Post-disaster assessment of hazard mitigation for small and medium-magnitude debris flow disasters in Bali, Indonesia and Jimani, Dominican Republic

Abstract

This article explores whether past exposure to debris flow disasters with a human dimension (e.g. caused in part by deforestation) results in adaptive hazard miti- gation and improved environmental and resource management practices in affected areas. When guiding hazard mitigation practice, the 'adaptive hazard mitigation' approach views mitigation as a multi-dimensional experiment, with the associated need for post-experi- ment monitoring, evaluation, learning and adjustment, and attention paid to multiple scales (Bogardi 2004). This article explores how the concept of 'adaptive hazard mitigation' has emerged, linking this 'adaptive management' used increasingly in resource and environ- mental management. Two case studies of disasters linked to human-induced environmental change are examined, and the mitigation responses of local communities, NGOs and Government agencies are documented. Data sources include secondary data (journal articles, web-based disaster reports and grey literature) on each disaster, key informant interviews (n = 8) and direct observation over the 2005-2006 period of post-disaster mitigation actions implemented after each disaster. The research indicates that in both case studies, a limited range of hazard mitigation actions was employed, including both structural and non-structural approaches. However, the research also found that causal factors involving human-induced environmental change (e.g. deforestation) were not addressed, and overall, the hazard mitigation strategies adopted lacked monitoring, learning and adjustment. In both case studies, responses to disaster were judged to be examples of 'trial and error' adaptation, rather than either 'passive' or 'active' adaptation.