‘natural disasters’ and newspapers: post-tsunami environmental discourse
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Environmental Hazards 7 (2007) 330–341
www.elsevier.com/locate/hazards
‘Natural disasters’ and newspapers:Post-tsunami environmental discourse
Alison Ashlin�, Richard J. Ladle
Oxford University Centre for the Environment, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
Abstract
In this paper we explore the concept of ‘natural disasters’ as opportunities for influencing public perceptions of the environment
through the media. We provide a critical analysis of the discourse in a selection of newspaper articles and identify the way in which
various actors have utilised UK national newspaper coverage of the Asian tsunami to promote particular agendas and to legitimise
policies and actions. A systematic and iterative sampling approach was developed that allowed us to combine quantitative and
qualitative methods to search for articles that contained content directly related to the environmental aspects of the tsunami. Three main
themes emerged; coastal ecosystems, the fisheries sector, and redevelopment. The discourse within these areas was markedly different.
While the coastal ecosystems discourse was hegemonic in terms of narratives and actor coalitions, the fisheries and redevelopment
discourse incorporated a more diverse set of actors and storylines that perhaps reflects the lack of consensus on the best way of achieving
sustainable solutions. We also contrast the limited discussion and representation of tsunami-related environmental issues within UK
national newspapers with the more detailed discussion within the peer-reviewed literature and the grey literature. We argue that ‘natural
disasters’ provide both opportunities and risks for raising awareness of environmental issues, mobilising funding and directing action to
environmentally and socially vulnerable areas of the world, and that consequently NGOs, intergovernmental bodies and government
departments should be mindful of the long-term consequences of global media attention.
r 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Keywords: Tsunami; Environment; Discourse; Newspapers
1. Introduction
In this paper we explore the concept of ‘natural disasters’as opportunities for influencing public perception ofenvironmental issues via a set of storylines (narratives onsocial reality) that appear in the media. When naturalhazards (e.g. floods, earthquakes, landslides, droughts)trigger disasters, popular and media interpretations tend tofocus on the naturalness of these events, as in the phrase‘natural disaster’. However, not all natural hazards willbecome disasters so it is important not to separate ‘naturaldisasters’ from the social frameworks that influence howhazards affect people (Blaikie et al., 1994). A naturalhazard becomes a disaster when the hazard reveals socialvulnerability causing damage to both the physical and
e front matter r 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
vhaz.2007.09.008
ing author. Tel.: +441865 285184; fax: +44 1865 271929.
esses: [email protected] (A. Ashlin),
uce.ox.ac.uk (R.J. Ladle).
social fabric of an environment that exceeds the ability ofan affected community to recover without assistance (Etkinand Dore, 2003). The social vulnerability of an individualor community is influenced, amongst other things, byinequalities in their exposure to hazards and their access toresources that result from socioeconomic factors andunequal power relations, which are in turn a product of arange of route causes linked to political and economicsystems at national and international scales (Blaikie et al.,1994; Pelling, 2003).Extreme environmental events, such as floods and
hurricanes are often seen as ‘windows of opportunity’ or‘catalysts’ (Iwan et al., 1999; Pelling and Dill, 2005). Forexample, immediately after Hurricane Andrew devastatedparts of Florida in 1992 there was renewed interest inenforcing building codes presenting an opportunity foractors to promote mitigation policies (Iwan et al., 1999).Similarly after the 1953 floods in the UK the idea for aStorm Tide Warning System emerged and the floods
ARTICLE IN PRESSA. Ashlin, R.J. Ladle / Environmental Hazards 7 (2007) 330–341 331
provided an important vehicle for change that would nothave been tenable without such a crisis (Johnson, 2006).These examples illustrate how experiencing extreme envir-onmental events and ‘natural disasters’ can influencepeople’s preoccupations and enable the introduction ofpolicies that may reduce the risk of future hazards turninginto disasters.
The role of the media with respect to disasters andnatural hazards has been the subject of research for manyyears. The media influences the time and space withinwhich the impacts of disasters are experienced (see BBCNews Online, 2001). Media reporting and discussions ofnatural hazards can regulate the visibility of hazards andsubsequently influence policy innovation and response(Arnell et al., 1984). The increased public attention directedtowards conservation issues in the late 1960s has beenattributed (Allan et al., 2000) to events such as thedisastrous break up of a super-tanker off the coast ofCornwall in 1967 and the Santa Barbara Channel UnionOil Leak in the United States. These events engenderedsustained debate among interested claims-makers and bothfeatured prominently within the news media (Allan et al.,2000). Furthermore when disasters occur the impacts arenot limited to the geographical boundaries of the event.Instead media reports and images radiate into communitiesand households across the globe (Bankoff, 2001). Since the1960s the average number of ‘natural disasters’ reportedworldwide has doubled every decade (Blaikie et al., 1994;Pelling, 2003). This pattern of growth is partly a result ofenvironmental change and increased vulnerability, andpartly a result of technological advances in communicationscience and the trend for news stories to be skewed towardsevents rather than issues (Rose, 2005). Various authorshave predicted that weather-related natural hazards (e.g.flooding, drought, hurricanes) may increase in frequencyand severity as a result of climate change (Knutson andTuleya, 2004; Goswami et al., 2006; Hoyos et al., 2006).Whilst it is not possible to detail precisely the magnitude ofsuch change, it is possible to predict the general direction ofclimate trends (van Aalst, 2006, but see Pielke et al., 2005).Perhaps of more concern is the fact that it has beensuggested that the vulnerability of human populations tonatural hazards is also likely to increase as a result ofclimate change (O’Brien and Leichenko, 2000). An increasein both natural hazards and social vulnerability is likely tolead to an increase in the frequency of disasters, andsubsequently an increase in the number of disasters that arereported in the media. Investigating the impact of mediacoverage of disasters is therefore an important area ofresearch.
