Corruption, inequality and natural disaster

Peta-Anne Baker, Contributor

WHAT HAS happened to the traditional rhyme which would see October as "all (almost?) over?". The weather forecasters have just placed the Eastern Caribbean on alert for the 19th named storm of the season. The news reports from elsewhere remind us of the other natural hazards which have no season, as earthquakes and a volcanic eruption are again destabilising the lives of the people of Indonesia.

Economic losses attributed to natural disasters at a global level have increased almost 10 times in last 30 years: Losses estimated at US$75.5 billion in the 1960s became an estimated US$659.9 billion in the 1990s; some 1.5 million people have been killed in natural disasters between 1980 and 2000; and some 184 people die daily from natural disasters. Only 11 per cent of those exposed to natural hazards live in poor countries, but 53 per cent of recorded deaths occur in these countries.

The earthquake in Haiti on January 12 this year, and tropical storm Nicole just last month were just two of the several events which again brought to light not only the extent of the Caribbean's exposure to natural hazards, but also the tenuous nature of the existence of many members of the region's societies. The level of destruction of public and private buildings, the losses in the agricultural sector, and the damage to infrastructure highlighted yet again the importance of having in place not only effective response mechanisms, but also regulatory systems and social processes to reduce vulnerability to and mitigate the impact of harm posed by natural hazards.

More important, however, than the physical destruction is the number of deaths and lives disrupted by natural hazards. Between 2000 and 2009, almost 8,000 people in 10 Caribbean countries including Belize, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Guyana were killed in natural disasters. Eighty-five per cent of these fatalities occurred in Haiti, which has the highest proportion of persons killed per 100,000 of its population. In Haiti, this amounts to 68 persons compared to its neighbour, the Dominican Republic, where the number of persons killed per hundred thousand is 10, and Jamaica, where only two persons per 100,000 have been killed in natural disasters in the last 10 years.

Not just poverty

In reviewing the deaths and damage arising from incidents such as the floods caused by Tropical Storm Nicole, many commentators have focused on things like the apparent tendency of low-income persons to build their homes in dangerous locations such as on the banks of the Sandy Gully. We get a lot of pontificating about the need to prevent this from happening, and generally, the people whom we perceive as 'persisting' in placing themselves in harm's way are blamed for their suffering. While poverty does influence the extent and nature of the impact of natural hazards on families, communities, and entire nations, the emerging evidence is that there is a greater and more significant effect from inequality - the extent of the gap between the rich and powerful and the poor - within and between nations.

In the last 10 to 15 years, it is estimated that some 30 per cent of the populations of Latin America and the Caribbean have been affected by disasters. In 1998, in Honduras, for example, Hurricane Mitch wiped out more than 30 per cent of the assets of the poorest quarter of the population, compared with only seven per cent of the assets of the richest quarter. In Nicaragua, the proportion of children working rather than attending school increased from 7.5 to 15.6 per cent in households affected by the same hurricane.

In a study of 57 countries reported on in 2003, Matthew Khan of Stanford and Tufts universities identifies a significant link between the size of the gap between rich and poor and the number of deaths in a natural disaster. Khan found that the existence and performance of democratic institutions also played a major role in determining how many people lived or died in natural disasters. He observed that there would also be a link between the actions of governments which encouraged foreign investment by lowering environmental and labour-relations standards and the cost in human lives from industrial accidents.

A group of researchers at two Florida universities has also been focusing on the link between the number of people killed in a natural disaster, income inequality, and public-sector corruption, which it describes as "collective inaction". Their work adds to a growing body of empirical data that demonstrates that the greatest harm comes not simply from the magnitude of the earthquake or the strength of the storm, but from the extent to which the institutions of the State have been captured by powerful minority-group interests. Significantly, these interests include persons in the construction industry and landowners who are able to 'purchase' the waiver of regulations (where they exist), and whose focus on securing the greatest returns for the lowest costs include practices such as employing and failing to properly supervise inadequately trained labour.

Interestingly, the researchers introduced their discussion with a review of work which examined the impact of public-sector corruption on the allocation of resources and response to need in their own country. They cited recent evidence which suggested that presidential action to declare an emergency (and thereby release funding for the affected region) is related to the political importance of that state and its representation on the congressional oversight committee of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Natural disasters a governance issue

Both the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and the Red Cross have attempted community-based approaches to disaster preparedness whereby they have encouraged the formation of community and parish disaster committees which are readily mobilised when a hazard threatens. Unfortunately, and perhaps understandably, neither organisation seems to lend support to these committees becoming active participants in the processes of governance, even at the parish level.

What I mean by this is that although disaster preparedness and management is one of the portfolio responsibilities of the local-government authorities, and in fact the parish disaster committees include representatives from local government, the concerns of the people most likely to be affected by a hazardous event are rarely addressed in a meaningful manner before the event.

Let us consider the situation of the people of New River in St Elizabeth. A public official recently commented that housing should never have been permitted in the area, given its location in the Black River Morass. Who approved the subdivision? Who approved the engineering plans? In 2003, as they once again confronted loss of livelihood and home, the residents of the area pleaded with the authorities to implement disaster-mitigation propo-sals they had made the year before.

A letter to the editor in April this year pointed out that "the New River residents seem to have lowered their expectations of the local government to a single desire: that the massive drains that run through the community are cleaned around mid-March when the rainy season begins". The flooding and disruption that are now taking place demonstrate that their pleas were once again ignored.

While some may feel that there is cause to celebrate Jamaica's movement up (down?) the Perception of Corruption Scale, and private-sector interests believe that the establishment of a commission of enquiry to investigate the Manatt, Phelps & Phillips affair is a sufficient basis for the recommencement of talks with the Government, there are many others who continue to wonder how these developments will reduce their vulnerability to harm from floods and other hazards. The only way the link can be convincingly demonstrated is when these changes in perception become changes in people's lived experience. They will be convinced that moving a handful of points on a scale of one to 10, but still being placed at 87th of 178, is meaningful when the National Integrity Action Forum works directly with them to hold their elected representatives accountable, and when public servants pay as much attention to those who "walk foot" as those in SUVs.

Ronald Jackson, director general of the ODPEM, announced last year that the long-delayed Disaster Management and Mitigation Bill would have been passed before the beginning of the 2010 hurricane season. The new legislation is intended to give power to the ODPEM inter alia to declare "no-build" zones. Regrettably, the director general and the country are facing the end of the 2010 hurricane season with the bill still "being draf-ted", and not having the benefit of being highlighted as one of the "prime minister's priorities" on the 2010-2011 legislative programme.

Perhaps one can persuade the private-sector interests to place the issue on the agenda of their reconvened talks. Who knows? Perhaps crafting an effective strategy for reducing the loss of life and livelihood occasioned by exposure to natural hazards can contribute to the emergence of a truly transformative partnership and genuine democracy in Jamaica.

Peta-Anne Baker, PhD, is the coordinator of the Social Work Programme at the University of the West Indies, Mona. She may be contacted at pab.ja2009@gmail.com.