FINAL REPORT “<strong>Implementation</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Community</strong> <strong>Based</strong> <strong>Activities</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Risk</strong> Reduction and Mitigation <strong>of</strong> NaturalDisaster Impacts in the Province <strong>of</strong> Herat, Western Afghanistan”TABLE OF CONTENT___________________________________________________________________________1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 32. INTRODUCTION 53. PRELIMINARY ACTIVITIES 54. PROJECT ACTIVITIES PROGRESS REPORT 74.1 Sourestan and Gerdab villages 74.2 Ali Abad and Gerdab villages 84.3 Jalwardi village 114.4 Talas village 134.5 <strong>Community</strong> mobilization and DRR awareness campaign 155. MONITORING AND EVALUATING 166. MAJOR CONSTRAINS AND CHALLENGES 167. RECOMMENDATION FOR THE FUTURE 178. ATTACHMENTS 17Karte Parwan, District Four, Kabul - Afghanistanphone: +93 797 551123, e-mail: afghanistan@intersos.org2
FINAL REPORT “<strong>Implementation</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Community</strong> <strong>Based</strong> <strong>Activities</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Risk</strong> Reduction and Mitigation <strong>of</strong> NaturalDisaster Impacts in the Province <strong>of</strong> Herat, Western Afghanistan”1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARYAfghanistan is very prone to different types <strong>of</strong> natural disasters, resulting in heavy casualties anddamages to infrastructure. According to the CRED-International Disaster Database, the top 10 naturaldisasters in Afghanistan from 1900 till 2011 have killed an estimated 16,025 people and affectedapproximately 6 million. Climate change is also fuelling an escalation in the frequency and intensity <strong>of</strong>disasters. Seismic maps indicate that almost 70 percent <strong>of</strong> the territory is in the earthquakes risk zone.Other types <strong>of</strong> disasters which the population mostly faces are flash floods, heavy snow fall, avalanches anddrought.It is widely recognized that recurrent disasters, such as Afghanistan’s, have a large impact inundermining the ability <strong>of</strong> communities, regions, nations and the global community itself to meet basicdevelopment goals. Over the past two to three decades, the economic losses and the number <strong>of</strong> peoplewho have been affected by natural disasters have increased more rapidly than both economic andpopulation growth. The top 10 natural disasters in Afghanistan from 1900 till 2011 has caused alone morethan 451 million USD <strong>of</strong> damage cost. The impacts <strong>of</strong> the disasters are deeply related with the socioeconomicconditions, tradition, culture and climate <strong>of</strong> the communities. In addition, the intensity, andpossibly the frequency, <strong>of</strong> natural disasters are likely to be exacerbated by climate change. In light <strong>of</strong> thesethreats, disaster risk reduction (DRR) is central to meet local and global development objectives and toadapt to climate change. The importance <strong>of</strong> DRR is recognized globally in the key agreements <strong>of</strong> the HyogoFramework <strong>for</strong> Action (HFA) 2005-2015, signed also by Afghanistan.Moreover, there is growing evidence to show that most top-down disaster risk management andresponse programs fail to address specific local needs <strong>of</strong> vulnerable communities, ignore the potential <strong>of</strong>local resources and capacities and may in some cases even increase people’s vulnerability. As a result, abroad consensus has been reached among disaster risk management actors to put more emphasis oncommunity-based risk reduction programs (CBRRP). This means that vulnerable people themselves will beinvolved in planning and implementing disaster risk reduction measures in collaboration with local,provincial, and national authorities. CBRRP is a process <strong>of</strong> disaster risk reduction in which at riskcommunities are actively engaged in the identification, analysis, treatment, monitoring and evaluation <strong>of</strong>disaster risks in order to reduce their vulnerabilities and enhance capacities. This means that people are atthe heart <strong>of</strong> decision making and implementation <strong>of</strong> disaster risk reduction activities.Since 2003, the Islamic Republic <strong>of</strong> Afghanistan in partnership with different agencies <strong>of</strong> the UnitedNations and other organizations has developed key policy documents such as the National DisasterManagement Framework, National Strategy <strong>for</strong> Disaster Management, National Disaster ManagementPlan, and Provincial Disaster Management Plans. The National Emergency Commission, under theleadership <strong>of</strong> the President, has been established and the Afghanistan National Development Strategy(ANDS) has been developed where Disaster Management (DM) has been targeted within the SocialProtection Sector. The National Disaster Management Programme (NDMP), developed in 2003, advocates acomprehensive risk management approach. The Department <strong>of</strong> Disaster Preparedness (DDP) has the leadrole and is the nodal agency <strong>for</strong> coordinating disaster management activities at the national level and is theagency through which risk reduction strategies are coordinated. However, despite the rapid progress madeKarte Parwan, District Four, Kabul - Afghanistanphone: +93 797 551123, e-mail: afghanistan@intersos.org3
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