Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Approval Permits of Development Activities in Coastal Areas of Sri Lanka
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Material Information

Title:
Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Approval Permits of Development Activities in Coastal Areas of Sri Lanka
Series Title:
Safer Housing on Coasts
Creator:
Asian Disaster Preparedness Center
Australian Agency for International Development
Australia Government; Disaster Management Centre
Disaster Risk Reduction Program, Florida International University (DRR/FIU) ( summary contributor )
Publication Date:
Copyright Date:
2011
Language:
English

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Housing development ( lcsh )
Risk management ( lcsh )
Genre:
non-fiction ( marcgt )
Spatial Coverage:
Asia -- Sri Lanka

Notes

Summary:
This case study presents the activities undertaken by Sri Lanka’s Coast Conservation Department (CCD) to enact the Priority Implementation Partnership (PIP) on mainstreaming disaster risk reduction (DRR) into the country’s housing sector. The report hopes to strengthen the partnership between national and local agencies involved in housing development by identifying areas of progress and where reforms need to be made. Over half of Sri Lanka’s rapidly growing population lives along the coastline, increasing demands for infrastructure, employment, services, and housing where exposure to flooding, storm surge, sea level rise, and tsunamis is exorbitantly high. Following the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the Sri Lankan government has placed a high priority on reducing the vulnerability of coastal development to natural hazards through the incorporation of mitigation measures in the planning and implementation of development projects. The first section of the document discusses how the proliferation of agencies responsible for regulating development activities in coastal zones has led to overlapping jurisdictions, and thus increased incidence of unauthorized construction in these areas. To address this concern, the CCD Act declares that all construction activities in coastal zones require a permit from the department’s director, granted based on project compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Plan that ensures environmentally sustainability development. The next section presents approval processes at the local level, where planning committees in each coastal community forwards approved applications to technicians who conduct site inspections, ensuring that proposed projects are neither at risk nor increase risks of disaster. They determine hazard zones where development is proposed, certify building codes and construction practices, consider compliance with existing regulations, and provide recommendations. The PIP proposes merging the permit processes of local authorities and the CCD, allowing local authorities to focus on the regular monitoring of projects while the CCD ensures harmony with coastal development regulations. Local communities are more likely to be familiar with the approval procedures of their local authorities, and thus more readily able to comply with these guidelines. Having multiple layers of approval increases the likelihood of unauthorized construction as communities simply avoid regulatory processes. ( English )
Subject:
Disaster Risk Reduction ( English )
Citation/Reference:
(2011). Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into approval permits of development activities in the coastal areas of Sri Lanka. Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC); Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid), Australia Government; Disaster Management Centre (DMC), DMHR.

Record Information

Source Institution:
Florida International University
Rights Management:
Refer to main document/publisher for use rights.
Resource Identifier:
FI13042417

dpSobek Membership

Aggregations:
Disaster Risk Reduction