| AGENDA-DAY 1 | LOCATION | |
| Morning | | |
| 9:00-10:00 | Registration of participants, issuance of building passes | |
| 10:00-10:05 | Welcome Remarks | Gabon Room - A Ground Floor |
| 10:05-10:20 | Introduction of participants | |
| 10:20-11:00 | Presentation of underlying key concepts, working hypothesis and definitions | |
| 11:00-11:10 | Presentation of agenda and workshop procedures | |
| 11:10-11:20 | Composition of working groups | |
| 11:20-12:30 | Working Group Session 1: Local Institutions in DRM/ Consolidation of Data | Group 1: Gabon - A Ground Floor |
| 12:30-14.00 | LUNCH | |
| Afternoon | | |
| 13:30-15:30 | Working Group Session 1 (Group 1) continued | |
| 14:00-15:30 | Working Group Session 1 (Group 2 and 3) continued | |
| 15:30-16:00 | COFFEE BREAK | |
| 16:00-17:00 | Plenary Session 1: Gallery Walk and short presentation of each working group on major issues discussed and findings | Gabon Room A Ground floor |
| Evening | | |
| 19:30 | Dinner | |
| AGENDA-DAY 2 | | |
| Morning | | |
| 9:00-9:05 | Review of Day 1 | Canada Room A356 |
| 9:05-9:10 | Introduction to Agenda of Day 2 | |
| 9:10-9:30 | Video Demonstration of DRM in Mozambique | |
| 9:30-10:30 | Working Group Session 2: Comparative advantages and weaknesses of key actors in DRM resulting from case study and other experiences and verification of the working hypotheses | Group 1: Gabon Room A Ground Floor |
| 10:30-11:00 | COFFEE BREAK | |
| 11:00-12:40 | Working Group Session 2 continued | same rooms as above |
| 12:40-13:40 | LUNCH | |
| Afternoon | | |
| 13:40-15:30 | Plenary Session 2: Common trends and differences of comparative advantages and weaknesses local institutions in DRM | Canada Room A 356 |
| 15:30-16:00 | COFFEE BREAK | |
| 16:00-17:00 | Open Space on proposed topics during the plenary | Canada Room A 356 and Atrium |
| 17:00-17:30 | Reporting back to note takers in Canada room | |
| Evening | | |
| 19:30 | Self-organised dinner | |
| AGENDA-DAY 3 | | |
| Morning | | |
| 9:00-9:05 | Review of DAY 2 | Canada Room A 356 |
| 9:05-9:10 | Introduction to Agenda of Day 3 | |
| 9:10-11:00 | Working Group Session 3: Lessons Learned and Recommendations Group work on | Canada room A 356 |
| 11:00-11:20 | COFFEE BREAK | |
| 11:20-13:00 | Plenary Session 3: Presentation of the working groups Brainstorming on the “Way Forward” | Canada Room A356 |
| 13:00 | CLOSING | |
List of Workshop Participants
| Name | Title Organisation | Country |
| External Resource Persons | ||
| Mr Mohamadou Abdoulaye | LASDEL | Niger |
| Ms Lolita Bildan | Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) | Mozambique |
| Ms Helen MacGregor | Disaster Risk Research Coordinator, Disaster Mitigation for Sustainable Livelihoods Programme University of Cape Town (UTC) | South Africa |
| Mr Norman Messer | West and Central Africa Unit, IFAD | Rome-Italy |
| Ms Maryam Rahmanian | CENESTA | Iran |
| Mr Elías Suazo | National Project Director for the Trust Fund on the Consolidation of the Municipality Chain in Local Development | Honduras |
| Mr Subbiah | Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) | Thailand |
| Mr Matsimbe | German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) | Mozambique |
| Ms Jacqueline Flentge | World Food Programme (WFP) | Rome-Italy |
| FAO Resource Persons | ||
| Ms Cristina Amaral | Emergency Operations and Rehabilitation Division (TCE), FAO | Rome-Italy |
| Mr Stephan Baas | Rural Institutions and Participation Service (SDAR), FAO | Rome-Italy |
| Ms Federica Battista | Rural Institutions and Participation Service, Consultant | Rome-Italy |
| Mr Emmanuel Chengu | Rural Institutions and Participation Service (SDAR), FAO | Rome-Italy |
| Ms Maja Clausen | Agricultural Management, Marketing and Finance Service (AGSF), FAO | |
| Mr Ian Cherrett | Rural Institutions and Participation Service (SDAR), FAO Regional Office | Santiago de Chile |
| Mr Richard China | Emergency Operations and Rehabilitation Division (TCE), FAO | Rome-Italy |
| Ms Eve Crowley | Rural Institutions and Participation Service (SDAR), FAO | Rome-Italy |
| Mr Maximiliano Cox | Director of Rural Development Division (SDA), FAO | |
| Ms Jennie Dey-De Pryck | Service Chief, Rural Institutions and Participation Service (SDAR), FAO | Rome-Italy |
| Ms Stephan Dohrn | Livelihood Support Programme (LSP), FAO | Rome-Italy |
| Mr Olivier Dubois | Rural Institutions and Participation Service (SDAR), FAO | Rome-Italy |
| Mr Marco Knowles | Food Security and Agricultural Projects Analysis Service (ESAF), FAO | Rome-Italy |
| Ms Ana Guerrero | Rural Institutions and Participation Service (SDAR), FAO | Rome-Italy |
| Mr Günther Hemrich | Food Security and Agricultural Projects Analysis, (ESAF) FAO | Rome-Italy |
| Mr Tómas Lindemann | Rural Institutions and Participation Service (SDAR), FAO | Rome-Italy |
| Mr Paul Mathieu | Land Tenure Service (SDAA), FAO | Rome-Italy |
| Mr Fabrizio Pittaluga | Office of Director, Fisheries Department (FIPD), FAO | Rome, Italy |
| Ms Pamela Pozarny | Rural Institutions and Participation Service (SDAR), FAO Regional Office | Accra |
| Mr Fritz Rembold | Rural Institutions and Participation Service (SDAR), FAO Regional Office | Budapest |
| Ms Francesca Romano | Forestry Policy and Institutions Service (FONP), FAO | Rome-Italy |
| Ms Laura Sciannamonaco | Emergency Operations and Rehabilitation Division (TCE), FAO | Rome Italy |
| Ms Paola Termine | Rural Institutions and Participation Service (SDAR), FAO | Rome-Italy |
| Ms Julia Wolf | Rural Institutions and Participation Service (SDAR), FAO | Rome-Italy |
The Disaster Management Cycle and its key phases were used as a starting point in the analysis of the nine case studies. However participants shared analytical and operational concerns on the implications of its use, especially in terms of integration of DRM cycle into long-term rural development (details in the following sections).
