Building Back Better

This article is about the United Nations program. For the slogan used by the 46th president of the United States, see Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign. For the proposed $7 trillion COVID-19 relief, future economic, and infrastructure package, see Build Back Better Plan. For the initiative by G7 countries, see Build Back Better World.

Building Back Better, or more frequently termed Build Back Better (BBB), is a strategy aimed at reducing the risk to the people of nations and communities in the wake of future disasters and shocks. The BBB approach integrates disaster risk reduction measures into the restoration of physical infrastructure, social systems and shelter, and the revitalisation of livelihoods, economies and the environment.

BBB has its roots in the improvement of land use, spatial planning and construction standards through the reconstruction and recovery process. The concept has expanded to represent a broader opportunity by building greater resilience in recovery by systematically addressing the root causes of vulnerability. BBB has been described in the United Nations' Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction document, which was agreed on at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held on March 14–18, 2015, in Sendai, Japan. It was adopted by UN member states as one of four priorities in the Sendai Framework for disaster recovery, risk reduction and sustainable development. The UN General Assembly adopted this document on June 3, 2015.

Origins and Concepts - 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami Relief Effort

The term BBB was actually first coined in Indonesia by the World Bank and the Badan Rehabilitasi dan Rekonstruksi (BRR) NAD-Nias, i.e. the Agency for the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Aceh and Nias, following the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and planning for recovery and reconstruction. The term BBB was used throughout both the preliminary stocktake of May 2005 and the Brief for the Coordination Forum Aceh and Nias (CFAN) of October 2005.

However, global attention to the term BBB arose following the address by UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery Bill Clinton to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in July 2005. Clinton first visited Aceh in May 2005 in his role as Special Envoy. However, he had earlier visited Aceh in February 2005 with former US President George W. Bush. Clinton's May 2005 visit included meetings with the World Bank, BRR, as well as multilaterals and civil society. Clinton's reporting drew heavily from his briefings from the World Bank and BRR and the aforementioned Preliminary Stocktaking Report published in May 2005 by the World Bank.

Specifically, the BBB Strategy was conceived during the preparation of the Reconstruction of Aceh Land Administration System (RALAS) project in Indonesia by the World Bank during May-June 2005. RALAS was the first reconstruction project initiated and approved under the Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Aceh and North Sumatra (MDTF), supervised by the World Bank, with funding of US$28 million. The MDTF ultimately funded eleven projects for a total of around US$500 million. The concept and context of BBB arose in discussions between the World Bank RALAS project task team and the BRR. Thus, RALAS was the first project to embrace BBB, and it intentionally focused on the sustainability and resilience of communities to future disasters and conflict. At the time of RALAS approval, the Aceh Civil War, known as the Insurgency in Aceh had been underway since 1976. The conflict ended with the truce agreement signed in Helsinki August 15, 2005. RALAS was implemented by the Badan Pertanahan Nasional (BPN), the National Land Authority of Indonesia. Key achievements under RALAS included: community land mapping of more than 330,000 land parcels over Aceh and North Sumatra enabling housing reconstruction to proceed with confidence and 230,000 new titles issued to legitimate owners by project closure on June 30 2009; new spatial planning undertaken for the reallocation of land; Acehnese women afforded equal land rights for the first time in Aceh’s history; government and civil society worked closely with mosques to ensure that inheritance rights, especially for widows and orphans. The World Bank maintained a strong presence in Aceh to work closely with BPN, civil society and UN agencies throughout the RALAS implementation.

Haiti

The term BBB was again used in 2009 by Clinton while referring to Haiti after the political upheaval and storms of 2008. It was reiterated by UN Sec. Gen. Ban Ki-Moon in February 2010 with reference to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.

Other Post-disaster Applications of BBB

During the reconstruction from the earthquake of Central Java in March 2006, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Reconstruction team adopted the BBB concept to support housing reconstruction. They used earthquake-resistant technology and constructed more than 100,000 strengthened houses within two years under the leadership of Java Special Province.

After the major disaster in Java, international donors collaborated on a report: the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA). In the PDNA for Tropical Storm Ondoy and Typhoon Pepeng in the Philippines, PDNA team member Takeya Kimio from the Asian Development Bank strongly recommended BBB in disaster recovery. They wanted to make sure that BBB was first used in the Philippines government reconstruction policy document. BBB was also clearly written as a catchphrase on the first page of the document titled "Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda".

