Role of Science, Technology, and Innovation in the All-hazards Approach

The COVID-19 pandemic posed substantial concerns and questions about our current disaster risk management framework and strategies, which mainly focus on natural hazards. We must reconsider our current crisis/emergency/disaster management strategy to tackle more complicated situations such as compound, cascading disasters, and various types of hazards such as chemical, biological, and technological hazards.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015-2030 required a broader scope of environmental, technological, and biological hazards and a more people-centered, all-hazards, and multi-sectoral approaches to disaster risk reduction. However, how or what needs to be done to implement such approaches has yet to be clarified. Capacity-building programs often focus on preparedness for a specific disaster; therefore, legislation, administrative arrangements, and institutional structures are frequently created to respond to that scenario rather than the standard components that characterize different types of emergencies. Considering other types of hazards, not only natural hazards, and the need to prepare for and respond to them, it is critical to upgrade current risk management strategies and increase the understanding of effective response and mitigation measures. Under the current situation, the possibility of cascading hazards is relatively high in many places, but such risks are not correctly communicated to the people. Without a proper all-hazards-based risk assessment and communication, a sufficient mitigation plan cannot be developed, and we can mitigate only hazard risks experienced in the past. It is not possible to prepare for hazard risks never experienced.

At the same time, the role of STI in the all-hazards approach is crucial and critical to our success in DRR. This event will focus on the significance of utilizing STI partnerships to strengthen disaster resilience. On this point, SFDRR advocates for better-coordinating mechanisms among science, technology, and other partners, facilitating the science-policy interface for DRR decision-making. This also sheds light on the institutionalization and standardization of DRR measures and human capacity building, which are all essential to materialize the target of SFDRR.