Community Based Disaster Risk Management: A Realist Review
Health, Rights and Development (HEARDD@UNSW) is undertaking a realist review titled, “How, why and when do CBDRM initiatives impact on the social and economic costs of disasters?” The research is supported by a competitive Australian Development Research Award from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). The review is registered with the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (Eppi-Centre) that supports the conduct of systematic reviews in social science and public policy.
Background to the Review
Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) interventions aim to: “reduce vulnerabilities and to increase the capacities of vulnerable groups to prevent or minimize loss and damage to life, property, livelihoods and the environment, and to minimize human suffering and hasten recovery” (ADPC 2006). A community based approach to managing disaster risk emerged in the 1980s - 90s due to recognition of the role played by communities in mitigation and response and the limitations of a top down approach (ADPC 2006; UNISDR, 2005). Disasters affect communities in both economic and social terms and the scale of damage depends on the magnitude of the disaster event, as well as vulnerability and resilience factors related to communities. Disasters typically magnify inequalities within a social system, revealing prior problems and at times exacerbating them: women, children, the elderly, and those with disabilities are more vulnerable before, during and after disasters.
Socio-economic costs of disasters can be both direct and indirect: directly through loss of life or damage to the built environment as well as indirectly from longer-term negative impacts on goods and services (ECLAC 2003). CBDRM interventions attempt to reduce vulnerability and/or enhance resilience, focusing on “hard solutions” such as constructing or maintaining infrastructure such as sea walls, or “soft solutions” such as changing behaviour through attitudes and awareness raising (Gero et al. 2010).
NGOs, UN agencies, and other international and locally based organisations have actively promoted CBDRM and advocated for governments to integrate CBRDM into policy planning and programming. Some attempts have also been made to measure the impact of CBDRM activities, especially in relation to progress towards implementation of the HFA. Yet, preliminary exploration of the literature suggest a lack of definitive evidence on what interventions work under which circumstances to reduce the social and economic impact on communities experiencing disasters. This review examines existing literature to identify how, why and when CBDRM interventions are effective in reducing the social and economic cost of disasters. A systematic review incorporating a realist synthesis is currently being conducted and will attempt to identify the range of potential outcomes that can be achieved through CBDRM interventions; the contexts in which these outcomes are achieve and the mechanisms triggered by contexts to achieve outcomes. Peer-reviewed and grey literature on CBDRM interventions and activities are being searched to identify existing evidence.
National and International Reference Group
The project will be supported by an expert reference group who will assist in identifying key literature and trends, in interpreting the findings, disseminating results, and facilitating links with policy and practice.
Key UNSW contacts
Prof. Anthony Zwi: a.zwi@unsw.edu.au
Dr Kim Spurway: k.spurway@unsw.edu.au
References
ADPC (2006) Community - based disaster risk management for local authorities, ADPC: Bangkok.
ECLAC (2003) Handbook for Estimating the Socio-economic and Environmental Effects of Disasters, United Nations, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean: 1-357.
Gero, A., et al. (2010) Disaster risk reduction and climate change adaption in the Pacific: The challenge of integration, ATRC-NHRL Miscellaneous Report 4.
UNISDR (2005) Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters, United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction: Geneva.