AFTER THE TSUNAMI – HARNESSING AUSTRALIAN EXPERTISE FOR RECOVERY
Canberra, 31 March 2005
Follow-up group reports and case studies
Group 7: Technology and ICT for recovery and rehabilitation
Australian Financial Review article (case study) (PDF file, 140KB)
Question 1: What is our current knowledge/capacity?
Initially the group reviewed the issue of disaster recovery to scope the problem area to be addressed and identified that there were two distinct phases each with its own particular characteristics and requirements viz. :-
- Emergency
response – this phase begins immediately following the disaster and may continue
for periods ranging from a few days to several months. It involves rescue, medical treatment of
injured and prevention of outbreak of disease, provision of food and water to
the survivors and collection, identification and disposal of the dead.
- Recovery and rehabilitation – this phase begins as soon as the immediate emergency response winds down and is focussed on a return to 'normal' life. It involves restoration of infrastructure, normal society activities including employment and food production.
After some discussion it was determined that while Australian knowledge of, and capacity to respond in, emergency situations are not without shortfalls they were, nevertheless, deemed adequate. The various response agencies, including the Australian Defence Force, are generally equipped, and have extant processes and procedures, for responding in emergency situations.
Thus, while there is room for improvement in emergency response, the group decided that the greatest benefit to be realised would be through the application and introduction of 'APPROPRIATE' technology to the affected regions in the rehabilitation process. The key word is APPROPRIATE, that is, recognising the nature and capability of the society into which the technology is to be inserted to use and maintain it. Consequently, the group focussed its deliberations on the rehabilitation phase and, in particular, on identification of appropriate technologies. Experience has already demonstrated that insertion of high technology equipment into regions that lack the capacity to support and maintain the technology results in it rapidly falling into disuse when the providers leave. Additionally, an approach that simply looks to insert high technology equipment would potentially open the door to predatory behaviour of some private sector organisations that seek to profit from the large quantities of relief funding provided by various governments.
Importantly, it was agreed that rehabilitation should not simply aim to restore the status quo that existed prior to the disaster but to use the opportunity presented to move the society forward and thus, through economic development, better position it to deal with future contingencies. This view, coupled with the notion of APPROPRIATE technology, provided a framework within which the group developed its responses to the questions and formulated its recommendations.
It was also noted that commercial telecommunications providers such as Telstra and Eriksson possess mobile telephone capability (eg Eriksson’s mini GSM system) that can be readily deployed to disaster stricken areas to provide mobile telephone connectivity. These emergency systems may be self-contained and provide local switching, or operate with all switching being performed at a remote (Australian or other nation’s) exchange. Technology also exists to establish secure or priority mobile phone networks in emergency situations. However, early in the emergency use of mobile phones is predicated on the availability of electricity supplies to permit users to re-charge batteries. The primary application of mobile phone technology is in facilitating coordination between various relief agencies on the ground and back to their headquarters, rather than for use by the local population.
Clearly, Australia possesses high levels of expertise in science, engineering (including ICT), agriculture, health and education and its application and is, therefore, well placed to respond with any technology required. Importantly, Australia can also provide advice on the selection and application of technology appropriate to the environment into which it is to be placed. However, Australia’s discriminating expertise is knowledge of, and demonstrated capability in, the area of servicing and supporting small remote communities (compared with, say, Europe / US). Thus, key areas identified for Australia to focus its attention on are :-
- Simple, cheap remote communications (low cost wireless systems),
- Low cost solar energy systems,
- Delivery of distance health and education.
Question 2: What are the priority gaps in our knowledge/capacity?
It was agreed that there is significant technological knowledge and expertise in Australia but there was a need for :-
- Greater
whole of nation response coordination – at present there are many agencies conducting
research and other activities that contribute to the nation’s ability to
contribute to disaster response and rehabilitation efforts that are unaware of
each other’s capability, thus synergies cannot be exploited. It is suggested that a national forum
involving all the agencies involved in relief and rehabilitation operations be
established to facilitate development of a whole of 'systems' approach.
- Science
and Technology coordination - a role for the National Academies might be in
providing a mechanism to identify Australian research activities with potential
relevance to disaster relief and rehabilitation. This contribution might be through establishment and maintenance
of a database of research activities with potential to contribute to
Australia’s disaster response both in country and in the region.
- Coordination
of links to other regional nations – Australia cannot act unilaterally in responding
to crises, it must be invited by the nation concerned and its role and
contribution will to some extent be determined by the needs of the affected
nation. Thus, to determining what
knowledge and capacity Australia should possess it is necessary to define the
likely demands. This could be best achieved
through the establishment of a high level regional 'ASEAN' Government to Government
group specifically charged with collaboration on disaster relief and recovery.
- Gaps
in GIS knowledge – Australia’s current geographic and demographic data on the
region are highly variable and in some areas very poor, or are spread across
disparate databases maintained by different agencies. An integrated GIS capability would facilitate all phases of
response (eg a National GIS database (real or virtual) of the region – with
other nations contributing to an evolving to a regional database would be a
significant asset). This points to
either the development of a single national database or, more likely, tools to
permit access or data mining across a range of databases owned by various
agencies or department. This approach
involves some technical problems that are the subject of current research,
however it also entails the resolution of some significant legal and policy
issues.
- Integrated
lessons learned database – A number of Australian government and non-government
organisations have been involved in the response to the tsunami and have gained
significant experience. It is important
that the lessons learned from this experience are captured in a consistent
format and are made available to the entire spectrum of organisations that are
likely to contribute to future catastrophes. A lessons learned database would also inform development of Government
policy and doctrine for response. Development of a lessons learned database would of necessity involve
some research to determine the best structure, particularly noting the need to
extract contextually based information. Thus, knowledge management techniques will play a significant role and
need to be considered.
- Database of local knowledge relevant to the region – It is evident that Australia lacks adequate local knowledge of the regions in which it likely to be called upon to render assistance. While geographic and demographic data (including medical / health information) should be part of a comprehensive GIS it was identified that there is also a requirement for detailed information pertaining to local social, cultural and religious practices and beliefs, particularly those aspects that might impact on the nature and extent of any technology or support offered, which is generally not provided by GIS.
Question 3: What might be our national contribution to our region?
The focus of the group was on development of one concrete integrated initiative that would make a difference. This approach was based on identifying a key technology that the local community has the ability to 'up-take' and which would serve to provide a measure of economic development and help create a sustainable community in the longer term :-
- Develop a simple low cost communications system (radio based) that can be linked into global warning systems for Tsunami, cyclone and other natural disasters. Simple means of providing the 'last mile' communications with the community for warnings might include such things as the siren based systems similar to those used in Australian regional townships for bush fire alerts.
- The communications system could be regularly exercised through its use as a community resource in distance education and health support.
- The communications system would also provide access to GIS systems to assist in agriculture and other economic development activities such as micro-finance systems, inter-community communications for creating increased national cohesion, economic development and general awareness
Other recommendations
- National security agenda linkages – the response capability required for man-made disasters and natural disasters require similar skills / technology in a number of areas that should be exploited. In particular there may be research in support of counter terrorism or national security that is relevant to our capability to respond to regional disasters – rapidly deployable emergency communications, command and control systems, tools that support rapid access to GIS, health and other information systems are key examples. It is therefore suggested that programs in these areas, particularly those funded under the National research Priority – Safe guarding Australia, be reviewed to identify any aspects of relevance to natural disaster recovery.
- ASEAN Disaster Relief Forum – establish a senior level forum involving regional governments and key NGOs that meets to discuss strategic issues in the coordination of disaster relief and recovery activities.