Project Introduction

Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) is defined as a process of disaster risk management in which at-risk communities are actively engaged in the identification, analysis, treatment, monitoring and evaluation of disaster risks in order to reduce their vulnerabilities and enhance their capacities. This means that the people are at the heart of decision- making and implementation of disaster risk management activities. The involvement of the most vulnerable is paramount and the support of the least vulnerable is necessary. By the end of the project period the community people will have the process of preparedness institutionalise which will enable them to react to disasters in a sustainable manner (definition according to Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, ADPC)

The project is entitled " Community Based Disaster Risk Management Projects in the States of West Bengal and Orissa , India " and was started in November 2007 with duration of 15 month. It aims at raising awareness on natural disaster preparedness and response of local communities and authorities, especially Panchayati Raj Institutions, and to significantly increase their disaster response and mitigation capacity in order to come up with a solid and systematic Disaster Risk Management. For the action two highly disaster prone areas of India have been chosen in West Bengal and Orissa respectively: the Sunderbans, the world biggest river Delta and by nature very dynamic, and the banks of the Mahandi River , facing flooding and cyclone every year. In West Bengal we work in four villages in the in 2 blocks (Sagar and Kakdwip) of 24 Parganas (South) District and in the Orissa we selected three vulnerable villages in the Banki Block, Cuttack District.

The project has three main components:

Raising awareness and capacity building

It seems strange that people who are living in the midst of disaster zones have to make aware of mechanisms to scope with them. The fact is that the scoping mechanism in most cases does not go beyond relief right after disaster and people get used to physical help in a way that own efforts to prepare themselves are not taken to the extent possible. But they comprise a big potential to protect live and properties. E.g. it takes several days after a disaster has happened until help from outside arrives and people lack basics like food, medicine or just un-flooded places to rescue themselves and their livestock. In addition did we found in our project sites that in this time many incidents like spreading of disease, snake bits etc. happen. Preparedness means here to have items ready that can help surviving the first days, building up the skills to scope with affected people and property and have the village infrastructure designed in a way that enables survival and recovery.

Once the people realise that such measures help them to mitigate the impact of disasters on their live and livelihoods we train them in methodologies and techniques to get prepared and enable them to plan and implement disaster preparedness and mitigation measures.

Mitigation

To get communities prepared for the actual event of a disaster is one thing, to enable them to mitigate the impact of disasters in long run another. Many aspects of the live and livelihoods of people in disaster prone areas are affected by disasters and have to be managed accordingly. It starts with the embankments that supposed to protect them from flooding, goes to the daily agricultural practices has to scope with regular significant disturbances and ends with the planning of infrastructure like roads that are. In this project we lay the basis in the community to scope with these problems. We analyse the situation together with the communities, acquire needed information and train them in techniques that can help them protecting their livelihoods like flood adopted agricultural systems. The project is guided by studies that look into the relation of embankment condition and local livelihoods in the Sundarbans and in traditional coping mechanisms and their dissemination in the banks of the Mahandi River .

Establishing networks

For all the above mentioned actions it is required that local communities are well connected to local governments and institutions and that this network is attached to regional and state institutions dealing with CBDRM. We develop and facilitate 'action plans' with communities and local governments, establishing contacts to scientific institutions and organising workshops that bring the different stakeholders together in order to build a CBDRM network.

With these activities we help local communities and Panchayati Raj Institutions to become effective actors on community based disaster risk management.