Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the occurrence of disasters and the institutional mechanisms, as well as the legal response to such incidents. The paper provides a viewpoint by using discursive approach on arguments and examination of various legal and documented texts. Findings indicate that although the Ghanaian legal regime on disaster make reasonable provision for various breaches and remedies and establishes internationally acceptable rules in substance and procedure, in certain instances, most regulatory and enforcement agencies are often indisposed to enforcing the rules and fines. Meanwhile, factors contributing to disasters are mainly man-made attributable to non-regulatory compliance, unplanned residential and business communities, and erection of buildings in waterways, among others. It is proposed for an integrative approach and a shift from the traditional response-based thinking to a proactive response in disaster management, taking significant note of the legislations and judicial precedents in the country.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Ahsan, N., Tullio-Pow, S.: Functional clothing for natural disaster survivors. Disaster Prev. Manag.: Int. J. 24, 306–319 (2015)
UNISDR: UNISDR terminology on disaster risk reduction. UNISDR, Geneva (2009)
UN: Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. Information Press, Oxford (2011)
McClean, D.: World Disasters Report 2010. IFRC, Geneva (2010)
van Niekerk, D., Wisner, B.: Integrating disaster risk management and development planning: experiences from Africa. In: Lopez-Carresi, A., Fordham, M., Wisner, B., Kelman, I., Gaillard, J.C. (eds.) Disaster Management: International Lessons in Risk Reduction, Response and Recovery, 1st edn. Routledge, New York (2014)
Fisher, D.: Legal implementation of human rights obligations to prevent displacement due to natural disasters. In: Kalin, W., Williams, R.C., Koser, K., Solomon, A. (eds.) Incorporating the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement into Domestic Law: Issues and Challenges (2010)
NADMO Act 1996 (Act 517)
NADMO (2012). http://nadmo.gov.gh
Control and Prevention of Bushfires Act, 1990, P.N.D.C.L. 229
Ghana National Fire Service Act, 1997 (Act 537)
National Fire Service Regulations, 2003 (L.I. 1725)
Anku-Tsede, O., Deffor, W.: Corporate responsibility in ghana: an overview of aspects of the regulatory regime. J. Bis. Manag. Res. 3, 31–41 (2014)
United Nations Population Fund: State of World Population 2007. Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth, New York, USA (2007). http://www.unfpa.org
Sinha, A.: Relief administration and capacity building for coping mechanism towards disaster reduction. Shelter, October 9–12 1999
Solway, L.: Socio-economic perspectives of developing country megacities vulnerable to flood and landslide hazards. In: Margottini, C. (ed.) Floods and Landslides: Integrated Risk Assessment, pp. 245–277. Springer, Heidelberg (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-58609-5_15
UN-ISDR: Local Governments and Disaster Risk Reduction. United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction–UN-ISDR (2010). http://www.unisdr.org
Voogd, H.: Disaster prevention in urban environments. Eur. J. Spat. Dev. (2004). http://www.nordregio.se
Grifis, S.H.: Barron’s Law Dictionary, 6th edn. Barron’s Educational Series, New York (2010)
Freeman, P., Mechler, R.: Public Sector Risk Management in Mexico for Natural Disaster Losses. Issues Paper for a Wharton-World Bank Conference on: Innovations in Managing Catastrophic Risks: How Can They Help the Poor? IIASA Laxenburg, Washington, DC (2001)
Saldana-Zorrilla, S.O.: Assessment of disaster risk management strategies in Argentina. Disaster Prev. Manag. 24, 230–248 (2015)
Alesch, D.J., Arendt, L.A., Holly, J.N.: Managing for Long-Term Community Recovery in the Aftermath of Disaster. Public Entity Risk Institute, Fairfax (2009)
Murphy, B.: Locating social capital in resilient community-level emergency management. Nat. Hazards 41, 297–315 (2007)
Campanella, T.J.: Urban resilience and the recovery of New Orleans. J. Am. Plan. Assoc. 72, 141–146 (2006)
Malalgoda, C., Amaratunga, D., Haigh, R.: Creating a disaster resilient built environment in urban cities: the role of local governments in Sri Lanka. Int. J. Disaster Resil. Built. Env. 4, 72–94 (2013)
Pelling, M.: The Vulnerability of Cities: Natural Disasters and Social Resilience. Earthscan Publications, London (2003)
Ginige, K., Amaratunga, D., Haigh, R.: Developing capacities for disaster risk reduction in the built environment: capacity analysis Sri Lanka. Int. J. Strateg. Prop. Manag. 14, 287–303 (2010)
Kusumasari, B., Alam, Q., Siddiqui, K.: Resource capability for local government in making disaster. Disaster Prev. Manag. 19, 438–451 (2010)
Col, J.: Managing disasters: the role of local government. Publ. Adm. Rev. 67, 114–124 (2007)
Saunders, M.N.K., Lewis, P., Thornhill, A.: Research Methods for Business Students, 5th edn. FT Prentice Hall, Harlow (2009)
Buhmann, K.: Corporate social responsibility: what role for law? Some aspects of law and CSR. Corp. Gov. 6, 188–202 (2006)
Fedolapo, H.B.: Building collapse: causes and policy direction in Nigeria. Int. J. Sci. Res. Innov. Tech. 2, 1–8 (2015)
McBarnet, D.: Corporate Social Responsibility Beyond Law, Through Law, for Law University of Edinburgh School of Law Working Paper No. 2009/03 (2009). http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1369305
Van Niekerk, D.: Disaster risk governance in Africa. Disaster Prev. Manag. 24, 397–416 (2015)
June 3 Report. https://www.dropbox.com/s/o51nw4dred5469m/JUNE_3RD_REPORT.pdf?dl=0
JoyFm News (2015). http://m.myjoyonline.com
Pulse News (2016). http://pulse.com.gh
Modern Ghana News (2016). https://www.modernghana.com
JoyFm News (2016). http://www.myjoyonline.com
JoyFm News (2014). http://www.myjoyonline.com
Corbett, T.J.: Bangladesh and Reasons Buildings Collapse (2015). ermacademy.org/Publication/riskmanagement-article/Bangladesh-and-reasons-buildings-collapse
ISDR: Hyogo framework for action 2005–2015: building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters. In: World Conference on Disaster Reduction 18–22 January 2005, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan (2005). https://www.unisdr.org
The Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1994 (Act 490)
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. World Disasters Report (2015)
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. World Disasters Report (2016)
African Union Commission: United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction’ Extended Programme of Action for the Implementation of the Africa Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (2006–2015) and the Declaration of the 2nd African Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, Nairobi, pp. 1–60 (2010)
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, Living with Risk: A Global Review of Disaster Reduction Initiatives, p. 36 (2004)
Malalgoda, C., Amaratunga, D., Haigh, R.: A disaster resilient built environment in urban cities: the need to empower local governments. The “State of DRR at the Local Level”. A 2015 Report on the Patterns of Disaster Risk Reduction Actions at Local Level, UNISDR (2015)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this paper
Cite this paper
Anku-Tsede, O., Dedzo, B.Q., Gyensare, M.A., Ametorwo, A.M. (2019). Law in Motion or Passionate Observer on the Shelf? The Ghanaian Disaster Experience. In: Charytonowicz, J., Falcão, C. (eds) Advances in Human Factors, Sustainable Urban Planning and Infrastructure. AHFE 2018. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 788. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94199-8_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94199-8_23
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-94198-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-94199-8
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)