Together, Becoming Resilient

Material Information

Title:
Together, Becoming Resilient
Creator:
Croix-Rouge française
European Commission. Humanitarian Aid Office
Solomon Islands Red Cross Society
Vanuatu Red Cross Society
Disaster Risk Reduction Program, Florida International University (DRR/FIU) ( summary contributor )
Conference:
Lessons Learnt Workshop, 03/05/11 - 10/05/11
Publisher:
Vanuatu Red Cross Society
Solomon Islands Red Cross Society
Publication Date:
Copyright Date:
2011
Language:
English

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Community organization ( lcshac )
Risk management ( lcshac )
Genre:
non-fiction ( marcgt )

Notes

Summary:
This document outlines lessons learned from the Together, Becoming Resilient (TBR) disaster risk reduction (DRR) project on Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. The project was funded by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Department and implemented by the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu Red Cross Societies respectively, with assistance from the French Red Cross. The document highlights project successes and setbacks, providing recommendations for future community based disaster preparedness initiatives throughout the Pacific. The first section of the document presents objectives of the Lessons Learnt Workshop held after the project. These include evaluating project impacts, highlighting good practices, making recommendations for the design and implementation of future projects, and identifying strategies for greater incorporation of government stakeholders. The next section delves into various project components, such as building community capacity, increasing awareness, developing response plans, and improving coordination. The lessons learnt section is divided into three categories: those for the TBR project, those for Red Cross activities, and general best practices and recommendations. The next section documents actual cases of best practices. The first discusses the successful activation of the Pacific Islands warning system after a major earthquake generated a tsunami off the coast of nearby Japan. The second presents the use of the Vulnerability Capacity Assessment methodology. The last discusses community-based DRR activities such as replanting trees on coasts and digging drainage in flood plains. A critical lesson learned from the project is the central role that community ownership plays in the sustainability of DRR projects. From the beginning, staff must be recruited from the targeted communities. A community group needs to be established to, not only deal with disaster-related issues, but also various community concerns that may tangentially impact on its resilience and vulnerability. Regular meetings within the community need to be done during and after the project to promote its continuity. The tools used to access risks and increase awareness must be adapted to each particular community context. Some areas of needed improvement include ensuring that the roles and responsibilities for various stakeholders in response plans are clearly established, following up on projects after implementation, regularly reviewing community plans, and incorporating traditional knowledge is also stressed. ( English )
Subject:
Resilience and Disasters ( English )
Citation/Reference:
(2011). Together becoming resilient: lessons learnt workshop 03/05/11 - 10/05/11. Croix-Rouge Française (CRF); European Commission Humanitarian Aid (ECHO); Solomon Islands Red Cross Society (RCS Solomon Islands); Vanuatu Red Cross Society (RCS Vanatu).

Record Information

Source Institution:
Florida International University
Rights Management:
Refer to main document/publisher for use rights.
Resource Identifier:
FI13042190

dpSobek Membership

Aggregations:
Disaster Risk Reduction