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Making a technological choice for disaster management and poverty alleviation in India
Author(s) -
Srivastava Sanjay K.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
disasters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.744
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1467-7717
pISSN - 0361-3666
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-7717.2008.01062.x
Subject(s) - poverty , natural disaster , emergency management , vulnerability (computing) , traditional knowledge , government (linguistics) , coping (psychology) , economic growth , indigenous , chronic poverty , business , environmental planning , engineering , computer security , economics , geography , computer science , medicine , poverty reduction , psychiatry , meteorology , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , biology
The right mix of policy, institutional arrangements and use of technology provides the framework for a country's approach to disaster mitigation. Worldwide, there has been a shift away from a strictly ‘top‐down’ approach relying on government alone, to a combination of ‘top‐down’ and ‘bottom‐up’ approaches. The aim is to enhance the indigenous coping mechanisms of vulnerable communities; draw on their cooperative spirit and energy; and empower them through appropriate information and contextual knowledge to mitigate natural disasters. In light of this, the paper examines India's use of space technology in its disaster management efforts. Poverty alleviation and disaster management are almost inseparable in many parts of the country, as vulnerability to natural disasters is closely aligned with poverty. Addressing these issues together requires integrated knowledge systems. The paper examines how knowledge inputs from space technology have strengthened the national resolve to combat natural disasters in conjunction with alleviating rural poverty.