Topic-5-sdwdewewfwrfw rfrefre gee Community-based-DRM.pdf

Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Title Overview of Community-based Disaster Risk reduction and Management
Subject SCD 108 – Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Time duration 3 Hours
Learning Outcomes 1. State and explain the importance of the Community-Based Approach
to Education and Public Awareness.
2. Identify the different stakeholders involved in the Community-based
Approach.
3. Categorise the stakeholders according to their roles and
responsibilities.
4. Explain the key roles of local authorities in supporting community
action for disaster risk management.
Materials  Hand-outs
 Videos
Activities and procedures Reading
Topic 5: Overview of Community-based Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
1. Introduction
All governments are responsible for protecting their citizens and endorsing the 2005 Hyogo Declaration
which states that: “strengthening community level capacities to reduce disaster risk at the local level is
especially needed, considering that appropriate disaster reduction measures at that level enable the
communities and individuals to reduce significantly their vulnerability to hazards.”
Members of a community are the immediate victims of adverse effects of a disaster. They have the best
knowledge about their local surrounding in terms of the most disaster-prone areas, the demography of their
community and their social and traditional organisation. It is important that they have the capacity to cope
with the impacts of a disaster and are involved in the development of disaster management activities right
from the initial planning stages. Community participation can also make them more confident in their
capabilities to act in the event of a disaster leading to a self-reliant community (Newport & Jawahar, 2003).
Every community has members who can be ignorant of events around them especially when these events
do not affect them directly or more frequently. This type of attitude can also be gradually changed by
involving members of the local community in decision-making processes such as planning national disaster
management plans or even designing awareness programmes. This bottom-up, participatory approach can
make community members more receptive of new knowledge and information presented to them.
Review of the past disasters would allow the local authorities to identify the vulnerable locations and
communities. The local authorities can gather information about the past disasters from various sources; e.g.
government relief records, local newspapers, research reports in the universities and technical institutions,
reports of the relevant government bodies; e.g. the meteorological department, or volcanology department.
The analysis of the impact of past disasters on various communities and social groups will help understand
the relationship between the nature of hazard and the kind of impact they can have upon various at-risk-
elements. Through this analysis the local authorities can also identify the high impact hazards; e.g. those
which kill the most people, or those which affect severely the local economy and infrastructure.

pg. 2
The population in a district, municipality, commune or village may be comprised upon multiple social groups.
The vulnerability of each group to disasters would be different. It is important the local authorities have
knowledge about various social groups and their vulnerabilities. The people living near the hazard sites might
be more vulnerable than the one living far. Social groups whose livelihoods are located in dangerous areas
would also be more vulnerable; e.g. the fishers, sea gypsies, terrace farmers etc. It will also be useful to
analyze the resources and capacities which people used to cope with and recover from the previous
disasters.
to understand disaster risks in the local area.
1. Past Disasters in the Local Area
- What disasters were experienced in the area over the past 10 years?
- In which parts of the district or municipality the disasters were occurred?
- What is the recurrence period of the relevant hazards?
- What was the severity of various disasters?
- What was the duration of stay of the hazards?
- What other hazards might occur in the local area?
2. Impact of disasters
- Which social groups were severely affected by the various disasters?
- What kind of impact, disasters had upon people?
- Which social and economic development sectors were severely affected?
- What kind of impact, the disasters had upon the development sectors?
- What was the impact of disasters upon the environment?
3. Most vulnerable communities and groups
- Which social groups were severely affected by the disasters?
- What were the reasons, which made these groups more vulnerable?
4. Local level resources and coping mechanisms
- What capacities and resources communities used to deal with the disasters and recover from them?
(Please consider the knowledge, material and financial resources, technical resources, social networks
and behaviors that helped people cope with the disasters)
- Which key stakeholders were involved in disaster response and recovery?
- What resources local authorities used to respond to the disasters and organize recovery? (Please
consider the resources of local authorities in terms of disaster reduction and response policies,
organizational arrangements, technical and research institutions, equipment and machinery disaster
preparedness, and recovery program etc.
- What resources the local NGOs and civil society organizations; e.g. women union, youth union, elderly
union deployed to respond to disasters?
5. Challenges and lessons learnt
- What problems and challenges did the vulnerable groups face, to deal with the disasters?
- What problems and challenges did the local authorities, NGOs, mass organizations and other
stakeholders face, in responding to the disasters?
- What lessons did the above stakeholders learn, in dealing with disasters in an effective manner in future?

