Sustainable Development Through Post-Disaster Reconstruction: A Unique Example in Sri Lanka

Author(s):  
Iftekhar Ahmed
Asian Survey ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 726-746
Author(s):  
Gamini Herath

In 2015, the UN proposed the Sustainable Development Goals; they were accepted by 193 countries. Sri Lanka faces many challenges in implementing the SDGs. The lack of reliable and recent data is a serious issue. Another issue is the weak institutional capacity of Sri Lanka, which has led to poor governance and policy incoherence. There is no strong political will, and interministerial conflicts are rampant. Unless these issues are properly addressed, the yahapalanaya (good governance) government of President Sirisena may not contribute well to achieve the SDGs by 2030.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jasmine Edwards

<p>New Zealand’s aid investment in dairy development is seen, on the one hand, as a means to improve economic, health and food security issues in developing countries. Dairy development, further, is linked to New Zealand’s trade interests and supports industry expansion strategies that target the market potential in developing countries. On the other hand, it is argued that dairy consumption and production should be reduced to respond to climate change and potential negative health impacts in countries with traditionally low dairy consumption. The potential impacts of dairy development on sustainable development are complex, interconnected and contradictory. Moreover, local and gendered understandings of the impacts of dairy development are underrepresented in literature.   Drawing on a sustainable livelihood approach and gender lens as a theoretical framework, this research explores smallholder farmers’ views through a case study of a New Zealand-funded aid project in Sri Lanka, the Wanni Dairy Project, which is increasing dairy production to improve rural livelihoods. In doing so, this thesis considers the multiple impacts of dairy development on sustainable livelihoods. In particular, it explores understandings of social, gender and environmental factors. Data was collected during five weeks of qualitative, case study research (using interviews, photovoice and observation methods) with female, conflict-affected farmers in Sri Lanka and stakeholders in dairy development.   This thesis contends that better understandings of the impacts of dairy development and aid can be valuably informed by local perspectives. It highlights the inherent connectivity between social, environmental and economic factors of the Wanni Dairy Project, and areas of dissonance between local understandings of the impacts of dairy development and global discourse on sustainable development. Specifically, this thesis draws attention to the diverse impacts of increasing income, health factors, and cultural and religious factors; it highlights women’s independence, empowerment and agency, and ongoing inequities; and it addresses environmental impacts, climate change, and the implications of scale. This research, therefore, contributes to the information upon which development policy-makers and practitioners – government, development organisations and private sector actors – can base effective and sustainable development policy and practice.</p>


2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gayani Karunasena ◽  
Dilanthi Amaratunga ◽  
Richard Haigh ◽  
Irene Lill

Disasters cause substantial damage around the world. This causes serious environmental and economic burden on normal living conditions, reconstruction and general waste collection processes. Within this context, waste management has emerged as a critical issue in responding to a disaster. Thus, this paper addresses post disaster waste management strategies adopted in developing countries and applicability of best global practices in respect of challenges encountered. Comprehensive literature review and field survey among national level institutes in Sri Lanka were conducted to gather information and semi‐structured interviews were used as a method of data collection. The findings revealed that strategies, issues and challenges are varying according to type of disaster, magnitude, location, country etc. Further, poor implementation of prevailing rules and regulations; poor standards of local expertise and capacities, inadequate funds, lack of communication and coordination are identified as key issues encountered. Santruka Stichines nelaimes visame pasaulyje pridaro daug žalos. Tai labai pasunkina aplinkosaugine ir ekonomine situacija iprastomis gyvenimo salygomis, atstatant aplinka ir vykdant bendruosius atlieku rinkimo procesus. Šiame kontekste atlieku tvarkymas išryškejo kaip esmine problema, reaguojant i stichine nelaime. Taigi šiame darbe nagrinejamos atlieku tvarkymo po stichiniu nelaimiu strategijos, taikomos besivystančiose šalyse, ir geriausiu pasauliniu praktiku taikymas, imantis kilusiu iššūkiu. Siekiant surinkti informacija, išsamiai apžvelgta literatūra ir tiesiogiai ištirtos Šri Lankos valstybines institucijos, o duomenims rinkti pasitelktas pusiau struktūriniu interviu metodas. Iš rezultatu aišku, kad strategijos, problemos ir iššūkiai skiriasi priklausomai nuo stichines nelaimes pobūdžio, masto, vietos, valstybes ir pan. Be to, nustatyta, kad pagrindines problemos yra prastas visuotiniu taisykliu ir reglamentu taikymas, prasti vietines patirties standartai ir menkos galimybes, lešu trūkumas, komunikacijos ir koordinavimo trūkumas.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 10659
Author(s):  
Magdalena Kowalska

