Building a case for disaster diplomacy in South Asia
Building a case for disaster diplomacy in South Asia
WRITTEN BY APOORVA JAIN
1 November 2022
Pakistan’s devastating floods of “biblical proportions” that occurred in August and September 2022 caused widespread death and displacement. The government claimed that it would take more than six months for the flood waters to recede, as more than a third of the country remains underwater. The situation remains critical as the death toll has crossed 1,700 and flood-borne diseases have become an imminent risk to the more than 30 million people that have been affected by the floods.
However, as international aid came pouring in from the United States, China, Turkey, and international organisations, the response from other South Asian countries remained rather muted. While Bangladesh and India have extended some support, a lack of regional mechanisms to facilitate a collective regional response has become rather evident.
South Asia’s vulnerability
Home to 1.9 billion people, equivalent to 24.89 per cent of the total world population, South Asia remains an epicentre for extreme natural events. According to the Human Cost of Disasters Report 2020, the South Asia region is vulnerable to key natural disasters, whose frequency and intensity have increased over the years. Eight of the top ten countries affected by disasters are in Asia and three of them are in South Asia — India (3), Bangladesh (9), and Afghanistan (10).
The Himalayan belt that covers the four countries is one of the most earthquake-prone regions in the world and is also prone to glacial lake outburst floods — especially at the Dudh Koshi sub-basin in Nepal and the Pho Chu sub-basin in Bhutan. Tropical cyclones are another hazard that is becoming increasingly common in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. According to one estimate, 246 million South Asians will reside in cities in cyclone-prone areas by 2050.
South Asia is increasingly facing threats from natural, technological, and complex disasters. Meanwhile, coordination failure is turning natural disasters into catastrophes. Disaster aid and relief can be an effective diplomatic tool in the region.
Climate change has amplified South Asia’s vulnerability, triggering flash floods in urban centres and agricultural lands, earthquakes, droughts and desertification, tropical storms, and tsunamis. It is difficult for the region’s developing countries to adapt to climate change, due to a lack of infrastructure and fiscal resources. Some examples of the cross-border impact of disasters include the Kosi flooding in South Asia (2008), the Kashmir earthquake (2005), the Indian Ocean tsunami (2004), and tropical cyclones in Bangladesh and India. According to the Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2022, Pakistan is projected to record the highest average annual losses of GDP in the South and South-West Asia sub-region, followed by Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan, and India.
Regional responses to disasters
The South Asian response to natural disasters is largely reactionary. Countries are often in damage control mode to reduce the loss of life and provide necessary humanitarian assistance. However, a number of institutional frameworks have been set in place to enable a robust disaster management system in South Asia. Since it was established in 1985, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summits have discussed climate, sustainable development, and natural disasters.
For instance, in 1987, a study was commissioned on the environment and the causes and consequences of natural disasters, but there was little done on the ground. In the Male Declaration in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, member countries formulated a Comprehensive Framework on Early Warning, Disaster Management and Disaster Prevention. The adopted framework was aligned with the implementation of the Hyogo Framework of Action (HFA).
The 2005 summit at Dhaka was critical for disaster diplomacy, as member states agreed to establish the SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC), headquartered in New Delhi. The SDMC provides training to delegates from different SAARC countries and prepares relevant educational material. The South Asia Disaster Knowledge Network (SADKN) and the South Asia Digital Vulnerability Atlas (SADVA) are two key knowledge-sharing and data-exchange portals under the administration of the SDMC. The establishment of a SAARC Food Bank, to be utilised during emergencies and food shortages in the region, is also a noteworthy step.
Despite some constructive steps forward, the regional bodies for disaster response have been unable to create an impact due to the SAARC region’s failure to integrate. For example, a recent initiative for cooperation in disaster management and risk mitigation includes the South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise (SAADMEx), the first iteration of which was organised by India in November 2015. However, the exercise did not materialise into an annual event and has not been heard of since.
Another initiative is the South Asia satellite (GSAT-9), launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to provide a variety of communication services over the South Asian region, to enable the collection of real-time weather data, and to help in observing the geology of the South Asian nations. Yet, a project of such magnitude was not free of the India-Pakistan tussle. While Pakistan offered technical and monetary support, India rejected the offer. India said that it wanted the project to be a gift and that multilateral collaboration would be time-consuming, leading to Pakistan declining to participate in the project.
The way forward
Disaster diplomacy in South Asia has largely been a bilateral response with countries coming to each other’s assistance in their individual capacities. It has largely consisted of government-led and people-led efforts, with a large number of civil society organisations and NGOs being a pillar of support for affected communities. Organisation-led disaster diplomacy has occurred without the SAARC’s involvement. Regional collaboration has faced multiple impediments, including infrastructural gaps, delivery deficits, and cross-border terrorism, which eventually led to the suspension of successive SAARC summits after 2014. Moreover, the SAARC’s consensus-based decision-making renders any efforts and proposals ineffective due to a continuing diplomatic standoff between India and Pakistan.
However, there are ways to improve the response to this predicament. First, transportation has been key to the success of search-and-rescue operations in any disaster. South Asia has the huge potential to increase integration and explore land routes throughout the region. New ‘emergency’ routes should be explored for quick deployment of personnel and movement of essential goods. Second, in the fields of disaster resilience, mitigation, and management, external donors will be critical for investing in emerging technologies. Collaboration is key to partnering with leading international agencies like the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in providing timely aid and saving as many lives as possible. Third, there is an urgent need for a Standard of Operation Protocol that is followed by all SAARC members when coordinating a regional response to disasters.
In addition to post-hoc response strategies, the launch of the Coalition for Disaster-Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) at the Climate Action Summit in 2019 will create synergies between developed and developing countries to build disaster-resilient infrastructure. An extension of the CRDI can be seen through the European Union-South Asia Capacity Building for Disaster Risk Management Program (EU-SAR DRM Program), which aims to strengthen South Asian countries’ resilience against risks from “hydrometeorological-related disasters”. South Asia is increasingly facing threats from natural, technological, and complex disasters. Meanwhile, coordination failure is turning natural disasters into catastrophes. Disaster aid and relief can be an effective diplomatic tool in the region.
DISCLAIMER: All views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent that of the 9DASHLINE.com platform.
Author biography
Apoorva Jain holds a master’s degree in Politics and International Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and previously worked as a research analyst at Janes. Image credit: Flickr/IRIN Photos.