Environmental Management

and DRR in Indian Context

Prof. Vinod K. Sharma Sr. Professor, Disaster Management, Indian Institute of

Public Administration, and

Executive Vice-Chair,

Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority

Some National Initiatives

The National Disaster Management Act-2005

National Disaster Management Authority-2005

National Action Plan on Climate Change

Many states taking up initiatives: Acts,

Authorities, Plans, Capacity Building (Leading

states: Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar

Sikkim)

District level empowerment

Local level participation and action

India’s Vulnerability

Floods

Droughts

Earthquakes

Landslides

Cyclones

Forest Fire

Cloud Burst

Hail storms

Major Natural

Disasters :

1990 - 2012

Earthquake, Gujarat

January 26, 2001

1997

Chamoli 1999

KutchchhEarthquakes

Uttarkashi 1991

Latur (Killari) 1993

Jabalpur , Gujarat

2001

J&K 2005

Cyclones

East & West Godavari 1992&

dist.of Andhra Pradesh 1996

Kutchchh, Gujarat 1998

Orissa 1999

Floods

Punjab 1993

Kerala 1994

Punjab & Haryana 1996

Mumbai 2005

Tsunami

Andaman & Nicobar

Islands & coastal areas 2004

Tsunami

Dec.26, 2004

Earthquake, J&K

Oct.8, 2005

Scientific initiatives in DRR

Vulnerability Atlas for each major hazard was

prepared

High Powered Committee was set up by the Prime

Minister in 1999

Focus was on Preparedness, Planning and

Mitigation

National, State and District level authorities were

prepared

Disaster Management Act came to force in 2005

Floods • Floods in the Indo-Gangetic-

Brahmaputra plains are an annual

feature

• On an average, a few hundred lives

are lost

• Millions are rendered homeless

Lakhs of hectares of crops are

damaged every year

Case Studies

Mumbai 2005

Surat Flood 2006

Rajasthan Flood 2006, 2008, 2012

Uttarakhand Floods 2013

Wind and Cyclones During the Period 1877-2005 in a 50 km wide

strip following cyclonic activity have taken

place:

• 283 cyclones (106 severe) on the East Coast

• 35 cyclones (19 severe) on West Coast

• In the 19 severe cyclonic storms, death toll

> 10,000 lives

In 21 cyclones in Bay of Bengal

(India and Bangladesh) 1.25 million lives

have been lost

Orissa Cyclone 26-29 October,

1999

Earthquakes • 10.79% land is liable to severe

earthquakes (intensity MSK IX or more)

• 17.49% land is liable to MSK VIII

(similar to Latur/Uttarkashi)

• 30.79% land is liable to MSK VII

(similar to Jabalpur earthquake)

Biggest quakes in Andamans, Kuchh,

Himachal, Kashmir, Bihar and the North

Eastern States)

Sikkim

Brief information on Sikkim

Parameter Value

GEOGRAPHICAL AREA

7096 Sq.KM.

POPULATION (2011

CENCUS)

6.07 LAKHS

DISTRICTS 04 (EAST, WEST , NORTH & SOUTH)

MAIN DRAINAGES

TISTA , RANGEET & ITS TRIBUTARIES

FOREST COVER 43% of the total area.

GEOGRAPHICAL

LOCATION

270 00’46” to 280 07’48” N latitude &

880 00’58” to 880 55’25” E

Longitude

ECONOMY MAINLY TOURISM, CASH CROPS, HYDEL POWER

PROJECT

LITERACY RATE(2001

CENSUS)

82%

Earthquake details

Parameter Value

Magnitude 6.8

Date-Time 18:10 IST, 18th Sept, 2011, Sunday

Location 27.72°N, 88.06°E

Depth 19.7 km (shallow depth)

Duration 30-40 seconds

Extent In India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and China

In India, in Sikkim and northeast, West Bengal,

Bihar, Jharkhand, UP, Rajasthan, Chandigarh and

Delhi

Source: USGS / IMD

Sikkim After Earthquake 2011

Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority Established

Significant progress since Sikkim-Nepal Earthquake of September 2011

Environment-Disaster Link: India’s first fully ORGANIC STATE and preparing for disasters

Establishing Himalayan Institute of Environment and Disaster Management

Taking community based approach, involving schools, voluntary organisations, local leaders

Landslides • The Indian Subcontinent with diverse

physiographic, seismotectonic and

climatologic conditions is subjected to

varying degree of landslide hazards.

