Editorial

Citation

Wilson, H.C. (1999), "Editorial", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 8 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.1999.07308aaa.001

Editorial

As editor I am routinely sent academic papers, practitioner articles, new books, minutes of meetings, international proposals and a plethora of other material for inclusion in the Journal. But, in a strange way I am the wrong person to be in receipt of this knowledge. I attempt to include as much of this information within these pages as I can but I often fear that those who desperately need this information never receive it or benefit from it.

Those involved in civil protection and disaster planning in the under-developed and developing nations are frequently in the position whereby they cannot, for financial and other reasons, benefit from this knowledge. This was evident at the recent ICDO conference in Beijing when talking to the delegates from these countries. They often remarked that the knowledge was in the developed nations and there was no effective bridge across which this knowledge could be transferred.

I can appreciate what they say but also appreciate the restrictions that can occur. Again, many of these restrictions are financial, but there are also the nonsensical restrictions such as intellectual copyright whereby publishers charge for copies of articles and papers and also place restrictions on the reproduction of material. I can understand the need for such restrictions as these in the rich developed nations but I cannot condone these restrictions affecting the lives of people in the poorer nations. I was not amazed by this lack of knowledge transfer between the different parts of the world, but was disheartened by some of the anecdotal evidence I was presented with.

There are some simple solutions, and like most simple solutions, they do not cost a great deal in financial terms. For example, a simple system of regional libraries throughout the world into which publishers place, free gratis, copies of their Journals. These could be from over-runs during the printing process; editors of Journals could place copies of articles, papers, minutes of meetings, conference material etc. into these libraries; book publishers could donate a copy of each new text to these libraries, again the cost to the publishers is minimal; conference organisers could consider venues within these developing nations and make participation to nationals free of charge. Where conference organisers must use venues in the developed nations, perhaps a small surcharge (5-10 per cent) could be levied to fund delegates or participants from the poorer nations. Publishers could assume a financial and overseeing responsibility for a library within a region.

I am sure subscribers to this Journal could think of other methods to enhance this knowledge transfer. What the process needs is a champion to take up the cause. This could be an individual, an organisation, a Government Department, whatever, and it need not be a champion from the developed nations provided that the support is forthcoming.

We attend meetings, seminars, conferences, etc. and knowledge transfer is often on the agenda. I feel it is time we started to adopt the spirit of the concept and start to practise the theory in a more effective manner.

H.C. Wilson