By Ken Hickson, ABC of Carbon

How well do we manage disasters where-ever they may be? Couldn’t we do a better job by rebuilding and reconstructing after a disaster by ‘building it back green”?

Ken Hickson, author of “The ABC of Carbon” and editor of abc carbon express asks the questions and comes up with some powerful, sustainable answers.

Haiti is still in the throes of a massive relief operation after its devastating earthquake in January, but people around the world are already thinking and planning for a better way to get Haiti back on its feet and housed by approaching it in a sustainable fashion.

International talks on Haiti, which opened last January in Montreal to focus on the "critical first steps" in rebuilding the earthquake-ravaged country, while Global Green USA and Green Cross are offering their expertise (used after Hurricane Katrina and the Victorian bushfires) to create partnerships to help sustainably rebuild Haiti's devastated homes, schools and communities. Civil and environmental professor Yan Xiao is suggesting bamboo as a suitable and sustainable building material for Haiti.

Mara Bun, CEO of Green Cross in Australia, which developed the Build It Back Green programme after the devastating Victoria bush fires a year ago, welcomes the move by its US partner organisation to drive a sustainable rebuilding programme for Haiti. Any funds donated in Australia through Green Cross will be dedicated to helping create healthier, energy efficient, disaster resistant housing, schools and other structures, which are appropriate for Haiti.

Here’s the word from Global Green USA President Matt Petersen, Green Cross’ partner organisation in the United States:

The response of American citizens, the US government, and individuals around the world is of course heartening, but does not replace the unfathomable loss of human lives and property. In any disaster, we must find a silver lining to give some small solace to such unbelievable tragedy. 

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, I put forth a plan two weeks after the tragedy to do just that. Today, Global Green’s leadership in the green rebuilding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina has served both as a catalyst and has assisted directly in rebuilding schools and homes to be green.

As TIME Magazine stated in an article last year, “No organization is doing more to green New Orleans than Global Green USA...". This has included our Holy Cross Project as well as providing technical expertise and financial assistance to the New Orleans schools, housing groups, and even city and state agencies, leveraging the $10 million we have raised and deployed to date to impact hundreds of millions in reconstruction.

Now, we plan to take several of the lessons we learned in New Orleans as the international community sets out to rebuild Haiti. Our goal is help create a more sustainable Haiti, with energy efficient, healthy, disaster resistant buildings that makes the nation more resilient to future electricity shortages, public health crises, and disasters.

There is much more than needs to be done — including reforestation — to help Haiti to recover, but we will provide our assistance, experience and resources to create better schools and homes, as well as infrastructure.

There are many critical, important organizations working on the immediate emergency relief efforts that continue to need everyone’s support. As we work on the rebuilding of Haiti with other organizations, we will also help supplement aid efforts — helping to provide solar flashlights and other ‘sustainable’ aid for lighting and water purification that can assist in the long recovery from this humanitarian crisis.  

Source: www.greencrossaustralia.org and www.globalgreen.org

Alyssa Danigelis for Discovery News  on 19 January 2010 put it this way:

The overwhelming destruction in Haiti reminds one engineer of the shoddy buildings that collapsed during the massive 2008 quake in Sichuan, China. For him, it's not too early to think about sustainable reconstruction.

Civil and environmental professor Yan Xiao at the University of Southern California is known for creating GluBam, a pressed composite made from bamboo that's incredibly strong and costs less than imported lumber. I had written about his demonstration bamboo houses before and sought his thoughts on Haiti.

"From the pictures, it seems they use quite a lot of masonry buildings and concrete with little reinforcement, these are all known killers in [an] earthquake," Xiao responded. "I am now contacting various organizations to see if we can get some supports to manufacture and send some bamboo shelters to the country." He indicated that he isn't sure how much bamboo is available there yet.

There are a few bamboo crops. Last summer, USAID described a project that brought two hundred bamboo plants in 12 varieties from Hawaii to Haiti. The plants did better in Haiti than in Hawaii: within four months, more than 40,000 plants had flourished from the original ones. Since the crops were spread around the country, I imagine that some survived.

Realistically, the rebuilding effort could take at least 10 years, Stanford environmental engineering professor and earthquake expert Anne Kiremidjian recently told CNN. She pointed to the need for a seismic building code, training in design and construction practices, and reinforced joints between beams and columns.

