Elements of Disaster Resilience: Lessons from Bangladesh
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Elements of disaster resilience: lessons from Bangladesh Mainstreaming Livelihood-Centred Approaches to Disaster Management Project Funded by from the Department for International Development Sustainable & Diverse Livelihoods building disaster resilient communities Mainstreaming Livelihood-Centred Approaches to Disaster Management Project any poor people in rural needs, capacity and opportunities. Bangladesh live in areas subject With improved knowledge and support Mto extreme flooding and mechanisms, several thousand riverbank erosion which destroy their vulnerable families from flood-prone, crops, homes and livelihoods, river eroded areas of Bogra, Gaibandha undermining their economy, health and and Sirajganj districts now have the nutritional security.. Two key strategies capacity to reduce their vulnerability to are generally considered to reduce disaster risks. vulnerability to disaster: 1) decreasing the impacts of hazards on lives and Livelihood diversification resources through prevention, protection and preparedness; and 2) through on-farm and off-farm increasing resilience by strengthening activities and diversifying livelihood options. Increased income can be achieved On-farm activities: Training in practical through skill development for technologies and skills for farming alternative or diversified livelihood activities, such as profitable livestock options, both on farm and off farm. (cow, goat, sheep) rearing, poultry The 'Mainstreaming Livelihood-Centred (duck, hen, pigeon) rearing, bee- Approaches to Disaster Management' keeping/apiculture, homestead (DRR) Project of Practical Action gardening, garlic and watermelon Bangladesh has used a sustainable cultivation, early maturing rice livelihoods approach to demonstrate cultivation, nursery establishment and positive development impacts that fruit sapling plantation, were provided increase resilience and the ability to to individuals and groups (project adapt to climate change. The project participants). The project also provided has promoted a number of on-farm and appropriate inputs to the trainees. off-farm activities based on local 4,000 families in the project locations are now using newly acquired increased earnings, but also provided knowledge and skills. Gainful alternative sources of income. Two employment has been stimulated years after receiving a goat, a within the communities, leading to beneficiary can be earning Taka increased earnings, the ability to 5,000-6,000 per year. The income satisfy basic needs and increased from a cow can be Taka 45,000 - disaster resilience. 60,000 per year. Apiculture is a profitable and popular enterprise This appropriate needs-based approach among landless households, requiring has resulted in measurable economic little land, simple technology, and a gains by beneficiary families. Livestock high market price for the honey.. This interventions have had significantly intervention has been replicated both greater impacts on strengthening within and beyond the project areas, livelihoods than purely agricultural creating income earning opportunities technologies. Cow, goat and sheep for many.. rearing have not only significantly Farming the flood: floating vegetable gardening enable families to ensure household food supply during flooding. Off-farm activities: A number of off- sub-groups taking up separate farm activities, such as bamboo components such as raw material product-making (handicraft), mat- collection, marketing etc; each group making, blanket making, curd contributing to the production of the production and seed preservation, end product. Each component can were promoted under the project by even be run as a separate competitive providing training to selected enterprise. Curd production was a participants. The project also completely new way of generating provided equipment to the trained income for the community. The persons so that they could begin beneficiaries who received training in earning money using their newly these skills are now earning money all gained skills. year round - even during the monsoon season, previously a period when no Packaging and blanket making have sources of income were available. been replicated within the community. Skilled beneficiaries involved in these The group of people involved may off-farm activities are now each choose to divide responsibilities with earning Taka 70 - 150 per day.. Neelmoni (left) of Kazipur received training on making bamboo products including 'darki,' a trap for fishes. A fishreman moves towards flooded spot to fix his traps to catch fish (right). Impacts of livelihoods promotion The project beneficiaries have used their additional income from on- farm and off-farm activities to reduce their future vulnerability; raising their homestead plinths, repairing and strengthening their houses and improving their hygiene practices through flood-proofed latrines, and improving their water supply by installing flood-proofed Adaptation against odds: raised houses tube-wells. Some have also saved enable families to cope with flood. money in the bank or in mud pots in preparation for future needs. Their and even leasing land for increased income has enabled cultivation. Increased income has people to meet many needs such as increased food security, health, purchasing food, funding their well-being and the ability to cope children's education, buying or with hazards, shocks and stresses. making furniture, repaying loans Opportunities/ Lessons learned The livelihoods-centred approach to existing livelihood strategies. This DRR has clearly demonstrated that objective was achieved by selecting skill training coupled with initial input new livelihood options through support can equip people with new participatory analysis, considering opportunities and enhanced ways of vulnerability, availability, effectiveness, earning a living. Improved incomes not adaptability and environment. Building only move people away from on locally available resources and destitution, but also increase their capacities ensured that many of the ability to cope with both predictable technologies chosen were replicable by and unpredictable shocks and stresses. the community without external Strengthening and diversifying support. It is important to work with livelihoods through skill development government departments and of on-farm and off-farm activities is personnel as much as possible, and easily replicable in other areas of the link communities with existing country and provides a means of government schemes and services. reducing poverty and vulnerability Involving government officials in while increasing resilience to project activities also provides an disastrous events. Livelihood opportunity for them to learn new diversification must not be done at the approaches and new ways of thinking expense of other initiatives, but rather that they may not have been exposed build on, complement and strengthen to before. Challenges Shortage of land for on-farm and off- expenditure and profit margins as well farm activities was found to be a major as the ability to label information to constraint, especially for extremely communicate with customers. More poor communities. The illiteracy of investment is needed for the some group members had the potential development of human resources that to cause problems, particularly in will further increase the resilience of understanding concepts of income, targeted households. The chain reaction: reaching the non-targeted Searching for and applying new, transfer mechanism was also suitable, sustainable mechanisms for promoted between non-beneficiaries the distribution of assets was a to non-beneficiaries successively. As a feature of the DRR project. Many result, although the project initially participants received a she-goat or distributed more than 1100 goats sheep from the project. During the and sheep among target households, distribution of these, the project the number of families that will participants were committed to hand benefit will continue increasing as over their 1st goat/sheep kid to offspring are handed on.. Close another vulnerable but non- supervision from the CBO and/or beneficiary family under the local government is needed for supervision of the CBO and Union effectiveness and sustainability of Parishad members. This asset this system. At a village of Sariakandi, women gather to donate their sheep kids (left). A woman heads to her home with a young goat which she has just received from a neighbour as donation (right). his bank account. This money provides security in the event of a disaster. He has also purchased a cow as an additional source of income. In addition he has invested in risk reduction strategies, raising the plinth of his homestead, investing in a flood-proof tube well and building a cattle shelter. Khalilur Rahman - the Honey- He has become a renowned man from Kazipur! resource person in the locality, and has been hired by other organizations to facilitate training Khalilur Rahman of Kazipur Upazila, on apiculture. He also supplies Sirajganj, is an active and responsible apiculture boxes and bee colonies to community volunteer, trained in DRR. In new apiculture farmers. Over the 2007, following training on last three years, 20 other families beekeeping/apiculture, which included trained by Khalil have started visiting active bee-keepers to gain practical apiculture. Khalil plans to form a experience, Khalil received one apiculture beekeeping group where apiculture box (hive) and a colony of bees, (at a cost will