1.1. International media coverage
International media coverage of environmental changeand natural hazards plays an important role in setting andreinforcing public perceptions of issues and the socialconstruction of events (Marston, 2002; Boykoff and
Boykoff, 2004; Carvalho and Burgess, 2005; Boykoff,2007). The media achieves this by translating, filtering andforwarding information and providing frames of reference(Gilliam and Bales, 2001; Rose, 2005). These frameworksinfluence the way that different individuals or societiesperceive and evaluate aspects of environmental change bypresenting and emphasising information in a way thatmakes some aspects of a perceived reality more salient thanothers (Hajer, 1995; Forsyth, 2003). A good example ofthis can be seen in Rodriguez and Dynes’ (2006) analysis ofthe continuous (24/7) television coverage of HurricaneKatrina in the United States. In framing and setting thescene, in terms of the damage and death caused by Katrinaas well as the official and unofficial response to the storm’simpacts, the media incorporated assumptions, myths anddistortions.When considering the role of the media it is worth
bearing in mind that the media is not just a conduit forinformation transfer it is also an actor in its own right andas such it is endowed with its own biases and agendas(Boykoff and Boykoff, 2004). Most news sources areowned by individuals or business consortia and conse-quently their editorial content and news agenda oftenbroadly reflects their political and business interests(Monbiot et al., 2005; Oreskes, 2005; Rose, 2005). Thepositioning of issues both in terms of time and space (e.g.the amount of television or radio air-time, or the number ofcolumn inches and the location within a given newspaper),and framing (e.g. how they are portrayed to readers) isinfluenced by journalistic norms, the pressures of tightdeadlines and the fact that most journalists tend to begeneralists rather than specialists (Boykoff, 2007; Boykoffand Boykoff, 2007). However, if used effectively mediaattention can provide opportunities for communicating keymessages and maintaining or gaining the support ofpolicymakers (Ashlin and Ladle, 2006). For instance,successfully communicating and making explicit thelinkages between conservation, sustainable livelihoods,poverty alleviation and human security, could influencepolicymakers to dedicate a proportion of the funds raisedfor mid- to long-term disaster relief efforts into ecosystemrestoration or sustainable development (Deutz, 2005;O’Brien, 2006). Such projects are deemed effective strate-gies for disaster risk reduction, biodiversity conservation,boosting livelihoods and reducing social and ecologicalvulnerability.
1.2. The Asian tsunami
On 26th December 2004 an earthquake on the Sumatra-Andaman fault displaced more than 30 km3 of seawaterresulting in a tsunami that hit coastal communities in 12countries (Bilham, 2005). Millions of people were dis-placed, their homes and livelihoods destroyed and officialfigures put the death toll in the region of 250,000 (Miller,2005). The scale of this disaster was reflected in thegenerosity of the international community and a staggering
ARTICLE IN PRESS
1UK national newspapers: The Business, The Daily Telegraph and
Sunday Telegraph, Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, The Express and The
Sunday Express, Financial Times, The Guardian and The Observer, The
Independent and Independent on Sunday, The Mirror and The Sunday
Mirror, The Sun and The News of the World, The Morning Star, The
People, The Times and The Sunday Times.
A. Ashlin, R.J. Ladle / Environmental Hazards 7 (2007) 330–341332
US$5.3 billion was pledged for the relief effort (Linner-ooth-Bayer et al., 2005). The tsunami also received anunprecedented amount of media coverage (Greenhoughet al., 2005). In the first 19 months following the disasterthere were over 10,000 articles in the UK press alone thatcontained the word tsunami. This can be compared to atotal of 872 articles containing the words Pakistan andearthquake in the 11 months following this disaster, and2264 articles containing the words hurricane and Katrina infirst the 13 months after this storm hit the coast of theUnited States.
