Assess the role of key players in disaster risk governance. (12)
Governance refers to the process by which a country or region is run. Good governance
implies that national and local governments are effective in keeping people safe, healthy
and educated. The effectiveness of governance varies enormously and has a significant
impact on coping capacity and resilience in the event of a natural disaster.
One key player in governance is the government, which works alongside different unions.
For example, if there was an earthquake in Greece, the central government would be in
control of the ‘clean-up, but the European Union and the United Nations may give Greece
supplies and money to help with the aftermath of the disaster. These same unions may give
money to Greece to help prepare for other future disasters to prevent as much damage and
harm as possible. The central government also has lots of money to implement such
preparations, so can do this without the help of others unless the government is corrupt. In
this case, Non-Governmental Organisations use the funding to put in these measures
themselves, directly. The government gets their money from taxing its citizens, so if the GDP
per capita of a country is lower than average, the government will not have enough money
to sufficiently spend on preparing for a disaster that hasn’t even happened. The government
will probably be more likely to spend the taxpayers' money on boosting the economy rather
than preparing for a disaster that could destroy the economy.
The primary responsibility for responding to disasters and crises lies with the state
authorities. These authorities -- national, provincial, district, local (and traditional) -- vary
greatly in their capacity to coordinate and implement the provision of assistance and
protection to their people. Increasingly, governments in crisis-prone areas have created a
National Disaster Management Authority. Where these exist, international crisis response
actors and structures (e.g. the UN’s cluster system) should work to exercise their
implementation and coordination functions in support of the national authorities. One
example of a National Disaster Management Authority is FEMA in the USA.
In my opinion, the government has the primary responsibility in dealing with disasters,
hazards or aftermath. However, these governments can't do this work by themselves and
need the help of Unions, Non-Governmental Organizations and National Disaster
Management Authorities.
11/12
WWW: excellent essay with relevant examples and thorough research as
usual. Well-done
EBI: a few more examples in here would pull it up that 1 more mark.
Governance refers to the process by which a country or region is run. Good governance
implies that national and local governments are effective in keeping people safe, healthy
and educated. The effectiveness of governance varies enormously and has a significant
impact on coping capacity and resilience in the event of a natural disaster.
One key player in governance is the government, which works alongside different unions.
For example, if there was an earthquake in Greece, the central government would be in
control of the ‘clean-up, but the European Union and the United Nations may give Greece
supplies and money to help with the aftermath of the disaster. These same unions may give
money to Greece to help prepare for other future disasters to prevent as much damage and
harm as possible. The central government also has lots of money to implement such
preparations, so can do this without the help of others unless the government is corrupt. In
this case, Non-Governmental Organisations use the funding to put in these measures
themselves, directly. The government gets their money from taxing its citizens, so if the GDP
per capita of a country is lower than average, the government will not have enough money
to sufficiently spend on preparing for a disaster that hasn’t even happened. The government
will probably be more likely to spend the taxpayers' money on boosting the economy rather
than preparing for a disaster that could destroy the economy.
The primary responsibility for responding to disasters and crises lies with the state
authorities. These authorities -- national, provincial, district, local (and traditional) -- vary
greatly in their capacity to coordinate and implement the provision of assistance and
protection to their people. Increasingly, governments in crisis-prone areas have created a
National Disaster Management Authority. Where these exist, international crisis response
actors and structures (e.g. the UN’s cluster system) should work to exercise their
implementation and coordination functions in support of the national authorities. One
example of a National Disaster Management Authority is FEMA in the USA.
In my opinion, the government has the primary responsibility in dealing with disasters,
hazards or aftermath. However, these governments can't do this work by themselves and
need the help of Unions, Non-Governmental Organizations and National Disaster
Management Authorities.
11/12
WWW: excellent essay with relevant examples and thorough research as
usual. Well-done
EBI: a few more examples in here would pull it up that 1 more mark.
