9 - Participants: Nongovernmental Organizations (Including the Private Sector and Academia)

Abstract

The vast nongovernmental organization (NGO) community has revolutionized management of international disasters. From their diverse predisaster development and public education projects to their response and recovery actions, they work with dedication and conviction. The humanitarian NGOs have elevated their disaster management role from supplemental to central. The capacity and influence that the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have assumed, including their inclusion in many nations' internal disaster management structures and their leadership in international disaster response and recovery operations, are indicative of the direction the entire NGO sector will be taking in the future. This chapter discusses the various types of NGOs involved in international disaster management and describes the kinds of activities they often perform throughout the four phases of the disaster management cycle. Their operations, including the funding they receive, the ways they coordinate, and how they interact with the military are addressed. Various “standards of conduct” by which NGOs have come to operate are presented. The chapter also addresses the role of the private sector and academia in disaster management. The private sector and academia have also begun to recognize their role in international disaster management and are working to limit vulnerabilities by performing business continuity planning and conducting valuable disaster-related research.