The Role of Humanitarian Agencies in Reconstruction and Development of Disaster Affected Communities in Japan and the Philippines

Post-disaster reconstruction is a complex process engaging various stakeholders who typically respond to the policies and implementation strategies developed by governments and coordination bodies governing affected countries. Among the stakeholders, humanitarian organizations have actively participated in the process of community support and reconstruction, and their role has been widely recognized since they focused their efforts in different events over the last two decades. This study is focused on projects carried out by humanitarian agencies in the aftermath of major disasters in Japan and the Philippines. The aim of this research is to analyse the approaches for recovery and reconstruction adopted in each country and to compare the advantages and constraints for the development and implementation of agency-driven projects. This study found that the government controlled reconstruction efforts in Japan limited the agencies' involvement in the recovery phase, especially in early stages of housing repair and reconstruction. This led to some agencies circumventing the Japanese Government's precarious coordination mechanisms to simplify their independently implemented projects. By contrast the Philippines Government promoted the active participation of agencies through close partnerships to coordinate and support community recovery. These differences in policy have directly impacted the implementation of humanitarian projects by local and international organizations. This paper demonstrates that the establishment of local contacts is crucial for the implementation of reconstruction projects. However NGOs projects are influenced by national post-disaster recovery systems limiting their independency. Additionally communities are often excluded from the process of recovery by the paternalistic approach of NGOs and governments which exacerbates the risk of dependency and restricts possibilities for community resilience and development. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.