Marte Steiro
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Marte Steiro When the Dust Has Settled: A Post-Disaster Recovery Study of Water and Sanitation Reconstruction after the 2015 Flood in Phalombe and Nsanje Districts, Malawi. MPhil in Development Studies, Specializing in Geography Trondheim, May 2016 Supervisor: Haakon Lein Norwegian University of Science and Technology Faculty of Social Sciences and Technology Management Department of Geography ABSTRACT This thesis is the result of the research project carried out as part of the Master Programme MPhil in Development Studies, Specialising in Geography, at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The aim of the study has been to describe and discuss the water and sanitation recovery process in Phalombe and Nsanje Districts, Malawi, following the 2015 Southern African Flood. The study includes an investigation of the opportunities and challenges related to the recovery process and the nature of the involvement of different actors, with special focus on the contribution of local communities, local government and the importance of outside assistance. The data was collected during by using a case study approach, choosing two districts and four villages within the districts. The study uses a qualitative methodology, and the research methods consists primarily of interviews and focus group discussions with villagers in the four villages, local authority figures and District Government representatives, as well as a representative from UNICEF, which were the co-leading body of the WASH cluster. The study shows that the water and sanitation infrastructure not only suffers from direct, structural damage, but also indirect damage caused by the population displacement that follows the flood event as the existing facilities in some areas are being overused. In addition, recovery, resilience and adaptation are being used central concepts in this study. A quick recovery, high resilience, and appropriate disaster adaptation can lead to an increased preparedness and mitigation towards future disasters, which could lead to fewer losses and less damages in the future. i ii AKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank my supervisors Prof. Haakon Lein and Hilde Refstie at the Department of Geography at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and Dr. Evance Mwathunga, Deputy Head of Geography and Earth Sciences Department at Chancellors College/University of Malawi. Your personal and academic guidance and support have been highly appreciated. My research assistant, Rebecca Phwitiko, for her assistance with creating access to the field, interviewing, transcribing and translation. Mr. Melton Luhanga and Mr. Michael Mwale from CARD Malawi (Churches Action in Relief and Development) for the opportunity to go to Nsanje, and the CARD employees in their offices in Bangula and Nsanje for local knowledge, providing access to the villages and assistance with the conduction of interviews in the villages in Nsanje. Mr. Stein Villumstad at the Norwegian Church Aid (Lilongwe) and Tim van der Linden (Zomba) for accommodation, support and for taking care of me while I was sick with Malaria. Mr. Augustin Charles Chikuni at the Royal Norwegian Embassy for assistance with my Research License application. Additional appreciations goes to all my informants for their willingness to participate and to my fellow colleges on Development Studies at NTNU for making these last two years memorable. Trondheim, May 2016 Marte Steiro iii iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................... i AKNOWLEDGEMENT ......................................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................ ix LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................. ix ACRONYMS ........................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1 1.1. Background of the study .............................................................................................. 1 1.2. Problem Statement ....................................................................................................... 2 1.3. General Objective ........................................................................................................ 3 1.3.1. Specific Objectives ............................................................................................... 3 1.3.2. Research Questions .............................................................................................. 3 1.4. Justification of the Study ............................................................................................. 4 1.5. Structure of the Thesis ................................................................................................. 6 CHAPTER 2: DISASTER OCCURRENCE AND MANAGEMENT IN THE MALAWIAN CONTEXT........................................................................................................ 9 2.1. Hazard Risk and Vulnerability in Malawi ................................................................... 9 2.2. Disaster Management System in Malawi .................................................................. 10 2.2.1. Disaster Management Plans and Policies ......................................................... 10 2.3. The 2015 Flood .......................................................................................................... 12 2.3.1. The 2015 Flood Damage to Water and Sanitation ............................................ 13 2.4. Malawi: Country Profile ............................................................................................ 14 2.4.1. Phalombe District .............................................................................................. 17 2.4.2. Nsanje District .................................................................................................... 18 CHAPTER 3: CONCEPTS AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .............................. 23 3.1. Definition of Key Terms ............................................................................................ 23 3.2. Floods as a Disaster ................................................................................................... 25 3.3. The Importance of Water and Sanitation in a Flood Situation .................................. 28 3.4. Recovery .................................................................................................................... 29 v 3.4.1. Post-Disaster Recovery Models ......................................................................... 30 3.5. Resilience in Disaster Recovery ................................................................................ 31 3.5.1. Community Resilience ........................................................................................ 33 3.5.2. The Resilience Framework (Norris et al. 2008) ................................................. 33 3.6. Reducing the Impact of Disasters: Mitigation and Adaptation ................................. 37 CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY AND THE RESEARCH PROCESS .......................... 41 4.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 41 4.2. Choice of Research Participants ................................................................................ 42 4.3. Data Collection Techniques ....................................................................................... 43 4.3.1. Individual- and Group Interviews ...................................................................... 44 4.3.2. Focus Group Discussion (FGD) ........................................................................ 44 4.3.3. Observation ........................................................................................................ 45 4.3.4. The Use of Secondary Data ................................................................................ 45 4.4. Data Handling and Analysis ...................................................................................... 46 4.4.1. Data Analysis ..................................................................................................... 46 4.4.2. Handling the Gathered Data .............................................................................. 46 4.5. Ethical considerations ................................................................................................ 47 4.6. Practical challenges ................................................................................................... 49 4.6.1. Research in a Different Culture ......................................................................... 49 4.6.2. Doing Research in Different Languages ............................................................ 50 4.6.3. Using a Research Assistant ................................................................................ 50 4.7. Positionality and Reflexivity ..................................................................................... 51 4.8. Validity and Trustworthiness ....................................................................................