Disaster risk reduction strategiesoxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/oxfam/bitstream/10546/...136 Leaving Disasters Behind A t the international level, an action plan for disaster risk

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Leaving Disasters Behind

5Disaster risk

reduction strategies

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At the international level, an action plan for disaster risk reduction hasalready been developed. In 1994, the international community adoptedguidelines for national disaster prevention, preparedness and mitigationunder the Yokohama Strategy for a Safer World. More recently, in 2005, the HyogoFramework for Action drew lessons from and identified gaps in the YokohamaStrategy. These gaps were associated with governance, risk identification,assessment and early warning, knowledge management and education, reductionof underlying factors and preparedness for effective response and recovery. TheHyogo Framework aimed to fill the gaps identified in the Yokohama Strategy.

The Hyogo Framework for Action is a global plan for disaster risk reductionprogrammes until 2015. It aims at significantly reducing disaster impacts onlives and livelihoods and deals with principles, priorities for action and practicalmeans for achieving disaster resilience for vulnerable communities.

The five priorities for action are:

Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a stronginstitutional basis for implementation. This includes activities like establishment ofnational institutional and legislative frameworks; demonstration of governmentcommitment through developing resources for risk management policies andprogrammes; integration of disaster with development; and promotingcommunity participation.

Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning. Key activitieshere are strengthening national and local assessments; establishing institutionaland community capacity for collection and analysis of early warning information;developing institutional capacities for research, observing, analyzing, mappingand forecasting hazards and vulnerability; and cooperating to carrying outregional and emerging risk analysis.

Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at alllevels. Key activities include strengthening mechanisms for information andknowledge management and exchange; promoting risk reduction in school andcommunity education; research on risk reduction; and public awareness.

Reduce the underlying risk factors. This involves activities like integration ofenvironmental and natural resources management with risk reduction;strengthening safety-nets by improving social and economic developmentpractices; and incorporating risk management into land use planning and othertechnical measures.

Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels. Activities includestrengthening policy, technical and institutional capacities at all levels; supportingdialogue, exchange of information and cooperation among agencies engaged indisaster risk reduction at all levels; developing coordinated regional approach;strengthening disaster preparedness and contingency plans and policies atdifferent levels; promoting the establishment of emergency fund; and creating

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mechanisms to ensure the participation and ownership of relevant bodiesincluding communities.

All states and governments that have signed up to the Hyogo Framework for Action,as well as regional and international organizations and other actors are requiredto translate the framework into action and implement the activities as it fits intotheir own circumstances. This provides the opportunity for agencies (local orinternational) to collectively or individually work towards putting the agreedpriority actions into practice.

While there are critical gaps and Ethiopia has not signed up to the HyogoFramework - some elements of the five priorities are already in place in Ethiopia.In relation to the first, Ethiopia ratified a National Policy on Disaster Preventionand Management in 1993 though it still has to be strengthened and supportedby appropriate legislation. Despite having a fairly strong EWS that focuses onmonitoring food security, activities around vulnerability, hazard and capacityassessment are still far from adequate.

Having a mechanism for information and knowledge management and reducingthe underlying risk factors require major engagement and commitment. Verygood preparedness elements are in place at country level in Ethiopia. AnEmergency Food Security Reserve and National Disaster Prevention Fund arefunctional. A National Non-Food Contingency Stock has been established.Transport and logistics capacity has been built at federal government level.

This chapter attempts to indicate the strategic approaches to be followed inEthiopia with regards to prevention, mitigation, preparedness and effectiveresponse.

Linking of disaster and developmentThe relief to development continuum approach to disaster management - dealingwith prevention, mitigation, preparedness and then emergency response andrehabilitation in a cyclical manner - does not seem to be working.

One strategic approach that was adopted in a policy paper in Ethiopia is linkingdisaster relief and development; carrying out emergency response (to save livesand livelihoods) and preventive or development measures (vulnerabilityreduction) simultaneously. This provides a basis for integrating disaster riskreduction and development. In other words, all development policies andprogrammes should be consciously designed to modify and prevent theoccurrence of disasters. Conversely, all disaster risk reduction measures shouldenhance development efforts.

Disaster in Ethiopia is closely linked to food insecurity and this is a consequenceof development failure resulting in abject poverty. Poverty is the main underlyingfactor for vulnerability. Vulnerability can be reduced through enhancement ofdevelopment programmes. Using the huge relief resources that are delivered to

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the country, development programmes can be enhanced through engaging theaffected community in well planned and managed public works that havedisaster-proofing content. Providing temporary employment to the affectedpeople not only satisfies their immediate food needs, but also addresses the rootcauses of their vulnerabilities. On the other hand, development programmesinitiated in the country have to consider disaster prevention and mitigationmeasures. As the country is prone to various hazards, all developmentprogrammes should develop contingency plans to avoid disruption of ongoingdevelopment programmes when an emergency occurs.

For some people it may seem awkward to consider an approach that links twoopposing elements (development and disaster) to reduce vulnerability. For this,it is important to discuss and show how disaster and development areinterrelated.