The International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) definitions have been used for key disaster related terms[10].
Hazard: A potentially damaging physical event, phenomenon or human activity, which may cause the loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation.
Vulnerability: The conditions determined by physical, social, economic, and environmental factors or processes, which increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazards.
Risk: The probability of harmful consequences, or expected losses (deaths, injuries, property, livelihoods, economic activity disrupted or environment damaged) resulting from interactions between natural or human-induced hazards and vulnerable conditions. Conventionally risk is expressed by the notation Risk = Hazards x Vulnerability. Some disciplines also include the concept of exposure to refer particularly to the physical aspects of vulnerability.
Resilience: The capacity of a system, community or society potentially exposed to hazards to adapt, by resisting or changing in order to reach and maintain an acceptable level of functioning and structure. This is determined by the degree to which the social system is capable of organizing itself to increase its capacity for learning from past disasters for better future protection and to improve risk reduction measures.
Disaster: A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources.
Disaster Risk Management: The systematic process of using administrative decisions, organization, operational skills and capacities to implement policies, strategies and coping capacities of the society and communities to lessen the impacts of natural hazards and related environmental and technological disasters. This comprises all forms of activities, including structural and non-structural measures to avoid (prevention) or to limit (mitigation and preparedness) adverse effects of hazards.
The FAO/Rural Institutions and Participation Service’s working definitions of social capital and of processes linked to decentralization informed the institutional focus of the study and workshop debate.
Social Capital
Social capital can be defined as the set of norms, social relations, and organisations that enable people in a society to coordinate action to achieve their objectives. The concept of social capital has been the subject of theoretical discussion for a long time. Recent research focuses on three aspects:
the grass-root (communitarian) perspective, which emphasises the internal relationships between members of communities and common interest groups and encourages voluntarism,
the network perspective, which emphasises the association of different communities, groups, and other forms of organisations (trade unions, professional organisations, information spreading enterprises, NGOs, political parties), and
the institutional perspective, which emphasises the relationships between private organisations and their networks (the civil society) on the one hand, and the state on the other (role of the rule of law, of governance, of the rights of citizens, participation, transparency and accountability of the public sector, coordination of private and public sector initiatives).
Increasingly decentralisation policies are being considered as instruments for promoting more social capital formation in a society. Proponents of decentralisation and devolution have argued that the empowerment of local authorities and strengthening of capacities of local institutions through building of horizontal relations of partnerships and alliances between local government authorities and civil society organisations have constituted a viable strategy for the creation of social capital at the community level.
The process of decentralisation
In order to gain a clearer understanding of the link between decentralisation as a process of social capital formation and the participatory design of disaster preparedness strategies it is essential first to discuss and define the basic concepts of decentralisation.
Four broadly contrasting concepts of decentralisation, are defined below, namely: ‘deconcentration’, and ‘delegation’ of powers and responsibilities from central government to sub-national units, and semi-autonomous or parastatal organisations; and, ‘devolution’, and ‘partnership’ involving transfer of functions from central government to autonomous local government authorities, and civil society and non-governmental institutions.
‘Deconcentration’ involves the geographical redistribution or dispersal of central government administrative responsibilities, without providing many opportunities for local authorities “to exercise substantial local discretion in decision-making”. There are three levels of deconcentration. The first level involves mere ‘shifting of workload’ from central government ministries in the capital to those ministries’ field staff located in provincial or regional and district offices. Field staff in this case merely implements central government directives and have no initiating or decision-making powers. The second level of deconcentration is through ‘field administration’ which, in addition to shifting workloads, allows a limited transfer of some decision-making with respect to the day-to-day implementation of central government directives in order to adjust those directives to local conditions. The third level of deconcentration is through ‘local administration’. In this case, all sub-national levels of government (provincial and district) are agents of the central government’s executive branch. Thus, the sub-national or local units of government are headed by appointees of central government directly responsible to a central government agency such as the ministry of local government or of internal affairs. This ‘local administration’ type of deconcentration can itself be divided into two further categories, that is ‘integrated local administration’ and ‘unintegrated local administration’.
“Delegation” to semi-autonomous or parastatal organisations involves delegation of planning and management functions in respect of specific tasks or projects to organisations which, although funded by central government, do not come under its operational control. Such parastatal bodies are semi-independent and are frequently located outside the normal structures of government. They are free to set up their own salary structures, which are often higher than those of the civil service in order to attract professional and technical personnel. Where international aid agencies have sponsored well-defined large-scale projects, they have sometimes insisted on the creation of such parastatal or public corporation bodies in order to by-pass government bureaucratic procedures and to avoid the spread into other sectors of funds earmarked for specific projects.
