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Addressing disaster risk reduction through community-rooted interventions in the Philippines: Experience of the Homeless People's Federation of the Philippines
Abstract
This paper describes the support programme developed by the Homeless People’s Federation Philippines, Inc. (HPFPI) for disaster-affected communities, working with its support NGO, the Philippine Action for Community-led Shelter Initiatives, Inc. (PACSII). The programme developed in response to six major disasters and includes: community-rooted data gathering (assessing the severity and scope of destruction and victims’ immediate needs); trust and contact building; support for savings; the registering of community organizations; and identifying needed interventions, including building materials loans for house repairs. It also includes negotiating for land for transit housing and land acquisition for permanent housing construction. The paper also discusses the limits to community processes without government support, and through a case study in the city of Iloilo shows the scale and scope of what can be achieved when local government works with community organizations. The HPFPI and PACSII are also developing disaster risk reduction initiatives by profiling at-risk communities and establishing what can be done to reduce disaster risk. These efforts find impetus in enabling national policies and practice that have shifted from disaster response to disaster risk reduction, and funding for disaster response that can be drawn on for pre-disaster risk reduction.
... There is a wide range of literature on disaster risk reduction [14] [36] [37], a paper by Carcellar et al. [36] identified the ways in which government and other stakeholders can support the needs and address the vulnerabilities of at-risk communities. They noted that flash flood triggered by Typhoon Ketsana in 2009 heavily damaged many houses in poor communities. ...
... Disasters impact on all aspects of development [36]; they cause damage to service infrastructure, housing and productive assets, they also cause loss of human. ...
... These researchers argued that many developing countries are failing to cope with disasters as a result it create risk through increasing peoples' exposure and [36]. ...
... Inland flooding can occur on a massive scale -as in Pakistan in 2010 (Atta-ur-Rahman and Khan, 2013), Australia in 2011 (Coumou and Rahmstorf, 2012), and Thailand in 2011 (Komori et al., 2012) -but localized floods can also cause substantial damage and threaten health, lives, and livelihoods. In many cities, informal settlements have arisen on flood plains that experience regular flooding or on steep slopes where heavy precipitation regularly triggers dangerous landslides (Dodman, 2013;Carcellar et al., 2011;Moser and Stein, 2011;Hardoy and Pandiella, 2009;Douglas et al., 2008b;UNISDR, 2009UNISDR, , 2011. However, insufficient precipitation and rainfall that is mistimed relative to the agricultural growing season can also severely impact urban residents since these events can cause water shortages, crop failures, and food price increases, with negative consequences for low-income populations. ...
... Budgetary transparency and metrics to measure progress on adaptation and mitigation can also help to institutionalize changes in planning and policy practice (OECD, 2012). There still is very limited documentation of the design and implementation of climate change adaptation initiatives and its monitoring, particularly in cities in low-income and many lower-middle-income countries, but household and community-based adaptation, both its importance and limitations, has been a main focus (Moser and Satterthwaite, 2008;Carcellar et al., 2011;UN-Habitat, 2011;Dodman and Mitlin, 2013;Wamsler and Brink, 2014). A number of capacity-building initiatives have been developed, such as the Urban Climate Change Research Network (Rosenzweig et al., 2011) to address these shortcomings. ...
... City and municipal governments need support from multi-level governance frameworks through which provincial and national governments enable and support city and municipal action (Corfee-Morlot et al., 2009;Revi et al., 2014) (see Chapter 16, Governance and Policy). Some national governments have developed new laws, funds, and regulatory frameworks to channel such support; many of these are focused on disaster risk reduction (Hardoy and Pandiella, 2009;IFRC, 2010;Carcellar et al., 2011;Kehew et al., 2012) and on increasing the resilience of the most vulnerable groups. However, in some countries, current policies, especially at the federal level, have major negative consequences for low-income and ethnic communities. ...
... Studies on resettlement projects in the Philippines show that beneficiaries' greater involvement in the construction of their houses show advantages [10,15,16,32,50,51] that are not normally associated with agency-driven ones. Blanco points out nonetheless that successful community-or locally-based disaster governance show "broader partnerships" with other stakeholders, especially government [15]. ...
... There are post-disaster recovery studies in the Philippines that suggest beneficiaries' preference for the owner-driven at the community level approach [16,50,51]. One element that stands out in the ownerdriven approach is the existence of an organized homeowners' community that is substantially assisted by a non-government agency enabling the community to assert its will during the recovery process [16]. ...
... There are post-disaster recovery studies in the Philippines that suggest beneficiaries' preference for the owner-driven at the community level approach [16,50,51]. One element that stands out in the ownerdriven approach is the existence of an organized homeowners' community that is substantially assisted by a non-government agency enabling the community to assert its will during the recovery process [16]. The post-Washi recovery program in CDO is different because it has used three approaches: (1) community-driven recovery (CDR) (or owner driven at the community level) wherein loans for reconstruction were granted through the Community Mortgage Program of the Social Housing Finance Corporation, the government agency tasked to address the housing needs of the low-income formal and informal settlers, (2) agency-driven reconstruction in-site (ADRIS), such as that undertaken by the Philippine Red Cross and the International Organization for Migration for residents who have legal titles to the land, therefore not informal settlers, and (3) most significantly the agency-driven reconstruction in relocation sites (ADRRS), which accounted for 83% of housing units completed as of July 2014 [17] The significant use of the ADRRS is also a good indication that majority of the Washi survivors are informal settlers [17]. ...
This paper evaluates three agency-driven resettlement communities following the devastation caused by Typhoon Washi in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines. Our study draws insights from primary data collection using questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and field work observations in the resettlement communities and from the analysis of secondary data such as government documents and media reports. While the national and local governments as well as non-government organizations worked together in reconstruction and recovery, Typhoon Washi survivors at the three relocation sites still suffer from the effects of privation and displacement more than two years after the disaster. Moreover, the agency-driven reconstruction programs at the three resettlement sites-one was established and managed by the city government, another by the National Housing Authority regional office, and the third by an academic institution-resulted in disparate outcomes, not only in the physical infrastructures and provision of basic utilities, but in the attitudes of the residents towards the recovery process. We identify two opposing tendencies arising from said attitudes, and we propose a singular measure to address the opposing tendencies that can possibly lead to transformative recovery.
... This information-gathering process enables core vulnerabilities of at-risk groups to be identified so that they can prepare and better respond in the aftermath. In certain post-disaster situations, these data are the only information available about the number of affected households and maps of the area, and thus, can be shared with the local government and other first responders to ensure an effective response (Carcellar et al., 2011). The Homeless Peoples Federation of the Philippines (HPFPI) has years of cumulative experience in responding to disasters and of implementing DRR strategies, working with the support NGO, the Philippine Action for Community-led Shelter Initiatives (PACSII), to address the core vulnerabilities of urban poor communities (Carcellar et al., 2011). ...