Environmental assessments have shown that a numberof coastal ecosystems were damaged by the tsunami, butthe extent of the damage varied both between and withincountries (UNEP, 2005; WWF, 2005). In some areas coralreefs were almost totally destroyed, in other areas thereappears to be no impact (Baird et al., 2005; Pennisi, 2005).Mangroves stands, littoral forests, lagoon systems, andseagrass beds were also damaged and many beachessuffered severe erosion (Ramachandran et al., 2005). Insome areas it was noted that sand dunes acted as bio-shields completely stopping the tsunami, which was onlyable to head inland where the dune line was broken by riveroutlets. There is considerable on going debate amongstscientists regarding the role of coastal vegetation such asmangrove and littoral forests in buffering the tsunamiwaves (Kathiresan and Rajendran, 2005, 2006; Kerr et al.,2006). Another impact of the tsunami has been thecolonisation of various areas by prickly pears (Opuntia),an alien invasive species (Ingram et al., 2005; UNEP andMoENR, 2005). The environmental impacts of theredevelopment are also a concern. Indonesia’s Acehprovince and Sri Lanka were the hardest hit areas. InIndonesia 141,000 homes were completely destroyed and inSri Lanka approximately 99,500 homes were destroyed and46,300 damaged (Cyranoski, 2005). Together the numberof people left homeless by the tsunami in these twocountries alone totals more than one million (McMahon etal., 2006). Many building materials including timber, sandand cement are required for the reconstruction andredevelopment of affected areas. Where these materialsare sourced from will have important environmentalimplications. For example, the illegal extraction of seacorals for making lime has in the past been a major threatto the reefs of Sri Lanka and demand may lead to furtherillegal mining (MoFE, 1999). An increase in demand forbricks may lead to the removal of clay from productive ricelands and the felling of trees for firewood. The disposal ofdebris, the over pumping of wells and the positioning oftemporary camps and permanent resettlement sites fordisplaced people also have associated environmentalimpacts (Ingram et al., 2006). Another issue that has beenhighlighted is the impact on fish stocks due to the supply ofreplacement fishing boats in greater numbers than pre-tsunami levels. The increased efficiency of this gear couldlead to increased catch rates and result in over-exploitationof the marine environment (Pomeroy et al., 2006).
1.3. Case study
In this paper we examine newspaper reports of the Asiantsunami (a sudden on set disaster) to explore how theenvironmental discourse surrounding this ‘natural disaster’is represented, discussed and reworked by the media.Discourse can be broadly defined as a particular way oftalking about and understanding the world, or as a sharedway of apprehending the world (Phillips and Jorgensen,2002). Environmental discourse, according to Hajer is notonly ‘‘time- and space-specific’’ but it is also governed by‘‘a specific modelling of nature, which reflects our pastexperience and present preoccupations’’ (1995, p. 17). Oursample is restricted to UK national newspapers and theseare used to provide a snapshot of the storylines that arecommunicated to international donors. We argue that it isimportant to understand how these issues are commu-nicated to audiences outside of the tsunami affected regionsbecause this could strongly influence international supportand funding of environment and development practiceboth within and beyond the geographic boundaries of thedisaster. In turn this could directly influence the currentand future social and ecological vulnerability of these andother communities to natural hazards. Furthermore, due tothe magnitude of international media coverage focused ondisasters any misrepresentations or gaps between rhetoricand action may be amplified with potentially seriousconsequences for the credibility and legitimacy of theglobal environmental movement. For these reasons it isvital that stakeholders have a clear understanding of thecomplex dynamics between media discourse and environ-mental strategies and practice.
2. Methodology
This study identifies and examines environmentaldiscourse located in UK national newspaper1 reporting ofthe Asian tsunami in order to illustrate some of thestorylines that were communicated to the internationaldonor community. These storylines are contextualisedthrough observations made from a 6-week visit to SriLanka in June 2006 and assessments of concurrent andsalient research about the environmental impacts of thetsunami published in peer-reviewed journals and the greyliterature.
2.1. Newspaper sampling and data analysis
To identify UK national newspaper reports containingenvironmental narratives relating to the tsunami we firstconducted a LexisNexiss database search using the terms
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Table 1
Newspaper articles containing post-tsunami environmental storylines
Date Newspaper Headline
29-Dec-04 Financial Times UN to launch largest aid appeal
7-Jan-05 The Express Healing begins with a child’s
songy
7-Jan-05 The Daily
Telegraph
It is time to turn words into cash,
says UN leader
8-Jan-05 The Guardian Guardian appeal tops £1m
8-Jan-05 The Guardian Travel: Green light: Thailand plans
sustainable rebuild
10-Jan-05 The Guardian What can we do?’: rebuilding has
begun on the south Asian shoresy
11-Jan-05 The Guardian Guardian appeal at £1,222,500
15-Jan-05 The Daily
Telegraph
Rebuilt resorts ‘must benefit
devastated communities’
16-Jan-05 Sunday Times Scandal of beach where Britons died
20-Jan-05 Financial Times Jakarta outlines reconstruction
costs to donors
29-Jan-05 The Daily
Telegraph
How to buy good food with peace
of mind and a clear consciencey
17-Feb-05 The Daily
Telegraph
Aid still needed
19-Feb-05 Daily Mail Paradise regained
19-Feb-05 The Daily
Telegraph
Thai plan for recovery
23-Feb-05 Financial Times Danger waste hits tsunami survivors
UN report
26-Feb-05 The Daily
Telegraph
Tourism ‘worsened’ tsunami, says
UN
1-Mar-05 The Guardian Tsunami aftermath Prince Charles
meets victims
2-Mar-05 Morning Star Sri Lankan fishermen coming last
on the list;
7-Mar-05 The Daily
Telegraph
We must never forget the tsunami
victimsy
22-Apr-05 The Guardian China consumes forests of smuggled
timbery
20-May-
05
Financial Times Tsunami damage helps UN to price
the unseen value of ecosystems
25-Jun-05 Financial Times Valuable lessons learned as nations
recover
6-Jul-05 The Guardian Spent forcey
9-Oct-05 Mail on Sunday A tent
11-Oct-05 The Daily
Telegraph
Will confusion hinder world relief
plans?
