{"title":"A state-of-the-art examination of disaster management in Sierra Leone: the implementation drawbacks, research gaps, advances, and prospects.","authors":"Bashiru Turay, Sheku Gbetuwa","doi":"10.1186/s40677-022-00224-3","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Unfolding events have shown that Sierra Leone is enduring various disasters at a worrying rate. While progress is being made in disaster management, activities that degrade the fragile ecosystem, exacerbated by climate change, poverty, and bad governance, remain growing concerns. Amid these concerns, there is inadequate information to take appropriate actions. The authors wish to provide a solution by examining 35 publications from various scholarly and grey literature and raw data sources, following a critical review process designed to expose the implementation drawbacks, research gaps, advances, and prospects in disaster management in Sierra Leone. The study results show that lapses in data management, fewer professionals, and inefficiencies in communication are the most pressing considerations for improving disaster management in the country. Inadequate funds to implement management plans remain pervasive. Following these findings, we recommend that all first responders be routinely exposed to international tabletop exercises and simulated disaster response training to help them build their capacities and learn from other countries. Students in the relevant disciplines should be encouraged to participate in these exercises to facilitate early learning. Also, management initiatives should consider gender equity, the situations of the disabled, and other vulnerable groups at all levels of planning and implementation of activities. Future studies should assess the influence of social media on disaster management research and practice in the country.</p>","PeriodicalId":37025,"journal":{"name":"Geoenvironmental Disasters","volume":"9 1","pages":"22"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8000,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9631602/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Geoenvironmental Disasters","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40677-022-00224-3","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2022/11/3 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Unfolding events have shown that Sierra Leone is enduring various disasters at a worrying rate. While progress is being made in disaster management, activities that degrade the fragile ecosystem, exacerbated by climate change, poverty, and bad governance, remain growing concerns. Amid these concerns, there is inadequate information to take appropriate actions. The authors wish to provide a solution by examining 35 publications from various scholarly and grey literature and raw data sources, following a critical review process designed to expose the implementation drawbacks, research gaps, advances, and prospects in disaster management in Sierra Leone. The study results show that lapses in data management, fewer professionals, and inefficiencies in communication are the most pressing considerations for improving disaster management in the country. Inadequate funds to implement management plans remain pervasive. Following these findings, we recommend that all first responders be routinely exposed to international tabletop exercises and simulated disaster response training to help them build their capacities and learn from other countries. Students in the relevant disciplines should be encouraged to participate in these exercises to facilitate early learning. Also, management initiatives should consider gender equity, the situations of the disabled, and other vulnerable groups at all levels of planning and implementation of activities. Future studies should assess the influence of social media on disaster management research and practice in the country.
期刊介绍:
Geoenvironmental Disasters is an international journal with a focus on multi-disciplinary applied and fundamental research and the effects and impacts on infrastructure, society and the environment of geoenvironmental disasters triggered by various types of geo-hazards (e.g. earthquakes, volcanic activity, landslides, tsunamis, intensive erosion and hydro-meteorological events).
The integrated study of Geoenvironmental Disasters is an emerging and composite field of research interfacing with areas traditionally within civil engineering, earth sciences, atmospheric sciences and the life sciences. It centers on the interactions within and between the Earth''s ground, air and water environments, all of which are affected by climate, geological, morphological and anthropological processes; and biological and ecological cycles. Disasters are dynamic forces which can change the Earth pervasively, rapidly, or abruptly, and which can generate lasting effects on the natural and built environments.
The journal publishes research papers, case studies and quick reports of recent geoenvironmental disasters, review papers and technical reports of various geoenvironmental disaster-related case studies. The focus on case studies and quick reports of recent geoenvironmental disasters helps to advance the practical understanding of geoenvironmental disasters and to inform future research priorities; they are a major component of the journal. The journal aims for the rapid publication of research papers at a high scientific level. The journal welcomes proposals for special issues reflecting the trends in geoenvironmental disaster reduction and monothematic issues. Researchers and practitioners are encouraged to submit original, unpublished contributions.