Avi Blizovsky
Direct link to this page: https://www.hayadan.org.il/sciencetsunami100105.html
Developing the scientific potential of poor countries may reduce the scale of disasters such as the tsunami in Asia. This is what researchers said on Thursday.
While Asian countries need billions of dollars to help the victims of the disaster and aid agencies struggle to help more than 1.5 million people left homeless, the members of the UN task force wrote in a report about the danger involved in ignoring the importance of science and technology.
The terrible devastation caused by the tsunami last week raises questions about whether enough has been invested in adopting existing technologies that could have reduced the scale of the disaster," said Professor Calestous Juma of Harvard University, the lead author of the report.
Discussions about the installation of early warning systems should be part of the context of the development of technology and science in poor countries, he said at a press conference in London.
Developed countries should reflect, in light of the disaster, the cost involved in investing in building scientific and technological capacity in developing countries to prevent the impact of natural disasters, compared to the enormous cost of international aid being collected now that the disaster has occurred," Juma said.
The report also states that a lack of scientific advice to governments and international bodies has been a stumbling block in solving the problem in developing countries.
"The money spent on developing the scientific and technological potential of the developing countries is an investment in preventing the worst consequences of natural disasters." said Lord May of Oxford, President of the Royal Society - British National Academy of Sciences. "It's true that it's very easy to be wise after the fact, and this now looks like a tragic short-sightedness because two years ago discussions were already started on the establishment of an early warning system against tsunami waves in the Pacific Ocean and the issue did not receive the necessary priority.
Juma emphasized the need to learn from the disaster and share knowledge to prevent future catastrophes. "The lesson should be learned all over the world" he said.
The report that will be submitted to UN Secretary Kofi Annan later this month says that the lack of investment in the development of science and technology may threaten the achievements of the Millennium Development Agreement, which is designed to reduce poverty and improve the standard of living of residents in developing countries.
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