... In certain post-disaster situations, these data are the only information available about the number of affected households and maps of the area, and thus, can be shared with the local government and other first responders to ensure an effective response (Carcellar et al., 2011). The Homeless Peoples Federation of the Philippines (HPFPI) has years of cumulative experience in responding to disasters and of implementing DRR strategies, working with the support NGO, the Philippine Action for Community-led Shelter Initiatives (PACSII), to address the core vulnerabilities of urban poor communities (Carcellar et al., 2011). Where community surveys identify that financial access is limited, the Federation encourages the establishment of savings groups, building up financial management skills and community inter-lending, producing a safety net of financial resilience. ...
... Where community surveys identify that financial access is limited, the Federation encourages the establishment of savings groups, building up financial management skills and community inter-lending, producing a safety net of financial resilience. Where the community may lack organisation, the Federation will assist in establishing and registering a local community organisation, as a formal body to facilitate collaboration with local government and access to finance, and networking with other urban poor groups (Carcellar et al., 2011). This general process of empowerment is necessary to effectively reduce exposure arising from high-risk locations and lack of secure tenure, whereby options for upgrading or relocation can be discussed, land for relocation (where necessary) can be identified and purchased and loans provided for housing materials and construction, from ACCA and other sources. ...
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how the implementation of community-driven approaches to improve the living conditions of the urban poor can also have positive co-benefits for resilience to climate change, by addressing the underlying drivers of physical, social and economic vulnerability.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper applies a case study approach, drawing from the documented experiences of organised urban poor groups in Asian countries already actively participating in collective settlement upgrading, building networks and financial resources for further action.
Findings
The findings show that while certain actions might not be taken with climate change adaptation specifically in mind, these development activities also contribute to broader resilience to climate change, by reducing exposure to risk and addressing other drivers of vulnerability. The findings also show that partnerships between low income communities and other urban stakeholders, including local government, and innovative financial mechanisms managed by communities, can lead to scaled-up action to address development and adaptation deficits. This can lead the way for transformation in socio-political systems.
Practical implications
The approaches applied by organised urban poor groups in Asia show that community-level actions can make a positive contribution to building their resilience to climate change, and with local government support and partnership, it could lead to scaled-up actions, through a bottom-up approach to multi-level governance.
Originality/value
This paper considers how community-driven actions can build resilience to climate change, and it argues that adaptation and development should be considered together.
... Inland flooding can occur on a massive scale-as in Pakistan in 2010 (Atta-ur-Rahman and Khan, 2013), Australia in 2011 (Coumou and Rahmstorf, 2012), and Thailand in 2011 (Komori et al., 2012)-but localized floods can also cause substantial damage and threaten health, lives, and livelihoods. In many cities, informal settlements have arisen on flood plains that experience regular flooding or steep slopes where heavy precipitation regularly triggers dangerous landslides , Carcellar et al., 2011, Moser and Stein, 2011, Hardoy and Pandiella, 2009, Douglas et al., 2008a, UNISDR, 2009, UNISDR, 2011. However, insufficient precipitation, and rainfall that is mistimed relative to the agricultural growing season, can also severely impact urban residents since these events can cause water shortages and generate crop failures and increases in food prices, with negative consequences for low-income populations. ...
... City and municipal governments also need support from multi-level governance frameworks, through which provincial and national governments enable and support city and municipal action (Corfee-Morlot et al., 2009, Revi et al., 2014. Some national governments have developed new laws, funds and regulatory frameworks to channel such support; many of these are focused on disaster risk reduction (IFRC, 2010, Hardoy and Pandiella, 2009, Kehew et al., 2012, Carcellar et al., 2011 and on increasing the resilience of the most vulnerable groups. However, in some countries, current policies especially at the federal level have major negative consequences for low-income and ethnic communities. ...
... There still is very limited documentation of the design and implementation of climate change adaptation initiatives, particularly in cities in low-income and many lower-middle income countries-though an important strand of the literature highlights household and communitybased adaptation in urban areas, and both its importance and limitations (Moser and Satterthwaite, 2008, Carcellar et al., 2011, Dodman and Mitlin, 2013, UN-Habitat, 2011, Wamsler and Brink, 2014. Community-based adaptation has a particular importance where 38 local governments lack the capacity to act or are unwilling to work in informal settlements. ...
... This is the accepted version of the following article: Toyoda Yusuke and Kanegae Hidehiko 'A Community Evacuation Planning Model against Urban Earthquakes' Regional Science Association International "Regional Science, Policy and Practice" Volume 6, Issue 3, 2014, pp. other studies (such as in Carcellar, Co, andHipolito 2011 andUNISDR 2008). ...
... This is the accepted version of the following article: Toyoda Yusuke and Kanegae Hidehiko 'A Community Evacuation Planning Model against Urban Earthquakes' Regional Science Association International "Regional Science, Policy and Practice" Volume 6, Issue 3, 2014, pp. other studies (such as in Carcellar, Co, andHipolito 2011 andUNISDR 2008). ...
... To further develop the CEP model, although the community is the first responder in times of disaster, it is important to get support from and establish connections with other actors. Carcellar et al. (2011) pointed out the importance of external support, by which community-based DRR obtains a lot of possibilities in terms of appropriately addressing core vulnerabilities. In addition to needing to be verified in other urban This is the accepted version of the following article: Toyoda Yusuke and Kanegae Hidehiko 'A Community Evacuation Planning Model against Urban Earthquakes' Regional Science Association International "Regional Science, Policy and Practice" Volume 6, Issue 3, 2014, pp. 15 , the CEP model needs to be integrated with other actors to become a more comprehensive model of community evacuation systems. ...
The lessons from past earthquakes have highlighted the importance of constructing community evacuation systems. This paper reviewed previous studies on promoting safer community evacuation systems and found they are mostly on rational top-down evacuation systems or promoting resident participation but they failed to provide bottom-up approaches to constructing community evacuation systems by involving residents who have specific knowledge of the local vulnerability and capacity. Therefore, using case communities in Kyoto, Japan, this study suggested and verified a practical community evacuation planning (CEP) model for the construction, assessment, and supplementation of community evacuation systems by residents with local knowledge who are the first responders to disaster.
... Community-driven activities by grassroots organisations have repeatedly been effective in enhancing the resilience of urban poor to natural hazards (Carcellar et al., 2011) through developing community saving and credit schemes, providing small-scale infrastructure and services, and creating relations with local governments and other external parties (see Table 3 with further references). Moreover, external civil society organisations were able to initiate and/or support community-driven actions. ...
... Moreover, external civil society organisations were able to initiate and/or support community-driven actions. For instance, the Homeless People's Federation Philippines, Inc. provided organisational capacity, financial services, and technical knowledge to disaster-affected communities, and served as a broker between local governments and informal groups through identifying and enumerating vulnerable communities and negotiating for saver land tenure (Carcellar et al., 2011). ...