Reconfigured shipping containers might be a short-term solution. Clemson University researchers have been working on a method to convert them into emergency housing that's both sturdy and stable. On Sunday, Doctors Without Borders reported that one of their medical teams performed operations in a converted shipping container. (Their giant inflatable hospital arrived in Port-au-Prince over the weekend after being delayed by congestion at Haiti's beleaguered airport.)

Cameron Sinclair of Architecture for Humanity laid out a detailed, public, and collaborative reconstruction plan for Haiti on Sunday. In it he writes, "[W]e are not just building a roof over someone's head--we are building equity."
Source: www.news.discovery.com

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon says wind power could play a key role in Haiti’s reconstruction. Cannon says technology will be an important element of bringing the Caribbean island country back from the January 12 earthquake that has left much of it in ruins.
With Haiti virtually denuded of its forests, the minister said before today’s conference on Haitian reconstruction that wind power could reduce the country's dependence on fossil fuels.

Cannon says planners could also look at the latest technologies in earthquake-resistant construction before rebuilding the devastated country.
He says Haiti and those helping in its reconstruction need to seize upon the opportunity to make the impoverished country something significantly more than it was.

Monday’s Montreal conference brings together foreign ministers from more than a dozen countries, notably U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, along with eight international bodies including banks and six major non-governmental organizations.

In Australia, Green Cross looked at what it could do to help after the devastating bush fires in Victoria in February 2009:
Right now Australia is joining the Build it Back Green (BIBG) movement, finding hope in the aftermath of the horrors of Black Saturday Victorian bushfires which destroyed more than 2,000 homes and 3,500 structures in total. Flowerdale is an inspiring example of a Victorian community pulling together to rebuild their lives, homes, community centres and schools in a more sustainable way.

Green Cross Australia and its partners - Australian Conservation Foundation, Alternative Technology Association, Habitat for Humanity Australia, and Green Building Council of Australia - are determined to support Black Saturday affected communities with green rebuilding tools from a base in Flowerdale, a town determined to create a sustainable future out of a tragic episode.

And not only Victoria could benefit from BIBG, because Queensland is also prepared to rebuild green after its next major weather event.
The Queensland government recognises its growing exposure to severe weather as the planet warms.
Green Cross Australia has been selected as the Q2 Environment Foundation Partner of the Bligh Government, and BIBG will underpin our efforts to support reduced household emissions right across the State.

Together with our BIBG partners and Queensland government agencies, Green Cross is preparing to BIBG after Queensland's next cyclone or major flood or fire. Source: www.greencrossaustralia.org

And while we’re on the subject, the world’s leading sustainability and property experts to tackle urban challenges facing Australia at Green Cities 2010. Green Cities 2010 is the largest and most influential green building conference in the Asia Pacific region, and will take place in Melbourne from February 21-24.

Property and environmental industry leaders from around the world will use the Green Cities 2010 event to tackle the issue of greenhouse gas production from Australian cities, which are estimated to account for 70% of the nation's greenhouse gas output.

Green Cities is a joint initiative of the Green Building Council of Australia and the Property Council of Australia.

Green Building Council of Australia CEO Romilly Madew said urban greenhouse gas production was one of the greatest challenges facing Australia today.

"Sustainable, productive and healthy cities are crucial to Australia's future success," she said.

“With almost 180,000 people added to the urban population in the world each day, we are not alone in trying to deal with this issue. Ensuring the development of sustainable buildings is the cornerstone of the renewed push for sustainable cities.”

Green Cities 2010 will deliver the insight, tools and techniques that all stakeholders in the development process need to create sustainable environments that benefit the nation.

“Australia is in a great position to create world-class buildings, urban environments and communities. Green Cities 2010 will establish a common agenda to ensure we capitalise on the huge opportunity facing us and create living environments for future generations to enjoy,” said Property Council of Australia CEO, Peter Verwer.

Now in its fourth year, Green Cities 2010 will feature panel discussions, case studies and debates on how green buildings will deliver greater productivity and occupant health while using less resources and providing higher returns on investment.
Source: www.greencities.org.au

Ken Hickson is the author of “The ABC of Carbon” and the editor of the weekly e-newsletter abc carbon express. He also runs the ABC Carbon consultancy. Go to his website for more information: www.abccarbon.com