“Devolution”, which is often regarded as the purest form of decentralisation, is based on the creation of independent levels or units of local government which have a ‘co-ordinate systems’ relationship with each other and are free of extensive hierarchical control. The five fundamental characteristics of devolution identified by Cheema and Rondinelli are:
1. The “units of local government are autonomous, independent, and are clearly perceived as separate levels of government over which central authorities exercise little or no direct control”.
2. The “local governments have clear and legally recognised geographical boundaries within which they exercise authority and perform public functions”.
3. The “local governments have corporate status and the power to secure resources to perform their functions”.
4. “Local governments are developed as institutions in the sense that they are perceived by local citizens as organisations providing services that satisfy their needs and as governmental units over which they have some influence”.
5. Finally, “they involve arrangements in which there are reciprocal, mutually beneficial, and coordinated relationships between central and local governments; that is, the local government has the ability to interact reciprocally with other units in the system of government of which it is a part”.
Devolution is therefore a more advanced form of decentralisation. It involves the transfer of responsibilities, authority, assets, and financial resources to lower levels of government, such as provincial or district councils. Local governments to which authority and resources are devolved acquire the power and autonomy with respect to setting their own rules, goals and objectives, and implementing their own policies and strategies, and to allocating resources to different activities, within the domain assigned to them. In addition, they often are given authority to raise financial resources, through taxes, and in some cases, borrow on the capital markets.
‘Partnership’, the fourth conceptualisation of decentralisation involves, as implied by the terminology, the transfer from government of some or all planning and management powers with respect to public functions to civil society organisations that include voluntary and private non-governmental organisations. The devolution of planning, implementation, and resource management responsibilities to civil society organisations is the most effective means of facilitating people’s empowerment and participation.
| Phase | Pre-emergency phase | Emergency phase | Post-emergency phase | |||
| Actors | Prevention | Mitigation | Preparedness | Response | Recovery | Development |
| CBOs | Hazard risk diagnosis | Maintain public infrastructure | Construct infra-structure to protect property | Tap customary solidarity networks | Community mobilisation for joint action | Provide moral support and advice |
| “Local-level” NGOs | Provide skills training to local CBOs | Household vulnerability assessments | Carry out awareness raising campaigns | Deploy trainers on hygiene & health | Psychological counselling & support | Define local priorities to reduce vulnerability |
| MFIs | Hazard risk diagnosis | Promote mitigation practices | Spread risk across portfolio | Client damage assessments | Loan rescheduling and other special activities | Integrate DR M in development activity |
| Local emergency committees | Hazard risk diagnosis | Household vulnerability assessments | Prepare evacuation plans | Set up search & rescue committees | Set up food aid committees | Advise how to reduce local vulnerability |
| Locally respected persons | Awareness raising campaigns | Solicit external technical assistance on DRM | Carry out awareness raising campaigns | Act as advisory focal points | Promote improved technologies | Fight “fatalistic” attitudes |
| Local government | Draft a local disaster prevention plan | Watershed/ river basin planning | Prepare evacuation and contingency plans | Provide shelter to displaced households | Set up rehabilitation projects for public goods | Rec. info on households settled in high risk areas |
| “Meso-level” NGOs | Provide skills training to local NGOs | Watershed/ river basin planning | Skills training to local NGOs | Mediate between national and local level | Set up rehab. projects for private goods | Promote local institutional development |
| Provincial government | Set local administration rules, e.g. prohibit sand extraction, tree cutting, etc. | Promote multi-sectoral, integrated approaches in DRM | Provide agro-ecological and GIS data for national disaster relief plan | Coordinate nat. & international government & civil society actors | Implement Food For Work or other rehabilitation programmes | Protect roads against land-slides, reinforce slopes, improve gullies... |
| National government | Invest in early-warning systems and infrastructure Prepare and legal and institutional framework for DRM | Pass construction code & safety regulations | Prepare national disaster relief plan | Declare a disaster (& state of emergency) | Set up emergency & recovery fund | Prepare Codes of Conduct in relief & development. |
| International “community” | Raise aware-ness on sustainable NRM | Ensure quality in donor funded infrastructure projects | Stop treating DRM as an exceptional activity | Mobilise financial aid as grants & long-term loans | Fund FFW a.o. rehabilitation programmes | Mainstream DRM activities in development planning |
(From Messer 2003)
THE ROLE OF LOCAL INSTITUTIONS IN REDUCING VULNERABILITY TO RECURRENT NATURAL DISASTERS AND IN SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS DEVELOPMENT IN HIGH RISK AREAS CASE STUDY SUMMARY MATRIX
SECTION I: CONTEXT DESCRIPTION
| Country: Philippines Province: ILO-ILO Province /Panay Island | Population of area covered by case study: | ||||
| Land Area covered by case study: Profile of selected sites (1998) | |||||
| | Balud | Maquina | Barasan | Municipality | |
| Land Area (hectares) | 78 | 171 | 266 | 12,716 | |
| Population (2000) | 474 | 819 | 963 | 56,291 | |
| No. of households | 94 | 163 | 204 | 11,262 | |
| Farm area (hectares) | 48 | 130 | 261 | 7,001 | |
| No. of farmers | 14 | 77 | 200 | 3,606 | |
| Fish farm area (hectares) | - | - | 29 | 4,536 | |
| Natural Phenomena: tropical cyclones (from November to January) and drought. | |||||
| Land tenure, land use patterns and livelihood strategies Economy predominantly based on agriculture and aquaculture. 55% of land in municipality utilized for farming and 35% for fish farms. Rice is the major crop, brackish waters used for milkfish culture. Two crop seasons. Average rice production per hectare: 4 tons (irrigated areas); 2.5 tons (rain fed areas). Other crops include: Banana, watermelon, sugarcane, coconut. Small livestock: hogs, poultry, goats. Most farmers do not own farming land, in 2 of the selected sites 50% of agricultural land owned by one person. The landowner provides inputs, and farmers get 10% of the produce. The produce farmers get during the harvest is kept for food. If the harvest is good, they get to sell some rice. At slack times of the farming cycle some work in sugarcane field some in construction jobs. Income is integrated with aquaculture and small livestock production. The river basin is the major source of irrigation. Municipal industry is small scale (salt and grass roof making). | |||||
| Main local actors in DRM; NON GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS Dumangas Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (FARMC) The FARMC, was organized in July 2002 through Administrative Order No. 196, series 2000; Tasks of FARMC: act as consultative body of the municipal government on fisheries-related issues and concerns, facilitate the Bantay Dagat (coastal resources watch) Programme in barangays, and monitor the fisheries operations in the municipality related to the environment, zoning ordinance and other local laws; play a key role in disaster management, before, during and after a disaster: Pre-disaster:
