2018/3/13

APRU Summer School
21 July 2017

Transdisciplinary approach forbuilding societal resilience todisasters
Kuniyoshi Takeuchi
Co‐chair, ACECC TC21
Professor Emeritus, University of Yamanashi
Founding Director, ICHARM, Public Works Research InstituteContents• Attempt of ACECC TC21
– Scientific knowledge based decision making.
– Transdisciplinary approach– Knowledge flow

• Some cases– Ormoc 1991, Tacloban 2013, Nepal 20151

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Initiated in Oct 2015
Launched in Aug 2016

Technical Committee 21
Transdisciplinary Approach for Building
Societal Resilience to Disasters
Co‐chaired byKuniyoshi Takeuchi, JSCE, Prof emeritus of UY andRomeo S. Momo, PICE, USec DPWHwith members fromJapan, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nepal,Pakistan, Korea, USA, …
3Since 1998

Established in 1998 to make policy proposals to decision‐makers as a federation of civilengineers consisting of people from academia, government, and private sectors.

• Australia (EA)
• Bangladesh (IEB)• India (IEI)• Indonesia (HAKI)• Japan (JSCE)• Korea (KSCE)• Mongolia (MACE)• Nepal (NEA)• Pakistan (IEP)• Philippines (PICE)• Taiwan (CICHE)• USA (ASCE)• Vietnam (VIFCEA)

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TC21 was established in July
2016 at 7th Civil Engineering
Conference in the Asian Region(CECAR)

Co-Chairs Dr. Takeuchi and Usec Momo
at the TC21 Kick-off Meeting

TC21 Members from Indonesia,
Taiwan, and U.S.A.

5Objectives• TC21 aims to promote thetransdisciplinary approach for scientificknowledge based decision‐making forbuilding societal resilience to disasters atnational and local levels.

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TC21 Transdisciplinary Approach for Building
Societal Resilience to Disasters

Natural & Social Sciences

Academia
Humanities

CivilSocietyPublicsector

PrivatesectorScientific Knowledge‐basedDecision Making

Transdisciplinary
Approach

Holistic and Transformative Processof Building Resilient Society
Preparedness(Structural and non‐structural)
Feedback

Mitigation
Protection

HazardResponse
RecoveryRehabilitation

Co‐Design, Co‐Produce, Co‐Deliver, and Co‐Implement

In order to achieve this aim, TC21 will
1. form ACECC transdisciplinary teams in all member states,
and together with them,
2. contribute to national capacity building to realize TDA for
scientific knowledge‐based decision making through case studies,comparative analyses, methodological developments, guidelines,workshops, training courses etc.,
3. contribute to establishment of a network of effective knowledge
flow from where available to where needed,
and through such activities
4. support formation and implementation of national platform
and/or local platforms with the function of TDA for scientificknowledge based decision making.
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Capacity Building

SupportNational TD
TeamSteering Group
National TD
TeamSupportNational TD
Team

Knowledge Flow

National/Local
Platform

National TD
Team

Capacity Building

ACECC
TC21 Committee

Knowledge Flow

National TD
TeamNational TD
TeamNational/Local
Platform

National/LocalPlatformNational/Local
Platform

National/Local
Platform

National/Local
Platform

Why do civil engineers and ACECC takesuch a role?
• Civil vs military• Transdisciplinary approach is a vocational
legacy of civil engineers.
• Professional societies have members from all
sectors and offer cooperation.

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Why Scientific Decision Making?

• Science and technology advances but
disaster losses increase. Why?
– Scientific knowledge is not used in policy andother decision making at various levels, e.g.,
public, private, national, local and individuallevels.
– Scientific knowledge in different disciplines andsectors is not enough integrated for practicaluse especially between natural and social
sciences, and between academia and policy
making.

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Scientific knowledge‐based decision
making• Scientific knowledge‐based decision making is aprocess in which scientific knowledge issystematically used in designing and assessing
alternative courses of action and selecting one,considering political, socio‐economic,environmental and risk impacts when the plan isimplemented.

