ABU DHABI // Countries in the region must learn to solve crises by having an integrated system that ensures communication with other states, provides the necessary equipment and educates and trains the people involved, experts said.
With threats of all kinds increasing, countries must be resilient to tackle today’s emergencies and crises.
“We used to live in a much simpler world,” said Alan Berman, president of the Disaster Recovery Institute International in the US.
“We used to look at natural disasters, man-made incidents and technology failures and that used to be our scope for 20 years. But we now live in a much more complex world and the threats of pandemics, nuclear, biological and chemical are massive threats that we don’t have a lot of planning for.”
He said more incidents involving political upheaval were taking place, citing Ukraine.
“We expect to see more of that in an economic climate which is not conducive to employment,” said Mr Berman. “We can’t live in a world like that.”
Maj Gen Michael Charlton-Weedy, director of UK Resilience Training and Doctrine at the UK cabinet, said the problem could not be solved with money alone.
“Capability is not just about equipment and assets,” he said. “It’s not just about buying kit. There is much more to capability than physical assets alone because there’s more to it than equipment alone. Central to it is a process of integration.”
He said there were four key components to capability.
“First, you have to get your thinking right,” he said. “Then people lie at the heart of emergency preparedness and response, so education in this business is of vital importance. You can train people to a task but only education gives the intellectual breadth to cope with the unexpected.”
He said the right structure and working together culturally also had to be achieved.
“Finally, there is the physical side of the business, including its very unglamorous logistic components.”
Raelene Thompson, executive director of the Australian Emergency Management Institute, said connected communities were resilient communities.
“We understand the value of developing networks and it’s all about people at the end of the day,” she said. “Disasters will happen but disaster resilience is your business – you have to know your risk, get ready, then act and learn from experience.
“Whether natural disasters, acts of terrorism or war, our decision-making and our perception of risk are all framed by our knowledge and our cognitive understanding.”
cmalek@thenational.ae
