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bridges the academic world and the UN system. Its goal is to develop
sustainable solutions for current and future problems of humankind in all
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and Programmes worldwide.
UNU-EHS researchers visit Japan´s tsunami-affected areas
Prof. Dr Jakob Rhyner (UNU Vice Rector in Europe/Director of UNU-EHS
and Dr. Jörn Birkmann (UNU-EHS Academic Officer) visited Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan in the beginning of February 2012. In addition to meeting with
their colleagues in Sendai, they received a first-hand impression of the
tsunami-affected areas more than 10 months after the disaster.
Prof. Dr. Jakob Rhyner (UNU Vice Rector in Europe and Director of the
UNU Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) in Germany)
and Dr. Joern Birkmann (UNU-EHS Academic Officer) had been scheduled to
visit Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, in summer 2011. The trip was
to have been a return visit to strengthen relations between the Human
Security Program of Tohoku University and the UNU-EHS Section on Vulnerability Assessment, Risk Management & Adaptive Planning,
following a visit by Prof. Dinil Pushpalal from Tohoku University to
UNU-EHS in February 2011 regarding a proposed joint master’s degree
programme between the two institutions.
The magnitude 9 earthquake and resulting tsunami of 11 March, however,
caused the Bonn researchers to postpone their travel to Japan until the
beginning of February 2012. In addition to meeting with their colleagues
in Sendai, they received a first-hand impression of the
tsunami-affected areas more than 10 months after the disaster.
A symposium on human security in disasters
The day before the field visit, Tohoku University hosted a “Joint
Symposium on Human Security in Disasters”. Vice Rector Rhyner spoke on
the importance of worldwide collaborations when doing research on risk
management and human security, while Prof. Birkmann′s presentation
focused on risk, vulnerability and development pathways in regards to
adaptive urban governance, showcasing projects from tsunami-affected
areas in Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
In the weeks after 11 March 2011, researchers from Tohoku University
immediately started on-the-ground research in the tsunami-affected areas
of Japan. At the symposium, Oscar A. Gomez from Colombia and Japanese
researcher Nina Takashino focused on “The Role of Grocery Stores” after
the triple disaster and evaluated how smaller businesses coped with the
situation. Prof. Takashino′s findings showed that especially Sendai
family businesses could act quickly and reopen their stores due their
small size. The inaccessibility to the central market and the lack of
gasoline were problematic for running grocery stores.
“The incident in Fukushima forced many people to search for shelter and
stay inside, but two weeks later issues about food contamination arose”,
said Prof. Gomez. On the question of the role played by the mass media,
in making people aware of where to buy safe food products, he mentioned
“Twitter messages — but those pointed mainly towards bigger
supermarkets where food sold out fast. Grocery stores were rather
unfamiliar with this communication tool, and therefore sat on their
stocks despite uncritical quality”.
Future research interests
Further research in Japan will cover the cascading effects of natural
disasters in industrialized nations and societal trust in technical
systems. “We also need to look at the role of corporations when
rebuilding the affected areas”, said Prof. Birkmann.
In the afternoon panel session, symposium participants discussed
experiences in resilient rebuilding in Indonesia and Sri Lanka,
including religious aspects of coping with natural disasters and the
role democracy can play in case of a natural hazard.
“In the immediate aftermath of the event, there is no time for
democracy”, said Prof. Rhyner, “but in the preparation phase before a
disaster, democracy can play a crucial role in developing resilient
structures”. Nevertheless, recent examples like “Hurricane Katrina
revealed that a state like Cuba was better prepared than a democracy
like the US”, noted Prof. Birkmann.
On the second day of their visit, Profs. Rhyner and Birkmann took a
field trip to locations around Sendai affected by the tsunami, as
documented in the audio slideshow above.
UNU-EHS hopes to develop broader and more intense connections with
Tohoku University to establish course programmes and research projects
focusing on human security and vulnerabilities in disaster areas.
