Atsushi Hanatani is Senior Advisor and former Senior Director of the Office for Peacebuilding and Reconstruction at the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Oscar A. Gómez is Research Fellow at the Japan International Cooperation Agency Research Institute. Chigumi Kawaguchi is Research Fellow at the Japan International Cooperation Agency Research Institute.
The continuum in Rwanda after the genocide and in Indonesia after the Tsunami were typical of the unstructured processes which accompany the transition from humanitarian relief to development. The extent to which local ownership of governments and civil society is prepared and empowered to take charge following man-made or natural disasters is a major determinant of the length and sustainability of recovery. In the absence of standard patterns and processes, we are left with sets of principles and values, which are ultimately much more valuable as a guide to action. This book does well to distinguish the very different circumstances of recovery, both from natural disasters and from conflict. - Stephen Browne, former UN Humanitarian and Development Coordinator The aid world is split into development and humanitarian assistance. This book tackles the long-standing question of how different aid instruments can best be combined to meet human needs defying categorization. It provides a rich series of case studies, as well as a unique Japanese perspective on the continuum of aid. - Julia Steets, Director of the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) This is an ambitious and honest effort to address and deconstruct the on-going dilemma of responding to one crisis after the other in increasingly complex environments. This collection of articles demonstrates the non-linear nature of recovery and reconstruction. It is recommended reading for practitioners and scholars. - Margareta Wahlstrom, President of Swedish Red Cross and former Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction An important contribution to current global conversations around crisis prevention and sustaining peace. Through detailed case studies from some of the most difficult conflict and disasters of the past 30 years, this book brings new analysis to the dilemmas around linking emergency response and long-term development that have eluded the aid sector for decades. - Christina Bennett, Humanitarian Policy Group, Overseas Development Institute, UK Natural disasters and man-made conflicts can often precipitate a humanitarian crisis. As the number of people in the world affected by such humanitarian crises increases every year, it is important to understand the underlying causes of crises to manage them better. [This] book...edited by able and senior experts of humanitarian and development field...is out to help us think about these pressing issues. - Brij Chauhan, book review in Southasiadisasters.net 'Trans-Boundary Early Warning Systems in Asia', Issue No. 180, January 2019