Abstract
This article outlines the roles of government in ensuring integrated disaster risk governance in China. In general, government plays important political, economic, cultural, and social roles in risk governance systems that include resource assurance, technical support, and disaster risk management. Three key aspects of governance relate to those roles: (1) Overall leadership. Politically, the government has a leading role for the overall rule and system design, including legislation, decision-making processes, and policy implementation mechanisms. Economically, the government’s primary responsibility is to strengthen resource assurance, including coordinating development and disaster reduction, and providing support for disaster reduction activities. Culturally, the government must increase risk awareness through disaster reduction education, training, and practice of emergency response skills, disaster risk research, and technical development. Socially, the government is vital to the improvement of integrated management, including disaster, risk, and emergency management systems. (2) Engaging civil society. Politically, the government is charged with the responsibility to engage and collaborate with civil society, such as NGOs. Economically, it is the role of the government to consolidate governmental and community resources. Culturally, the government needs to give the same importance to the functions of majority and minority cultures alike. Socially, it is the duty of the government to coordinate advantaged and disadvantaged social groups. (3) International cooperation. The government has an international humanitarian role politically to carry out disaster reduction diplomacy; economically to strengthen the catastrophe financial assurance system; culturally to improve the world safety culture, disaster reduction education, and technology assurance systems; and socially to increase the capacity for international disaster relief and assistance and volunteer services.
Highlights
In recent decades, the issues of and research on governance in general and risk governance have drawnRenn, Klinke, and van Asselt (2011, 231) define risk governance as “both the institutional structure and the policy process that guide and restrain collective activities of a group, society or international community to regulate, reduce or control risk problems.” According to the risk governance framework developed by the International Risk Governance Council (IRGC 2005, 2008), the risk governance process operates within and across broadly two spheres—the management sphere that contains decisions on and implementation of actions and the assessment sphere that focuses on the generation of knowledge concerning a range of risks, from hazards and vulnerability to socioeconomic impacts
Under different political and economic systems, the government plays different roles in managing public affairs. In terms of such public affairs as disaster risk governance, the government plays an important role in both countries with a capitalist market economy and a federal system such as the United States of America and countries with a socialist market economy and central power such as China, the government does not play an equal role in integrated disaster risk governance (IDRG) during different stages of disaster management
This article has outlined the role of the government in IDRG based on the practices in China
Summary
The issues of and research on governance in general and risk governance have drawn. According to the risk governance framework developed by the International Risk Governance Council (IRGC 2005, 2008), the risk governance process operates within and across broadly two spheres—the management sphere that contains decisions on and implementation of actions and the assessment sphere that focuses on the generation of knowledge concerning a range of risks, from hazards and vulnerability to socioeconomic impacts It consists of five main stages of activities: pre-assessment (or framing), interdisciplinary risk estimation, risk characterization and evaluation, risk management, and communication/ participation (Renn, Klinke, and van Asselt 2011). China has witnessed several large-scale disasters, presenting tremendous risks to lives and greatly affecting sustainable social and economic development It is an important and urgent task for academics, as well as industrial, economic, and political circles, and society as a whole to find effective approaches to disaster risk governance, to increase the utilization efficiency of resources for disaster prevention and reduction, and to achieve peoplecentered, scientific, development (Shi et al 2010). The coordinating role of the government is further discussed externally with international humanitarian responsibility and cooperation with international organizations
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