Disaster response
Post-disaster:
Tamboilan-Paloc Bigque-Bolilao Irrigators Association (TAPABIA) TAPABIA, was organized in 1991, in coordination with the National Irrigation Administration to address disputes among farmers on water distribution issues. As agreed with NIA, TAPABIA undertakes Regular clearing of irrigation facilities (lateral canals), with funding support from NIA; Collection of Irrigators’ Service Fee (ISF) among NIA concessionaires; and arbitration among its members. Its key role in disaster management include: Pre-disaster:
Response:
Post-disaster
Dumangas Chapter of the National Association of radio communicators The Kabalikat Civicom Association Incorporated, 215 Chapter, Dumangas was established in January 2000 as a local chapter of the nation-wide Kabalikat Civicom Association of radio communicators. The 215 Chapter serves as a support group of the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation DYBQ - Radio Budyong Iloilo (an Iloilo City - based AM radio station). It is an accredited NGO in the municipality and a member of the municipality’s special bodies such as the Municipal Peace and Order Council and the Municipal Disaster Coordinating Council (MDCC). Its regular activities include the conduct of nightly net calls or programme assistance to the municipal government in information dissemination of important programmes, projects and activities; monitoring of and assistance to travelers within its area of operations, etc.; assistance to the municipal government in the implementation of projects in its capacity as a member of local special bodies; and other duties such as tree planting, and coastal and river clean-up. Its key role in disaster management include: Pre-disaster
Response
Post-disaster
Dumangas Rescue and Emergency Assistance Movement (DREAM) In response to the need for a more active and sustained support to the MDCC in the areas of emergency preparedness and response, vulnerability reduction and disaster risk control, the municipal government established the Dumangas Rescue and Emergency Assistance Movement (DREAM) in July 1999. Receives Beias member of the Local Special Bodies, financial support for its operation by the Municipality of Dumangas; Its functions include:
Registered as a NGO, the DREAM currently has 36 volunteer members (4 are women) trained in search and rescue, which includes six barangay tanods from the flood-prone barangays. Their expertise in search and rescue, and services/ assistance rendered in hazard monitoring, information dissemination, relief operation, medical missions and damage assessment have been put to test in flooding incidents associated with typhoons since 2000. In non-disaster times, DREAM is involved in activities aimed at reducing risks for floods, such as river and coastal clean-up, and reforestation. Civic and Religious Organizations The municipal government also entered into agreements with some civic and religious organizations to assist, in the spirit of volunteerism, in relief and rescue during emergencies, as well as to participate in the formulation of the Municipal Disaster Preparedness Plan. The Catholic Church also shares its financial resources to the BDCC through its parish pastoral council to augment resources for relief operations The Municipal Economic Council (a private sector business consortium) The Municipal Economic Council was created by the Municipal Executive Order No. 31, series 2000. It is chaired by the municipal mayor and co-chaired by representatives of business proprietors engaged in rice retailing, groceries, pharmacies, dry goods (clothing, utensils, etc.), fuel stations and construction supplies. All accredited business proprietors in the Dumangas Public Market are members of the council. The council advocates related programs, projects and activities to foster municipal economic growth and development, as well as recommends to the Municipal Mayor and the Sangguniang Bayan policies that would enhance the operations of the business sector as well as benefit its clientele. Its key role in times of disaster is to provide on loan basis goods and items required for disaster response. Being a member of the Local Special Bodies, financial support for its operation is provided by the Municipality of Dumangas. | |||||
| Formal DRM set up The NDCC is the highest policy making, coordinating & supervising body at the national level for disaster management. It performs the function of advising the President on the status of the national disaster preparedness programme, disaster operations and rehabilitation. The NDCC is chaired by the Secretary of National Defence and has for its members almost all the cabinet members and the Secretary-General of the Philippines National Red Cross. The Office of Civil Defence (OCD) provides the operations centre and secretariat functions as well executive-director functions through its Administrator. The NDCC has taken on an All-Hazards Approach in Disaster Risk Management which features the following strategies and approaches:
DCC Organization Network
Organization Disaster Coordinating Councils (Regional, Provincial, City and Municipal Levels)
Municipal Disaster Coordinating Council (MDCC) The establishment of the Municipal Disaster Coordinating Council is mandated by Presidential Decree (Local Government Code) of 1999. The Dumangas MDCC was re-organized in 16 October 2001 through Municipal Executive Order No. 16, series 2001. It is composed by the Municipal Mayor as Chairman, the Station Commander of the Philippine National Police as Vice-Chairman and Action Officer, with representatives from the private sector, municipal officials tasked with specific emergency functions, and National officials assigned in the municipality as members. The MDCC has the following functions and responsibilities:
The Disaster Operations Center is the facility where field activities are monitored and controlled. It is made up of the:
Task units formulate their own action/operations plan, which are consolidated to form the overall Municipal Disaster Preparedness Plan. Task units were streamlined from ten to five as follows:
In addition to these task units, NGO and disaster welfare desks were set up to coordinate NGO assistance and to provide information on disaster victims, respectively. CHART OF A TYPICAL BARANGAY DISASTER COORDINATING COUNCIL
Barangay Disaster Coordinating Council (BDCC) As the MDCC established by the Local Government Code in 1999. Implements tasks at community level: preparedness and evacuation alerts, preliminary needs assessments, implementing evacuation plans, rescue, delivery of relief goods. The Civil Defense Organization has 16 Civil Defense Regional Centers (field offices) nationwide for its regional-level operations and has designated Civil Defense Coordinators (Action Officers) at the provincial and municipal/city levels. Resources for national and local comprehensive emergency management come from either emergency funding from the Local (LCF) and National Calamity Funds (NCF) or/and other sources, loans and grants (loans and grants extended by local and international NGOs) and/or assistance extended by NGOs, international NGOs, foreign governments, etc. Policies in the Use of the NCF:
| |||||
SECTION II: Policies, processes, structures and DRM related actions undertaken at local level (Situation described as it was during/after the disaster event analysed).
