Improving Cross-border Disaster Response by Enhancing Collaboration and Cooperation Between the United States and Mexico Through Universities

Download or read book Improving Cross-border Disaster Response by Enhancing Collaboration and Cooperation Between the United States and Mexico Through Universities written by and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The spread of information due to the availability of technology throughout most regions of the world has enabled global collaboration on natural disasters. As mass media has made disasters more prominent we have seen that no corner of the earth is immune to such catastrophes. For that reason we must learn to prepare for and to be resilient when a disaster strikes. An integral part of Homeland Security is preparing for and responding to disasters within our borders. To successfully do this we have created the National Response Framework, which outlines the structure of how to function before, during and after a disaster. However, in order to efficiently serve the people we must take into account that disasters do not respect borders. With that in mind, it is essential to cooperate and collaborate with our neighbor south of the border to improve disaster response. Building relationships with Mexico regarding common concerns and interests, like disaster response, is vital to the emergency response structure. To avoid conflicts during a disaster, it is key to develop a relationship between the neighboring nations; where each country has knowledge of and understands the function of the other country's response protocols and apparatus. Though Mexico and the United States have strong connections and mutual interests, politics in the forms of procedures and protocols in respect to disasters obstruct speedy and efficient response to disasters affecting both countries. For that reason, to effectively develop a more comprehensive relationship and reach domestic and trans-border efficiency, we must find a way to engage with each other without obstacles in the form of politics and protocols. The way to do this is by having the federal government and/or state department leverage universities with funding and project parameters to research and establish formal engagement strategies with counterparts in the other country.