11-Dec-05 Sunday Star Complete Shambles’; tsunami relief
funds that sailed into disaster
18-Dec-05 The Observer Phuket holiday homes rise from the
wavey
20-Dec-05 The Mirror Back to reality: Tsunami: One year
on
22-Dec-05 Financial Times Tsunami agencies ‘caused waste and
confusion’
23-Dec-05 Financial Times Companies focus help on long-term
projects
23-Dec-05 The Independent Tsunami: 1 year on: two-thirds of
tsunami donations unspent
26-Dec-05 The Times One year on
26-Dec-05 The Times £244m donations are still unused in
charity accounts
A. Ashlin, R.J. Ladle / Environmental Hazards 7 (2007) 330–341 333
tsunami AND environment!.2 A total of 266 articles wereretrieved, spanning a time frame of 19 months, from 26December 2004 until the end of July 2006. Utilisingmethods commonly employed for media analysis thesearticles were scanned for content (Antilla, 2005; Salinas,2006). In this manner 20 articles were identified thatcontained storylines relating to the environmental aspectsof the Asian tsunami. As it is important to consider thecontext and the framing of discussion, the textual contentand the contextual circumstances of each article wasanalysed in line with Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis(CDA). Each of the 20 articles were analysed by breakingthem down and considering (a) their morphologicalcharacteristics and structural organisation, (b) the objectsand actors represented including description of actions andquotes, (c) linguistic and rhetorical issues, discursivestrategies, philosophies, ideological standpoints and values(e.g. the belief that certain people are good or bad (Adger etal., 2001; Taylor, 2001)) and (d) any critical discourse
moments (cf. Carvalho and Burgess, 2005) marked byevents that coincided with the publication.
Although CDA is essentially an interpretive work, logicand creditability of argumentation, backed up by quotesfrom texts are the main validity tests in this kind of ana-lysis. Subsequently some have described discourse analysisas a combination of art and science as it is interpretive,evidence based and systematic (Ereaut and Segnit, 2006).The themes that emerged from our qualitative data analysisincluded media discussions of mangroves and coastalecosystems, the fisheries sector, and redevelopment afterthe tsunami. Having identified these key themes, and toensure that our sample captured all the associatedenvironmental storylines, we expanded the original Lex-isNexiss search to include the following search terms:tsunami AND mangrove!, tsunami AND fish!, tsunami
AND rebuilding!, and tsunami AND redevelopment!. Afterremoving duplicate articles the total number of newspaperarticles retrieved, including the original 266 was 721. Usingthe same analytical framework as before a further 20articles containing environmental storylines were identifiedand analysed, bringing the total sample to 40 (Table 1).
Combining systematic quantitative methods with quali-tative analysis requires a reasoned, thoughtful and iterativeapproach. Electronic databases such as LexisNexiss haveadvantages and disadvantages; search terms and Booleanoperators allow researchers to access and filter a hugevolume of data both quickly and easily, but the choice ofsearch terms ultimately biases the selection of articles thatare retrieved. It is for this reason that in our initial searchwe used the broad term environment! to ‘capture’ a largesample with a diverse range of storylines. Only after thisfirst set of newspaper reports were read for content and
30-Dec-05 Financial Times Indian minister rejects special tax
plan
1-Jan-06 The Observer Tsunami aid groups look to
environment
1-Jan-06 The Observer Reasons to hope for the futurey
2Adding an exclamation mark (!) to the end of a word allows
LexisNexiss to search for the root word plus all the words made by
adding letters to the end of it e.g. environment(s), environmental,
environmentalist(s), environmentally.
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Table 1 (continued )
Date Newspaper Headline
9-Feb-06 Financial Times Timber shortage hits Aceh
rebuilding strategy
27-Feb-06 Financial Times Coping with generous donationsy
2-May-06 The Independent Low-fat is good, butter is bad’ buy
free-range, not battery’ tofu’s
terrific, lard’s a killery
29-May-
06
The Guardian The Java earthquake: Let this
rescue improve on the last
A. Ashlin, R.J. Ladle / Environmental Hazards 7 (2007) 330–341334
then critically analysed did we select a further four terms torefine our search and maximise the representativeness ofour sample.
3. Results of media analysis
This paper uses CDA to reveal how language is deployedto legitimise action and influence policy intervention(Jacobs, 2006) and to tease out the links between thenewspaper text and the social relations, distribution ofpower, the dominant values and ideas that surround post-tsunami development and environmental activity (Fair-clough, 2001; Carvalho and Burgess, 2005). It also aims toidentify discourse coalitions: sets of storylines, the actorsthat utter these storylines, and groups of actors thatsupport the storylines and practices of a specific discourse(Hajer, 1995; Bogelund, 2007). With this in mind the firstobservation than can be made is that despite the huge pressinterest in the tsunami there is comparatively littleattention given to the environmental impacts and con-sequences of it. This either reflects a disinterest on behalf ofthe media and the public, and/or a lack of proactive public-relations activity from scientists, governments, practi-tioners, the private sector and NGOs. Moreover, themajority of articles containing environmental storylineswere found in the broadsheets newspapers (85%) with theFinancial Times featuring more than any other individualnewspaper and the Guardian Media Group featuringmore than any other publishing consortium (Fig. 1).Whereas the placement of articles amongst the UK pressindicates the importance of these environmental issues todifferent media consortia and their readers, the combinedvolume of press coverage illustrates the attention given toan issue over time (Carvalho and Burgess, 2005). Fig. 2shows two clear peaks in the distribution of tsunami-related articles, the first corresponding with the immediateaftermath of the tsunami and the second with the 1-yearanniversary.