| DRM Cycle Phase | A | B | C |
| PREVENTION | |||
| 1. Social capital formation | A1 | B1 Personal alliance systems (i.e. groupings composed of kin - real and ritual, grantors and recipients of favours, friends and partners in commercial exchanges; examples: The entire disaster management system is built on local resources with trust and motivation of participating communities with a strong level of social capital. The establishment of specialized task forces to carry out warning, communication, transport, rescue, evacuation, supply, relief, medical, fire damage assistance, security and over all damage control at the barangays level revealed that almost each household participated in at least one of the specialized functions and thus the system could involve the entire community | C1 |
| 2. NRM and DRM Integration | A2 | B2 TAPABIA | C2 |
| 3. Safety nets (informal) | A3 | B3 | C3 |
| 4. Financial Services and Insurance systems (formal) | A4 A Memorandum Circular issued by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Budget and management (DBM) on 20 March 2003, however, provides for the use of the LCF for preparedness activities for human-induced threats, including terrorism. | B4 Municipal Development Fund: The municipal development fund comes from the 20 percent of the internal revenue allotment from the National government. The IRA is appropriated to local government units proportionate with the population and land area. This development fund supports the municipality’s programs in the agriculture, health, social welfare, infrastructure, environmental management, disaster preparedness, and tourism and youth sectors. Recognizing that disaster management is a key component of development, the municipal mayor utilizes the development funds to support disaster management in the relevant sectors (e.g. rehabilitation of roads and drainage systems from the infrastructure sector appropriation, medical missions from the health sector appropriation, etc.). (See Table 12, page 25). Municipal Economic Council: As agreed with members of the Economic Council, the municipality acquires goods and materials for disaster relief and rehabilitation on loan. Payment is made upon the release of the local calamity fund. | C4 |
| 5. Awareness raising | A5 | B5 the municipal government has planned to set up a community radio station that would broadcast time-relevant and accurate information and advisories during emergencies, as well as informative/educational programs for public education and awareness raising | C5 |
| 6. Coordination mechanism (rehabilitation and prevention matters) Including... | A6
A Presidential Decree of 1999 mandates for the establishment of a Municipal and Barangay Disaster Coordination Council. Municipal Economic Council was created by the Municipal Executive Order No. 31, series 2000. I | C6 | D6 |
| PREPAREDNESS | |||
| 7. Contingency planning | A7 National Calamities and Preparedness Plan approved in 1983 was revised and issued in August 1988 together with the Implementing Rules and Regulations to P.D. 1566. An updated Calamities and Preparedness Plan is in process for approval of the National Disaster Coordinating Council | B7 Municipal Disaster Preparedness Plan is a consolidation of operational plans of the various task units of the Municipal Disaster Coordinating Council. It details activities to be undertaken, including funding requirements and sources, prior to, during and after an emergency. Total system approach, from preparedness, prevention and mitigation to emergency relief, rehabilitation, recovery and development.
