Civil Protection, a tool for sustainable development

Citation

Znafdi, S. (1999), "Civil Protection, a tool for sustainable development", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 8 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.1999.07308eab.007

Civil Protection, a tool for sustainable development

Civil Protection, a tool for sustainable development

As we reach the end of the millennium, it is little comfort to acknowledge that the planet Earth has not seen the end of those plagues that disasters and armed conflicts are, nor indeed of the problems of development which, one would have thought, would have been settled for good in all countries of the world, some 55 years after the end of the Second World War.

Unfortunately, humanitarianism and development are concepts of lasting actuality for which it is proper to always plead yet again. Humanitarianism and development go together in fact, but are they not contradictory? Rather than being seen as opposites, should they not be seen as a binomial reflecting the duality of human societies which swing in turn between good and bad, and are capable of the best as well as the worst? A binomial which would also reflect the duality of earth itself, at the same time source of life and instrument of death when the elements - air, earth, fire and water - rage.

Civil protection is also a binome, conceived by the human being to face up to his own duality and that of his environment. In fact, Civil Protection is a humanitarian tool when the state must meet emergency situations, be they natural, technological or conflict situations. It is then that civil protection plays its role of "good Samaritan", relieving suffering and bringing comfort. In these situations, civil protection gives its best, one would be tempted to say: it succours, it saves, it assists victims and the most vulnerable.

This aspect of its activity must not however overshadow another important component of its mandate which comprises the rehabilitation work after emergency periods, the evaluation of the experience gained (post-crisis management) and especially all the preventive actions for facing emergency situations, such as forecasting dangers, alerting the population, risk reduction measures and the establishment of national organisations and rescue plans. This other aspect of its activities is the development work which civil protection undertakes within human societies. In this respect, civil protection thus contributes to the well-being of populations and reinforces the capacity of states to ensure the optimal development of society. It can then be said, in the proper meaning of the term, that civil protection protects.

This aspect of its work, though less spectacular and therefore less known, is not less important: it is even fundamental. It is time that civil protection be regarded, by states, but also by all providers of funds for development at the international level, as a real actor of durable development and as a component of this development.

Certainly, the majority of states acknowledges the value of civil protection in terms of development. But it must be recognised however that many donors in the international community remain to be convinced of the need to reinforce civil protection systems, particularly in the poorest countries and in those most at risk from disasters which most often fall within the category of countries rightly known as "developing".

It should be added in this context that reinforcing civil protection structures should not only concern their capacity to respond to emergency situations, or indeed their humanitarian capacities, but in the first instance their capacity to prevent emergency situations.

Major efforts remain to be undertaken in this field since there is no question of choosing between protecting and assisting, between preventing and rescuing. The binome, civil protection, must be given all the means necessary to fulfil its mission. The hurdle is certainly placed high, but why should it not be even? Certainly, at the level of both states and of organisations, the means are limited and tend to become even more so. But reason must be seen: without civil protection no sustainable development.

As the international federating organ of civil protection structures, the ICDO has important responsibilities to assume in this matter. It must contribute to the emergence of a global vision of disaster situations: emergency and development must be approached together and civil protection is the means which should enable to satisfy both the needs arising from emergencies and the long term aspirations of society for well being and security. Civil protection will be at the cross-roads of humanitarianism and development and this is an excellent thing. Its capacity to succour and to save and at the same time, its capacity to protect and to contribute to the sustainable development of societies must be maintained and strengthened in parallel. The ICDO is firmly committed to this and will continue to plead in favour of the establishment and implementation of a world-wide concept of civil protection and assistance for all in the twenty-first century.

Sadok ZnafdiSecretary-General of the ICDOICDO Newsletter, April 1999