• It is not a DM process where political balance,
benefit of certain interest groups or just anidea or intuition of leaders control or prevail
the decision.
• Scientific knowledge includes indigenous
knowledge, wisdom, information and skills inaddition to the best available or advanced
cutting‐edge technologies, that is useful todevelop sustainable, resilient and peacefulsociety.
•7

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Why transdisciplinary?

Multidisciplinary
Good dish needs various materials andingredients such as meat, vegetables,spices, drink,
Interdisciplinary
Good cooking needs good materials,
cook, pans, cook books,
Transdisciplinary
Good dinner party needs meals, waiters,partners, music, talks, interior design,Co‐design, co‐produce, co‐deliver,8

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Why transdisciplinary?
• Gaps between science and practice can only be filled
by an integration of disciplinary knowledge andsectoral capacities.
• Real integration is possible only during
implementation to achieve a common goal.
• If disciplines of natural and social sciences andhumanities, and private, public, academic and civic
sectors work together, innovative ideas and means
can be created and holistic and transformativechanges are made possible.

Holistic societal
transformation
into
Scientific knowledge based DMApproach

Transdisciplinary

Disaster ResilientSociety

Disaster VulnerableSociety9

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Transdisciplinary approach• An approach to achieve a common societal
goal, by all players and stakeholders at alllevels of all related disciplines and sectors
working together, going beyond the limit ofdisciplinary knowledge and sectoralcapacities by creating innovative means,
and making holistic and transformative
solutions possible.

Ex.) Governmental councils
DM

NaturalDM
CouncilSocialChair:
Consulting firm

PublicHumanities

PrivateAcademic

Civic10

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Barriers against scientific knowledge‐
based decision making• Over reliance on the S&T level of engineering
officers, consulting firms, aid agencies, available
professors nearby local/regional universities.
• Lack of attention to root causes and lack ofchallenges against on‐going institutional, financial
and political constraints.
• Irrational decision making process based on
selfishness, unfairness, corruption, poor
judgment etc.

Knowledge Flowfrom where available to where needed11

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Gaps between science and practiceScience here represents science and technology• Unavailability of necessary knowledge– Premature and limited in applicability to practicalconditions. (Accuracy/preciseness, uncertainty,coarse resolution, costly etc.)– Bits available but not assembled for ready to solveproblems.
– Lack of resources to utilize knowledge (funds,materials, experts etc.)• Inaccessibility to scientific knowledge– Lack of channels and guides to connect rightresearchers to right users.
– Lack of incentives for researchers to serve forsociety.
– Lack of resources for users to seek for scientificknowledge.

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Inaccessibility (continue…)
Experts’ side:– No guidance to whom, to which lab to approach inuniversities or governmental institutes– Experts are too busy
• Little career merits in public service especially foryoung researchers– Narrow disciplines open to consultation• No entrance to network of holistic approach

Inaccessibility (continue…)
Users’ side
– Lack of time and funds– Lack of imagination and capacity to organize
scientific knowledge– Over reliance on private consulting firms– Lack of capable private companies to help theholistic problem

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2018/3/13• Lack of institutional mechanism to bringscientific knowledge into DM– Science advisors in president’s office– Legal binding to include scientists in an advisorycommittee for policy making.

Infrastructure of knowledge flow

TC21 Case Studies:
examining recovery processes from
TC21 points of view
Ormoc flood 1991, Philippines
Tacloban storm surge 2013, Philippines
Gorka Earthquake 2015, Nepal

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Site Survey in the Philippines, Nov 2016
Ormoc City:
Establishment of Flood Mitigation
Committee covering central and city
government, and barangay, thesmallest administrative unit in thePhilippines. River maintenance works
are done by communities.