... If land tenure remains insecure and contested, so do the benefits of infrastructural slum upgrading. Power struggles, competing priorities, and clientelistic relations within local communities can actually worsen inequalities and vulnerability (Allen, 2006;Mitlin and Satterthwaite, 2007;Mitlin, 2008;Boonyabancha, 2009;Carcellar et al., 2011). However, these limits may be relaxed through improving state-community relations and through ensuing access to international support mechanisms. ...
... There is a wide range of literature on disaster risk reduction (Wamsler, 2007;Carcellar et al. 2011;Basher, 2013), a paper by Carcellar et al. 2011, identified the ways in which government and other stakeholders can support the needs and address the vulnerabilities of at-risk communities. They noted that flash flood triggered by Typhoon Ketsana in 2009 heavily damaged many houses in poor communities. ...
... There is a wide range of literature on disaster risk reduction (Wamsler, 2007;Carcellar et al. 2011;Basher, 2013), a paper by Carcellar et al. 2011, identified the ways in which government and other stakeholders can support the needs and address the vulnerabilities of at-risk communities. They noted that flash flood triggered by Typhoon Ketsana in 2009 heavily damaged many houses in poor communities. ...
Every year natural disasters, specially, cyclonic storm surges disrupt the lives and livelihood of people in the coastal area of Bangladesh. Since 1990s, activities like the construction of cyclone shelters, cyclone warning, and awareness building program play important roles to reduce the fatalities and damages due to such disasters. Though the actions were effective to reduce the human fatality rate, still many houses and their related amenities are damaged on a regular basis due to cyclones and their associated storm surges. Several studies have highlighted the need for more contextual approaches to make the community resilient against cyclone-induced storm surges. Disaster Resilient Housing would be an alternative approach in the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) through adopting it in the strategy of pre-disaster recovery. The study aimed to develop and implement a disaster resilient house through involving the community for an area where tracks of the cyclones are observed frequently. To achieve the purpose, two villages in the Kamarkhola Union of Dacope Upazilla in Khulna district were selected for developing and implementing prototypes of disaster resilient houses as this union which was the worst victim by devastating Cyclones SIDR and AILA. To understand the causes for vulnerabilities of the community, primary data was collected using Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools including social and resource mapping, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), group discussions, individual interviews, and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). To evaluate the performance of the implemented design in the study area against storm surges with associated high-speed winds and surge height, Likert Scale was used to collect perceptions from the selected beneficiaries. The Cyclone Classifier Model (CCM) was used to collect the damage information of the locally build housing structure in a large scale to compare the results with observed design performance. Secondary data on real-time cyclones such as cyclone tracks, windspeeds, landfall locations, tidal condition were used in CCM. The study found that the formal supports such as cyclone shelter and warning systems and awareness development activities, which are generated at the national level for community resilience against cyclone-induced hazards, are not properly operational and not easily accessible to community people. Up to 84% of respondents have faced problems understanding warning information and 76% of respondents didn’t evacuate to the cyclone shelter due to lack of water, food, and sanitation facilities after listening to warning signals. Results found that 52% of respondents were considered their own house as a safe place rather than moving into a cyclone shelter. After the implementation of the participatory design, it is found that the development of disaster-resilient housing is possible when combination of scientific knowledge and local wisdom are integrated. This concept reduced extra cost for the structures as well as enhanced effectivity of community people. This finding is also evaluated with the performances of the houses against consecutive cyclones, like Bulbul and Amphan. It is found that up to 34% of the conventional houses were fully damaged against cyclone Bulbul and Amphan respectively, while the implemented houses with participatory design sustained without collapsing its main structures.
... Insecure land tenure is linked to greater exposure to the risks and consequences of climate change and disasters (Carcellar et al. 2011;Dodman and Mitlin 2013;Mitchell and McEvoy 2019). Communities lacking recognised land titles were found to be most exposed to climate risks due to the areas where they are located, which are prone to landslides, flooding, drought, etc. ...
... Forthcoming). There is available literature on how community-led processes of land acquisition and/or management have put forward responses to disasters, such as in the case of China's urban villages, where collective tenure has been found to be linked to greater ability to adapt to climate change (Shi et al. 2018), in the Philippines where land negotiation led by vulnerable at-risk populations have integrated disaster risk reduction strategies (Carcellar et al. 2011), in Paraguay (Pereira 2018 where mutual aid housing cooperatives actively negotiate for local flooding issues to be resolved through sustainable solutions that enable residents to avoid displacement, and in Senegal (Álvarez de Andrés et al. 2019) where community members organised to successfully implement flood prevention measures. We build further on this literature with the analysis of the collective land ownership model of the Caño Martín Peña Community Land Trust in Puerto Rico. ...
Community-led land ownership can contribute to environmental justice in disaster-prone areas, particularly as it protects vulnerable communities from market-driven displacement often occurring after natural disasters. The article reviews literature linking the climate emergency with disaster resilience and collective land-based models. It brings into focus the case of the Caño Martín Peña communities in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where residents started a Community Land Trust (CLT) in Latin America and the Caribbean, resulting from an extensive process of community participation. We highlight the importance of this case as still one of the only CLT’s in the Global South, a mechanism not yet sufficiently understood as a highly developed instrument for secure land tenure and adaptation to climate change in the Global South. We analyse the mechanisms by which the CLT’s collective tenure model effectively ensures greater environmental justice – both regarding ongoing flooding issues, and specific extreme natural events such as hurricanes. Collective land ownership allows residents to remain in the area despite forces of gentrification and displacement after disasters induced by global warming. We conclude with a reflection on the need for similar land-based solutions, and summon public authorities to consider these as a route to effective environmental management.
... Before allocating loans, ACCA and SDI begin by conducting city-wide, community-led enumerations that profile the socio-economic conditions of the poorest and most vulnerable communities as a basis for determining investment priorities. A number of federations also conduct community-driven risk assessments, which include environmental mapping, historical timelining and soil assessments, as demonstrated by the Homeless People's Federation Philippines, Inc. (HPFPI) and its support ngo the Philippines Action for Community-led Shelter Initiatives, Inc. (PACSII) (Carcellar et al 2011). ...
... This means that the information needed to develop profiles of communities at risk from the impacts of climate change and to inform pro-poor adaptation planning and investment solutions frequently does not exist (Carcellar et al 2011).Thus, local funds not only enhance access to resources. They also facilitate bottom-up, city-wide planning processes that allocate resources based on the needs and priorities of communities as they -rather than international agencies -define them. ...
