Richel Langit-Dursin
BEPPU - When floods and droughts strike, it is the women and children who suffer most. But when it comes to managing water-related disaster management, they are left out.
Such was the message delivered in one of the sessions yesterday at the water summit, which was dominated by men in black suits.
The lack of women participation in decision-making process was pointed out by Erna Witoelar, the only female policymaker present in the session on water-related disaster management.
However, when the vice chair of the Asia-Pacific Forum raised the topic and asked the speakers – all of them men – how they bring up the gender perspective in water-related disaster management, she received a curt answer and the question was thrown back to her.
“What is your perspective on it?” Indian Minister of Water Resources Saif-ud-Din Soz asked Witoelar, who wanted to leave before the session ended but was advised by Soz to stay until the meeting was over.
Witoelar explained that there are differences in how women and men cope with water-related disasters and suggested that the speakers should have brought out the issue in their presentations.
After the session, Witoelar, who is also the United Nations Special Ambassador for Millennium Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific, expressed her frustration. “I’m disappointed not just from the answer, but from the less anticipation and preparation on the gender aspect in what they are saying,” Witoelar told TerraViva.
“I don’t mind the talking, but I’m wondering why they do not see the specific problems and potentials of women in whatever they are saying – be it flood control, disaster risk reduction or disaster management,” she said, referring to the speakers in the session.
According to the International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM), water-related disasters are increasing and occur one after another all over the world. In the past three years, the world has experienced unprecedented disasters such as the Indian Ocean tsunami and hurricane Katrina.
Data from ICHARM showed that between 1960 and 2006, more than 600,000 casualties and 8 billion dollars worth of economic damage were recorded due to water-related disasters. Last month, cyclone Sidr killed thousands of people in Bangladesh.
Asia-Pacific is the most vulnerable region in the world, accounting for 83 percent of casualties due to water-related disasters. For instance, during the period 2001 – 2005, it is estimated that 62,273 people were killed annually by water-related disasters in Asia-Pacific, compared with 13,432 people killed in other regions.
“The occurrence of disasters is not something new, but their frequency is increasing,” ICHARM director Kuniyoshi Takeuchi said during the session.
According to the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, the probability of increasing extreme events such as floods and droughts induced by global warming are likely to further aggravate the impact of disasters in the Asia-Pacific region.
The IPCC reported that the population affected by floods will increase by several millions annually. By 2080, many millions more people are projected to suffer from flooding every year due to sea-level rise.
“To protect lives, we need early warning systems,” Takeuchi said, adding that disasters hamper efforts to alleviate poverty in developing countries.
But implementing early warning systems is not easy. Andras Szollosi-Nagy, assistant director general of United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) said data scarcity is a major problem.
“Our toolkit is outdated and we need to come up with reliable data and statistics,” Szollosi-Nagy said, adding that there is a need for capacity-building, particularly among developing countries.
Salvano Briceno, director of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, pointed out th |