KOBE, Japan (AlertNet) Grassroots groups have slammed world governments for failing to seize the opportunity of a major conference on natural disasters to set concrete goals for protecting millions from calamities such as the Indian Ocean tsunami.

As the World Conference on Disaster Reduction came to a close in the Japanese city of Kobe, aid agencies said a watered-down plan of action -– the result of five days of wrangling -– contained nothing to hold nations accountable for pledges to help vulnerable communities become more resilient to hazards.

“Although all the areas of interest are covered, there’s nothing tight there that can assure us that governments really can nail this problem with continued political commitment,” Roger Yates, head of emergencies for relief agency ActionAid, told AlertNet.

“I don’t see any more political commitment in this statement than was there 10 years ago.”

Officials worked late into the night on Friday to hammer out a game plan to cut the toll caused by disasters over the next 10 years. A major theme was the need to invest money before hazards hit to prevent them turning into crises.

Delegates came up with a declaration recognising, among other things, the link between disaster reduction and sustainable development. It urges countries to foster “a culture of disaster prevention and resilience”.

But the non-binding blueprint for action contains no timelines or numerical targets –- such as goals for reducing death tolls or funding for disaster prevention –- and no way for governments to measure success or failure.

WATERED DOWN

“The indicators, the targets at the beginning of this process were very strong, very concrete,” Ben Wisner, a hazards specialist at London School of Economics and member of a coalition of civil society activists, told a news conference.

“What we’ve seen over the diplomatic process of reaching a consensus is that they have been tremendously watered down, and that is an enormous disappointment.”

U.N. emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland acknowledged that the conference, held to mark the 10th anniversary of an earthquake in Kobe that claimed almost 6,500 lives, had produced nothing to force governments to take action. But he said the declaration had moral force.

Non-governmental relief organisations said a major chance had been missed.

“You have to ask whether this conference and its outcomes have honoured those who died in the Asian earthquakes and tsunamis,” Eva von Oelreich, head of disaster preparedness and response at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in a statement.

“Have they brought hope to the survivors, and to other vulnerable people, that soon the day will come when the chance of such horror occurring again will have been reduced to the minimum?”

Relief agency Tearfund said some countries, including the United States, had shown “breathtaking complacency” despite the Asian tsunami in December that killed more than 225,000.

The group singled out Britain and Sweden as nations that had worked hard, but failed, to have concrete targets included.

“The trouble is you get big, powerful governments putting their foot down on some of these issues, and in the end you get the lowest common denominator,” said Sarah La Trobe, Tearfund’s public policy officer.

Grassroots groups welcomed the inclusion in the document of language on climate change -– a major bone of contention in negotiations –- but objected to the absence of targets for cutting noxious emissions widely blamed for global warming.

“We are saying there is a clear link between greenhouse gases and disasters, and disaster reduction is not possible without reduction of greenhouse gases,” said Khurshid Alam with ActionAid’s international emergencies team.