There is an urgent need to review and improve the means for funding adaptation to climate change in urban areas. This paper examines international, national and municipal mechanisms for financing adaptation, and reveals the systemic barriers that prevent money being channelled into the hands of low-income and highly vulnerable urban residents in low- and middle-income countries, and hinder effective urban adaptation. At the same time, a number of highly organised, pro-poor, locally managed funds are being pioneered across a number of cities in low- and middle-income countries. Bottom-up planning and decision-making is emerging as a potential complement to the ineffective top-down financing models, and offers a viable approach to bridge the gap between low-income urban residents and the agencies that claim to support them.
... Likewise, a conceivable strategy for reducing a cause of severe exposures is to protect the limited remaining wetlands from further encroachment. Another effective response is the community-based initiative "Homeless People's Federation of the Philippines" (Carcellar et al. 2011;Revi et al. 2014). If pronounced social disparities indicate poor top-down organizational abilities to implement such measures, such as in the Muisne profile, or governments lack resources or political will, collective organization in the affected communities may be a more promising way to reduce vulnerability (De Sherbinin et al. 2007). ...
... We explained the relative efficiency, or efficacy, in flood vulnerability reduction, despite low adaptive capacity and moderate government effectiveness with decades of accumulated experience in refining governmental and community-based responses to tropical cyclones and subsequent floods in highly exposed urban locations. On this basis we suggested two entry points for integrated national vulnerability reduction on community-based and governmental levels for urban areas belonging to this urban vulnerability profile: 1) scale up the impact of existing refined local community-based disaster responses -e.g. the successful community-based initiative of the Homeless People's Federation of the Philippines (Carcellar et al. 2011;Revi et al. 2014); 2) prioritize large-scale, government-led national projects, which require the efficacy inherent in this profile for the necessary leverage. These projects should focus on integrating "hard" infrastructural adaptation, such as dike-building and land use planning, with "soft" measures such as wetland protection under sea-level rise and urban expansion. ...
On a planetary scale human populations need to adapt to both socio-economic and environmental problems amidst rapid global change. This holds true for coupled human-environment (socio-ecological) systems in rural and urban settings alike. Two examples are drylands and urban coasts. Such socio-ecological systems have a global distribution. Therefore, advancing the knowledge base for identifying socio-ecological adaptation needs with local vulnerability assessments alone is infeasible: The systems cover vast areas, while funding, time, and human resources for local assessments are limited. They are lacking in low an middle-income countries (LICs and MICs) in particular. But places in a specific socio-ecological system are not only unique and complex – they also exhibit similarities. A global patchwork of local rural drylands vulnerability assessments of human populations to socio-ecological and environmental problems has already been reduced to a limited number of problem structures, which typically cause vulnerability. However, the question arises whether this is also possible in urban socio-ecological systems. The question also arises whether these typologies provide added value in research beyond global change. Finally, the methodology employed for drylands needs refining and standardizing to increase its uptake in the scientific community. In this dissertation, I set out to fill these three gaps in research. The geographical focus in my dissertation is on LICs and MICs, which generally have lower capacities to adapt, and greater adaptation needs, regarding rapid global change. Using a spatially explicit indicator-based methodology, I combine geospatial and clustering methods to identify typical configurations of key factors in case studies causing vulnerability to human populations in two specific socio-ecological systems. Then I use statistical and analytical methods to interpret and appraise both the typical configurations and the global typologies they constitute. First, I improve the indicator-based methodology and then reanalyze typical global problem structures of socio-ecological drylands vulnerability with seven indicator datasets. The reanalysis confirms the key tenets and produces a more realistic and nuanced typology of eight spatially explicit problem structures, or vulnerability profiles: Two new profiles with typically high natural resource endowment emerge, in which overpopulation has led to medium or high soil erosion. Second, I determine whether the new drylands typology and its socio-ecological vulnerability concept advance a thematically linked scientific debate in human security studies: what drives violent conflict in drylands? The typology is a much better predictor for conflict distribution and incidence in drylands than regression models typically used in peace research. Third, I analyze global problem structures typically causing vulnerability in an urban socio-ecological system - the rapidly urbanizing coastal fringe (RUCF) – with eleven indicator datasets. The RUCF also shows a robust typology, and its seven profiles show huge asymmetries in vulnerability and adaptive capacity. The fastest population increase, lowest income, most ineffective governments, most prevalent poverty, and lowest adaptive capacity are all typically stacked in two profiles in LICs. This shows that beyond local case studies tropical cyclones and/or coastal flooding are neither stalling rapid population growth, nor urban expansion, in the RUCF. I propose entry points for scaling up successful vulnerability reduction strategies in coastal cities within the same vulnerability profile. This dissertation shows that patchworks of local vulnerability assessments can be generalized to structure global socio-ecological vulnerabilities in both rural and urban socio-ecological systems according to typical problems. In terms of climate-related extreme events in the RUCF, conflicting problem structures and means to deal with them are threatening to widen the development gap between LICs and high-income countries unless successful vulnerability reduction measures are comprehensively scaled up. The explanatory power for human security in drylands warrants further applications of the methodology beyond global environmental change research in the future. Thus, analyzing spatially explicit global typologies of socio-ecological vulnerability is a useful complement to local assessments: The typologies provide entry points for where to consider which generic measures to reduce typical problem structures – including the countless places without local assessments. This can save limited time and financial resources for adaptation under rapid global change.
... The Philippines has made significant strides in mitigating the impact of natural disasters on vulnerable populations through community-based disaster risk reduction initiatives. These programs involve local communities in disaster preparedness and response planning, improving resilience and minimizing the economic and human toll of climate-related disasters (Carcellar et al., 2011;Cho and Kim, 2017;Nesa Hyder, 2020). ...
This study explores the transformative potential of fourth industrial revolution (called Industry 4.0) technologies in the context of poverty elimination, with a particular focus on Africa. Given the multidimensional nature of poverty, which spans economic, social, and environmental aspects, there is a critical need for innovative and sustainable solutions. This paper presents a comprehensive literature review to identify how recent advancements, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, blockchain, big data, and 5G can be harnessed to address various facets of poverty. Drawing on insights from existing research and expert opinions, we propose a conceptual framework that integrates these technologies with strategic policy interventions, infrastructure development, and capacity building. The paper proposes a framework that illustrates the prerequisite requirements before adopting Industry 4.0 technologies in poverty elimination efforts. This framework aims to ensure that the benefits of technological innovations are accessible to the most vulnerable populations, thereby contributing to the broader goals of socioeconomic development and poverty reduction. The work shows that while Industry 4.0 presents a critical opportunity for sustainable development and poverty elimination in Africa, it needs to have essential capacities to optimize the use of observations, visualizations, and mindset management before or when adopting the first stage of Industry 4.0 solutions for poverty elimination.