pg. 3
2. Community-based Disaster Risk Management
Community-based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) is a process in which at-risk communities are
actively engaged in the identification, analysis, treatment, monitoring and evaluation of disaster risks in
order to reduce their vulnerabilities and enhance their capacities (ADPC 2003). This means that people are
at the heart of decision-making and implementation of disaster risk management activities. The involvement
of most vulnerable social groups is considered as paramount in this process, while the support of the least
vulnerable groups is necessary for successful implementation. (Abarquez and Murshed, 2004)
CBDRM approach is people and development oriented. It views disasters as a question of people’s
vulnerability. It empowers people to address the root causes of vulnerabilities by transforming social,
economic and political structures that generate inequality and underdevelopment (Shaw and Kenji 2004).
CBDRM approach covers prevention and mitigation, preparedness, emergency response and recovery.
Need for community involvement
The key aspect of community involvement is the sustainability of community level initiatives for disaster
reduction. External agencies, like government, non-government organizations may initiate and implement
community level programs before and after disasters. However, such initiatives many times discontinue once
the external support is ended. There can be many reasons behind this lack of sustainability, some of which
may be the lack of partnership, participation, empowerment and ownership of local communities. Unless the
disaster risk management efforts are sustainable at individual and community level, it would be difficult to
reduce the vulnerability and losses. It is therefore important to involve people in decision making on policies
and strategies that should be followed for their development in the community.
Disasters can become uncontrollable, once the event has got underway. Therefore, preventive steps need
to be taken before, during and after the disaster events. If the community were not well prepared, control
over the disaster event would be usually lost during its occurrence. If each individual in the community is
familiar with ways of coping and precautionary measures, then the disruption by a disaster can be reduced
(Sampath 2001).
All communities and villages have some vitally important assets to deal with disasters. These may include
knowledge of disaster warning signs, locally safe and vulnerable areas, experience of past disasters,
methods of survival and social relations that are often vitally important in coping with crisis. Local communities
have an active part to play before and after disasters because:
• A good state of disaster preparedness may reduce its impacts
• More number of lives can be saved during the first few hours after disaster has occurred through local
response teams, before help arrives from elsewhere.
• The numerous problems of survival and health resulting from a disaster are dealt with more efficiently, if the
community is active and well organized (WHO 1989).
There is growing evidence to show that most top-down disaster risk management and responses programs fail to
address specific local needs of vulnerable communities, ignore the potential of local resources and capacities and may
in some cases even increase people’s vulnerability.
The relevance of the community-based disaster management approach is increasing due to changing patterns of
disaster occurrence and loss. While occasional large catastrophes continue to occur, it has been documented that
rapid increase in disaster occurrence and loss is due to the exponential increase in the occurrence of small to medium-
scale disasters associated with socio-natural hazards such as landslide, flood, drought and fire.

pg. 4
General elements of the bottom-up approach include the following:
• Local people are capable of initiating and sustaining their own community development
• While role of local government, private sector and NGOs is important, the primary requirement for grassroots
development is with local leadership
• A successful bottom-up strategy will include broad-based local participation in comprehensive planning and
decision-making activities that promote motivation
• Educational opportunities should correspond to identified local needs
• Emphasis is on improving the utilization and management of local resources
• Responsible utilization of outside financial assistance is required
• Replication of a community’s success is a powerful factor in continuing local initiative
• Responsibility for change rests with those living in the local community
• Various community members and groups in the community may have different perceptions of risk and
varying vulnerabilities
3. CBDRM processes from local authority’s perspective
The disaster risk reduction process has six sequential stages, which can be implemented before a disaster
occurs or after one has happened to reduce future risks. Each stage grows out of the preceding stage and
leads to further action.
A thorough assessment of the community’s vulnerabilities, coping capacities and the risks is needed to start
any risk reduction activities. The active involvement of communities, subject experts and elected authorities
is important in decision-making to promote ownership and sustainability.
1. Selecting the Community
The first task of local authorities is to conduct a detailed risk assessment survey of the whole area under its
jurisdiction. The selection of communities for implementation of CBDRM activities depends upon a number
of factors and criteria, but most importantly the risk exposure of the particular community. Given below is a
list of the criteria for identifying communities for CBDRM activities:
• Severity of community’s exposure to risk (most vulnerable)
• Number of people to benefit from Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) activities
• Readiness of community to engage in Disaster Risk Reduction activities
• Poverty status of the community
• Governmental priority of physical, social and economic vulnerability
• Budget availability
• Accessibility
All of the above mentioned criteria wouldn’t be equally important in a given area. The local authorities can
make decisions on the basis of factors that might be more important locally, then the others. A thorough
survey will need to be conducted for the identification of vulnerable communities. The following table can be
used to conduct survey for identifying the vulnerable communities for a transparent decision-making process
4. Rapport Building and Understanding
Once the most vulnerable communities are identified it would be important to understand the local social
relationships and power structures, key economic groups and to build good informal relationship with the
local people. This will be crucial in order to ensure participation of various local groups.
The local authorities and NGOs who support the community in disaster risk reduction need to build a picture
of the nature, needs and resources of the community. This step usually involves interacting and integrating
with the community and gathering basic information to have a general description of the community.

