A global review of disaster reduction initiatives - Welcome to the ...

3Living with Risk: A global review of disaster reduction initiativesstrategies contribute to mainstreaming community-baseddisaster management in poorand vulnerable communities as a cost effectiveoption.Community leadership and relationshipsAny system of local planning and protectionmust be integrated into larger administrativeand resource capabilities such as provincial,state and national disaster plans and riskreduction strategies. It is equally important torealize that communities cannot implementcommunity-based disaster mitigation alone.Viable forms of community-based disasterreduction depend on a favourable politicalenvironment that understands, promotes andsupports this participation process.A recent Australian study found that the extentof commitment by local governments to takeaction depends on emergency managers makingthe right choices about citizen involvementin planning risk reduction processes. This canbuild an informed constituency for disasterreduction and drive a real commitment amongelected officials to take action. Key decisionsinclude:• Objectives to be achieved by involvingcitizens.• Areas in the planning process where, andwhen, citizens participate.• Which citizens to include.• Techniques to use in order to obtain citizeninput.• Information that is to be provided to citizens.Disasters are opportunities for change andcommunity development. Women are participatingactively in rehabilitation and reconstructionaround the world. Their organizationshave a special role to play, and are doingso in several places. “Networks of networks” isan increasing phenomena among communitybasedorganizations and NGOs to share theirown experiences among community leadersand groups. One such network linkingwomen’s organizations is the Grass Root OrganizationOperating in Sisterhood (GROOTS).The following are examples from Gujarat,India, and Turkey, of shared experiences withinthis network.People - especially women - rebuilding their own communities in GujaratImmediately after the Gujarat, India, earthquake in January 2001, Swayam Shiksam Prayong (SSP), (self-educationfor empowerment), an Indian NGO, joined many community-based organizations in the recovery effort. Drawingon their prior experience following the Latur earthquake in the Maharashtra State of India in 1993, they proposeda policy, which would not only rebuild the devastated Gujarat communities but reform and strengthen their socialand political structures. The central concept was that people – especially women – need to rebuild their own communities.Key elements of the strategy included:• Using reconstruction as an opportunity to build local capacities and skills.• Forming village development committees made up of women’s groups and other community institutions tomanage rehabilitation.• Engaging village committees to monitor earthquake-safe construction.• Redressing grievances at the village level.• Striving to locate financial and technical assistance within easy reach of affected communities, and not bedependent on its being mediated by others.• Arriving at a clear definition of the role of local governments in planning and monitoring, information flow,problem-solving, and infrastructure use and development.• Distributing information about earthquake safety and entitlement to all homeowners.• Encouraging the use of local skills and labour, and retraining local artisans in earthquake-resistant technology.• Including women in all aspects of the reconstruction.• Assigning titles of houses in names of men and women.• Encouraging coordination among government officials, district authorities and NGOs.• Seeking to facilitate public-private partnerships for economic and infrastructure development.www.sspindia.org142