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

Selected application of disaster reduction measures5Early warning of forest fire at local levelThe Integrated Forest Fire Management (IFFM) project in Indonesia is a technical cooperation project supportedby GTZ and the Global Fire Monitoring Centre (GFMC). The project approach relies on the involvement oflocal communities in fire prevention and preparedness (community-based fire management). IFFM has beenworking with a fire danger rating (FDR) system in East Kalimantan since 1995. The FDR is based on the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) and is part of a fire information system (FIS) that manages spatial fire-related dataand information in an integrated manner. The graph indicates the KBDI readings for the 1997-1998 El Niñoyears that show the development of drought and fire danger in the coastal zone of East Kalimantan. This droughtindex is easy to handle because it only requires on-site rainfall and temperature measurements. Since fire-weatherpatterns in the tropical rainforest region vary within short distances, it is advantageous for this system to be used bylocal entities such as local fire departments, forestry enterprises and communities.Source:GTZ/GFMC,2001land and Viet Nam) illustrates efforts to devisea strategy that is both technically efficient,socially useful and relevant to the recipientcommunities. The ongoing project is guidedby research focusing on the complex socialprocess triggered by warnings, which needs tobe understood to design both the technical andsocial aspects of the warning system. MRCfully endorsed the value of the “social ownership”of the warning strategy when developingits Flood Mitigation and Management Plan in2001. Thanks to the Commission and otherparties involved, participatory approaches areprogressively being introduced into the disastermanagement culture of the region. Individualcountries should in principle apply a similarapproach depending on their institutionalsettings and political preparedness. Possibleaction plans to implement user-based floodwarning and disaster mitigation were presentedto the MRC secretariat, as well as to representativesof member countries on the occasionof the MRC Expert Meeting on Flood Forecastingand Early Warning Systems (PhnomPenh, Cambodia, 26 February-1 March2002). The plans emphasize the need to understandvulnerability, risk culture and relatedtrade-offs, as well as the social response tofloods to provide useful warnings. Nationalauthorities were advised to conduct a proactive,preliminary assessment of the social relevance,relative usefulness and expected efficiency oftheir flood warning strategy in order to furtherimprove it.269