Advantages and disadvantages of adopting international quality standards
+ ISO or Sphere standards have been internationally
agreed, and are especially suitable for contracts between
parties of different nationalities
+ ISO standards in particular could be useful when
ordering materials, such as timber or cement, on the
international market or when engaging contractors who
are not from the disaster-affected country
- ISO standards mostly employ modern materials and
construction technologies, which may be unaffordable to
a majority in the Third World
- Sphere standards focus more on temporary shelter and
do not cover reconstruction adequately
- local building professionals, contractors and materials
suppliers are often not familiar with international
standards, and may therefore be at a disadvantage when
competing for work
- ordinary people have had little or no say in determining
these standards, questioning their relevance. For
example, there tends to be little attention for vernacular
construction in international standards.
Advantages and disadvantages of applying existing regulatory regimes
+ the regulatory regime is familiar to environment
professionals in the country, as well as inspectors and
contractors
+ it is largely based on modern construction technologies,
with which professionals are familiar
+ the regime has often been developed and modified over
time, including its disaster-resistant elements, and is
presumably proven. In such cases, there is little need to
rapidly develop additional elements
+ these regimes have proven to be able to deliver quality
(e.g. during the Concepción earthquake), but often at a
cost.
- the regime only works where it applies; in many
countries, it does not cover rural areas
- regimes are often formulated for blanket applications
throughout a country, and not for areas affected by
specific disasters
- in the poorest countries, less than half the urban
population can afford to build according to the
regulations. Although following a disaster they might be
aided to reconstruct according to the regime, they would
struggle to maintain that standard in the future
- ordinary people often have little or no say in the
regulatory regime, in fact it may even be a colonial
legacy and very inappropriate to popular housing
- in some countries, the capacity to inspect the
application of the regulations is inadequate even in
normal circumstances. Besides, when disasters strike,
institutions charged with inspection are often affected
too, even further reducing that capacity. Regulations
that cannot be controlled do not function well
- there is ample evidence from disaster damage
assessments in a range of countries that standards
have not been properly implemented due to bribery and
corruption.
Advantages and disadvantages of tailor-made regulations
+ tailor-made regulations are often more appropriate to
reconstruction after specific disasters than existing
regulations that take a more general approach
+ they are better able to accommodate the housing
culture, building traditions and vernacular technologies
of specific disaster areas
+ more affordable than the previous two options
+ can be made to apply to the entire disaster area.
- takes time to develop appropriate regulations. After a
disaster, there are many competing demands for time
so regulations are sometimes published too late when
people have already started rebuilding. This can cause
complications, e.g. some people may not be entitled to
reconstruction aid, or houses will require retrofitting
- regulations are developed in a hurry, so there is
insufficient consultation of affected populations, and
they may not suit everybody
- individual stakeholders may impose their own agendas,
for example governments may require more than the
minimum because there is abundant aid; or donor
agencies may insist on expensive modern technologies
- there is no time to pilot them, so if they turn out not to
be unsuitable it can cause major problems
- the regulations are new, so everybody involved in
reconstruction will have to take time to adjust to them.
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