Title: Governing disaster risk and 'survivability': the case of two villages in Kerala, India

Authors: S. Mohammed Irshad

Addresses: Jamsetji Tata Centre for Disaster Management, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India

Abstract: Governing disaster risk reduction (DRR) seldom considers the communities' political and social rights. The access to resources as DRR strategy is not yet integrated into the current debate and practices of disaster risk reduction. This study takes two tsunami-affected villages in Kerala, India, to critically analyse the question of rights over natural resources as disaster risk reduction. The study villages are also in the mining zone of the state. Rehabilitation of tsunami victims has strengthened the mining industries in the area and it led to the exclusion of survivors from coastal common pool resources. Government is not having any legal barriers to handing over the coastal land for mining. This paper seeks to discuss the alienation of the community from common pool resources after rehabilitation and its impact on new ownership patterns. The study found that vulnerability increases after rehabilitation and lack of access to common property rights is posing threat to general perception of disaster rehabilitation.

Keywords: disaster risk reduction; tsunamis; mining industry; coastal regulation zone; survivor exclusion; survivability; India; emergency management; natural resources; disaster rehabilitation; tsunami survivors; community alienation; resource ownership patterns; vulnerability; common property rights.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEM.2014.066486

International Journal of Emergency Management, 2014 Vol.10 No.3/4, pp.276 - 287

Received: 07 Oct 2013
Accepted: 26 Jun 2014

Published online: 03 Mar 2015 *

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