... In addition to economic losses that amounted to about US $4 billion, about 130 000 lives were lost in Indonesia after that tsunami disaster (Seng, 2013). Likewise, the rising public concern about disaster impacts forced the Philippines to introduce several bills between 1999 and 2009 in order to transform the 1978 disaster legislation, which was mainly reactive in scope, into a more proactive and preventive law (Carcellar et al., 2011). Unlike the above developments, Zimbabwe is still using the CPA of 1989 despite experiencing consecutive severe droughts (Frischen et al., 2020) and disastrous tropical cyclones and flooding (Mavhura, 2020). ...
The promulgation of the Hyogo Framework for Action and the Sendai Framework has seen many countries strengthening their disaster legislations in order to reduce disaster risk/losses. This study, therefore, assessed the usefulness of Zimbabwe's disaster legislation in reducing disaster risk/losses. The study used 27 semi‐structured interviews with disaster experts. The findings revealed that the legislation is largely promoting a reactionary approach to disasters in a top‐down manner. The study concludes that for disaster legislations to be adequate guiding frameworks for reducing disaster risks and losses, they need to be backed by clear funding mechanisms, which would allow investing in resilience.
... The study by Carcellar et al. (2011) states that the HPFPI is slowly but deliberately incorporating initiatives for risk reduction in addition to its disaster response initiatives as part of its avowed mission to organize and mobilize low-income communities in high-risk locations. At the heart of the federation's efforts on DRR is the identification of highly at-risk communities in cities and municipalities where the HPFPI is seeded. ...
Background. The study aimed to determine the extent of implementation of the disaster risk reduction management activities on flooding in the areas of prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response, and rehabilitation and recovery in the flood-prone communities in a highly urbanized city in the Philippines as assessed by DRRM implementers and community leaders. Likewise, it identified the challenges in implementing the disaster risk reduction management activities on flooding encountered by the implementers. The study sought if there is a significant difference in the extent of implementation of disaster risk reduction management in the area of prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery when respondents are grouped according to income classification, population size, and land area. Method. In this study it use a descriptive-comparative research approach. The respondents were the DRRM implementers and community leaders of flood-prone communities in a highly urbanized city in Central Visayas. They were determined using incidental sampling. Before conducting the study,the request letter stipulating the nature and the details of the research of the Implementation of Disaster Risk Reduction Management Activities on flood prone areas in Central Visayas was obtained. After which the researcher prepares the questionnaire to be distributed to the proper respondents. Before answering the actual research instrument, the identified respondents were advised about the study, specifically its purpose, scope, nature and the parts of the questionnaire. They were ask to answer the questionnaire and the data collection proper commenced after the agreement. After the data collection, they submit the questionnaire and treated with confidentiality with respect to the respondent of the study. The information gathered was analyzed with the help of the statistician. Descriptive and comparative analysis were utilize using the appropriate statistical tools in analyzing and interpreting the data on the implementation of disaster risk reduction management activities in flood-prone communities of a highly urbanized city in Central Visayas. Results. Overall the extent of implementation of DRRM activities in flood-prone communities as a whole is great extent. In terms of the thematic areas, recovery is in moderate extent, while the other areas are great extent. There is no significant difference in the extent of implementation of DRRM activities in flood-prone communities when respondents are grouped according to income, population and land area in all the thematic areas except for preparedness. Improper disposal of solid waste by the local people is the most common challenge observed in prevention and mitigation by the respondents. Delayed implementation of city/barangay projects for disaster risk reduction is the most common challenge observed in preparedness by the respondents. In response, delayed responsive action is the most common challenge observed by the respondents. Lastly, in recovery, the lack of local attention to those affected people is the most common challenge observed by the respondents. Overall, Improper disposal of solid waste by the local people is the most common challenge observed on the DDRM activities on flooding. Conclusion The great extent of the implementation of disaster risk reduction management activities in flooding revealed a need for continuous improvement in terms of disaster preparedness, prevention and mitigation, response, and recovery. Moreover, when respondents were grouped according to income, population, and land area, these variables showed no significant difference. This implies that regardless of their categories, the implementation of both classes showed no significant difference, except for the thematic area of preparedness. This means that the implementers are resilient and objective driven in their assignments on DRRM activities on flooding. There is also room for improvement where the implementation of DRRM activities on flooding can be improved up to a very great extent. In the area of preparedness, the implementers and community leaders must focused on the difference on the variables for the reason that regardless of income, population or land area, the implementers and community leaders must focus and implement all the thematic areas of the DRRM activities on flooding especially in the area of preparedness. The implication on the result reflects the actual implementation by our implementers and community leaders and can be basis for future studies. Limitation of Findings. The study's findings are limited since the study was conducted in a highly urbanized city in the Visayas. They do not reflect the opinion of the office where the respondents are employed or served. They do not also reflect the opinion of the City of Bacolod and the barangays involved in this study. This study also identified the challenges in implementing disaster risk reduction management activities on flooding. Other limitation on the findings is other persons did not give their approval to be subjected to the study. There is also limitation to the sampling and instrument since only incidental sampling is used and not stratified random sampling. The interpretation of the results in the study in not approximate in the result on the actual implementation of the activities. There are also limited studies relating to the extent of implementation on DRRM activities in flood prone areas. Lastly, the study is limited to only 102 respondents which only a small number compared to the implementers and community leaders in the whole city. Practical Application. The researcher proposed a Strategic Plan to strengthen the implementation of the DRRM activities on flooding in their local communities. Furthermore, observing these proposed programs, projects, and activities would create a positive outlook for the community and reach a very great extent of implementation to ensure that they follow all the measures all the time for their safety. Direction for Future Research They may explore other variables that affect the implementation of disaster risk reduction management activities in flooding. Moreover, another study may be conducted exploring the DRRM measures and fund utilization of the community leaders in addressing disaster-related concerns. Furthermore, the future researchers can enhance their research by lifting the limitations mentioned in this study. An example is to involve many respondents and barangays or choose a more sound sampling instrument to the study.
... one of the ways that local CBos can draw attention to the priorities of boys and girls who are at risk is through the generation of locally rooted information on risk and vulnerability (including mapping) in low-income informal settlements, as exemplified by the work of the Philippine Action for Community-led Shelter Initiatives, Inc. (see Carcellar, et al. 2011). However, many CBos may not adequately take the particular risks and vulnerabilities of girls and boys into account. ...
... Likewise, a conceivable strategy for reducing a cause of severe exposures is to protect the limited remaining wetlands from further encroachment. Another effective response is the community-based initiative "Homeless People's Federation of the Philippines" [90,97]. If pronounced social disparities indicate poor top-down organizational abilities to implement such measures, such as in the Muisne profile, or governments lack resources or political will, collective organization in the affected communities may be a more promising way to reduce vulnerability [21]. ...