pg. 5
A relationship of trust and friendship is the key to facilitate effective participation. If community members have
trust in the outsiders who are working with them, then open sharing about issues, problems, concerns and
solutions can take place. Local authorities can take a number of actions in order to develop trust with and an
understanding of the community. This can include the following (Chambers, 1997):
• Living in the community
• Being transparent and open about their purpose
• Participating in daily life activities in the community, and cultural events
• Listening to the issues and problems of local people
• Learning new skills from local people
• Performing local tasks
The behavior of local authority staff is very important in establishing a proper relationship of trust and
openness. Ways in which they should behave include:
• Show humility
• Respect local culture, problems and way of life
• Be patient
• Have interest in what people have to say
• Be observant rather than judgmental
• Have confidence that local people can achieve what they set out to do, and transmit that confidence
An understanding of the community’s development position and the context upon which disasters will impact
includes the following basic elements:
Social groups
- The main ethnic, class, religion and language-based groups in the community
- The majority, the minority, and the nature of their relationships
Cultural arrangements
- How are the family and community level structures organized?
- What hierarchies exist?
- What are the common ways of behaving, celebrating, expressing?
Economic activities
- What are the major livelihood sources and what are the associated activities that people carry out?
- What is the division of labor?
- What is the relationship between livelihood activities and seasonality?
Spatial characteristics
- What are the locations of housing areas, public service facilities (e.g. schools, temples, health clinics,
evacuation centers), agricultural land etc?
Vulnerable households and groups
- Who might be the most vulnerable groups or households, given the locations of their houses, sources
of livelihoods, ethnic and cultural positions, etc?
3. Participatory Disaster Risk Assessment
Participatory Disaster Risk Assessment is a process to identify the risks that communities, villages,
communes face and how people overcome those
risks. This will be conducted in most vulnerable and priority communities. This process involves hazard
assessment, vulnerability assessment and capacity assessment, and analysis and prioritization of risks. The
participatory disaster risk assessment will be conducted by the local authorities with the involvement of local
people, community leaders and subject experts.

pg. 6
4. Community-based Disaster Risk Management Planning
At this stage, further analysis will be conducted jointly by the local authorities and communities to analyze
the risks and identify strategies and solutions to address them. Based on this analysis, a detailed risk
reduction and response plan will be developed for the particular communities. The planning process will
involve analysis of local stakeholders and local resources. Roles and responsibilities of the various
stakeholders for implementation of activities will be clarified.
5. Community Managed Implementation
The implementation of the plan should be done through the community organization at community level with
support from local authorities and technical and research institutions. The implementation process will include
various structural and non-structural activities; e.g. community training, disaster response drills, community
early warning systems, disaster resilient construction of houses, forest plantations, mangrove plantation,
diversification of crops, rainwater harvesting, construction of dykes, bridges etc for vulnerability reduction and
hazard mitigation. The community-based organization would be responsible for overall management of the
disaster reduction activities. The local authorities should play a facilitating and coordinating role for the
implementation of the community plan and mobilization of resources. They would also need to provide
essential technical assistance to the communities for hazard mitigation and vulnerability reduction. Since the
local communities may not have the technical skills and knowledge to undertake various disaster reduction
tasks; e.g. construction of dyke, construction of disaster resistant houses, or hazard assessment.
6. Monitoring & Evaluation
Participatory monitoring and evaluation (PME) involves the local community, development agencies, local
authorities and other stakeholders in measuring the progress made, and identifying necessary follow-up
actions.
Harmony among all the groups in PME is an important factor for success!!
5. Stakeholders
Government
To have an effective and sustainable impact on the community-based disaster programmes, policy makers
should consider incorporating community- based disaster programmes into their drafting of appropriate acts
and regulations in order to implement them effectively. The governments have a prime responsibility for
managing disasters and for taking into consideration the roles taken by different people in the community in
terms of developing and providing approaches and strategic actions which can be used to manage the
consequences of disaster within the community. Community-based disaster initiatives produce results so
long as there is also government support.
Non Government Organisations (NGOs)
NGOs are the appropriate organisations to conduct community-based disaster activities at the different
communities and with different stakeholders. They consist of professionals, activists and grass-roots people
who have wide networks which facilitate their capacity in programme development.
Regional and International Organisations / Donor Agencies
Selected donor agencies, regional and international organisations assist the communities in terms of
initiating the community-based disaster programmes and providing financial assistance and sometimes
resource people for the programmes.