CDA also asks: what changes have taken place and aretaking place in forms of interaction around political andsocial issues? Do these forms of interaction constitutedialogue, deliberation, or debate (Fairclough 2001)? Withthis in mind we looked at when and where the storylinesrelated to the three main themes emerged (coastalecosystems, fisheries and redevelopment) (see Tables 2–4)
and the agents and coalitions that appear to be promotingthese storylines.
3.1. Coastal ecosystems
With respect to the storylines on coastal ecosystemsthere appears to be one dominant discourse, which reflectsthe goals and dynamics of the environmental movement.There is no apparent deliberation or debate and in effectthe area is politically closed and the existing discourse ishegemonic (Bogelund, 2007). The first storylines to emergeafter the tsunami were driven by environmental organisa-tions such as WWF and the United Nations EnvironmentProgramme (UNEP) and stated the need to preserve,restore and protect coral reefs, coastal vegetation, sanddunes and mangroves in tsunami-affected countries. Thisinitial discourse was followed by the publication of a reportfrom UNEP that stated the rationale for such activity bymaking the linkages between conservation, sustainablelivelihoods, poverty alleviation and human security. Con-sequently, it was reported in the media that coastalecosystems act as buffers and nurseries, they providehabitats for fish and they are worth more in economicterms when they are in tact than when they are convertedfor intensive farming. It was also reported that many of theworld’s poor depend on ecosystems for their livelihoods.The Financial Times (Harvey, 2005) printed the followingquote from Klaus Topfer, executive director of UNEP:
If these wetlands, forests, rivers and coral reefs werefactories, art galleries, universities and the like, it wouldbe considered gross vandalism or arson to damage themin the way we do. Yet our recklessness goes further thanthis. It is economic suicide.
There was no media discussion of the ongoing debateamongst the scientific community about the ability ofmangroves and coastal vegetation to act as bio-shields, andthere was no apparent contribution to these mediadiscussions from actors other than the large multi-nationalenvironmental NGOs and IGOs. Instead the actors thatare driving this discourse are, unsurprisingly, environmen-tal organisations that have a vested interest in promotingthe aforementioned storylines; storylines that are positiveand could be used to attract funding and/or legitimiseconservation and ecosystem restoration activities.
3.2. Fisheries
The discourse surrounding the fisheries sector is moredynamic. The storylines that emerge in the monthsfollowing the tsunami demonstrate a progression that ismissing in the coastal ecosystem discourse. The dialoguethat takes place in these media discussions also reflects theviews of a wider selection of actors that have differingpriorities and agendas. The immediate storylines to appearrefer to the need to replace fishing boats, enginesand fishing nets and to rebuild jetties and fishing yards.
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1
10
100
1000
10000
Dec-04 Jun-05 Dec-05 Jun-06
Date
Articles mentioning theword tsunami
The 721 sample articlesretrieved from LexisNexissearches
The 40 articles selectedwhich contain tsunamirelated environmentalstorylines
Fig. 2. The distribution of tsunami-related articles within the UK national newspapers, from the date of the tsunami until the end of June 2006.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Finan
cial T
imes
The D
aily T
eleg
raph
The G
uard
ian
TheObs
erve
r
TheIn
depe
nden
t
TheTim
es
Sun
dayTim
es
Mail o
n Sun
day
Daily M
ail
The E
xpre
ss
TheM
irror
Sun
day Sta
r
Mor
ning
Sta
r
UK National Newspapers
Fig. 1. The location of articles containing tsunami-related environmental storylines.
A. Ashlin, R.J. Ladle / Environmental Hazards 7 (2007) 330–341 335
These messages are mainly driven by aid agencies such asthe British Red Cross, World Vision and Concern, who atthe time were in the midst of fundraising for the relief effortand consequently publicising what was needed and therelative costs involved. Interestingly two drastically differ-ent estimates for replacing fishing boats were picked up inour analysis; the first was £1850 the second £500. The firstfigure is from a quote by a World Vision spokesman and itis the cost of providing a fully equipped boat in India(Swanson, 2005). The second figure was published in anarticle written by HRH The Prince of Wales (2005),3 herehe explains that this is the cost of providing a team of threefishermen with a basic boat, however it is not clear if this isthe cost in India or Sri Lanka (2005). In March 2005, justthree months after the tsunami, criticisms about the relief
3HRH The Prince of Wales is the president of the British Red Cross.
