How much the Iranian government spent on disasters in the last 100 years? A critical policy analysis

Abstract

Background During the past 20 years, Iran has been experiencing a significant increase in the occurrence of disasters mainly due to the emergence of anthropogenic climate change. This paper aims at analyzing the trend of national budget allocation in Iran over the last 100 years to evaluate the focus of the Iranian state on the four phases of Preparedness, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery and propose modifications. Methods It is used a critical policy analysis with what’s the problem represented approach. In this approach is focused on problematization and policy gaps. The most important policy statement in any government is the budget. During the first screening, 1028 regulations and laws were found from 1910 to 2020. After full text screening, 494 regulations and laws related to budget allocation to disasters were analyzed. Results The Iranian government has spent around 29 billion USD on disasters during the last 100 years. Droughts, earthquake and flood have costs the government more than other disasters, accounting for more than 14, 6.9, and 6.1 billion USD, respectively, in the allocated budget. Most of the Iranian government expenditure during the last 100 years on various disasters such as drought, flood, earthquake, and COVID-19 has been spent on involuntary costs including Response and Recovery. Mitigation and Preparedness are the two critical disaster management phases with very small shares of national budgeting. Conclusions From policy audit and policy gaps it is concluded that Iranian governments during last 100 years, problematized the issue of “disasters strike” and not “disasters’ risks”. In time of disasters, governments tried to solve the issues or impacts of disasters with budgeting to response and recovery. Nevertheless, disasters’ prevention or mitigation or preparedness was not a problem for Iranian governments from 1920 to 2020.

Post-Disaster Spillovers: Evidence from Iranian Provinces

“…Not only under the current situation of economic sanctions, there are several challenges for policy makers in Iran to use the opportunity after the natural disasters, for example institutional development, efficiency of reconstruction, corruption and rent-seeking, as well as access to investments, construction materials, and technology. According to Seddighi and Seddighi (2020), the Iranian government has mainly focused on response and recovery in the past 100 years, and not on mitigation and preparedness. Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response, and to 'Build Back Better' (in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction), is one of the pillars of the Sendai framework for disaster risk reduction, but the Iranian policies have not taken this into account yet.…”

Factors Challenging the Spiritual Rehabilitation of Iranian Men Affected by Natural Disasters: A Qualitative Study

“…Regarding the presence of numerous religious places and holy shrines in Iran, people have a high tendency to attend these places and worship God (Heydari Chianeh et al, 2018 ). Iran is recognized as a highly disaster-prone country in the world and ranks fourth in Asia in terms of the incidence of natural disasters such as floods (Seddighi & Seddighi, 2020 ).…”

Disaster Risk Reduction in Iranian Primary and Secondary School Textbooks: A Content Analysis

“…Earthquake and floods are among the deadliest natural hazards in Iran. 6 These 2 natural hazards, along with drought, have cost the government more than other disasters in the last 100 years. 6 Researchers showed that the severity and magnitude of some natural hazards, such as floods and drought, are increasing.…”

“…6 These 2 natural hazards, along with drought, have cost the government more than other disasters in the last 100 years. 6 Researchers showed that the severity and magnitude of some natural hazards, such as floods and drought, are increasing. 7 Children are one of the most vulnerable groups during natural hazards, which influence different aspects of their well-being, including mental, physical, and social health.…”