pg. 7
Local Government
The most common elements of the community-based disaster involvement are partnership, participation,
empowerment and ownership by the local people. Thus, it is the responsibility of the local government
and/or island council to ensure there is an effective partnership in place, plus participation, empowerment
and ownership by local people in their communities towards disaster reducing initiatives and programmes.
Community Workers
Community workers are the most reliable arms of the local government/island council in the implementation
stage of the disaster policy and reduction initiatives. They have experience in handling disasters, hazards,
emotional problems and coping mechanism and uncertainties. They assist the local government/island
council in establishing a strong cooperation and understanding among diverse stakeholders including the
local government, local NGOs, government, regional and international organisations. If this cooperation is
effective, every person involved in all community-based disaster programmes is benefited, but the actual
ownership still remains with the concerned community. This will be considered as a successful model for
sustainable community-based disaster recovery, especially when the regional and international agencies
leave. The community workers should also know that the timing of any activity is important. Therefore their
responsibility is to make sure the timeframe of any community-based disaster reduction activity is followed
otherwise the involvement of the people in the community will be reduced.
Policy Makers
The policy makers are the ministers, permanent secretaries of the ministries and heads of the national disaster
management units. There are also policy makers at the local government level, including island council presidents,
city mayors and local politicians who prepare the island and/or city policies.
Civil Society Organizations includes academe, religious, and people’s organizations.
National and local organisations such as women’s committees, youth groups, schools, religious groups,
etc. should consider adapting the community-based disaster initiatives provided by the government,
regional and international organisations as part of their overall disaster risks management. They are the
main bodies in the community that can assist in the implementation of the community-based disaster
programmes effectively.
Private Sector (business, entrepreners))
Media
Grass-roots people
People at the grass-roots should understand their own disaster risks and be well versed in taking actions against
such risks.

pg. 8
6. Role of Local authorities/Local Government Units
The role of local authorities is becoming more important in the South East Asian region since the governments
are focusing on decentralization of powers and resources. The local authorities have a crucial role in
promoting good governance for the well being and development of people. In this regard they are expected
to provide opportunities for people’s participation in the local decision making mechanisms and processes.
This would allow the people to choose the course of their own development.
Similarly the role of local authorities in promoting local and community level disaster preparedness is also
very important. Many times the disaster risks are localized. This has two dimensions. First, the small and
medium scale disasters occur more frequently than the large-scale disasters, which are experienced in
localized regions. Secondly, the impact of disasters is mainly experienced at the local level. Therefore, the
local authorities have a key role in managing disaster risks before; during and after the occurrence of
disasters, as they have a very crucial role in disaster preparedness and response. An effective emergency
response by the local authorities can play an important role in saving lives in the aftermath of a disaster. On
the other hand lack of capacities at the local level for disaster response could contribute to huge loss of life
and property, in case of delay in external aid due to the isolation of affected areas.
However, the local authorities alone may not be able to achieve greater success in disaster reduction,
preparedness and response without the active involvement and participation of the vulnerable communities
because effective disaster risk reduction requires action by all vulnerable individuals, families, communities
and organizations. In addition the technical, human and financial resources of the local authorities are very
limited, which may not be sufficient to implement disaster risk reduction activities amongst all vulnerable
communities. Therefore, it is essential that the local authorities mobilize support from various civil society
institutions and involve larger communities.
The local authorities can play the role of a facilitator, enabler and resource provider in order to promote
community level risk reduction and preparedness.
There are four key services that are required by the vulnerable communities for disaster preparedness. They
include:
1. Community mobilizing, organizing and capacity building
Many vulnerable communities may not be organized and active in the area of disaster risk reduction and
preparedness. They may not also have the technical ability to undertake an organized action. Therefore,
the local authorities can play an effective role in organizing community groups or mobilizing the existing
groups and in building the capacity through training and study visits.
2. Information on risks, vulnerabilities and preparedness actions
In many cases it is the lack of information on hazards, related risks, vulnerabilities and the preparedness
actions by the local communities that serves as a hindrance in community action. This is particularly true in
the case of migrant and displaced communities in urban centers and in post-conflict situations. An important
need of such communities is to receive such information. The local authorities should establish arrangements
for the provision of information to communities in relation to hazards, vulnerabilities, risks, capacities and
preparedness actions. The local authorities can establish community and local level information centers to
provide such information. The existing cultural and social institutions can be used for this purpose; e.g.
mosques, temples, churches, schools, associations of farmers, labor unions, or mass unions like the women’s
union, youth union, elderly union etc. The local authorities must utilize multiple communication systems; e.g.
radios, TV, public address systems, mobile phones, internet, newspapers, posters, exhibitions, and rallies to
ensure they reach the at-risk communities and groups.

