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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI13010922/00001
Notes
- Summary:
- This document addresses the integration of community-based disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) within Pacific island countries (PICs), providing insight into the challenges of integration, and best practices for future implementation. Local communities have generally adapted to risks in ways that do not distinguish between disaster-related and climate-related risks, often developing comprehensive strategies that fit at the nexus between the two. The authors argue that development projects should do the same, focusing on where DRR and CCA converge, the reduction of vulnerability and enhancement of resilience. The PICs are an ideal place for this policy innovation since they are particularly sensitive to climate change and related natural hazards such as sea level rise, coastal erosion, and storm surge. This paper looks at the successful integration of DRR and CCA in three projects on the islands of Fiji and Samoa: the Community Based Health and First Aid program implemented by the Samoa Red Cross, the Navua Local Level Risk Management (LLRM) project, and Samoa’s Community Based Adaptation (CBA) program. Information was gathered through extensive interviews with 47 individuals from 29 organizations, including local NGOs, academic institutions, UN agencies, donors, and regional organizations. The authors identify four key elements to effectively integrating DRR and CCA in community-centered projects. The first is establishing a holistic framework, whereby the needs of the community, its capacity, and local knowledge are all taken into account from the onset. Second, they advocate using a multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder approach, thus establishing a collaborative culture that places value on skills and experiences across the DRR and CCA community. Genuine community participation is a third criteria discussed. Active across-the-board involvement by community members pushes practitioners away from narrow disciplinary perspectives, towards practical solutions that tackle risk comprehensively. And lastly, avoid policy fragmentation associated with the various frameworks and guidelines that exist across the disciplines and the global-to-local policy formation and implementation process. This can be done by focusing on the local, such as village specific vulnerabilities and capacities, using local language and local people throughout the process, and ensuring that local knowledge, culture, as well as local conditions and development issues are prioritized. ( English )
- Subject:
- Disaster Risk Reduction ( English )
- Subject:
- Climate Change Adaptation ( French )
- Scope and Content:
- 1. Introduction p. 101; 2. Integrating DRR and CCA p. 102; 2.1 Why community based DRR and CCA? p. 102; 3. Methods p. 103; 4. Community based DRR and CCA projects p. 104; 4.1 Community based health and first aid: Samoa Red Cross p. 104 ; 4.2 Navua Local Level Risk Management (LLRM) project p. 107; 4.3 Samoa Community Based Adaptation (CBA) p. 108; 5. Best practice and opportunities for integration p. 110; 5.1 Taking a holistic approach p. 110; 5.2 Using multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder teams (and expertise) p. 110; 5.3 Genuine community participation p. 110; 5.4 Avoiding fragmentary policy approaches p. 110; 6. Conclusions p. 112; References p. 112; Figures: Fig. 1. Location of Fiji and Samoa in the South Pacific context. p. 103; Fig. 2. Location of Navua, Fiji. p. 107; Fig. 3. Navua sign describing early warning system for flood. p. 108; Fig. 4. Location of Fasit’otai village, Samoa. p. 109; Fig. 5. Traditional ceremony, incorporated into CBA workshop proceedings. p. 109; Fig. 6. Global to local DRR and CCA policy frameworks. p. 111; Tables: Table 1. DRR and CCA case study information. p. 105-106; Table 2. Best practice methods for integration. p. 111; Table 3. Recommendations for overcoming obstacles to integration. p. 111 ( English )
- Citation/Reference:
- Gero, A., Méheux, K., Dominey-Howes, D. (2011). Integrating community based disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation: examples from the Pacific. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 11: 101 – 113.
- General Note:
- www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/11/101/2011/
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- Florida International University
- Rights Management:
- This work can be distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
- Resource Identifier:
- FI13010922
10.5194/nhess-11-101-2011 ( doi )
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