effort appeared and it was reported that the Sri Lankangovernment was withholding funds and that boats werestill needed in the east of the country. Six months after thetsunami, as questions arose regarding the donation of toomany boats and the donation of boats to people who werenot boat owners before the tsunami, the focus shifted andthe blame was attributed to aid agencies and NGOs,as illustrated by the following quote from VenkatgiriVivekanandan, head of the 35,000 strong South IndianFishermen’s Federation (Thekaekara, 2005):
The easiest way for local NGOs, in collaboration withinternational NGOs, to spend their money is to(provide) fishing boats as a rehabilitation strategy. Weare heading for a major disaster because they aretargeting not merely people who lost boats, but anyonethe NGO deems fit. This will lead to over-fishing,
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Table 3
The emergence of post-tsunami storylines relating to the fisheries sector
Date Storylines Events
Year Month Day
2004 December 30 Reconstruction to focus on replacing boats and their engines, rebuilding jetties and providing
fishing nets
2005 January 7 3000 boats destroyed in India, replacement boats will cost £1850
8 Fishing yards where small boats are constructed and maintained need to be rebuilt
29 Prawn farms left the coastline dangerously unprotected and this contributed to the impact of
the tsunami
February 23 Traditional fishing methods are better for the environment UNEPa report
released
17 Fishing nets are provided in aid packages as valuable tools for long-term recovery, however,
more are needed
March 1 Two months after the tsunami boats are still needed in eastern Sri Lanka
2 Sri Lankan government is withholding massive relief which was given to help fishermen
7 There are not enough boatyards and replacing boats could take months if not years. The cost
of replacing boats is £500
May 29 Fishermen lack ice-making equipment facilities for keeping their catches fresh
July 6 Too many fishing boats have been donated and this will lead to over-fishing, depletion of
resources and livelihood ruin. Modernising the fishing industry will impact badly on local
livelihoods
Six month
anniversary
October 11 Some fishermen received several new boats
December 11 The wrong type of boats and oversupply of defective boats may lead to fishermen loosing their
livelihoods. Some people have received boats that were not previously fishermen
20 Less boats are needed than before the tsunami as many fishermen died and many people
moved away from coastal areas
22 Many NGOs did not take part in meetings with local authorities. This lead to confusion and
duplication of boats
23 A cold chain will be set up (in Thailand) in March 2006 so fishermen can keep their catches
refrigerated and sell directly to markets, cutting out the middle man
26 The majority of boats have now been replaced in Sri Lanka and Indonesia One year
anniversary
aUnited Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Table 2
The emergence of post-tsunami storylines relating to coastal ecosystems
Date Storylines Events
Year Month Day
2005 January 15 Coral reefs, coastal vegetation, sand dunes and mangroves should be preserved, restored
and protected
29 Coastal ecosystems (sand dunes, mangroves and coral reefs) act as coastal buffers
February 26 Healthy ecosystems absorbed the impact of the tsunami waves and less damaged
occurred in these areas compared to in disturbed ecosystems
UNEPa report
released
19 Coral reefs in The Maldives absorbed the impact of the tsunami. Resorts without these
natural protective barriers were hardest hit
May 20 The destruction of mangrove swamps and coral reefs added to the damage caused by
the tsunami. Mangrove swamps are worth more, in economic terms, in tact than they
are when they are converted for intensive farming, Coastal ecosystems act as nurseries
and provide habitats for fish. Many of the world’s poor depend on ecosystems for their
livelihoods
UNEPa report
released
June 25 Some lessons have been learned. Human destruction of mangrove forests and other
natural vegetation exposes coastal settlements to greater destruction form large waves
Six month
anniversary
2006 January 1 Forests act as watersheds FFIb announcement/
one year anniversary
aUnited Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).bFlora and Fauna International (FFI).
A. Ashlin, R.J. Ladle / Environmental Hazards 7 (2007) 330–341336
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Table 4
The emergence of post-tsunami storylines relating to redevelopment
Date Storylines Events
Year Month Day
2005 January 8 Rebuilding should be environmentally friendly
10 Relocating seashore settlements in south-east Asia can be not only flawed but deadly. It is
necessary to consider the effects of monsoons, floods and access to livelihoods resources
15 All new buildings in India and Sri Lanka are banned within a 100 or 200 yard buffer zone
October 9 Logging is a big problem in Banda Aceh. There is a conflict between providing new homes
and protecting virgin rainforests. Some aid agencies have suspended building as they do
not want to use timber from dubious sources
December 23 Building restrictions along coastlines and sourcing materials that do not deplete natural
resources has slowed reconstruction. There is mixed support/conflict of interest between
environmental groups, aid agencies and governments
One year
anniversary
2006 February 9 Aid agencies lack experience sourcing timber. Finding legal/sustainable supplies of timber
is problematic
27 Environmental groups have put aid agencies under pressure DECa
Announcement
aDisasters Emergency Committee (DEC).
A. Ashlin, R.J. Ladle / Environmental Hazards 7 (2007) 330–341 337
deplete the resource beyond sustainable limits and, inthe long run, ruin the entire livelihood of the coastalcommunity.
Approaching the 1-year anniversary of the tsunami theFinancial Times reported that an independent fact findingmission initiated by Bread for the World and MedicoInternational found that NGOs did not take part inmeetings with local authorities in Sri Lanka to coordinaterelief and reconstruction work and that this led toconfusion and the duplication of fishing boats (Williamson,2005). It was also reported at this time that not only weretoo many boats distributed but the wrong type and/ordefective boats were donated (Chandler, 2005).