Disaster disrupts the normal functioning of a society or community, generallyresulting in widespread death, destruction and human suffering. Thus, disasteris negative and is contrary to development. It usually diverts resources that couldhave been used for development in order to save lives and minimize propertyloss. There have been various cases where development programmes of NGOshave been forced to slow down because the target population could not work onthe project due to food shortage.

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unaddressed, however, the likelihood of another disaster occurring in the futureis very high. Proactive relief with adequate preparedness measures does avertdisasters, but even this does not prevent the occurrence of disaster; preparednessmeasures fall short of addressing vulnerability.

The linkage between development and disaster provides an opportunity to reducevulnerability through promoting development programmes in vulnerable areas.The root causes of vulnerability are factors of underdevelopment, including lackof access to resources, basic services, power structures, and information. Thesecauses added to political and economic factors, such as population growth,deforestation, lack of finance and land ownership, create vulnerable conditions.This means that addressing factors of underdevelopment or poverty reducesvulnerability.

Poverty is the underlying causes of vulnerability. All poor people are vulnerablethough all vulnerable people may not be poor. Disaster mitigation and preventionmeasures that are meant for vulnerability reduction are closely linked todevelopment or poverty reduction measures. Thus sustainable development thatenables people to earn their living and be healthy, without adversely affectingthe environment or other people in the long term, is a way forward forvulnerability and hence disaster reduction.

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Sustainable livelihood approach and disaster riskreductionOne of many recent approaches for disaster risk reduction is to use the sustainablelivelihood framework. The approach indicates that people operating in avulnerable context have access to certain assets/capitals. If external shocks occuron these assets and no measures are taken the vulnerable population will fallinto disaster risk. Thus the strategy to reduce disaster risk is through improvingthe five livelihood assets. The following two tables provides examples of whatmeasures can be initiated under each category of livelihood assets and prevention,mitigation, preparedness and response strategies.

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Interventions, actions and how to reduce risk ofdrought-induced disaster

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Interventions, actions and how to reduce the risk offlood-induced disaster

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Interventions, actions and how to reduce the risk ofconflict-related disaster

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Interventions, actions and how to reduce the risk ofepidemics

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Other supporting and cross-cutting

strategies

Resource mobilizationPoor countries lack the necessary financial, technical, human and materialresources to enhance development and reduce poverty. In Ethiopia, if theavailable resources are properly mobilized, integrated and managed, disasterrisk can be reduced. Agencies can advocate and lobby for mobilization of thefollowing resources to heighten disaster risk reduction in Ethiopia: Development resources: Public monies, government budget, loans, grants,

community contributions, NGO and government staff and the private sectorcan be mobilized to address disaster risk reduction without being divertedfrom their primary objectives. It is a question of integration and coordination.

Humanitarian resources (food and non-food, staff): Since the internationalcommunities and institutional donors are generous towards avertinghumanitarian crisis, disaster risk reduction managers can mobilize thisresource and use the window of opportunities to support developmentprogrammes that reduce vulnerabilities and prevent disasters.

Emergency Food Security Reserve: The role of the reserve can be extended, notonly to support emergency response but also to augment developmentprogrammes (either through purchasing from local market to encourageproducers or protecting consumers by selling at fair prices during scarcity).

National Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Fund: This fund can also reviewits mandate to provide soft loans to cooperatives and organized farmers tostrengthen their capacities in development.

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Contingency planningA contingency plan is a forward planning process in a state of uncertainty inwhich scenarios and objectives are agreed, managerial and technical actions aredefined, and potential response systems put in place, in order to prevent or betterrespond to emergency.

In a country where various hazards prevail and vulnerability persists, the onlycertainty is uncertainty. It is relevant to draw contingency plans in Ethiopia, notonly to effectively respond to recurrent emergencies but to mitigate and preventthe occurrence of disasters. Most sectoral development programmes need to havea contingency plan (agricultural contingency plan, contingency plan for water,health, etc). For example, having an agricultural contingency plan (with basicassumption of drought occurrence) will minimize the effect of drought on cropsand livestock. Contingency plans should also be prepared for all the majorhazards in Ethiopia.

Capacity buildingCapacities of institutions and communities to plan, anticipate, assess, prevent,mitigate and respond should be strengthened at federal, regional, zonal, woredaand community levels. Civil societies are assumed to have their ownconstituencies. Strengthening capacities of civil societies, particularly community-based organizations, would then mean building the capacity of communities.Community participation has more meaning if communities are representedthrough CBOs that are accountable to the respective communities.

Networking and partnershipDisaster risk reduction is multi-sectoral and various actors are involved. Formingpartnership and networking with agencies having similar missions would beimportant in the planning and implementation of disaster risk reduction activities.

Information sharing and knowledge managementInformation sharing and transferring knowledge improve the quality of servicesand actions and increase efficiency.

Good governance, policy and advocacyGovernance is key factor for bringing about sustainable development and disasterrisk reduction. Policies are instruments that can guide disaster risk reductionand the need for policy advocacy in relation to disaster risk reduction is nowrecognized.

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GenderThis is a cross-cutting issue in disaster risk reduction as disasters affect men andwomen differently.

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Disaster risk reduction strategiesoxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/oxfam/bitstream/10546/...136 Leaving Disasters Behind A t the international level, an action plan for disaster risk