• The himalayas including Northeastern

mountain regions being the worst affected

followed by a section of the Western

Ghats, Eastern Ghats and Vindhyas.

Accounts for considerable loss of life and

damage to communication routes, human

settlements, agricultural fields and forest lands.

Recent Trends and Concerns

Unusual and unexpected weather events

– Heavy rain

– Early or delayed rain

– Hail, snow

– Unseasonal windstorms

– Excessive heat

– Excessive cold

Resultant change in water and crop patterns

Direct Impact on Coastal Areas

Rise in sea level – loss of coastal lands and

small islands

– Relevance to all coastal areas

– Islands along coastal states (Eg. Andhra

Pradesh, West Bengal)

– A&N Islands

– Lakshadweep Islands

Direct Impact on All Areas

Increased frequency, increased severity,

and less predictability of :

– Storms

– Floods

– Flash floods

– Cloud bursts

– Rain caused landslides

– Snow fall

– Heat waves

Current Trends to watch

Increased cloud bursts in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and J&K (2010 flashfloods), and Sikkim in 2012, Uttarakhand 2013

Rising temperature trends in Orissa (Talcher 52 degrees Celsius)

Freak floods in drought prone Rajasthan

Drought in flood prone Assam

Glacier depletion along Himalayan Belt

Crop failure due to rainfall variations

Increased migration to large cities in search for work

Trends to Expect in Future

Increased flooding and droughts due to rainfall

variations

Increased flooding for some years due to snow

melt

Droughts after some year due to depleting water

sources

Severe cyclones, specially in WB, Orissa, AP, TN,

Gujarat

Crop failures, depletion in fish catch

Who is at Risk?

Particularly the poor

Inhabitants of towns and villages in fragile

ecosystems (mountains, coasts, arid areas..)

Farming communities dependent on rainfed

agriculture

Hill communities dependent on natural water

sources

Megacities with high water demand

What can be done to stop the trend

Reduce glasshouse gas emissions:

– Clean technologies in industries

– Improved refrigeration and transportation systems

Reduce energy consumption at all levels

– Switch to greener energy sources

– Reduce energy consumption through efficiency and austerity

– Adopt renewable energy sources in disaggregated manner

– Invest in improvement of technologies and their dissemination

Climate Change Adaptation

Adaptive Agriculture

– Switch to crops that can yield within changed durations

of rainfall season

Adaptive Water Management

– Manage water sources and increase water harvesting

and water recycling at local level

Adaptive Settlements

– Plan cities and villages to be away from path of

predictable disasters

– Go Green

Prevailing Planning Practice

prescriptive Land-use

zoning (20 year

horizon)

disaster prone and

environmentally

sensitive areas are

declared unsuitable

for development, but

economic pressures

prevail

Human Settlements - this is not what we had planned !

Local informal economies

pressure in centrally

located vacant land

Unhealthy villages and cities

Severe environmental degradation

Compounded risks

DISASTER -

annual ritual

Illegal settlements…

cannot be recognized

or catered to

Informal settlements represent a vast human population living in temporary and unsafe structures with little or no facilities……

Even hazards of low

intensity attain

disastrous proportions

when they strike such

vulnerable communities

and degraded

environments

Disaster-Environment Impact Matrix Air Water Land Crops Wildlife Livestock Forests Waste

Flood S D D D D D D D

Cyclone D D D D D D D D

Drought I D D D D D D I

Earthquake S, C I, C I -- L D -- D

Landslide -- S D -- I -- D D

Chemical D D D D D, C D D, C D

Nuclear D D, S D D, S D D D, L D

Biological S D, C S C C C C D

Civil C C C, I -- -- -- -- C

Transport C C C L -- -- -- D

D=Direct, I=Indirect, S=Secondary, L=Less, C=Case specific

From sectoral to holistic planning

Concerned

agencies

&

Communities

Disaster Risk Management

Disaster Management Vehicle

COMMAND

Prevention

Vulnerability Reduction

Hazard / Risk

Reduction

RISK MANAGEMENT EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Operation centric

