Benson said the problem with investing on climate change is that policy makers tend to invest on projects that will bring immediate relief, instead of planning for the long term.
"A lot of it comes down to money. If you have a choice between spending on something that reaps immediate benefits -- say, a new health clinic -- or something that may not reap benefits for many years -- such as building a sea wall -- then people often opt for the first one," she said.
Benson said there's a need to educate all stakeholders -- policy makers, the private sector, affected communities -- that investing in disaster risk reduction is important and will save lives -- and money -- in the long run.
Haiyan's devastation may in fact be the wake up call that the policy makers in Asia need to integrate climate change into their long term development plans.
The Britain-based risk analysis firm Maplecroft said South Asia and Southeast Asian countries are the most vulnerable to climate related disasters. This, Maplecroft said, poses obstacles to their sustained growth, and will hurt the poor the most as they're not likely have the resources to cope with these disasters.
Benson said there are several things that can be done now to prepare and mitigate losses that will be caused by disasters.
"We can begin by assessing disaster risk, drawing on local knowledge and experience as well as hazard maps and understanding the risk in our communities. We can take measures to ensure that our schools, homes, places of work and so forth are resilient, both by undertaking structural measures and through environmental measures," she said.
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=77007.0
Topic: News Analysis: Developing Asia needs to invest in disaster management (Read 700 times)