Slit Dam in Ormoc City, Leyte Island,
the Philippines

Tacloban City
Palo Municipality
Ormoc City

Resettlement Housings, Tacloban, Leyte
Island, the Philippines

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Site Survey in Nepal, April 2017

Source: BBC News

Source: http://www.ifrc.org/en/news-and-media/newsstories/asia-pacific/nepal/in-pictures---nepal-earthquake/

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THE ORMOC CITY TRAGEDY

Flood on 5 November 1991
was the biggest experienced
flood, corresponding to thescale of once in 50 years.

Watersheds were devastated
due to conversion of forest area
to agricultural landRivers had only limited
capacities due to encroachmentof squatters, indiscriminate
construction of structures atriver bankUrban area was over-populated
and urban poor occupied riverbanks/low-lying areas.

DEBRIS WERE NOTED ALL OVER THE URBAN
CENTER

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ILLEGAL
STRUCTURES
Houses above the revetment

Blocked drainage
extensiondue

to house

Rest house under the bridge

Poverty & Governance: Illegal housing over rivers

Jakarta, May 200717

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Ormoc flood by Typhoon
Thelma on 5 November
1991

Installation of Perimeter Fence18

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Flood by Typhoon Thelma (Uring) 1991.11.5
Dead & missing about 8000
• JICA assistance with slit dams and riverimprovement.
• Solved informal residents issue by protecting fence
along the river dikes.
• Tested by similar Tyhoon Koni in 2003
• Maintenance bytransdisciplinary
approach involving
all stake holders.
• Root causes are notsolvedTyphoon Haiyan tsunami‐like storm surges
on 8 Nov 2013
Killed 6,300
Damaged houses 1.1 million
Evacuation refugees 4.1 million

Tacloban, Leyte Oct 20, 201519

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40m no build zone ‐> rapid recovery
Replacement of about 14,600
houses in the northern Tacloban.
Intensive consensus building
process involving 138 barangay
chiefs20

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The Gorkha earthquake, Nepal
11:56 NST April 25, 2015
• Killed nearly 9,000 people• Injured nearly 22,000• 7.8Mw and max Mercalli Intensity IX (Violent)• $10Billion (50% of Nepal GNP)

Kathmandu

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_2015_Nepal_earthquake21

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Fig.1: Representation of Horizontal
Bands
In a Masonry Building, where
1 -Lintel Band,
2- Roof Band,
3- Vertical Reinforcing Band,
4-Door,5-Window,
6- Plinth Band,
7 – Window StillBand

https://theconstructor.org/construction/horizontal‐bands‐masonry‐buildings‐types‐location‐design‐
applications/14462/

Nepal’s reconstruction• Dept. of Urban Development and Building
Construction (DUDBC)• National Reconstruction Authority (NRA)• A sill and lintel band method• 300k Rupee Grants Subsidy• With agreement 50k, print 150k, roof (band)
100k & final (50k?)• Training of 306 inspection engineers
Dr. Youb Raj Paudyal, DUDBC, Chautara, Nepal, 23 April 201722

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Preliminary Conclusions
Scientific methodology is OK but not governance• Unclear on the decision making process on
selection of methodology of S&T• Unclear who involved in decision making andprocess of scientific assessment ‐> no RIA• Unclear how sectoral integration was made inpolicy making
Top‐down approach by responsible agency
Very limited transdisciplinary approach

Lack of transdisciplinary approach
results in• Lack of Transparency: potential corruption• Lack of Sinergy: lack of jump and efficiency

Why?
What?

How?

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Since 1995, Transparency International (TI) publishes the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) annuallyranking countries “by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert (Banks, consulting
firms, NGOｓ etc.) assessments and opinion surveys." The CPI generally defines corruption as "the misuseof public power for private benefit."24

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居安思危 Be aware of risk while we are safe
思則有備 Awareness leads us preparedness
有備無患 Preparedness leaves us no regret「春秋」左氏伝
Source： Zuo Qiuming “Zuoshi Commentary”
in Confucius ed. ”Spring and Autumn”, 480BCICHARM cares people’s empowerment
and well‐being!
www.icharm.pwri.go.jp
ICHARM preparedness for floods

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