Em

erg

en

cy

Ris

k

Asse

ssm

en

t

Mitigation

Monitoring

Evaluation

ENVIRONMENT

community

Planning

Response

Relief

Rehabilitation

Reconstruction

Preparedness Planning

Governance

Management centric

Concept of Disaster Risk Reduction

Risk Reduction:

Event minimization

Loss minimization

Quick recovery (Resilience)

Approach:

Visualizing hazards

Reducing vulnerability

Increasing coping capacities

DM Paradigm Shift

Response Centric

Relief Centric

– Mitigation centric

– Preparedness centric

– Disaster Centric

Hazard Centric

Vulnerability Centric

Environment Centric

Adaptation

DRR Strategy Design –

Components

What is the risk

hazard - event x damageability

What is at risk – – Life, Structures, Resources, Infrastructure

Resist

Resilience – Avoid

– Tolerate

– Manage

Programmes – Direct

– Indirect

– Infused

Effects

Waste Coral Reef Damages Coastal Zone Impacts Ground water contamination Siltation issue Effect on agriculture land

Effects

Waste Coral Reef Damages Coastal Zone Impacts Ground water contamination Siltation issue Effect on agriculture land

Causes Immediate/ Long - term Population

De - forestation High Consumption

Climate Change

Causes Immediate/ Long - term Population

De - forestation High Consumption

Climate Change Causes

Effects

Causes

Effects

The Environment

cause-effect cycle

Building

disaster

capacity

Reduced through

multi-stakeholder

cooperation

Reduced through

awareness,

policies & action

Environ-disaster interface

Environmental Hazards Complex

Population Growth

Losses Poverty

Low coping capacity

High Exposure

to Hazard

Locations

High Disaster Risk

Hazard / Trigger event

Major Disaster Losses

Source: 2008(5) Publication

IMPACTS OF DISASTERS

Physical (buildings, structures, physical property, industry, roads,

bridges, etc.)

Environmental (water, land/soil, land-use, landscape, crops, lake/rivers /

estuaries, aquaculture, forests, animals/livestock, wildlife, atmosphere,

energy, etc.)

Social (life, health, employment, relations, security, peace, etc.)

Economic (assets, deposits, reserves, income, commerce, production,

guarantee/insurance, etc.)

Physical Environmental

Disaster Event

SOCIAL

Economic

DRR Interventions - Routes Direct : DM Act, Rules, Policy…

DM Programmes – NCRM, Capacity building programme of Engineers/Architects

Environmental Resources: Land/soil/land-use

Water/water bodies, watersheds

Wetlands, Rivers

Air/atmosphere

Habitat/vegetation-forests, plantation, orchards, agriculture - agroforestry, aquaculture

Livestock, wild animals

Environmental supplies – water, PHE, sanitation, waste mgmt,

Chemicals / minerals

Welfare programmes Family, child, youth, sports, NREGS, RTI, ….

Service programmes Transport, health, communication, housing, aviation, navigation, fire,

industry

Rural Environmental Programme

KEY ISSUES:

All rural programmes

Natural Resources

Land

Water

Energy

Vegetation

– Agriculture

– Forestry

– Horticulture

– Aquaculture

Animals

– Fisheries

– Livestock

– Wildlife

Env. Health

– Sanitation

– Supplies

Climate Change Impacts

Climate change is considered as an environmental

phenomena.

Climate change impacts are seen in the form of natural

disasters like drought, flood etc.

Livelihoods of the rural communities are directly affected by

the climate change impacts

Adaptation to climate change is becoming increasingly

recognized as the key issue (as opposed to mitigation), and it

is considered as the pre-disaster preparedness measures.

When people plan...

Participatory appraisals

and stakeholder

sensitization

Community Action Planning - bottoms up!

Local action oriented

For a safer tomorrow..

Preventing mushrooming of NEW development projects and settlements in environmentally sensitive areas

Reducing socio-economic inequalities in the population and providing for safe & healthy living

Adopting conservation and development in an ECOSYSTEM SENSITIVE manner

Prevention Pays…!!

New Challenges

Multiple agencies working in DRR and Environment – Ministry of Environment and Forests

– Ministry of Home affairs

– National Disaster management Authority

– Ministry of Science and Technology

– Ministry of Agriculture

– Ministry of Water Resources

– Planning Commission of India

University research is not linked with development planning

Thank You!