pg. 9
3. Funds to families and communities groups for disaster risk reduction, preparedness and response
In other cases in poor societies the families and community groups might be hindered by the lack of financial
resources to undertake actions on disaster risk reduction and preparedness. Poor families may not be
able to access the existing loan facilities from the banks due to lack of collateral. Therefore, they may not
be able to construct a typhoon resilient house or find an alternative source of livelihoods that is less
vulnerable to droughts or floods. Or a community group might not be able to construct a rainwater-
harvesting pond due to the lack of funds. Therefore, the provision of financial resources in the form of
micro-credits and small grants is essential to enable families and community groups to implement disaster
risk reduction and preparedness activities. It will be important to establish arrangements for the provision
of small grants and other funding facilities available to families and social groups for disaster reduction.
4. Technical assistance
This is another very important service that is required by the vulnerable communities. Many Asian
communities lack technical experts and capabilities to implement activities on hazard mitigation,
vulnerability reduction or even to conduct a risk assessment. For example a community may not have the
trained masons who know how to construct typhoon safer houses or they may not have the technical
knowledge on earthquake hazard assessment or on drought and flood resistant crops. Lack of such
technical expertise may hinder the communities from undertaking disaster risk reduction initiatives.
Therefore, they need this service from external sources; e.g. NGOs, local government, universities or
research centers. Many government ministries and technical institutions have such kind of technical
capabilities. The local authorities have an important role in this regard. They can build the capacity of the
local communities in certain aspects of disaster risk reduction. They can arrange the provision of technical
assistance from within the government system to the communities; e.g. provision of technical advice on
drought resilient cropping by agricultural extension workers. They can link the communities with the
technical resource centers; e.g. the universities, NGOs or research institutions.
Within the above broader framework the local authorities can play a pivotal role in facilitating community
action through following interventions and initiatives:
• Establish policies as per the local needs
• Identify and prioritize most vulnerable communities
• Conduct local and community level risk assessment
• Document local coping mechanisms and expertise
• Development of local disaster preparedness plans
• Facilitation of community level preparedness planning
• Establish local and community level Early Warning Systems (EWS)
• Capacity enhancement of community volunteers and groups; e.g. training on search and rescue, extrication
of the trapped from buildings, first aid, fire fighting, swimming, evacuation drills and risk assessment etc
• Regular up-grading of disaster preparedness and mitigation plan
• Providing resources to community volunteers and groups; e.g.medicine kits, rescue equipment, survival kits,
warning equipment, fire fighting equipment, evacuation equipment (boats, transport) etc
• Establish safe storage of essential items near vulnerable locations; e.g. food, medicine, rescue equipment,
earth moving machinery etc.
• Establishment of temporary shelters at vulnerable locations to host affected people
• Establishment of local level emergency response teams comprised upon community members and local
officials
• Establishment of damage assessment and relief distribution teams
• Coordination and networking among all stakeholders

pg. 10
In recent years, local self-governance and good governance have emerged as key concepts to form the basis
of political system. Disaster risk management is a necessary part of local and community development. This
is also considered as a key strategy for poverty alleviation. Disaster disrupts the local infrastructures as well
as local economy. However, disasters can actually become “vehicle for change” for sustainable and
participatory development. The role of local authorities is most important in this regard in promoting a
participatory disaster resilient development. They can do this by creating and enabling environment to
strengthen community action.
References:
1. Virtual University for the Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC)
Commonwealth of Learning (COL), 1055 West Hastings Street, Suite 1200, Vancouver,
Canada
2. United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
3. Abarquez, Imelda and Zubair Murshed, Community-based Disaster Risk Management: Field
Practitioners’ Handbook, ADPC (Adapted from CBDRM-II course materials), 2004.
4. CBDRM for Local Authorities: PARTICIPANT’S WORKBOOK

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