C o m m u n i t y r i s k r e d u c t i o n
Containing menaces old and
new
Reducing the risks that natural hazards
bring is a Red Cross/Red Crescent priority
around the world and something National
Societies are uniquely placed to pursue
because of their widespread presence at
the community level.
Of course, community-based disaster
reduction (CBDR) is about more than
climate change. But whether measures are
aimed at climate-related hazards or
earthquakes, or tsunamis, or volcanic
eruptions, is immaterial. Steps taken to
contain an older menace can help contain
new or increasing ones for which extreme
weather or warming are responsible.
It was not climate change that caused the
Viet Nam Red Cross to start planting
mangrove trees along the seashore in
1994. Deforestation had robbed large
coastal tracts of the mangrove they once
had and exposed coastal inhabitants to the
ravages of typhoons and storms. But as
sea temperatures and levels rise, more
severe meteorological hazards can be
expected and the natural defences restored
by crucial community effort are more
important than ever.
“It isn’t that climate change alters the
nature of our risk-reduction activities,” says
Viet Nam Red Cross senior officer, Nguyen
Hung Thang, “but it does raise matters of
priority, particularly at the community level.”
Ways to diminish the dangers
In 2008, some 213 million people were
affected by natural disasters, and most
disasters are increasing in number and
intensity.
People’s options are limited. They can run.
They can wait in despair for the worst to
happen. Or they can reduce the impact of
what is likely to happen, as Bangladesh
Red Crescent volunteers are showing
villagers in the low-lying, flood-prone
northern plains of their country. Already
monsoon rains bring heavy floods and they
could become bigger and more frequent as
climate changes. The steps the volunteers
advocate may seem modest at first but in
community terms are hugely significant.
Planting trees along river banks and
roadsides can help check the force of the
flooding, help to improve the environment,
and help a community not only to survive
but develop.
The root spread stabilizes the earth and
helps prevent the erosion of topsoil, and
trees provide sustainable income. When
mature, they are felled and replaced by
fresh saplings, the wood being sold to
enhance community coffers. Most
importantly, though, villages are less open
to disaster, more resilient, better able to
cope with adversity.
Across the country, Red Crescent
programmes are benefiting village after
village, varying according to community
needs. All of them come with a message:
no matter where you are and how huge the
hazards, there are always ways to diminish
their menace.
Preparing for the unexpected
The Nicaraguan Red Cross has promoted
preparation for the unexpected since the
start of its climate change programme. The
wisdom of this was seen when 2007’s
Hurricane Felix scythed its way through the
Mosquito Coast. After Hurricane Dean, it
was the region’s second Category-5 storm
in less than a month – the first time on
record that two of that force had made
landfall in a single hurricane season.
Severe storms have hit the country
frequently over the past decade and the
National Society is helping communities
face up to the clearly increasing threats.
The Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment
(VCA, see below) – a method by which
communities themselves can assess and
address the hazards they face – has been
of enormous assistance. Having mapped
the dangers, people analyse why they are
vulnerable to them. Then they develop
action plans. VCAs in Nicaragua have led
to self-organization, with communities
aware not only of how to deal with storms
but other hazards they encounter.
How to integrate climate
change
Helping communities reduce their own
vulnerability is more urgent than ever. That
does not mean telling them what to do but
facilitating a dialogue about their concerns,
empowering them to define their own
priorities.
A key guiding principle should be to keep it
simple. All you may need to do is ask
people if they have noticed unusual
weather, briefly explain why climate is
changing globally, and help them decide on
local responses.
Keeping it simple is even more important
because a key challenge with CBDR is to
reach a large number of communities. The
approach must be simple enough to be
applied by our local volunteers in ways
communities can understand.
Step 1: Collecting and analysing general
background information
See Getting Started ‘How to’ section.
Step 2: Assessing priorities
Using the background information
gathered, assess priority areas to work on
within the National Society’s overall
disaster-management context (see
Disaster Management ‘How to’ section,
Steps 1 and 2).
The prioritization should be guided by,
among other things, the way climate
change is affecting particular parts of the
country.
Step 3: Conducting VCAs
Integrating climate change into VCAs can
be done very simply. The team preparing
the VCA should decide beforehand how
basic or complex the integration of climate
change should be. Below are three options
to choose from:
OPTION A (BASIC): Getting additional
information from the community
Make sure the VCA asks the right
questions to get information about unusual
climate phenomena and trends. Consider a
number of VCA tools that examine trends,
particularly:
o
Seasonal calendar. Ask whether
seasons have been changing.
o
Historical calendar. Ask about
systematic changes in temperature,
rainfall and other weather events; and
occurrences of “strange” phenomena.
o
Risk map (or transect walk). Ask people
to describe not only the current situation
but also how it has been changing.
o
Questionnaires and focus group
discussions. Add special questions
such as, “How did that weather affect
you, your family and your community?”
OPTION A + B (INTERMEDIATE):
Briefing VCA facilitators on climate
change
Ensure that facilitators are familiar with
climate change concepts, this could include
use of video resources, a climate expert or
integrating it into training manuals. Using
this option facilitators aren’t expected to
explain climate change to communities.
OPTION A + B + C (ADVANCED):
Bringing the knowledge to communities
Through careful training, facilitators must
feel confident in explaining the concept of
climate change and relating it to the
community’s context. The important part is
to be careful not to over-emphasise climate
change. The aim is for communities to
understand that the risks are changing and
that they can take action to reduce the risks
they face.
Analysing the results of VCA’s
The team should analyse the community’s
information, particularly documenting the
way they have described new risks or
trends in weather patterns. Compare
community observations with the scientific
information from your society’s national
climate-risk assessment. Assess whether
risk-reduction strategies identified in the
VCA will improve resilience to climate
change trends suggested by scientific
reports.
Step 4: Implementing CBDR
The VCA may already have resulted in
enhanced awareness and disaster risk
reduction by the communities themselves.
It may also help plan further Red
Cross/Red Crescent material assistance –
such as communication equipment or
provision of seedlings for reforestation – or
improved community processes, such as
plans for disaster management. Follow-up
may involve partnership with NGOs and
local government, and advocacy regarding
local and national policies, for instance on
evacuation shelters or building codes.
Step 5: Evaluation
Risks are continuously changing so it is
important to evaluate the National Society’s
CBDR programmes regularly. Evaluation
should be a continuous process.
o
If new threats or diseases have
occurred, there may be a need to
update the priorities.
o
VCA information has a special role.
Local communities may report changing
risks that no one else has picked up.
o
Return regularly to assessed
communities to check on follow-up and
maintain a dialogue on risks.
o
Document information on VCAs as well
as the experiences from actual CBDR
programmes. The more such examples
are shared, the faster we can expand
our coverage.
Find the complete modules in the Red
Cross/Red Crescent Climate Guide,
. Main source of
general information on CBDR and VCAs is
the International Federation’s website,
“It isn’t that climate change alters the
nature of our risk-reduction activities but it
does raise matters of priority.”, Nguyen
Hung Thang, Viet Nam
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