WHAT COMMUNITIES WANT: PUTTING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE PRIORITIES ON THE AGENDA FOR 2015 WHAT COMMUNITIES WANT: PUTTING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE PRIORITIES ON THE AGENDA FOR 2015 WHAT COMMUNITIES WANT: PUTTING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE PRIORITIES ON THE AGENDA FOR 2015 Huairou Commission 249 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, New York, NY 11211 Tel: (+1)718.388.8915 www.huairou.org Copyright: © Huairou Commission, 2013 Editors: Suranjana Gupta and Sangeetha Purushothaman We encourage the use and reproduction of the contents of this publication with the explicit acknowledgement of the Huairou Commission. To !nd out more about the Huairou Commission’s Community Resilience Campaign, please contact [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS 8 FOREWORD 9 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY RECOMMENDATIONS 12 INTRODUCTION 20 HOW COMMUNITIES EXPERIENCE THE EFFECTS OF NATURAL HAZARDS AND CLIMATE CHANGE 26 USING COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE AND INNOVATION TO BUILD A CULTURE OF SAFETY AND RESILIENCE 40 PUTTING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE PRIORITIES ON INSTITUTIONAL AGENDAS 54 COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVES ON RESILIENCE BUILDING 65 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: PUTTING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE PRIORITIES ON THE AGENDA FOR 2015 69 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OF FIGURES CHAPTER 1 17 FIGURE 1.1 STUDY SAMPLE BY GENDER, TYPE OF SETTLEMENT, GROUP STATUS, GROUP AFFILIATION, AND MEMBERSHIP OF DECISION- MAKING BODIES CHAPTER 2 21 FIGURE 2.1 NATURAL HAZARDS EXPERIENCED BY COMMUNITIES OVER THE PAST TEN YEARS 22 FIGURE 2.2 IMPACT OF NATURAL DISASTERS ON COMMUNITIES 23 FIGURE 2.3 TYPE OF CLIMATE CHANGE EXPERIENCED 24 FIGURE 2.4 IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ACROSS SAMPLE CHAPTER 3 27 FIGURE 3.1 INITIATIVES LED BY TOP THREE STAKEHOLDERS TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF NATURAL DISASTERS 30 FIGURE 3.2 TYPE OF TRAINING RECEIVED 31 FIGURE 3.3 HOW TRAINING HAS HELPED 32 FIGURE 3.4 TYPE OF COMMUNITY EXPERTISE 34 FIGURE 3.5 CAPACITIES COMMUNITIES WANT 36 FIGURE 3.6 COMPARING WOMENAND MEN’S RESPONSES ON THE BENEFITS OF TRAINING CHAPTER 4 41 FIGURE 4.1 TYPE OF SUPPORT RECEIVED FROM KEY STAKEHOLDERS TO ADDRESS THE IMPACT OF DISASTERS 42 FIGURE 4.2 TYPE OF SUPPORT RECEIVED FROM KEY STAKEHOLDERS TO ADDRESS THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE 45 FIGURE 4.3 PERCENTAGE OF COMMUNITY LEADERS RECOGNISED BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES 45 FIGURE 4.4 PERCENTAGE OF COMMUNITY LEADERS RECOGNISED FOR WORK ON DISASTER AND CLIMATE CHANGE 47 FIGURE 4.5 GOVERNMENT PROGRAMMES THAT UNDERMINE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE (TOP 3 RESPONSES) 48 FIGURE 4.6 HOW GOVERNMENT PROGRAMMES UNDERMINE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE 50 FIGURE 4.7 WHAT GOVERNMENTS SHOULD DO ABOUT PROGRAMMES THAT UNDERMINE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE CHAPTER 5 56 FIGURE 5.1 KEY ELEMENTS OF COMMUNITY RESILIENCE 60 FIGURE 5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GOVERNMENTS FOREWORD "is action research, conducted by the Community Practitioners Platform for Resilience in seven Asian countries, is an e#ort to capture the voices of community leaders and bring the resilience priorities of poor, disaster-prone communities into debates that will shape the new policy frameworks on disaster risk reduction to be launched in 2015. 8 As policymakers prepare to renew their commitment to sustainable, resilient development in 2015, the views of various stakeholder groups are being sought through a series of global, regional and national consultative processes. For the most part, however, members of poor, disaster- prone neighbourhoods worst a#ected by natural hazards and climate change are absent from these consultations. Yet, it is these communities whose survival and wellbeing will be most a#ected by the policies and programmes that emerge from these debates. As their location, economic conditions and socio-political marginalisation render them highly vulnerable to the ill-e#ects of disasters, climate change and development failures, organised groups of poor women and men have been steadily evolving innovative strategies to protect their lives, livelihoods and homes from destruction. It is essential, therefore, that new agendas aimed at transforming the lives of the poor and marginalised take note of what poor people themselves have to say in this regard and recognise the leadership they have shown in advancing disaster and climate resilience. Prema Gopalan Janice M. Peterson Director, Chair, Swayam Shikshan Prayog Huairou Commission EXECUTIVE SUMMARY "is action research, conducted by the Community Practitioners Platform for Resilience, seeks to capture the voices of community leaders and bring their resilience priorities into the debates