Success in Kashmir: a positive trend in civil–military integration during humanitarian assistance operations

The modern cast of disaster relief actors includes host nations, non-governmental organisations, private volunteer organisations, military organisations and others. Each group, civilian or military, has valuable skills and experiences critical to disaster relief work. The goal of this paper is to supplement the study of civil–military relief efforts with contemporary anecdotal experience. The paper examines the interaction between US military forces and other disaster relief actors during the 2005 Kashmir earthquake relief effort. The author uses direct observations made while working in Pakistan to contrast the relationships and activities from that effort with other accounts in prevailing scholarly disaster literature and military doctrine. Finally, this paper suggests that the Kashmir model of integration, coordination and transparency of intent creates a framework in which future humanitarian assistance operations could be successfully executed. Recommendations to improve civil–military interaction in future relief efforts will also be addressed.     

The United Nations' humanitarian pillar: refocusing the UN's disaster and emergency roles and responsibilities

Changes in the nature of humanitarian crises and in the ways that the international community responds to such crises demand a radically overhauled role for the United Nations system. At a time when the UN and its member states are pursuing reform of some of that institution's most fundamental peace and security functions, this paper suggests that reform, too, is required to meet humanitarian crises of the future. This paper proposes a new type of operational role for the UN, while at the same time arguing that the UN has to place itself in the vanguard of humanitarian assistance as "the standard-bearer". The article draws many of its conclusions and recommendations from a recently completed study, requested by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, concerning the effect for the UN system of changes in humanitarian financing.     

Cyclone preparedness and response: an analysis of lessons identified using an adapted military planning framework

The United Kingdom uses the Defence Lines of Development (DLOD) framework to analyse and understand the key components and costs of a military capability. Rooted in the Resource Based View (RBV) of a firm, an adapted DLOD approach is employed to explore, analyse and discuss the preparedness, planning and response strategies of two markedly different countries (Australia and Bangladesh) when faced with a major cyclone event of a comparable size. Given the numerous similarities in the challenges facing military forces in a complex emergency and humanitarian agencies in a natural disaster, the paper demonstrates the applicability of the DLOD framework as an analysis and planning tool in the cyclone preparedness planning and response phases, and more broadly within the disaster management area. In addition, the paper highlights the benefit to disaster managers, policymakers and researchers of exploiting comparative cross-learning opportunities from disaster events, drawn from different sectors and countries.     

Listing for change? Exploring the politics of relief lists in Bangladesh after Cyclone Sidr

Ideal notions of efficient aid are challenged continuously by realities on the ground in the wake of major disasters, such as dire needs, limited resources, and opportunism. This paper demonstrates how ‘relief lists’ can be productive entry points for a systematic inquiry into the pervasive politics of disaster assistance. Through an analysis of qualitative data collected during the five years after Cyclone Sidr struck Bangladesh on 15 November 2007, it examines how relief lists featured in both physical and phantom forms and then developed beyond their transparency-making aims, becoming elevated sites of struggle for post-disaster resources. Three list processes, selected to indicate the temporal, material, and spatial dynamics of relief encounters, are assessed in depth. Although recipients of cyclone relief appreciated its value, the paper argues that list politics also stimulated structures of vulnerability, including inequality. Gradually, relief, as governed after Sidr, also served to restore the differential vulnerability of the country's coastal poor.     

Doing good,but looking bad? Local perceptions of two humanitarian organisations in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

This paper examines local perceptions of two international humanitarian organisations, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Malteser International, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (formerly known as Zaire). At times, the self‐perception of these organisations differs considerably from the perceptions of local beneficiaries and stakeholders. This study begins by reviewing the current status of research on local perceptions of externally‐introduced humanitarian action. It goes on to discuss the local perceptions of the IRC and Malteser International, as well as the origins of these perceptions, and to show that three different narratives are used by local actors to explain their different perceptions. The paper ends with an examination of the factors that help to account for the differences in perceptions and of the implications of this type of research for humanitarian principles and management, as well as for the study of local perceptions.     

江苏省风电场的气象灾害风险评估

在分析江苏省风电场气象灾害特征的基础上,建立了以江苏省为例的风电场气象灾害风险性评价模型,确定台风密度、龙卷风密度、雷暴密度、风机密度、单机发电功率、人均GDP这6个因子作为评估指标。结合GIS技术和层次分析法对江苏省长江以北各县市风电产气象灾害风险度进行了区划。结果表明,江苏省长江以北的沿海城市:南通和盐城区域为风电场气象灾害的极高风险区和高风险区,而同样为沿海城市的连云港与苏中地区的泰州市、扬州市和苏北地区的淮安为风电场气象灾害的中风险区,宿迁和徐州均为风电场气象灾害的低风险区。     

Between war and peace: humanitarian assistance in violent urban settings

Cities are fast becoming new territories of violence. 1 The humanitarian consequences of many criminally violent urban settings are comparable to those of more traditional wars, yet despite the intensity of the needs, humanitarian aid to such settings is limited. The way in which humanitarian needs are typically defined, fails to address the problems of these contexts, the suffering they produce and the populations affected. Distinctions between formal armed conflicts, regulated by international humanitarian law, and other violent settings, as well as those between emergency and developmental assistance, can lead to the neglect of populations in distress. It can take a lot of time and effort to access vulnerable communities and implement programmes in urban settings, but experience shows that it is possible to provide humanitarian assistance with a significant focus on the direct and indirect health consequences of violence outside a traditional conflict setting. This paper considers the situation of Port‐au‐Prince (Haiti), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Guatemala City (Guatemala).     

基于突发地质灾害应急防治的边(滑)坡分类方法∗

边(滑)坡分类是进行突发地质灾害应急防治研究的重要手段之一,也是采用工程类比法进行边(滑)坡灾害防治的基础。为此,首先对国内外边(滑)坡分类方法研究现状进行了回顾,并按照分类方法及分类目的,把现有的边(滑)坡分类方法分为了4类:基于单因素及多因素的滑坡分类方法、基于破坏模式与治理措施的滑坡分类方法、基于监测预警的滑坡分类方法和基于稳定性评价的滑坡分类方法,而后对上述分类方法的优缺点进行了评述。最后,基于突发地质灾害应急防治的迫切需求和分类目的,在前人研究的基础上分别建立了基于监测预警和失稳后运动距离预测的突发滑坡应急防治分类方法,该分类方法基于应急防治的特殊要求,在前者加入了临灾征兆的分类指标,这将对突发滑坡灾害应急防治提供更有针对性的指导。