Preventive measures help reduce the severity of a disaster and to streamline disaster management. Many emergency situations follow predictable patterns and most disaster prone regions are well known. At the same time disaster and crisis scenarios are becoming increasingly complex and traditional re-active relief interventions are proving insufficient. Disaster prevention or mitigation thus has an important role to play and must be considered by both relief and development actors to address the underlying vulnerabilities and to build capacities to cope better with future shocks. Preventive measures include strengthening resilience, increasing preparedness in case of an acute emergency and disaster risk reduction (see table 3). These are integral parts of both sanitation planning and national, regional and local development strategies.

Resilience

At its core resilience can be described as the ability of countries, communities, individuals, or organisations that are exposed to disasters, crises and underlying vulnerabilities to manage change. This can be achieved by anticipating, reducing the impact of, coping with and recovering from effects of adversity without compromising long-term prospects. Strengthening resilience requires longer-term engagement and investments. It needs an in-depth analysis of previous emergencies, of underlying causes of vulnerability and of existing human, psychological, social, financial, physical, natural or political assets at different levels of society. The goal is to develop locally appropriate measures that can be incorporated into existing structures and processes to increase capacity and capability of involved stakeholders and their self-organisation potential. Important components to enhance resilience include capacity development, trainings, education, awareness raising, sensitisation and advocacy as well as improving the robustness and durability of implemented sanitation technologies and services.

Robustness is the ability of a technology to provide a satisfactory outcome in a variable environment. It is important that in emergencies, sanitation technologies be resilient against failure and keep functioning despite disruptions (such as power cuts, water shortages and floods). It is therefore important to think about robustness early in the planning for sanitation provision. Giventhe uncertainties, it is advisable to consider sanitation systems so that they are functional in a range of possible scenarios. For example, flood-proof, raised latrines can avoid sludge overflowing during floods; wastewater treatment plants should have stormwater by-passes. There is no ‘silver bullet’ for planning a robust sanitation option. Each technology has specific strengths and weaknesses depending on the local context and available skills and capacity.

Durability is the ability of a technology to last a long time without significant deterioration. The longer it lasts, the fewer resources are needed to build replacements and the more resistant technologies are to wear and tear, thus further reducing the operation and maintenance (O & M) costs along with the risks of failure. Technologies should be chosen taking account of local capacities for O & M, repair and the availability of spare parts. It may be necessary in some cases to choose a lower level of service, to avoid having essential equipment that cannot be repaired when it breaks down (e.g. pumps, grinders etc.). To increase the durability of most treatment technologies appropriate pre-treatment needs to be considered.

Preparedness

The Sphere guidelines describe the term preparedness as precautionary measures taken in view of anticipated disaster crisis scenarios to strengthen the ability of the affected population and involved organisations to respond immediately. Preparedness is the result of capacities, relationships and knowledge developed by governments, humanitarian agencies, local civil society organisations, communities and individuals to anticipate and respond effectively to the impact of likely, imminent hazards. People at risk and the responsible organisations and institutions should be able to make all necessary logistical and organisational preparations prior to the potential event and know what to do in case of an emergency. Apart from early warning systems and the development of emergency plans it can include the stockpiling of equipment as well as the availability of potential evacuation plans.

Disaster Risk Reduction and Prevention

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) can be seen as an umbrella term for all preventive measures including those described under resilience and preparedness. It aims to reduce disaster risks through systematic efforts to analyse and reduce causal factors of disasters. Examples of disaster risk reduction include reduced exposure to hazards, reducing the vulnerability of people and property, proper management of land and environment, and improving preparedness and early warning systems. A proper risk analysis forms the basis for adequate DRR measures. It assesses the potential exposure of communities to these risks, the social and infrastructural vulnerability and communities’ capacity to deal with risks. The importance of the DRR approach is being increasingly recognised by the international community. Historically, development actors have not invested significantly into DRR and prevention, whether due to a lack of awareness, a lack of incentives or a lack of emergency-related expertise. In recent years DRR and conflict prevention have therefore turned into cross-cutting issues that are addressed through relief, recovery and development instruments. Non-functioning  or inadequate sanitation services can potentially cause disasters, and hazards in turn can degrade sanitation services, resulting in increased disaster risk. It is therefore inevitable to consider potential disaster risks when setting up or developing sanitation services whether it is in relief, recovery or development.