Disasters can befall any society
and can effect any community. Disasters include both natural and human
induced crises such as floods, droughts, earthquakes and war. Often
natural disasters are exacerbated by human activities such as increased
risks and consequences of floods due to poor land-use practices which
are themselves the results of poverty, the pressure of increased
population, misguided public policy and a host of other causes.
Whenever disasters strike there is
an immediate objective of minimizing the loss of life and damage to
property as a direct consequence of the disaster. This is followed the
need to provide relief to the survivors of disasters to ensure that
there is no secondary threat of disease and loss of life due to the
breakdown of health services and basic infrastructure. There then
follows the process of reconstruction and development in order to
re-establish the communities, to reduce dependency and to mitigate
against the recurrence of the disaster.
Water plays a critical part in most disasters and
relief efforts. This is true in two main forms:-
1) the role of water in the
cause of disasters, and
2) the role of water in relief
and reconstruction.
1) The most obvious role of water in the
cause of disasters is in the event of floods (too much water) and in
droughts (too little water). The less obvious facts relate to root
causes of these disasters where human activity is often a factor which
could be addressed through improved public policy or is the result of
poor policy. These indirect causes or exacerbating factors may be very
varied and include water resources management policies, agricultural
policy, population development and settlement policies, environmental
protection policy (or the lack thereof), industrial and economic
development policies etc.. The possible implications of policy in the
cause of disasters and specific mitigation measures need to be
considered during the process of policy formulation.
2) Most large scale disasters result
in the disruption of the provision of basic services. It is critical to
re-establish the provision of water supplies and safe sanitation
services, (as well as electricity, access to utensils, storage
facilities etc.) as soon as possible. The threat to the lives and
well-being of victims due to disease caused by inadequate or
contaminated services may be greater than the threat of the original
disaster. For these reasons, after the immediate rescue phase of
disaster relief, relief measures often concentrate of the provision of
emergency relief supplies and the restoration of basic infrastructure.
As a result many disaster relief organizations now have sections which
specializes in the provision of emergency water supply and sanitation
services.
Make A
Donation
As a independently funded
bottled water for disaster
relief program,
we are ultimately dependent upon
our sponsors and supporters.
Launching outreach programs
is a challenging and costly
proposition. We thank our
sponsors for their vital support
in making this worthwhile dream
a viable reality.
We invite you
to join our sponsors in
supporting the Bottled Water for
Disaster Relief Project: you can
make tax-deductible donations
through a secure account on
Paypal.com
or mail checks payable to
Global Water to the address
below. We invite all major
sponsors to assist the project
in an advisory role if they so
desire. Please contact us with
any questions you may have, or
to request a copy of our
sponsorship package. Thank you
for your support!
If you
are considering a major gift
and would like to discuss
potential recognition
options, please do not
hesitate to
contact us.
Mail Checks to:
Global Water & Biology, Conservation Research
Institute ®
5205 Kearny Villa Way,
Suite 105
San Diego, CA 92123, USA
TELE: 858-217-5465
FAX: 858-278-0589
Not-for Profit 501.3c
Federal Tax ID #
26-0603203