Coastal areas are urbanizing at unprecedented rates, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Combinations of long-standing and emerging problems in these urban areas generate vulnerability for human well-being and ecosystems alike. This baseline study provides a spatially explicit global systematization of these problems into typical urban vulnerability profiles for the year 2000 using largely sub-national data. Using 11 indicator datasets for urban expansion, urban population growth, marginalization of poor populations, government effectiveness, exposures and damages to climate-related extreme events, low-lying settlement, and wetlands prevalence, a cluster analysis reveals a global typology of seven clearly distinguishable clusters, or urban profiles of vulnerability. Each profile is characterized by a specific data-value combination of indicators representing mechanisms that generate vulnerability. Using 21 studies for testing the plausibility, we identify seven key profile-based vulnerabilities for urban populations, which are relevant in the context of global urbanization, expansion, and climate change. We show which urban coasts are similar in this regard. Sensitivity and exposure to extreme climate-related events, and government effectiveness, are the most important factors for the huge asymmetries of vulnerability between profiles. Against the background of underlying global trends we propose entry points for profile-based vulnerability reduction. The study provides a baseline for further pattern analysis in the rapidly urbanizing coastal fringe as data availability increases. We propose to explore socio-ecologically similar coastal urban areas as a basis for sharing experience and vulnerability-reducing measures among them.
... These results support previous studies in the Philippines that the impact of natural calamities is compounded by environmental degradation, inadequate infrastructure, and poor delivery of social services to survivors of disasters (Porio, 2014;Holden et al., 2017), including insecure land and housing, high-risk locations, and lack of organization (Carcellar et al., 2011). Moreover, the results mirror findings of other studies among displaced disaster survivors such as limited job opportunities, poor housing conditions, lack of electricity and water, poor sanitation and health facilities, confinement in small spaces, and increased criminality (Waas et al., 2003). ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of a community-based resilience intervention for Filipino displaced survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan.
Design/methodology/approach
The researchers used a quasi-experimental and mixed-method design comparing a treatment group with a control group across three time periods: before, immediately after, and six months after the intervention.
Findings
Results showed significant improvements in survivors’ anxiety scores and resilience scores compared to those who did not undergo the program. However, although there was an increase in adaptive coping of participants immediately after the program, there was a reduction in adaptive coping behaviors for all groups six months after the program. Focus group discussions revealed this might be due to significant environmental challenges among displaced survivors.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of the study was the lack of randomization and a small sample size due to attrition.
Practical implications
The study highlights the positive effects of culturally adapted group interventions.
Social implications
The results suggest the importance of a systemic approach to enabling the recovery of displaced survivors in developing countries.
Originality/value
This study provides evidence for a resilience intervention developed in a low-middle income country in Southeast Asia.
... There is a growing body of research demonstrating the value of the 'co-production' of urban services by community groups working in partnership with local government (mitlin, 2008), which outlines a series of methods and tools that could help resilience strategies increase engagement and inclusion. For example, there are many well-documented examples of constructive partnerships between local organised groups and local government in assessing vulnerabilities and planning for DRR (see Carcellar et al., 2011;mitlin, 2012) to continually assess priorities and build a longer-term investment in terms of physical and social capital. A greater emphasis on the co-production of city resilience strategies, for example by ensuring climate core teams always include civil society representation (being cognisant of legitimate and diverse representation), would diversify responsibility from the city government to a broader range of actors from both the private sector and civil society, building consensus around common goals while ensuring the representation of vulnerable groups. ...
... one of the ways that local CBos can draw attention to the priorities of boys and girls who are at risk is through the generation of locally rooted information on risk and vulnerability (including mapping) in low-income informal settlements, as exemplified by the work of the Philippine Action for Community-led Shelter Initiatives, Inc. (see Carcellar, et al. 2011). However, many CBos may not adequately take the particular risks and vulnerabilities of girls and boys into account. ...
... [5][6][7] The disaster management community is also drawing heavily from the experiences of indigenous people with the view of making impacting risk and disaster management interventions. [8][9][10][11][12] Evidence of IK's usefulness in climate science ranges from enhancing understanding of climate impacts, [13][14][15] particularly at local scale where scientifically advanced models tend to give a coarse-grained focus, 16 to informing successful mitigation and adaptation interventions 13,17-19 whose success could be credited on meaningful community participation in identifying appropriate climate projects. 15,[20][21][22] A demonstration of the climate governance-IK linkages is given in this paper. ...
The current tempo of climate change strategies puts the notion of sustainability in question. In this philosophy, mitigation and adaptation strategies ought to be appropriate to the sectors and communities that are targeted. There is a growing realisation that the effectiveness of both strategies hinges on climate governance, which also informs their sustainability. The application of the climate governance concept by the technocratic divide (policymakers and climate practitioners) to communities facing climate change impacts, however, is still a poorly developed field, despite extensive treatment by academia. By drawing heavily from conceptual and analytical review of scholarship on the utility of indigenous knowledge (IK) in climate science, these authors argue that IK can be deployed in the practice of climate governance. It reveals that the merits of such a deployment lie in the understanding that the tenets of IK and climate governance overlap and are complementary. This is exhibited by examining the conceptual, empirical and sustainability strands of the climate governance-IK nexus. In the milieu of climate change problems, it is argued that the basic elements of climate governance, where actions are informed by the principles of decentralisation and autonomy; accountability and transparency; responsiveness and flexibility; and participation and inclusion, can be pragmatic particularly to communities who have been religiously observing changes in their environment. Therefore, it becomes necessary to invigorate the participation of communities, with their IK, in designing climate change interventions, which in this view can be a means to attain the objectives of climate governance.
... Community mapping and enumeration processes increases the visibility of low-income, marginalised groups within a city, while highlighting potential risk factors at the community level and drawing on the local knowledge of residents. The Homeless People's Federation of the Philippines has developed a set of responses that include community-rooted data gathering, trust and contact building, support for savings, the registering of community organisations, and identifying needed interventions — that are intended to show local government the capacities of their member organisations and that have achieved substantial success in cities such as Iloilo (Carcellar et al., 2011; Rayos Co, 2010). Taken together, these examples show a growing body of knowledge and experience about the roles of different actors in reducing risk, and also in addressing the underlying drivers of vulnerability for low-income urban residents. ...
Over half of the world’s population now lives in urban centres. Most of the world’s urban population and largest cities lie outside the most prosperous nations and almost all future growth in the world’s urban population is projected to be in low- and middle-income countries. Within these urban centres it is common for up to 50 per cent of the population to live in informal settlements: these are often located on land that is exposed to hazards, with poor quality provision for water, sanitation, drainage, infrastructure, health care and emergency services. The residents of these low-income and informal settlements are therefore highly vulnerable to a range of risks, many of which are specific to urban settings. Yet despite this, many humanitarian agencies have little experience of working in urban areas, or of negotiating the complex political economies that exist in towns and cities.
