Article written by Carlos Eduardo Lobo, Pro-Rector of Research and Graduate Studies at PUCRS
Tuesday, May 21 | 2024By: Carlos Eduardo Lobo, Pro-Rector of Research and Graduate Studies at PUCRS
People sheltered at the PUCRS Sports Park are being cared for by volunteer students and professors from the School of Health and Life Sciences. / Photo: Lucas Azevedo
When the waters overflowed and invaded streets and homes, leaving thousands of families homeless and people dead, leaving a trail of destruction across more than 400 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul, society mobilized and – more than that – threw itself body and soul into actions of solidarity and aid to the victims of the disaster. Many heroes emerged, from homes that were both dry and flooded. All of them committed to overcoming the first great challenge of a disaster like this: saving lives and caring for the lives that were saved, amidst social chaos, with lack of water, electricity and mobility. In the fight for life, even with inevitable losses, the societies of Rio Grande do Sul and Brazil showed an extraordinary strength of reaction.
As the water flows down Lagoa dos Patos, new cities are threatened and others, victims of last week, are beginning the second challenge of this difficult journey: rebuilding the State – not just homes, businesses, factories, hospitals and schools, but also the lives of hundreds of thousands of Gauchos.
As we clear away the mud and debris, pave roads and rebuild bridges, we cannot ignore the future risk of further disasters. And here we come to the third challenge: planning and implementing effective strategies to protect ourselves. If we cannot – as a local society – prevent severe weather events, let us reduce the destruction they cause as much as possible.
Universities have a key role to play in addressing the three challenges of saving lives, rebuilding the state and minimizing future damage. This is a special time when society needs our knowledge and, more than that, our ability to transform knowledge into social impact and improving the well-being of the population.
We need not only UFRGS, PUCRS, Unisinos and so many other good universities in Rio Grande do Sul, but also USP, Unicamp, UNESP, UFSCar, and all those who can bring solutions that help rebuild Rio Grande and our hopes.
However, the knowledge and goodwill of Brazilian research will not be enough. It is essential that there is coordination that identifies and articulates initiatives and research groups that are capable and strongly oriented towards results, in the most diverse areas of knowledge.
In multidimensional and multidisciplinary emergency and reconstruction tasks, good coordination of actions is crucial, as the documents “The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned” (2006) and “National Disaster Recovery Framework” (second edition, 2016) make clear.
Therefore, the federal government, in alignment with local governments and the private sector, needs to take the lead in this broad movement, defining how it will mobilize resources and skills to achieve success. Certainly, a project of this magnitude needs to establish clear expected results and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms on all fronts, to ensure maximum efficiency in the use of resources.
The road ahead is long and the problems are complex. But Brazil has yet another opportunity to show society that investment in education and science can transform the lives of Brazilians for the better.
*Article originally published on the Estadão.
