Disaster risk reduction in developing countries: costs, benefits and institutions

Area of Science:

• Disaster risk reduction
• Structural engineering
• Political economy

Background:

• Natural disasters, particularly earthquakes, cause approximately 60,000 deaths annually, primarily in developing nations.
• Building collapse is a major cause of fatalities, despite available engineering solutions to mitigate this risk.
• Existing engineering solutions are often cost-prohibitive and technically complex for widespread implementation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate why effective disaster risk reduction strategies are not widely implemented.
• To explore the role of political economy in the ineffectiveness of building regulations and public construction quality.
• To propose alternative approaches for disaster risk management in developing countries.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of the cost-benefit of engineering solutions versus other interventions.
• Examination of factors influencing the implementation and execution of public disaster risk reduction measures.
• Review of building regulations and public construction practices in developing countries.

Main Results:

• Highly cost-effective disaster risk reduction interventions are frequently underutilized or poorly executed.
• Inadequate capacity and corruption often undermine building regulations and public construction quality in developing countries.
• The cost-benefit analysis of advanced engineering solutions may not favor them compared to other public health and safety interventions.

Conclusions:

• Political economy factors significantly impede the adoption of effective disaster risk reduction strategies.
• Simple, targeted disaster risk regulation, monitorable by non-experts, is needed for at-risk structures.
• Enhanced transparency and oversight mechanisms for public construction projects are crucial for improving safety and reducing disaster-related deaths.