This working paper has two main purposes: (1) to review the quality of the evidence base and to outline knowledge gaps about the nature and scale of urban risk in low- and middle-income countries; and (2) to assess the policy implications for humanitarian preparedness, planning and response. It does so by analysing a wide range of academic and policy literature and drawing on a number of interviews with key informants in the field. It particularly focuses on evidence from Africa and Asia, but also draws on case studies from Latin America as many examples of good practice in this area come from this region. The paper aims to help ensure that humanitarian and development actors are able to promote urban resilience and disaster risk reduction and to respond effectively to the humanitarian emergencies that are likely to occur in cities
Urban planning is critical in mitigating the impacts of disasters, enhancing community resilience and promoting sustainable development. This review study systematically analyzes the role of urban planning in disaster risk reduction (DRR) through a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach. By reviewing scholarly articles and case studies, this paper examines various urban planning strategies that contribute to DRR, including land use planning, infrastructure development, risk mapping, and community engagement. The findings highlight the effectiveness of integrating risk assessments into urban planning processes, the importance of adaptive infrastructure design, and the need for inclusive planning practices that involve local communities in decision-making. The review also identifies challenges such as inadequate policy implementation, lack of resources, and the need for interdisciplinary collaboration, analyzing participation and academic importance, and correlating the publication of papers with the number of reported disasters. Through a comprehensive analysis of existing literature, this review underscores the potential of urban planning to reduce disaster risks and enhance urban resilience. The paper concludes with recommendations for policymakers, urban planners, and researchers to strengthen DRR initiatives via strategic urban planning practices. This review contributes to the growing body of knowledge in DRR and emphasizes the critical role of urban planning in creating safer, more resilient cities.
Bangladesh is yet to achieve tenure security for all classes of people, especially low-income communities. Since community-based development can assist in resolving this issue and implies responsibility for establishing land tenure, it has drawn a lot of attention. Community Land Trust (CLT) is one method for ensuring tenure rights in communities, and it is one of the methods used by Community Based Development (CBD). This study investigates the CBD procedure in Bangladesh and how CLT operates with regards to ownership issues. Also, this study attempts to highlight the scope for Bangladesh to use CLT in addition to examining the benefits and drawbacks of CLT. The study adopts qualitative methodologies to analyze CLT and tenure security through SWOT and comparative analysis. In the SWOT analysis, the strengths and constraints of CLT have been identified. By comparative analysis, the case studies from Bangladesh are compared with CLT based on the land tenure components. Additionally, case studies from both developed and developing countries have been conducted. After analyzing cases and the situation in Bangladesh, gaps in applied approaches were found, and several possible applications for CLT were proposed in consideration of land tenure.
People experiencing homeless have greater vulnerabilities in relation to climate change that require a range of policy and systems approaches. There are two interrelated areas that policymakers can consider in relation to climate change and homelessness: migration and exposure. This synthesis of the available data and expert opinion provides practical information to policymakers, with specific strategies alongside case examples. The data captured here is through systematic reviews, and expert opinion is generated through input from a year-long series of five virtual think tanks. Throughout this synthesis paper, an emphasis is placed on explicitly addressing homeless populations in the policies and plans designed to address climate change-related impacts. Prevention-oriented plans are shown to be more effective in terms of outcomes and cost-effectiveness compared to the more commonly deployed crisis response models. Another key issue considered is the availability of relevant data with which to target policy responses and evaluate outcomes. Data-driven responses tend to be more successful, though relevant data are, to date, lacking for homeless and other marginalized populations. Moreover, effective policy design in this area needs to be intersectional and inclusive, tailored to the needs of local communities and developed in consultation with lived experience stakeholders, including service providers. Policies that ignore local input tend to fail. Prevention-oriented, culturally-situated, and trauma-informed systems and services hold the greatest promise in responding to the severe health risks and inequities that homeless populations face in the climate crisis.
Key policy insights
• Prevention-oriented measures are key, with most focussing on the availability of affordable housing and upgrading housing and living conditions of vulnerable populations.
• There is a need to include lived experience and input from local communities, especially when designing measures that will impact livelihoods, such as planned migration.
• Disaster, crisis response, and aftercare plans need to outline explicit measures for homeless populations.
• There is a need for cross-sectoral alignment of policy and intervention responses.
• Successful approaches tend to be culturally-situated and trauma-informed.
Coastal megacities across Asia have experienced devastating floods in recent years. Studies project dramatic increases in populations prone to chronic flooding and potential permanent inundation of densely populated urban areas in future decades. The uncertainties presented by future flood risks disrupt prevalent state visions of globalization‐driven prosperity. The emerging reality of a shift in relationship between water and urban settlements has begun driving recalibration of power relations around a range of issues, including longstanding contestations over infrastructure delivery, housing, land rights and political representation. Flood mitigation efforts have played out in debates over displacement and eviction, and distributional concerns about the costs and benefits of these initiatives. This article develops a conceptual framework for assessing the implications of projections of flood risk for urban political theory. The article begins by identifying political contestations that emerge around the varied ways water intersects with urban processes—through dynamics of permeability, flow and drainage, aquifers and pipes, and coastal defense. It then explores how projections of the crisis of flooding have reshaped three contemporary debates in urban politics: those around property rights and the question of ‘informality’; around neoliberalization and financialization; and around the rescaling of the state. Finally, it briefly deploys this framework to examine the case of Jakarta.
This paper describes the community-driven mapping and data gathering in informal settlements in cities in the Philippines and the valuable basis this provides to inhabitants for working with local governments, contributing to city planning and decision making. This process, supported by the Homeless People’s Federation of the Philippines, also provides communities with opportunities to think through their priorities. Background information on the federation and other key national and local actors is followed by a description of the mapping and data gathering process in Muntinlupa City and its contribution to the creation of plans and proposals, and to the networks and partnerships that are key to their implementation. The paper then outlines the federation’s experience with mapping and data gathering in informal settlements in Valenzuela City, Intramuros in Manila, Davao City and Iloilo City. It discusses the challenges and possibilities for supporting this process on a larger scale, including developing the capacity to change cities’ shelter policies and land-use management.