It details the functions and responsibilities of the MDCC, and the strategies for and extent of intervention | C7 |
| 8. Early Warning and Communication | A8 Efforts underway to establish a community based flood forecasting and warning system. A regular consultative meeting, facilitated by the municipal mayor, brings together representatives of farmers’ groups, FARMC, the municipal agriculture office, municipal irrigation office, and, when necessary, the provincial agriculture office and the regional irrigation office, to discuss needs for information and technical assistance among other issues. Early warning is communicated through a specialized NGO on communications to various users (TAPABIA,) | B8 FARMC: Advisory services for fisherman on disasters TAPABIA, Local Radio and BDCC: Disseminate flood warnings (if possible via radio) In Barangay Balud Hazard monitoring is done by everyone in the community. Water level at the Jalaur River is monitored using marked tree trunks at the riverbank as flood markers. Upstream river conditions are reported by other barangays by radio. Community members also observe cloud conditions upstream of the river. | C8 National Forecast did not provide enough detail; Local Agro-meteorological station installed. |
| 9.Inftrastructural Safety Arrangements (boats, housing, refugee camps) | A9 National and sectoral agencies are responsible for maintenance and upkeep of physical infrastructure but do not undertake immediate repair and restoration due to procedural and resource constraints. Local institutions could be entrusted with restoration of this infrastructure with participation of communities. Our discussions with affected household revealed that they were willing to contribute labour and local materials and the local government could provide some resources and supervision and the National Government could have financial and technical resources. | C9 Fishermen boats used for rescue operations | D9 |
| 10. VulnerabilitAssessments (pre-disaster) | A10 | B10 | C10 |
| RESPONSE and REHABILITATION | |||
| 11. Response/Relief operations and coordination | A11 To re-orient the approach to disaster management in a systems mode the MDCC was re-organized in October 2001. Key agencies with resources and functions relevant to the MDCC functions were involved to lead the different MDCC units (e.g. PNP for Assistant Chairman, the Disaster Operations Center and the Intelligence and Disaster Analysis unit, Sangguniang Bayan for resources unit as their resolution is needed for mobilization of the local calamity fund, DECS for evacuation since school buildings are used as evacuation centers, etc.). The number of task units was reduced from ten to five, merging units whose functions are inherent in the lead agencies (e.g. relief and rehabilitation for MSWDO) and to make coordination more effective (e.g. transportation, rescue and evacuation). | B11 - Preparatory actions (household items and animals transferred to higher grounds) and eventually evacuation following Mayors early warning communication. Prepares evacuation center and supports transfers to it. MDCC - On the basis of the preliminary needs assessment, declaration of state of calamity (necessary to mobilize calamity funds). Distributes primary goods to BDCCs. Municipal Economic Council Provides for goods until LDC is mobilized (response mechanism based on 2000 + 2003 event) | C11 |
| 12. Damage and Needs Assessment (post disaster) | A12 | C12 Consolidated damage report and allocation of resources | D12 |
| 13. Transition relief/response to rehabilitation/prevention. | A13 | C13 | D13 |
SECTION III: GAPS and LESSONS LEARNED
| Key Lessons Learnt | - Evolution of Institutional Response: After independence (1950) and up to mid-60s, the communities recall that they faced severe hardships due to typhoons, flooding and other weather risks. They organized Disaster Brigades to save lives during floods. Later in mid-70s and 80s, the Disaster Brigades were transformed into Mountain Tigers. The Mountain Tigers received professional training in search and rescue operations through a provincial level NGO. While this development could instill confidence and minimize the loss of lives, due to inadequate early warning and communication systems, disaster-related losses continue to seriously impair the livelihood systems in terms of loss of houses, household assets, and livestock and crop losses (47). |
| Key Gaps And Recommendations | - Household vulnerability: Relief Assistance is distributed equally among all the households. While formal political institutions do not address differential vulnerability of communities, the informal social networks act as a conduit to redistribute relief assistance to the most vulnerable households. While community help could partially address most vulnerable households during crisis periods, it seldom addresses their recovery needs. Relief assistance for rehabilitation of agriculture is given in the form of seeds to the affected farmers who own the land. As most of the farmers are tenants, they do not have access to this kind of relief assistance which would enable them to recover fast from disaster impacts. The rehabilitation assistance is calculated and provided with reference to absolute and not relative loss due to disasters. The poor households incur disproportionately greater losses when compared to the total value of losses suffered by wealthier households. Hence, there is a need to develop a mechanism to provide rehabilitation assistance considering the capacity to recover rather than total loss incurred by households. The local institutions (in particular social networks) could articulate this requirement of the poor and vulnerable (51). The local institutions could also act as intermediary institutions between banks and the vulnerable households to evolve a credit delivery mechanism to suit the livelihood needs of vulnerable households. |
| Other Aspects | - Municipal Disaster Coordinating Council recognized as the best in 2003 and received Presidential Award. |
THE ROLE OF LOCAL INSTITUTIONS IN REDUCING VULNERABILITY TO RECURRENT NATURAL DISASTERS AND IN SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS DEVELOPMENT IN HIGH RISK AREAS CASE STUDY SUMMARY MATRIX
SECTION I: CONTEXT DESCRIPTION
| Population covered by case study: |
| Natural Phenomena Cyclones and tropical storms resulting in heavy rains and floods | |
| Land tenure, use patterns and livelihood strategies | |
| Main actors in DRM at community level INGC (National institute for Disaster Management) Permanent state institution acting as a coordinating body under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation recently being restructured under the 2001 Law of Disaster Management (see next section). During the 2000 floods the INGC and the CVM were responsible for coordination and distribution of emergency assistance nationwide. However, in Sofala province, due to problems related to high corruption and lack of effective coordination the INGC failed to reach its beneficiaries. Due to the same reasons some donor organisations ignored the legitimacy and the role of the INGC, deciding to distribute emergency assistance directly to the affected people. In the visited areas the INGC is almost an unknown institution and when asked about the role played by any government institution most of our interviewers responded ‘none’. It is not completely true that the INGC was not there, but compared with the actions and impact of the presence of NGOs it was not visible. Since 2000 the tasks of the INGC go beyond the institutional capacity. Various NGOs have been working collaboratively or assisting the INGC to develop activities targeting the improvement of professional and administrative and technical skills. CVM (Cruz Vermelha de Moçambique) - the Mozambican Red Cross A district commission of the Mozambican Red Cross is situated at the Búzi district administrative headquarters, with small branches (“nuclei”) in most localities around the district. The Búzi district commission reports to the provincial commission and these reports in turn to the national headquarters. The Red Cross is developing projects in Búzi in areas such as early warning, health, water treatment and sanitation. Through the use local volunteers, the Red Cross works in coordination with the local administration and health authorities to combat water-borne diseases such as malaria and cholera. The Red Cross convenes meetings with the local communities to discuss matters such as natural hazards and mechanisms of prevention of water-borne disease, and assists in mobilising communities to abandon high-risk zones. GRC - Gestão de Risco de Calamidades (Disaster Risk Management), a GTZ Project attached to GTZ-Proder The GTZ played an important role in Búzi during the 2000 floods, especially in terms of response and post-disaster assistance. After the floods, through its Proder project (Rural Development Project in Sofala), the GTZ participated in school and health centre rehabilitation, and assisted the government in implementing local disaster risk management. The GTZ was the first organisation to implement a disaster management strategy based at community level, by establishing local committees for risk management in Búzi. Other important activities of the GTZ include:
