Smart infrastructure.

• Author: Cho, James

On 26 December 2004, a tsunami struck southern Asia, causing one of the worst disasters the world had ever seen. With each passing day, the horror became more unfathomable as the death toll eventually reached over 200,000. However, the nightmare had just begun. The tsunami destroyed livelihoods and displaced millions of people from their homes, leaving them vulnerable to health risks that lay in the dark shadows of the wreckage and brackish water that covered what was once dry land.

In the months following, observers gave a number of answers about how the disaster could, would and should have been prevented. In part, this discussion helped the world gain some semblance of control over the incomprehensible loss of life and provided some security in feeling that the devastation and deaths could have been easily averted through the hands of man and the tools of technology.

However, the tsunami further highlighted the vulnerability of developing countries to natural disasters. While no man-made force can stop natural disasters, their effects are preventable through preparedness and well-planned development.

The first step towards this objective came at the International Meeting to Review the Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States in Port Louis, Mauritius. Its Secretary-General, Anwarul Chowdhury, in his closing statement called for a road map for implementation of the Mauritius Declaration. Drafted by conference delegates, the Declaration focuses on sustainable development and includes a measure for disaster preparedness.

The second step came a few weeks later at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction, from 18 to 22 January in Kobe, Japan, where Margaret Arnold of the World Bank's Hazard Management Unit pointed to the need for better building codes and design of coastal structures.

These two steps emphasize the important role infrastructure plays in sustainable development. While it is part of the push for sustainable development, the construction of infrastructure that examines both the daily and emergency needs of a community is not always implemented.

One of the distinctions between how developed and developing States respond to and recover from disasters is in the availability of vital and sound infrastructure, which plays a large role in disaster management and can mean the difference between the deaths of several dozens and hundreds to thousands of people. The push...