Sustainability in Community-Based Disaster Management (CBDM) 2002-2005
Location: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Viet Nam
Goal & Objectives:
The goal of the project is to achieve safety and sustainability of livelihood for effective disaster mitigation, focusing on three key elements: self-help, cooperation, and education.
Specific objectives are
- To study the effectiveness of the grass-root initiatives from the successful practices,
- To make a model for the sustainability of these initiatives in terms of policy options for undertaking future grass-root projects,
- To apply the findings to different communities, and
- To disseminate the best practices through training and capacity building.
Background:
Natural disasters are recurring events in many countries. Earthquakes, floods, and cyclones occur every year throughout the globe, causing significant damage to lives and property. Different countries have their respective cultural and social backgrounds, and disaster mitigation and management processes differ from country to country.
While it is very important to consider disaster issues at the national, provincial, or city-level, it remains less effective, as long as there is no penetration to the community and individual levels. The key aspect of a successful project is the partnership participation, empowerment, and ownership of the local communities. This, inturn, transfers to the sustainability issue in a long-term perspective. Unless the disaster management effort is sustainable at the local level, the tragedy and loss will continue.
There are many Community-Based Disaster Management (CBDM) initiatives in different parts of the world. Many of them produce very tangible results. However, many of the projects are related to external funding, and often the end of funding means the end of the initiative. So long as the communities are not the owners of the projects, the projects cannot be carried out in a sustainable way. Useful lessons of different organizations in different socioeconomic circumstances are very important.
However, there is a need for a framework of sustainability. A strategic framework for the sustainability in community-based disaster management should be established, and the best practices should be widely disseminated among various stakeholders through training programmes.
Activities
During the three years of the programme, the following activities were conducted:
Year 1 (year 2002)
Field survey, documentation of best practices, and preparation of the overall framework for the sustainability of community based disaster management. Six case studies were performed for three hazards: Bangladesh and Cambodia for floods, India and the Philippines for Cyclones, and Nepal and Indonesia for Earthquakes.
Year 2 (year 2003)
Based on the findings of the first year, the second year will be used for developing a set of guidelines and tools (one user-specific set of guidelines and five user-specific tools for policymakers, central government disaster managers, local government disaster managers, trainers, and community-based organizers). These guidelines and tools will be tested in three countries: Bangladesh, the Philippines and Viet Nam.
Year 3 (year 2004)
Production of a handbook incorporating the experiences of the past two years and the findings of the case studies and field testing.
Outputs
Database of best practices of the sustainable community-based disaster management, Strategic framework for policy options for sustainability at the local level, and Guidelines of operation for sustainability in community-based disaster management. These guidelines and framework will be used in the following years to execute and implement the case studies in the selected sites.
Project Partners
- Bangladesh: CARE Bangladesh
- Cambodia: Cambodian Red Cross
- India: Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS)
- Indonesia: Institute of Technology Bandung
- Mongolia: Mongolian Farmers and Flour Producers Association
- Nepal: National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET)-Nepal
- Philippines: International Institute for Disaster Risk Management (IDRM)
- Viet Nam: Canadian Centre for International Studies (CECI)
Report
Please click here for Report