3.3. Redevelopment
The discourse surrounding redevelopment evolves froma hegemonic narrative regarding the importance of sus-tainable redevelopment, with a strong coalition of actorsacross a variety of organisations and sectors, to a set ofcompeting storylines that disconnects and fragments thepreviously united group of actors. The media also appearsto take more of an active, investigative journalism role withrespect to this issue, largely because of the humanitarianaspect of the redevelopment theme. Unlike the coastalecosystem discourse, and to a lesser extent the fisheriesdiscourse the redevelopment discourse touches on issuesthat are of more interest to the newspapers’ readers, such asthe plight of tsunami victims who, a year after the tsunami,remain homeless and living in tents.
The first storyline to appear about post-tsunamiredevelopment was that redevelopment should be sustain-able and environmentally friendly. This was a message thatwas repeated and shared by the Sri Lanka Tourist Board,the Tourism Authority of Thailand, UNEP, WWF and
Flora and Fauna International (FFI). As such bothgovernment agencies and environmental organisationswere in agreement. However, towards the end of 2005 itbecame apparent that rebuilding sustainably was complexand conflicts of interests and mixed support for environ-mental considerations began to emerge, as illustrated bythe following quote (Parry, 2005) from a spokeswoman forthe United Nations in Banda Aceh:
Logging is a major problem here. We have got peoplewho desperately want homes, but if you have to cutdown virgin rainforests, what takes priority the rain-forests or getting people out of tents?
In February 2006, another newspaper article suggested thatbuilding restrictions along coastlines and the sourcing ofenvironmentally friendly materials had slowed construc-tion and that not only did aid agencies lack the experienceof sourcing such materials but supplies of sustainable andlegal timber were hard to find. The Financial Times(Donnan, 2006) reported that:
yOfficials said efforts to find enough timber had beenhampered by environmentalists shifting standards andthe inexperience of aid agencies in sourcing largeamounts of wood.
Just over one year after the tsunami the initial discoursecoalition has broken down, the dialogue has shifted andenvironmentalists are cast as villains (Adger et al., 2001).According to the following quote (Bruce, 2006), not onlywere they hampering efforts but also they were putting aidagencies under intense pressure:
Environmental groups put aid agencies under intensepressure not to buy locally and at the same time theIndonesian government threatened to ban imports.
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4. Discussion
One of the first observations that can be drawn from ouranalysis is that the (apparently) uncontested coastalecosystem discourse contrasts well with the fisheries andredevelopment discourse. Here the discourse is hegemonicso action to fundraise and instigate ecosystem restorationprojects may be seen as legitimate and normative. Thediversity of stakeholders and discourses within the fisheriessector discussions however suggests that the debate is on-going and continually developing and that a consensus hasnot been reached about what needs to be done to rectifythe uneven/over distribution of fishing equipment andwho is to blame for this. In fact the diversity of actorsinvolved in these discussions could lead the reader toconclude that either all parties are to blame, one particularparty is a fault, or indeed that no one group of actors issolely responsible for the current situation. The redevelop-ment discourse highlights some of the inherent difficultiesof using terms such as ‘sustainable development’, or‘environmentally friendly development’—these are termsthat are often used by well-intentioned actors whounfortunately are unable to translate rhetoric intoaction. Consequently as time lapsed and the 1-yearanniversary of the tsunami arrived (a critical discoursemoment) questions arose and conflicts of interest betweengovernments, aid agencies and environmental organisa-tions appeared.
It is also apparent that from our analysis there are anumber of gaps in the discussion and representation ofenvironmental issues in tsunami-affected countries withinUK national newspapers in contrast to the more detaileddiscussion of these issues within the peer-reviewed litera-ture and the grey literature. For example, in the media wefound no discussion of the problems of mining coral formaking lime, the impact of invasive species, the variation indamage to coastal ecosystems, the resilience of ecosystemsand/or their ability to regenerate naturally, the successesand failures of post-tsunami environmental projects, or thelack of consensus regarding the need for tsunami relatedmangrove restoration. As well as a limited number ofstorylines there was, on the whole, a limited number ofactors engaged in the media discourse. The views of theprivate sector, the academic community, the UK publicand local stakeholders in tsunami-affected regions werelargely absent in the newspaper reports. The private sectorand the UK public may simply be uninterested in theseissues, and the ability of local men and women in tsunamiaffected regions to make their voices and concerns heardeither limited or lacking. With respect to the academiccommunity there may be several reasons why this group isreluctant to pro-actively discuss their findings with the UKmedia. Firstly there may be a fear of being misquoted orbeing labelled anti-environmentalists or sceptics. Secondlywhen information is translated from scientists to policy-makers or the media the complexity of research andspecialist bits of knowledge are often eradicated. As
intermediary languages are created any uncertainty and/or conditionality associated with the original knowledgeclaims are often lost in a process which Hajer terms‘‘discourse closure’’ (1995, p.62). It is in this way that thestorylines around coastal buffering may have evolved anddiscussions of the influence of bathometry, topography aswell as vegetation density on wave inundation was lostand/or simplified. Finally there is also a lack of incentive tospend precious time developing good media relations whenUK academic departments and their staff are assessed ontheir ability to publish in peer reviewed journals and notthe mass media.When considering whether ‘natural disasters’ provide an
