ensure fairness in distributing relief support during disasters. This means that every victim should receive assistance without any overlaps where one person might receive multiple aids while others are ignored. The goal is to create a transparent system where assistance is fairly allocated, preventing individuals from taking more than what they are entitled to.

Imagine a classroom where each student can only receive one prize for their achievements. If one student keeps winning and taking all the prizes, others will feel left out and unappreciated. The government wants to ensure that every deserving individual receives their prize equally, much like ensuring every disaster victim gets the support they need without someone monopolizing the available resources.

So, there should be a kind of uniform and very transparent nature and no one should not get a substandard packages, you know, someone has got a very better package, someone has got a very substandard package, whether in terms of the quality of the delivery or the quality of the product they have got, so you know, we should not compromise on that.

It is crucial for the relief process to maintain high quality and consistency in the aid provided. If some victims receive high-quality packages while others get poor-quality ones, it creates inequality. A standardized approach ensures that all relief supplies meet a set level of quality, making the recovery process fairer and more effective.

Think of a restaurant where some customers receive delicious, well-prepared meals while others get burnt or poorly cooked dishes. This inconsistency leads to dissatisfaction among diners. In relief efforts, it’s vital that every victim gets the same quality of aid, much like how everyone should ideally enjoy the same standard of food in a restaurant.

But the problem is this particular process has not been standardized, the reason why it has not been standardized is it has not been recognized, it has not been incorporated in the legal system, legal procedures. How to standardize these relief materials, how to standardize these packages and that is where the first and foremost important part, there is a need of standardization of relief materials in the legislations for the disaster-affected communities.

Currently, the procedures for distributing relief materials are not legally standardized, which leads to inconsistencies. The lack of legal recognition means there are no enforceable guidelines on how to deliver aid effectively. Therefore, it is necessary to establish laws that define standards for relief materials, ensuring that all disaster-affected individuals receive uniform support.

Consider how traffic laws create order on the roads. Without standardized traffic laws, confusion and accidents would be rampant. Similarly, standardized regulations for disaster relief would help organize and coordinate efforts, ensuring that all affected individuals receive proper aid, much like how traffic rules ensure everyone moves safely.

So, this is where this after the earthquake, this particular bill has been in the parliament in various discussions, until now it has not been formulated as an act. So, how this is very important that these lessons has to take forward in terms of policy, in terms of bills then formulated acts which further provides us a legal direction, how to do it and how to approach it, what to do it, in what way we have to procedure that establishes the protocols and procedures.

After significant disasters like earthquakes, proposed legislation aimed at improving disaster management often remains in discussion without becoming law. It is essential to translate experiences and lessons learned from such events into formal policies. These policies should guide future disaster responses and establish clear protocols for how aid should be managed and delivered.

Imagine a sports team that learns from their mistakes over several games but never makes any changes to their playbook. They’ll continue facing the same challenges without improvement. Similarly, without creating laws based on the lessons learned from disasters, we risk repeating past mistakes in managing future crises.

So, this can actually connect the disasters and development because if you go back to the literature of Frederick Cuny in 1980s where he talks about the disconnect between the disasters and the development, you know, the how the disasters and development are interrelated to each other, they are part of the process and in some cases yes in some councils they have this LDRMP which is the Local Disaster Risk Management Planning Guidelines.

The Local Disaster Risk Management Planning (LDRMP) seeks to bridge the gap between disaster response and developmental planning. It stresses the importance of integrating disaster prevention and management strategies into local development initiatives, ensuring that communities are better prepared for future disasters. Some councils implement these guidelines effectively, while others lag behind, leading to disparities in their preparedness.

Think of a community that builds a playground without considering potential flooding in the area. If the playground is built with no plan to manage water flow, it may be destroyed during rainstorms. LDRMP helps communities like this plan better, ensuring that development takes into account the needs of disaster risk reduction.

But many of them they are not having a plan, they don’t have plan, so what to do with this and even, if there are the councils which are having the local authorities which are having a plan and they also they did not receive any adequate recognition in terms of how to mobilize the resources and how to build the capacities.

In many cases, local authorities lack comprehensive disaster management plans or fail to execute existing plans effectively. Even when plans are in place, these councils often struggle to access resources and support needed to implement them successfully, hampering their ability to improve disaster resilience and preparedness.

Imagine a small village that creates a fire safety plan but doesn’t train volunteers or obtain fire extinguishers. Without the necessary tools and training to implement the plan, the villagers will remain at risk. This highlights how having a plan is insufficient without proper support and recognition to execute it effectively.

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