Topic 7: Disaster recovery and sustainable development
Overview
In this Topic you will examine the disaster planning and recovery in terms of Environmental Management. Emergency Management has shifted its focus from the immediate response to disaster towards a holistic understanding that views the strengthening of the community’s capacity to respond (resilience and vulnerability) and the careful planning of the built environment (Environmental Management) as interrelated areas in terms of strengthening a locality’s capacity to withstand and recover from disaster. As a very basic example, in certain regions of Australia it is no longer possible to obtain housing insurance when building in a flood zone, thus these disaster-prone areas are being gradually scaled back from redevelopment as people move and build on higher ground.
The confluence of Environmental Management and Emergency Management is sustainable development, and we will explore this through a number of case studies.
Learning Outcomes
At the completion of this Topic students should be able to:
- link environmental recovery to disaster recovery
- explain the connection between vulnerability, sustainability and resilience