The GRC has since expanded to include all localities of the district. In each community a nucleon or committee, consisting of seven volunteer members, represents the GRC. This committee works in coordination with local traditional authorities, mobilising people living in low-lying areas to move to safer places. Among other activities the GRC:
The Catholic Church and the CCM These organisations use the Christian message to promote solidarity and a spirit of brotherhood for mutual assistance in cases of emergency. The Catholic Church commissions within the church have developed a range of different assistance procedures. The Charity Commission is the most important of these, and is responsible for collecting goods for distribution to affected people. The church also works as an important instrument for disaster early warning, and for encouraging people to adopt preventive measures. The local Catholic school in Estaquinha also works as an important institution for disaster management. When teachers receive an early warning via radio from the weather services, they transmit it to their students, who inform their parents back home. In Estaquinha, teachers also participate in the meeting held monthly at the administrative headquarters, where they discuss how to solve or minimise the problems of natural hazards. ESMABAMA ESMABAMA is a project created in 1995 by the Catholic Church to deal with post-conflict situations, but from 2000 it turned its focus to emergency food relief, and the distribution of seed and agricultural tools to flood victims along the Búzi River. This organisation has been working collaboratively with other organisations locally such as GTZ and the traditional authorities. During the fieldwork, ESMABAMA was focused on labor-for-food strategies to assist the local villagers against the drought that was affecting the study site. Other main activities of this organisation include:
| |
| Formal DRM set up After the 2000 floods the Mozambican Government developed a new strategy for managing disaster events and for better coordination of operations with other organizations in 2001 a new law was ratified (Law of Disaster Management), the following describes the new set-up. a) National Level National Board for the Coordination of Disaster management (CCGC) Operates at the national, provincial and district level, headed by the Prime Minister and integrates inputs from NGO’s and UN organizations. Main role is to ensure coordination. Technical Council for Disaster Management (CTGC) Technical multi-sectoral organ, representing all ministries reporting to national government. UN and NGOs are on board. It is divided into seven working groups: (i) coordination, early warning, (ii) awareness raising, (iii) rescue and evacuation, (iv) logistic, (v) shelter, water and sanitation, and (vi) food security and agriculture. Each working group is responsible for designing operational plans, simplified instruction and procedures. National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC). National level body with branches in the ten provinces and some in some districts. Responsible for the development of contingency planning at national and provincial level. The Contingency Plan is the document containing strategic guidelines fro disaster prevention and mitigation. b) Provincial Level Provincial Disaster Management Committee All national bodies have representation at the provincial level within the Provincial Disaster Management Committee. The provincial committee meets immediately before the rainy season and soon after the threat is over without being able to implement sound prevention programmes. Preventive measures are still limited, serious financial shortages, DRM is still perceived as a secondary priority. UN Agency and NGOs presence is limited at the provincial level. c) District level In Búzi local administration has created a district emergency committee, composed by local representatives of all the ministries. The role of the committee is: coordination and evacuation, supervision of affected area during the emergency and post disaster assessments and evaluations. d) UN DRM is one of the focuses of the UNDAF in Mozambique. The UN has supported the government in development of a disaster management policy, establish a disaster management information system, implement the disaster management plan. | |
SECTION II: Policies, processes, structures and DRM related actions undertaken at local level (Situation described as it was during/after the disaster event analyzed).
| DRM/P Cycle phase | A | B | D |
| PREVENTION | |||
| 1. Social capital formation | A1 | B1 | D1 |
| 2. NRM and DRN Integration | A2 | B2 | D2 |
| 3. Safety nets (informal) | A3 | B3 | C3 |
| 4. Financial Services and Insurance systems (formal) | A4 | B4 | C4 |
| 5. Awareness raising | A5 | B5 | D5 |
| 6. Coordination mechanism (rehabilitation and prevention matters) | A6 | B6 | D6 |
| PREPAREDNESS | |||
| 7. Early Warning & Communication | A7 | B7 Community based early-warning systems: communities use their traditional knowledge to predict hazards, they know the period of the year when floods, cyclones and droughts occur and which places are most at risk. They could predict natural hazards by interpretating natural signs such as the movement of birds, the appearance of insects or the position of the new moon. However, the uncharacteristic nature of the 2000 event marked a change in the perception of natural hazards by Búzi communities. It also marked changes in terms of community organisation and mechanisms for local institutional coordination. | D7 |
| 8. Contingency planning | A8 | B8 | C8 |
| 9. Infrastructural Safety Arrangements (boats, housing, refugee camps) | A9 | B9 | C9
|
| 10. Vulnerability assessments (pre disaster) | A10 | B10 | C10 |
| RESPONSE AND REHABILITATION | |||
| 11. Response/Relief operations and coordination | A11 | B11
The main assistance provided by the UN to the affected people consisted of rescue, clothing, temporary shelter (tents), high-energy food, medical assistance, sanitation, water and vaccination against the water-borne diseases. Table1/page 29 shows the roles played by some of the UN agencies. | C11 |
| 12. Damage and Needs Assessment (post disaster) | A12 | B12 The assistance was provided after a rapid needs assessment conducted by the donors or administrative authorities. In other areas local traditional authorities were involved in listing affected households. The listing process sometimes was falsified because traditional leaders registered more than the actual number of households, in order to get more assistance. According to some interviewers, the numbers of affected people were inflated for this reason, even by the national government and some NGOs | D12 |
| 13. Transition relief/response to rehabilitation/prevention. | A13 | B13 GTZ Participated in school and health centre rehabilitation, and assisted the government in implementing local disaster risk management. NGOs and donor organisations that provided relief assistance left after six months before the requirements of affected families were met. | C13 |
SECTION III: GAPS and LESSONS LEARNED
The Disaster Management Cycle is illustrated in the below diagram. It consists of a number of phases, each requiring a different range of response activities. The different phases, however, are often grouped together under three main categories: the pre-emergency phase, the emergency phase and the post-emergency phase. In the course of this paper, the activities of UN entities in the disaster management cycle will be examined under these three broad categories.