Negative impacts of flood risk constitute an urgent issue for the residents, policy makers and the international community shaping African cities. Disaster risk reduction is increasingly mainstreamed into urban policy, but there appears to be great variation in ways through which local communities are engaged in a meaningful discussion with local authorities and other formal and informal actors. This research aims to place urban community-based disaster risk reduction (CB-DRR) in a broader context, focussing on links between periodic hazard, extensive urban risk and change in urban social relations. The principal question addressed in this research was: how do social relations evolve in the context of extensive urban disaster risk? A grounded theory approach and situational analysis was applied in a case study of the past decade of community interventions in Pikine, Dakar’s low-income suburbs, which suffer from recurrent seasonal flooding and permanent waterlogging. The first half of the thesis addresses impacts of periodic disasters and extensive risk on life in low income urban neighbourhoods and ways in which CB-DRR evolves with periodic disasters and extensive risk. The principal finding is that extensive risk drives social fragility and physical uncertainty. Community engagement is motivated by a collective consciousness of a need to avert a social deterioration in water-affected neighbourhoods. The second half of the thesis elaborates on links between CB-DRR and broader urban development pressures. Community actors construct opportunity within a complex institutional environment where city-level urban development policy and practice shape risk at neighbourhood level. Examples of three major state-led infrastructure projects are analysed in relation to the conditions they create for community initiatives to progress or be stalled. I show that over the past four decades, a distinct urban culture and an institutional environment have been created in Senegal which enable youth organisations to assume leadership in CB-DRR.
Climate change is acknowledged as the largest threat to our societies in the coming decades, potentially affecting large and diverse groups of urban residents in this century of urbanization. As urban areas house highly diverse people with differing vulnerabilities, intensifying climate change is likely to shift the focus of discussions from a general urban perspective to who in cities will be affected by climate change, and how. This brings the urban equity question to the forefront. Here we assess how climate change events may amplify urban inequity. We find that heatwaves, but also flooding, landslides, and even mitigation and adaptation measures, affect specific population groups more than others. As underlying sensitivity factors we consistently identify socioeconomic status and gender. We synthesize the findings with regard to equity types – meaning outcome-based, process-oriented and context-related equity – and suggest solutions for avoiding increased equity and justice concerns as a result of climate change impacts, adaptation and mitigation.
Introduction: The Philippines is one of the top countries in the world at risk of climate-related disasters. For populations subsisting at the poverty line in particular, but also the nation as a whole, daily lives and wellbeing are routinely challenged. The Philippines government takes disaster risk seriously and has devoted significant resources to build disaster capacity and reduce population exposure and vulnerability, nationally and locally. This paper explores the policy and institutional mechanisms for disaster risk reduction management and research which have been conducted in the Philippines related to disaster preparedness, management and resilience.
Methods: This study draws on direct observations of and conversations with disaster management professionals, in addition to a review of the extant literature on resilience and disaster preparedness, in the Philippines. This is a descriptive study based on a search of mainly peer-reviewed studies but also articles, reports, and disaster risk reduction and response projects in the Philippines. Search words used in various combinations included: Resilience, Philippines, Disaster Preparedness, Community-based, Disaster Risk Reduction, Capacity-building.
Results: Numerous activities in community based resilience and DRR have been identified across the whole disaster continuum. Yet, important gaps in research and practice remain.
Discussion: The Philippines, is a leading regional actor in disaster risk management. However, a full picture of who is doing what, how, where and when on resilience and disaster preparedness does not exist. Consequently there is no single study that compares the impacts and results that different preparedness measures are having in the Philippines. We recommend further research focussed on mapping the network of actors, understanding community perceptions of disaster risk preparedness and resilience, and investigation into the socio-ecological systems of different communities.
Mainstream disaster governance strategies and mechanisms place an emphasis on material and quantifiable losses in order to determine the amount of material or financial compensation. Calling for a humanistic approach to respond to disasters, this chapter examines how space becomes tools of community empowerment in a continuing disaster. Data used in the analysis are obtained through ethnographic interviews and participant observation of social movements on Lapindo mudflow as well as news articles related to the disaster in the span of several years until the year 2014. The mudflow as a unique prolonged disaster in the context of disjointed, seemingly negotiated government bureaucracies that tend to favour corporations with powerful actors sheds light on the importance of building community resilience by focusing on livelihoods rather than by emphasising on compensation and other temporary interventions. Embracing environmental disaster spaces as part of everyday life that encompasses culture and economy is an alternative disaster governance approach that puts people as the priority, as active members of society rather than victims. While the conditions on the ground are very much nuanced, the focus on human flourishing is in line with empowerment for the long term by constructing social identity, interactions and relationships as resilient communities.
This paper is from a transcript of a conversation between Ruby Papeleras and Ofelia Bagotlo, two community leaders in the Homeless People's Federation Philippines Inc. and Somsook Boonyabancha from the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights. The community leaders reflect on the difficulties that community organizations face in finding solutions - for instance, getting land and getting local governments, donors and activists to respect their priorities. They describe the steps towards building an urban poor movement - learning to trust ourselves, building this trust by establishing community savings groups and instigating initiatives (which show other groups their capabilities and other urban poor groups what is possible), drawing everyone in and using their different skills in surveying and undertaking community initiatives. They also discuss how the flexible funding for small projects available through the ACCA programme helps catalyze local activities while they wait for government. Small grants or revolving fund loans can be managed by communities, so the financial management makes people more powerful in terms of planning, prioritizing, decision-making and implementing projects. Small projects also help prepare communities for larger, more difficult housing projects and bolster their negotiations for land (showing their capacity to pay and invest). With no solutions on offer from government or the private sector, community people begin to take over, creating a movement in which people are finding alternative solutions that are cheap, efficient, easy, quick, equitable and full of the social elements that are missing from government-provided housing. From this they show local governments what they can do. Small projects are a bridge to link different individuals and agencies, and provide a language for dialogue between them. © 2012 International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).
can be downloaded at http://ipcc-wg2.gov/AR5/report/final-drafts/
Throughout human history, people have coped with, and adapted to, their environment. This accumulated capacity at local level is increasingly recognized to be critical in improving resilience and transformation. Nevertheless, city dwellers’ coping and adaptive practices are little known, poorly documented and often not taken into account in the work of municipal authorities and aid organizations. Against this background, this study provides a systematic overview of urban residents’ coping and adaptive practices, presents critical insights into their risk-reducing effects and discusses their role in the development of policies and projects to increase resilience. It shows that coping should not automatically be seen as maladaptive. The success or failure of urban societies in building resilience and moving towards transformation does not necessarily depend on the effectiveness of individual coping strategies but on the flexibility and inclusiveness of coping/adaptation systems at the individual, household and community level (i.e. the combined set of strategies). Therefore, it is crucial to support the ability of urban communities to negotiate their needs and rights in order to increase the flexibility and inclusiveness of these systems and make them more viable in today’s context.
A profile of the Philippine Alliance
PACSII (2010), "A profile of the Philippine Alliance",
PACSII, the Philippines.
Community-driven Disaster Intervention: Experiences of the Homeless People’s Federation Philippines
- Co Rayos
- Christopher Jason
Rayos Co, Jason Christopher (2010), Community-driven
Disaster Intervention: Experiences of the Homeless
People's Federation Philippines, Inc., IIED/ACHR/
SDI Working Paper, IIED, London, 54 pages. This
can be downloaded at no charge at http://pubs.
iied.org/pdfs/10587IIED.pdf