opportunity for influencing public perception of environ-mental issues using the media it is necessary to considerwhat those opportunities are, and who would benefit fromthese. The tsunami did provide an opportunity forenvironmental organisations to highlight to nationalnewspaper readers in the UK the perceived importance ofcoastal ecosystems and benefits of conserving, protectingand restoring these. The tsunami has also provided anopportunity to raise funds for such work; The UnitedNations Development Programme and the World Con-servation Union (IUCN) have developed an ecosystemrestoration programme called Mangroves For the Future
that aims to raise US$62million to conduct work in all thetsunami affected regions over the next six years (Stone,2006). Such an initiative will have benefited from theaforementioned storylines.Examining the media discourse on redevelopment, it
may be argued that environmental organisations workingin tsunami-affected areas have missed an opportunity toexpress why issues such as the sourcing of legal timbersupplies in South East Asia are not easily tackled, and tostimulate debate in the national newspapers about thefundamental problems of conservation practice in thisregion. Another missed opportunity that may be perceivedis discussion by relevant actors regarding the best ways ofmitigating the impacts of natural hazards, e.g. buildingaway from flood plains, diversifying coastal economies,reducing chronic over-fishing, improving water quality anddiversifying livelihoods, reducing inequality, and promot-ing social justice (Iwan et al., 1999; Adger et al., 2005;Hanson and Roberts, 2005).Finally it is interesting to note—from observations made
in Sri Lanka and an examination of the peer-reviewed andgrey literature—that despite media coverage of the need toconserve coastal ecosystems, only a handful of pro-grammes have been initiated and the majority of thesehave been focused on mangrove conservation. Sand dunes,coral reefs and other littoral forests have benefited littlefrom post-tsunami funding streams, possibly due to therelative ease with which mangrove restoration projects canbe initiated. Such restoration projects are normally basedon the cultivation and planting of mangrove seedlings, andare viewed as effective strategies for supporting livelihoodsin areas devastated by disasters by providing work and
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income (Barbier, 2006). As such the focus of post-tsunamienvironmental initiatives on mangroves may leave theglobal environmental movement open to criticisms of notresponding effectively to the post-tsunami environmentalpriorities that were reported in the UK national news-papers. Furthermore, this criticism will be exacerbated ifmangrove restoration projects are eventually seen as aninappropriate or ineffective use of funds. There are severalpotential reasons that this may happen: (1) it is still beingdebated whether mangroves act as buffers against tsunamisand storm surges (Kathiresan and Rajendran, 2005, 2006;Kerr et al., 2006). (2) Several of the post-tsunami projectsare using a single species of mangrove or planting too soonor in the wrong places thereby not recreating the historicalecological community and leading to uncertain environ-mental consequences (pers. obs: Check, 2005; Wells, 2005).(3) Much of the tsunami-related damage to mangroves willregenerated naturally without human intervention andartificial restoration should be avoided where possible(Dahdouh-Guebas et al., 2000; Wells, 2005; EnvironmentalJustice Foundation, 2006). In this context mangroverestoration could be seen as a knee-jerk reaction of theenvironmental community with a limited window ofopportunity to fund-raise on the back of the tsunami.Mangrove restoration projects may also be seen asdiverting limited funds away from other important, butperhaps more technically challenging, areas of ecologicalrestoration, conservation and protection, such as coralreefs and sand dunes (Wells, 2005).
5. Conclusions
Gaps, imbalance or misrepresentation in global commu-nication risks undermining the integrity of the environ-mental movement (Ashlin and Ladle, 2006). As suchalthough the storylines surrounding coastal ecosystemswould appear to be beneficial and to have captured bothpolitical and financial support for ecosystem restorationactivities (as demonstrated by the Mangroves for theFuture project), we are concerned that the complexities anddifficulties of ecosystem restoration may not have beeneffectively communicated to potential donors in the West.It has been argued that if environmental or developmentorganisations admit to weakness and discuss issues ofaccountability they may open themselves to attacks fromsceptics or jeopardise donor funding (as discussed byJepson, 2005). However, we posit that if scientists,academics and practitioners explain the difficulties ofbalancing environmental ideals with political, economicand social requirements then potential supporters are morelikely to appreciate and understand the importance ofcontinued investment and research into these inherentlydifficult tasks. Highlighting gaps in knowledge or lack ofexpertise could even be used to mobilise support andgarner extra funding (Stone, 2006). Furthermore, increasedaccountability and transparency should improve the workcarried out by environmental intergovernmental and
nongovernmental organisations and strengthen the publictrust that they currently enjoy (MORI, 2003).We conclude that ‘natural disasters’ provide both
opportunities and risks for raising awareness of environ-mental issues, mobilising funding and directing action toenvironmentally and socially vulnerable areas of the world.However, if media discourse does not match on the groundaction and poor management decisions squander limitedresources, the publicity surrounding such events may causegreat damage to the credibility of the global environmentmovement. Therefore NGOs and intergovernmental bodiesshould be mindful of these longer-term consequences whenseeking the oxygen of global media attention.
Acknowledgements
This research was carried out with the support of theEconomic and Social Research Council and the NaturalEnvironment Research Council.
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