Introduction of the concept to the UN

The term BBB was first introduced to UN at ECOSOC in July 2005 by Clinton, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery. In his addresss to ECOSOC, Clinton offered ten key propositions for BBB:

1. Governments, donors, and aid agencies must recognize that families and communities drive their own recovery.
2. Recovery must promote fairness and equity.
3. Governments must enhance preparedness for future disasters.
4. Local governments must be empowered to manage recovery efforts, and donors must devote greater resources to strengthening government recovery institutions, especially at the local level.
5. Good recovery planning and effective coordination depend on good information.
6. The UN, World Bank, and other multilateral agencies must clarify their roles and relationships, especially in addressing the early stage of a recovery process.
7. The expanding role of NGOs and the Red Cross/ Red Crescent Movement carries greater responsibilities for quality in recovery efforts.
8. From the start of recovery operations, governments and aid agencies must create the conditions for entrepreneurs to flourish.
9. Beneficiaries deserve the kind of agency partnerships that move beyond rivalry and unhealthy competition.
10. Good recovery must leave communities safer by reducing risks and building resilience.

The Sendai Framework

During the negotiation period for the the Sendai Framework, the concept of "Build Back Better" was proposed by the Japanese delegation as a holistic concept which states: "The principle of 'Build Back Better' is generally understood to use the disaster as a trigger to create more resilient nations and societies than before. This was through the implementation of well-balanced disaster risk reduction measures, including physical restoration of infrastructure, revitalization of livelihood and economy/industry, and the restoration of local culture and environment". The concept was fully agreed as one of the most important concepts among each state's delegates and embedded into what is known as the Sendai Framework.

At the opening speech of the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, held March 14–18, 2015, in Sendai, Japan Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, stated: "The word of "Build Back Better" sounds like a new concept, but this is common sense to the Japanese people, coming from our historical experiences in recovering from disaster and preparing for the future, and it has become an important part of the culture of Japan."

The Sendai Framework explicitly identified Building Back Better in recovery, reconstruction, and rehabilitation. The framework was adopted by UN member states as one of four priorities in the Sendai Framework for disaster recovery, risk reduction and sustainable development. The UN General Assembly adopted this document on June 3, 2015.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has issued a volume of its Words into Action guidelines for BBB. While there can be no standardized blueprint for building back better, the guidelines offer step-by-step guidance on developing disaster recovery frameworks, pre-disaster recovery planning and post-disaster needs assessment.

After the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction was finalised, the performance indicators were defined as: "The use of the recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction phases after a disaster to increase the resilience of nations and communities through integrating disaster risk reduction measures into the restoration of physical infrastructure and societal systems, and into the revitalization of livelihoods, economies and the environment. Annotation: The term “societal” will not be interpreted as a political system of any country."

Following the UN Conference in Sendai, BBB was also included in the book Disaster Risk Reduction for Economic Growth and Livelihood, Investing in Resilience and Development, Chapter 7 "Recovery and reconstruction: An opportunity for sustainable growth through 'build back better'". BBB had been used by people involved in the recovery process from natural disasters, but had not been as clearly described as a holistic concept before this book.

Benefits

Preventing losses

In India, super-cyclone BOB06 killed more than 10,000 people in 1999. During recovery, the state government established the Odisha State Disaster Mitigation Authority (OSDMA) to help facilitate BBB through programs such as adding over 1,500 km (930 mi) of new evacuation roads, 30 bridges to better connect vulnerable communities and improvements to 200 km (120 mi) of existing coastal embankments. Additionally, the OSDMA invested in advanced early warning systems. When Odisha was hit by Cyclone Phailin in 2013, 50 people were killed—less than 1% of BOB06's casualties.

Local economy stimulation

In Madagascar, farmers benefited as much as 4.5 times their income after the risk of flooding was reduced through watershed protection in Mantadia National Park. In India, following the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) set up learning centres for local women to facilitate recovery which included tools, techniques and information about government schemes. These centres sustained the economic activities of women and have served as focal points during flood recovery since the earthquake.

Other benefits

The benefits of BBB extend beyond risk reduction. In Malaysia, the government did not only save an estimated cost of US$300,000/km by maintaining the mangrove swamps intact for storm protection and flood control, but also lowered the temperature in the area.

Further Researcher Considerations

The researched book by Mannakkara, Wilkinson and Potangaroa called Resilient Post Disaster Recovery through Building Back Better developed a sound framework for BBB, including indicators that have been tested in numerous countries. In the book, the authors argue for a holistic approach incorporating disaster risk reduction activities with community engagement, effective monitoring and implementation.

For a critical account of the concept and its usage in the context of attempts by states, multilateral agencies and NGOs to use disasters for projects of neoliberal enclosure and disaster capitalism, see Raja Swamy's "Building Back Better in India: Development, NGOs, and Artisanal Fishers after the 2004 Tsunami" Swamy calls attention to how narratives of betterment dominate official discourses of disaster recovery, linking recovery with the needs and goals of capital while aiding in the further dispossession and marginalization of affected populations.

See also

• Disaster capitalism