A. PRE-EMERGENCY PHASE
The emphasis in the pre-emergency phase is on reducing the vulnerability of communities to suffer from the impact of natural phenomena. Measures to achieve this objective include risk-mapping, application of building codes, land zoning as well as structural measures such as the construction of dams against flooding. They are grouped under the heading risk reduction, comprising prevention, mitigation and preparedness.
i. Prevention
Includes all measures aimed at avoiding that natural phenomena turn into disasters for settlements, economies and the infrastructures of communities.
ii. Mitigation
Involves measures taken to limit the adverse impact of natural hazards and related environmental and technological disasters. Examples of mitigation are the retrofitting of buildings or the installation of flood-control dams, and specific legislation.
iii. Preparedness
Involves measures taken to ensure effective response to the impact of disasters. Preparedness measures include, for example, evacuation plans, early warning systems, pre-stocking of relief items - all being part of a national disaster relief plan.
B. EMERGENCY PHASE
In the emergency phase of a natural disaster, response mechanisms are automated. This phase is normally short-lived and may be over within days or weeks.
i. Response
Involves measures taken immediately prior to and following the disaster impact. Response measures are directed towards saving life and protecting property. They deal with the immediate disruption caused by the disaster. They include search and rescue, and the provision of emergency food, shelter, medical assistance. The effectiveness of responding to disasters largely depends on the level of preparedness.
C. POST-EMERGENCY PHASE
The transition from relief to rehabilitation is rarely clear-cut. On the one hand, the foundations of recovery and reconstruction are usually laid in the immediate aftermath of a major disaster, while emergency response activities are still ongoing. On the other hand, there is often, in the aftermath of a natural disaster, a phase when basic needs must still be met as the long-term benefits of rehabilitation and reconstruction projects have not yet been fully realised. As a result, the phasing-out of relief assistance must be managed carefully.
i. Recovery
Is the process by which communities are assisted in returning to their proper level of functioning. The recovery process can be very protracted, in some cases up to a decade or more. Typical activities undertaken under this phase include: restoration of essential services and installations, and long-term measures of reconstruction, including the replacement of buildings and infrastructure that have been destroyed by the disaster.
ii. Development
Its inclusion in the disaster cycle is intended to ensure that following the natural disaster, countries factor hazard and vulnerability considerations into their development policies and plans, in the interest of national progress.
The rationale behind the use of the expression ‘disaster management cycle’ is that disaster and its management is a continuum of inter-linked activities. Yet, the expression is slightly deceiving in that it suggests that the periodic occurrence of natural disasters is something inevitable, always requiring the same response. On the contrary, if effective prevention and preparedness measures are implemented, natural disasters may be avoided by limiting the adverse impact of inevitable natural phenomena.
To illustrate progress in reducing a country’s vulnerability to the impact of natural phenomena through the implementation of risk-reduction measures, the series of events applying to disaster management should be represented as a spiral. In a spiral, disaster-related activities are linked as a continuum, but not in a cyclical manner. At the beginning of the spiral, the country’s vulnerability to natural disasters is high since inadequate focus is placed on risk-reduction and more efforts are correspondingly required during the emergency phase of a disaster. An upward movement along the spiral indicates that prevention and preparedness measures are gradually put into place, thereby reducing the country’s vulnerability to natural disasters and the need for emergency assistance in the event of a disaster.
Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre
Asian Disaster Reduction Centre
Caribean Disaster Mitigation Project
CEPREDENAC (Centro de Coordinación para la Prevención de los Desastres Naturales en América Central)
Centro Régional de Información sobre Desastres (América Latina y el Caribe)
http://www.disaster.info.desastres.net/crid
Directory of Disaster Reduction Institutions
Disaster Information Network
Disaster Preparedness ECHO (DIPECHO)
http://www.disaster.info.desastres.net/dipecho
Disaster Relief - Worldwide Disaster Aid and Information via the Internet
Earthquake Research Institute
European Union Humanitarian Office
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/echo
FAO Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS)
http://www.fao.org/giews/default.html
FAO Geoweb
FAO Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information Mapping System (FIVIMS)
http://www.fao.org/fivims/default.html
US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Fortalecer Estructuras Locales para la Mitigación de Desastres (FEMID)
http://www.cepredenac.org/10_femid/10_index.html
HazardNet
http://hoshi.cic.sfu.ca/hazard/index.html
HazNet
Humanitarian Policy Group /ODI
International Committee of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
International Institute for Disaster Risk Management
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
La Red de Estudios Sociales en Prevención de Desastres en América Latina
http://www.osso.univalle.edu.co/tmp/lared/lared/html
La Red de Estudios Sociales en Prevención de Desastres en América Latina - Publications:
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Promujer
ProVention Consortium
http://www.proventionconsortium.org
SEWA
UNDP Disaster Management
http://www.undp.org/erd/disaster.html
UNDP Disaster Management Programme
http://www.undp.org/erd/dmp.html
UNESCO Unit for Natural Disaster Reduction
http://www.unesco.org/environment
World Bank Disaster Management Facility
World Food Programme
World Health Organization Division of Emergency and Humanitarian Action
World Meteorological Organization
| [10] Inter-Agency Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR), Living with Risk: A global review of disaster reduction initiatives, United Nations, Geneva, 2004. |
