Natural hazards, disasters and human kind: Whither ecosystem management?

Natural hazards such as yearly storm surges that create irreplaceable damage, the December 2004 tsunami that demolished large parts of the Indian coast, and the June 2013 Himalayan floods that swept river banks proved yet again that persistent extreme events have a tremendous damage potential. Loss of life due to storm surges (10,000 people in 1977) and destruction of property (12 lakh houses in 1999) are devastating. Nearly 15,000 people are estimated to have perished in the recent floods in the Himalayas. Monetary loss due to the tsunami touched 3,242 crore rupees. Encroachment of sensitive landforms is a major concern. As such, the relentless natural hazards culminate in disasters when humans come in the way of powerful natural forces. Abandoning vulnerable geomorphic features, managed retreat, or safer setback with intervening forested landforms are feasible long-term options. The incalculable human misery that ultimately follows is an ideal opportunity to focus Indian attention on the need to completely overhaul our national natural hazard policy. More importantly, it is the time for the Indian scientific community to effectively instil the results of scientific research into the political domain, inculcate the habit of public interactions, and make their voices heard in the affairs of natural ecosystems.