Researching equids and disaster risk management

Guest Contribution by?Ilan Kelman, University College London, UK and University of Agder, Norway.

Working horses, donkeys and mules are essential for the communities, environments, and livelihoods of many people around the world. Any disaster risk management strategies and actions ought to factor in these animals and the people and communities relying on them. They are all integral to pre-disaster actions—including planning, preparation, mitigation, and risk reduction—alongside post-disaster activities—namely response, recovery, and rebuilding, preferably reconstructing in a manner which reduces risk.

It is a privilege for me to be working with Brooke?on ensuring that disaster risk management serves working equids. We have so much to learn through scientific research, as long as the science is useful, usable, and used. People owning and using working equids know their circumstances and requirements, so we must listen to them and respond to their needs.

We hope that scientists and practitioners collaborating will offer the best policy and practice for reducing risk and increasing safety for working equids and their owners. Two examples epitomise what we could achieve.

First, exchanging and interacting with working equid owners and users can ensure that they have the information and resources they require to avoid disasters. Everyone should be able to support themselves and their communities for disaster risk management without it adding a burden, but rather enhancing daily life and livelihoods. Disaster science has long evidenced that the phrase ‘natural disaster’ is a misnomer, because we can choose to prevent them. Succeeding in doing so with and for working equids and their humans is a research goal.

Second, understanding existing mechanisms, typically policies and laws, providing impetus for equid-relevant disaster risk management. Often, no new reports, documents, or instruments are needed. Instead, the challenge is awareness, implementation, monitoring, and enforcement of existing documents. Where gaps remain, then drafting, testing, refining, and promulgating become important. Research should identify governance mechanisms that are present and absent—sub-nationally, nationally, and internationally—and then encourage use of what is available while filling in anything missing.

As always, a significant challenge is resources to answer these questions based on evidence and then to apply the evidence-based answers. Almost all research projects at universities and non-profits require external funding. It could come from government science or policy programmes, company or non-profit sponsorship or commissions including international organisations such as the United Nations, or philanthropists. Projects might be consultancies, grants, donations, or offering staff and other in-kind contributions.

Then, individual projects should coalesce into a long-term programme, serving people in need rather than jump-in-jump-out short-term tasks. After all, when we talk to and learn from equid owners and users, but then depart, we get our data and publish newsletters and scientific papers, yet continuity is lacking. The people and animals continue their day-to-day routine, prepared or unprepared for the next earthquake, storm, or terrorist attack.

Researching equids and disaster risk management must always contribute to shifting from ‘not ready’ to ‘more-than-ready’ through policies and actions which also enhance life and livelihoods. Our cooperation hopes to do so.

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Our Global Disaster Risk Management Research Programme is looking for more collaborators, please get in touch with @Gemma Carder, Senior Manager for Global Research, to discuss ideas for collaboration.

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