Implementation of Community Based Activities for Risk ... - Agire

FINAL REPORT “Implementation of Community Based Activities for Risk Reduction and Mitigation of NaturalDisaster Impacts in the Province of Herat, Western Afghanistan”1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARYAfghanistan is very prone to different types of 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 ofdisasters. Seismic maps indicate that almost 70 percent of the territory is in the earthquakes risk zone.Other types of 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 of 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 of 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 of damage cost. The impacts of the disasters are deeply related with the socioeconomicconditions, tradition, culture and climate of the communities. In addition, the intensity, andpossibly the frequency, of natural disasters are likely to be exacerbated by climate change. In light of thesethreats, disaster risk reduction (DRR) is central to meet local and global development objectives and toadapt to climate change. The importance of DRR is recognized globally in the key agreements of the HyogoFramework for 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 of vulnerable communities, ignore the potential oflocal 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 of disaster risk reduction in which at riskcommunities are actively engaged in the identification, analysis, treatment, monitoring and evaluation ofdisaster risks in order to reduce their vulnerabilities and enhance capacities. This means that people are atthe heart of decision making and implementation of disaster risk reduction activities.Since 2003, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in partnership with different agencies of the UnitedNations and other organizations has developed key policy documents such as the National DisasterManagement Framework, National Strategy for Disaster Management, National Disaster ManagementPlan, and Provincial Disaster Management Plans. The National Emergency Commission, under theleadership of 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 of Disaster Preparedness (DDP) has the leadrole and is the nodal agency for 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