Global Disaster Management Mechanism: The need of the hour.

Is it not fair for ourselves to be doing what ever is required to keep the planet going? Are we not entitled to live safely in this planet so that the upcoming generations will also have the same? How best are we going to make the world know that humanity is a single whole and no one is free from perils? Japan answers all these questions so vociferously that the world is forced lent its ears…..
Vaatupura A. Jayaprakash
The latest developments in Japan tell the rest of the world a few things or so on issues that we normally simply take it for granted. What is in store for the rest of the world by way of disasters is nothing short of devastation of unimaginable magnitudes, and the preparedness the world has for itself is not only inadequate but it is dangerously incompetent given the indicators that Japan offers.

The neighbouring world is under radiation threat, millions of people have gone broke and a land that once came up like phoenix from the ashes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is vying hard to cope with the after effects of a series of Tsunamis and earth quakes. Here it is right to add that when one part of the world suffers from one calamity or the other, the rest of the world cannot be safer or comfortable. Globalization is applicable not only for international gains; but it is binding for international losses as well. That is what Japan tells us really conspicuously.

In this respect, there is enough room for a rethinking on the way the rest of the world keeps itself prepared to face any calamity. Yes, all nations have their own nation-specific disaster management mechanisms in place. It is good as well. But how about an internationally encompassing disaster like a Tsunami! Are individual nations able to sit back and rest thinking that we have our own system to meet such challenges? No. No nation can.

Human actions coupled with nature’s reaction have made human life really miserable and vulnerable, and the whole world stands at crossroads. There is no one immune to disasters. Australia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Japan, Philippines, and so goes the list. So what are we going to do for ourselves before another disaster strikes the world? In this respect I find it right to make my readers ponder over a few pointers listed down here.
1. Today, no nation is immune to disasters.
2. No nation is able enough to meet today’s disasters.
3. Nation-specific disaster management systems are inadequate.
4. Poor nations are unable to keep their own systems in place.
5. Rich nations are better positioned to help the poor in this respect.
6. Today’s disasters are so devastating that it takes ages for recovery.
7. Disaster management is not just rescuing people.
8. Extending helping hands at times of distress is not enough
9. When part of the world suffers, rest of the world feels the pinch.
10. No man is free from the perils man himself has created.
11. This world is either safe or dangerous, not simply unsafe.
12. This globe demands a global approach to disasters.
It is the last proposition that makes me strike a code here. Today, the world needs a globally binding disaster management mechanism in place. It is alright for all nations to have their own systems. But when it comes to disasters of greater magnitudes, it is important to have larger systems to meet the challenges of modern times.

A nuclear disaster following an earth quake is a double tragedy the effects of which may transcend to ages and ages. So is the case with a tsunami leading to reactor failures, chemical leaks and the like. Man will be forced to stand nonplused at the after effects of his own deeds and the resultant upheavals.

Therefore, it is high time the international community took initiatives to press for the need of an international disaster management system funded by its member nations. Such a system offers great advantages for all the nations in general. Though there are geographical limitations in its application at times, it is better to keep the world prepared to take on any eventually either manmade or natural.

In this respect it is worthwhile adding that when it comes to disasters, it is the timely intervention of men, machinery, technology, medicine and their mobility that matters most. The golden hours, the time between a tragedy and help, are so crucial that the success and failure of disaster management depends solely on this.

So it is important to remember that when tragedy strikes, it is timely intervention that matters most. Here the international community sponsored disaster management system may not be able to spring into action when a tragedy strikes at a far off geographical landscape. But this inadequacy does not rule out the need for such a system because, disaster management involves not only timely intervention and evacuation or the like.

Rather some disasters demand ages to make the affected get back to normal life. Evacuation, moving, rehabilitation and reconstruction are huge responsibilities no nation can boast of being able to do them all by itself. Here we need a globally applicable and funded management system so that all nations, rich and poor, can get benefited. This is the need of the hour, and the time is ticking out and nature has its own ways, and it never knocks at our doors before it strikes. So it is our responsibility to ensure the safety of the whole globe.

Is it not fair for ourselves to be doing what ever is required to keep the planet going? Are we not entitled to live safely in this planet so that the upcoming generations will also have the same spirit of keeping the world safer for their followers? How best are we going to make the world know that humanity is a single whole and no one is free from perils?

Japan answers all these questions so vociferously that the world is forced lent its ears and do what is needed to see that no disaster is going to keep man stalled for ages and his incessant will to surmount all odds gets bogged down.

“What ever the field be lost
All is not lost………..
what is else not be overcome?

These words of John Milton hold true here. A Japan is instrumental. A globally applicable disaster management system funded by all member nations can go a long way in keeping the world prepared to face the wrong deeds of man and rightful ways of nature. We need a global disaster managements system very very badly. 1000 words