that will shape the new policy frameworks on disaster risk reduction (DRR) and sustainable development that will come into e#ect in 2015. Twelve organisations surveyed 603 community leaders living and 9 working in poor, disaster-prone communities, both rural and urban, in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Focus group discussions and interviews with government o$cials were held in each of these countries and detailed documentation of community resilience practices were undertaken in Nepal and the Philippines. "is action research examines where communities are most impacted by natural hazards and climate change, their capacities to address these impacts, the extent to which support from other stakeholders is aligned with their priorities and the conditions under which government programmes are responsive to their needs. By asking communities to identify elements that advance and undermine their resilience, the study presents insights into their views on the most crucial elements of resilience building. Finally, the study provides communities the opportunity to make recommendations for governments to e#ectively advance community resilience priorities. Communities report that the worst impact of disasters is on their basic needs and livelihoods. In the context of climate change, they report that their livelihoods and health are most a#ected. Community capacities to build resilience are indicated by the extent to which they have led actions to address disaster impacts, training they have received and expertise they have acquired. Community-led initiatives consistently emerge as the highest proportion of all local interventions to address the impacts of disasters. "ere has been signi!cant investment in training to help communities increase their awareness of risks, build their skills as organisers and trainers and secure their livelihoods. Almost a third of community leaders surveyed possess demonstrable expertise in transferring their resilience practices. "ese !ndings make a strong case for NGOs and governments to promote community-led practice transfers that can rapidly scale up community resilience in the face of increasing small- and large-scale disasters. "e action research rea$rms the importance of grassroots women’s leadership in advancing community resilience to disaster and climate change. Women have emerged as the main actors at the forefront of grassroots action to reduce vulnerabilities. Grassroots women leaders from organised groups and networks contribute to enhancing community capacities by transferring knowledge and practices. Women who participate in decision-making committees and larger networks consistently report being able to leverage support from government and NGOs in response to the needs of their communities. Organised, aware of risks and having tested their practices, these women leaders are well equipped to identify and articulate their needs for training in livelihoods 10 and resilience building practices that go beyond awareness building. "is re%ects the strong impact of a conscious empowerment strategy of investing in grassroots women so that they acknowledge themselves and are acknowledged by other stakeholders as experts. "us, formally recognising and investing in grassroots women leaders will help channel resources to e#ectively address community resilience needs. Grassroots participants identi!ed several local and national government initiatives that strengthen community resilience. However, it is evident that these programmes have been more responsive to community priorities and needs when communities have engaged or partnered with government agencies. A considerable number of formal community partnerships with local and national governments now o#er institutional precedents for collaborating with communities, assigning them public roles and recognising their contributions to advancing resilience. Communities also state that government infrastructure, livelihoods and disaster risk reduction initiatives can exacerbate risk. "is occurs when programmes destroy the environment or are poorly implemented and thus inaccessible or ine#ective at the local level. Communities consistently recommend greater consultation with them to reduce these risks. In terms of de!ning resilience, communities regard three factors as crucial to building community resilience. "ese include an informed constituency base organised for collective action; a body of knowledge and practices that enables them to combat the e#ects of disaster and climate change, particularly with regard to livelihoods; and government-community partnerships to enhance accountability and responsiveness to communities. It is evident that a community-led approach to resilience combines actions to advance knowledge, demonstrate solutions, mobilise communities and build relationships with decision makers. Support for this approach calls for decentralised, %exible mechanisms that enable multi- dimensional, multi-stakeholder strategies. "e Community Resilience Fund, operational in India, Indonesia, Nepal and the Philippines,