The role of military forces in emergency management (civil-military interaction)

Abstract

Those involved in emergency response and recovery, including the military, require an acute level of awareness of livelihoods that rely on livestock and their associated implications for human security. Emergencies cause injury and death and devastate livestock-based livelihoods, a key characteristic of the lives of many of the world's rural poor. The role for military forces in emergency management is expanding, and this can cause friction during an emergency due to competing agendas and objectives. Opportunities exist to make greater use of the military, such as providing support to livestock-based livelihoods, but there are challenges and barriers that must be overcome. A common framework for civil-military interaction may help to coordinate response efforts and enhance local and international responses to emergencies. The Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards and the proposed livelihood security model are constructs that can help to develop a shared understanding of the security environment during a livestock emergency response. Examples from the Philippines' response to Typhoons Sarika and Haima and Sri Lankan military agricultural engagements provide context for a proposed common operational framework.