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

Case: Central American countries,community based organizationThe Central American Community Risk ManagementNetwork was inspired by the impact ofHurricane Mitch. The perceived exclusion ofcommunity-based organizations from thereconstruction process became a stimulus toincrease the participation of community organizationsand to foster the development of grassrootsapproaches to risk management and disasterreduction.Policy and public commitment: the foundation of disaster risk reduction3The Network was formed in Nicaragua inMay 1999 with the support of CEPRE-DENAC, GTZ, HABITAT and theIDNDR. The network works through existingcommunity organizations in many areas ofCentral America by providing training andtechnical advice. It has focused its attentionparticularly on the popular understanding ofthe relationships between disasters and development,and the need to strengthen existingcommunity-based development organizationsrather than creating new, local disaster organizations.Member communities of the networkhave participated in early warning projects andtraining activities supported by organizationssuch as GTZ.Dynamics of local collaborationWith the proper motivation, local communitiesare receptive to new ideas. However, the fullparticipation of community members is onlypossible to the extent that efforts are based onmutual trust, a clear definition of the decisionmakingprocess, and transparency of managementpractice and economic expenditure. Politicsand financial disparities exist in villagesand neighbourhoods, so it becomes importantto identify shared values and concerns.Scientists and engineers are challenged totranslate their research findings into conceptsand language understandable by communities,as much as administrators must strive tomotivate risk management practices that protectresidents’ own interests and assets. Moreoften than not, successful community actionin disaster reduction hinges on appropriateand low-technological approaches that areeasily and economically adopted by inhabitants.These conditions underline the importance ofrecognizing that community action must beassociated with a larger national strategy inwhich local efforts play a crucial part.There must be a sense of local ownership and acooperative working relationship among differentorganizations if local capacity is to flourish. Successfuloutcomes depend on community involvementfrom planning to the implementation andmonitoring of activities so that local people feel thatthe work of reducing risks has relevance to theirlives. Risk and resource analysis should includerapid appraisal tools and techniques. This meansthat local people have to be involved in both riskmapping and resource assessment, as too often theneeds and resources that already exist within acommunity are overlooked or discounted. If theseassets are harnessed and developed from the beginning,they form a valuable part of the process.The IFRC Disaster Preparedness AppealsAnalysis Mapping for 2002-03 indicates that asignificant percentage of the sample group of 32National Societies reviewed were including community-baseddisaster management activities intheir 2002-03 programmes.The IFRC learned that successful integratedand participatory planning needs to lay out adistinctive methodology with clear aims andobjectives, and one that includes the involvementof different actors drawn from govern-149