Current changes in the business environment mean that the pursuit of economic development—without accounting for social welfare and environmental constraints—is replaced by the concept of sustainable development. Enterprises, in order to meet market requirements, adopt sustainable marketing as part of their strategy to provide long-term benefits in the social, economic, and environmental dimensions. The article aims to assess the differences in the use of marketing mix tools (5P) according to the concept of sustainable development in countries with different socioeconomic conditions. The empirical study was based on 262 questionnaires conducted among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in two different countries, i.e., 150 companies operating in Poland (as an example of a developed country) and 112 in Sri Lanka (as an example of a developing country). The obtained results show that there are statistically significant differences between the analyzed markets in terms of implementing sustainable marketing tools. The results allow us to conclude that the sustainable marketing mix activities are significantly more important for SEM managers in Sri Lanka than in Poland.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 4979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Zhao ◽  
Fanneng He ◽  
Caishan Zhao

Under the current resilience development framework, which is mainly based on urban communities, it is difficult to meet the needs of the vulnerable populations in poor villages. This article aims to explore a specific and operable guidance framework suitable for the resilient development of Chinese poor villages after disasters from the perspective of social equity. The framework will help guide the sustainable development of poor villages after disasters and also provide a reference for the resilience of other similar vulnerable areas. When integrating climate change response and disaster risk management to explore sustainable development in poor villages, the essence is to explore the resilience development framework focused on the construction of resilient communities in poor villages. We take the recovery and reconstruction of poor villages after the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008 as an example. Through the analysis of the effects of post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, we found that although poor communities have made significant achievements since the earthquake, there are still many aspects that need to be improved, including social life systems, economic production systems, and natural ecosystems. Therefore, we comprehensively analyzed the characteristics of poor socio-economic conditions, the complex ecological environment, and the low cultural level of residents in poor villages. Furthermore, this study followed the principle of “Build back better” (BBB) and conducted an in-depth study of the framework for the resilience of poor villages. In terms of risk reduction, it is recommended to improve structural resilience from guarantee of preferential prices and selection of environmentally friendly materials, avoid risk and villagers’ participation in the formulation of general plans, and promote disaster prevention and mitigation capabilities from risk prediction and curriculum development. In terms of community recovery, it is suggested to promote community economics and victims’ livelihoods by promoting industrial transformation and sustainable livelihoods and promote social and psychological health development from social relations and psychological rehabilitation. In terms of efficient implementation, specific improvements include the improvement of public participation systems and the establishment of coordination offices and sound institutional mechanisms, the development of community standards and the introduction of financial support policies, the improvement of laws and regulations, and the improvement of monitoring and evaluation from dynamic monitoring and mass satisfaction surveys. It is important to guide the sustainable development of vulnerable communities by constructing a post-disaster resistant development framework based on BBB principles.


2010 ◽  
Vol 04 (02) ◽  
pp. 51-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
OSAMU MURAO ◽  
HIDEAKI NAKAZATO

On the 26th of December 2004, the Tsunami damaged to five provinces in Sri Lanka and more than 40,000 people were displaced, lost, or killed within a short time. After the tsunami, the Government provided three types of houses for the victims (temporary shelters, transitional houses, and permanent houses). The authors conducted several field surveys and interviews in the damaged area to investigate the recovery conditions, and obtained dataset, which had been collected for 13 months since December 2004 by Rebuilding and Development Agency. It shows the construction status of transitional house and permanent house in the damaged areas. This paper demonstrates recovery curves for the transitional houses and the permanent houses. With the aim of constructing post-earthquake recovery curves for Sri Lanka, the factors of time (months) and completion ratio of building construction are used. The obtained curves quantitatively clarify the regional differences in the completion dates and processes of construction. The proposed quantitative methodology will be used for other damaged countries due to the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. It means that this kind of analysis is essential for investigating post-disaster recovery process because it enables comparative studies of urban/rural planning among different types of post-disaster recovery processes throughout the world.


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