The indigenous knowledge comes handy in disaster management

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/02/23/82264 VOL 22 NO 103 REGD NO DA 1589 | Dhaka, Monday, February 23 2015

The indigenous knowledge comes handy in disaster management M S Siddiqui

The young men holding the claw they devised in a matter of hours grabbing iron rods from a nearby construction site to rescue Jihad from the well.

A wide range of hazards including cyclones, storm surges, floods, water-logging and salinity threatens the lives and livelihoods of all communities. There are many man-made disasters affecting life for years together due to negligence and poor management of state and society. But no visible remedy of acts of negligence and tort. The fall of Zihad into pipe of WASA, Rana Plaza disaster and Nimtoly fire are examples of negligence and tort of administration.

The disaster management and rescue operation in those man-made disasters prove the incapacity and poor knowledge of government disaster management departments. The final rescue operations were successfully conducted by common citizens with indigenous knowledge and experience.

People living in natural disaster-prone areas over a number of generations have accumulated knowledge of their environment and have identified techniques to either minimise or mitigate the consequences of disasters.

These techniques are referred to as "indigenous knowledge", a cumulative body of knowledge, know-how, practices and representations maintained and developed by people with extended histories of interaction with the natural environment. Indigenous knowledge, accumulated though generations of living in a particular environment, belongs to and is sustained by communities. It is the information base for a society, facilitating communication and decision making, dynamic in nature, continually influenced by internal creativity and experimentation as well as contact with external systems.

Indigenous knowledge consists of "ideas, experiences, practices and information that have been generated locally or generated elsewhere, but have been transformed by local people and incorporated into the local way of life." This knowledge is a valuable source of information and can be a key contributor to reducing risk in local areas. "Indigenous knowledge is developed and adapted continuously to gradually changing environments and passed down from generation to generation and closely interwoven with people's cultural values."

One of the key activities identified under this priority action is information management and exchange, and highlights the use of "relevant traditional and indigenous knowledge and cultural heritage" to be shared with and adapted to different target audiences. It encompasses the skills, experiences and insights of people, applied to maintain or improve their livelihood. Indigenous knowledge is developed and adapted continuously to gradually changing environments and passed down from generation to generation and closely interwoven with people's cultural values.

Indigenous knowledge has four criteria or distinguishing features. These are: Traditional practice - It is an established or inherent way of acting in the community, widely accepted and integrated with broader cultural traditions. Additionally, the practice may have recently evolved, but has already been integrated into the local culture in ways that ensure its continuity and reproduction.

Experience-based - It is empirical rather than theoretical and has evolved as a consequence of practical engagement in everyday life, irrespective of the origin of the knowledge, local or otherwise. It has been developed by the community through experimentation and experiences and is transmitted through demonstration and replication. Communally-trusted - It is a community-developed practice informally applying intimate understanding of the environment.

Its efficacy and dependability are not validated by scientific methods; nevertheless, the community continues to rely on these beliefs to get desired results from their application.

Each community has an array of early warning indicators and well-developed structures through which the wisdom of the community is applied to deal quickly and efficiently with disasters.

The elders have wisdom and experience and the speed and strength of numerous young people that could be used to take immediate action for disaster management.

Our local communities prepare movable cookers (chula) to preserve dry food, fuel, and fodder before floods. They prepare boats and rafts for emergency rescue operations. The communities also apply appropriate response measures such as storing dry food and valuable seeds, stocking fuel, constructing bamboo mat-based platforms (matchas), and many other measures that go a long way in saving lives and property during cyclones and storm surges.

Womenfolk are more efficient in disaster management. At the time of flood or cyclone season,

women try to make their houses more resilient to disasters with locally available resources likely strong pole, straw, increasing the height of foundation of the households and the level of cowsheds. This indigenous technique is often used to protect goats and poultry from flood water.

During disasters, women look after children, elderly and disabled family members. In floodprone areas, women prepare elevated platforms for family members with disabilities, using chouki (traditional bed) with bamboo and wood.

The authorities can hardly locate vessels capsized in the river but the local search parties using indigenous method called 'coppa' (made with a simple rope tied to bricks) do the job.

Another example. Jihad fell into the 600-ft-deep pipe at Shahjahanpur Railway Colony area while playing with his friends. A rescue team, combining Fire Service and Dhaka WASA, began rescue operations immediately after being informed. They apparently sent in food and water for Jihad and said they had also ensured oxygen supply and spoke to the boy several times. But they failed to find Jihad with their knowledge and logistics. The local people used Facebook and other social media to convey the latest requirements needed for the survivors, which included cash money, oxygen cylinders, foods, medicine and many more. Many organisations and citizens contributed according to their capabilities.

The authority responsible tried several times to detect the location of the boy. "Experts" from different organisations also could not find any specific evidence in this regard. They made several attempts to bring the boy out of the well using a rope as it was not possible for them to send a rescuer (who volunteered to go into pipe) inside the 17-inch wide well. Finally, the rescue operation abandoned as "dirty water" was coming out from the pump.

When sophisticated instruments failed to even locate the four-year-old Jihad who fell into a deep well shaft in Shahjahanpur, a simple handmade tool made by three volunteers eventually succeeded to bring him out, though it was too late. The tool instantly designed was made by them on the spot. The operation of common people led by Faruk, a vehicle mechanic and trader, Rahul, an engineering student and Moon, a diploma engineer.

As the disasters make people vulnerable, every society tries to cope with the situation. People's interaction with their surroundings is important for their survival while the administration is incapable of helping and protecting them. Society relies on indigenous knowledge, courage and voluntary services of the people for prevention, resistance and rescue from disasters.

The writer is a Legal Economist. shah@banglachemical.com