Envisioning our Future - Risk or Resilience?

 

A Perfectly Good Evening..the view from Bali, May 31, 2014

 A gorgeous view: grand expanse of a sunset arching over the infamous surf... rich conversation on how our future child focussed DRR model will be...defining the boundaries of the conversation...day 1 of our national DRR consultation starts very well.

 

This serene scene is punctuated by the news of 'a sustained, rather significant eruption of Sangean Api' in the south, 'sending large volumes of volcanic ash into the air', grounding scores of flights... and looming over tomorrow's field research site -Sumba. So, our tomorrow now looks more like this...quite a different picture than when we started some hours ago. (Image thanks-Dr. Roy Spencer)

Off we go hunting face masks which I hope will be adequate for my friend who has asthma. This is the way of the future! The future is now! In my day, disasters become the norm, not the anomale. And how do we cope? Are we risk and resilience minded? Is this thinking intrinsic in our daily lives, and way of doing business? Or do they take us by surprise, stealing from a perfectly good evening with friends at the beach, darkening a perfect sunset with elegant yet potentially deadly ash plumes?  Or much worse, erasing years of memory, hopes, dreams of a bright future. These are our questions. These are our children's questions.  Over the next week , we will listen closely to voices of ChildFund staff, partners and children and youth of Boyalali, Yog Yakarta, Sumba and Jakarta...and we will share our learning journey with you.

"Dignity can not wait for better times."

"There are no scraps of men."

This is brilliant. Must watch. Thanks to Margareta Wahlström for tagging this for us and Mahmood and Alberto Cairo for doing it. May we live it.

 

 

October 13, 2013 "A Not so Obvious Conversation Living with Disability in Disasters"

Road to Sendai: Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction

 

Its' official - the save the date announcement came out yesterday from the UNISDR for the Third World Conference on Disaster Reduction. So in case you have not seen it, here it is:

 

Dear partners,

Subject to an anticipated decision of the UN General Assembly later in 2013, the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) is to take place in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, from 14 to 18 March 2015 (five days inclusive).

Hosted by the Government of Japan in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), as secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, the WCDRR will review the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action and is expected to adopt a successor framework for disaster risk reduction.

The post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction will build on the knowledge and practice developed through the implementation of the International Framework for the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction of 1989, the Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action of 1994, the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction of 1999 and the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 66/199, UNISDR will continue to ensure extensive and inclusive multi-stakeholder consultations for a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction.

Kind regards,
UNISDR

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International Day for Disaster Reduction 2013
http://www.unisdr.org/2013/iddr

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)
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In July my heart was caught by the Gambia. Well not like the abstract concept of the Gambia but what must be the heart and soul that endures past losing hope. By children and people who believe in a better future for themselves and others and do something about it... daily.

For ten days I was privileged to be there conducting a training workshop on DRR. Following are a few of my experiences and impressions. The life of the place, including the culture, people and hospitality; as well as the complex and pervasive layering of vulnerabilities and impacts of climate change are indelibly stamped in my mind...

One of the most moving stories is of a friend of mine who used to be a sponsored child with ChildFund. From a very poor village, he now is married and works as a program manager helping other Gambian youth and their families overcome gut-wrenching poverty... and since our workshop he’s inspired to return to his home village and share what he learned on risk and resilience. He is such a passionate guy about giving back, "Because they believed in me," he says of his sponsors, “I want to give back to my community by building their capacities to reduce risks”... I received the photo above earlier this week, along with a request to review his workshop plan.

So his idea is to train up 50 young people, creating awareness and hazards pertaining to their locality, spreading the culture of disaster preparedness, and imparting skills and knowledge on DRR so that the youths and their families and communities can be more resilient to disasters, and better able to manage them when they do occur. Incidentally, he’s raising funds locally to pay for the training – most of it coming from his own pocket. Amazing? Look at the picture and see future leaders!

It inspires me to think of the cascading impact and influence of these 50 young people in their various walks of life, as well as the impact that the workshop will likely have on their own individual lives and futures. It is exciting to see when the powerful idea of resilience takes off and forms a life of its own. I believe that the seeds that we planted together in the Gambia at the DRR workshop that are now germinating will grow towards the betterment of life in West Africa.

My co-trainer in the pink shirt on the right is from Liberia. During the war he hid for three months inside of a burnt structure of a house with no roof - nothing but a shell. He crawled around at night hoping and praying not to be discovered. The colleague to my left is from Sierra Leone. When the rebels descended on her village to take retribution for a crime that a neighbor had committed, they chose her house. Able to convince them that the man they sought was from a neighboring village and not hers, she and her family escaped harm. The lovely young lady kneeling in front started by helping us in administration and logistics, but was so gifted, and similarly captivated by the topic that she ended up participating, making a presentation on vulnerabilities in the community on behalf of the Gambia country office.

More to follow soon...

 

 

 

Global Platform for DRR 2013 - Day 2

You are in for a treat! Today was an action-packed, edge of your seat kind of day at the #GPDRR13. Report on the launch of the Global Assessment Report, a room small enough to feel like an intimate discussion with the President of the Global Risk Forum, the Chair of the Drafting Committee of the original 2005 Hyogo Framework for Action...

DRR Progress - Where are We and what about DRR Governance?
Here is Dr. Marco Ferrari, discussing DRR Governance and Government. You are very fortunate to get to hear him, in the video I will post tomorrow as well - the latest on progress in the DRR global movement and priorities, from one of the authors.

 

Read more about Dr. Ferrari at http://www.idrc.info/pages_new.php/Marco-Ferrari/1067/1/831/927/

DRM versus DRR - Yes We still need to Distinguish Them, and Clearly
Dr. Walter Amman, President and CEO of the Global Risk Forum, also spoke on DRR: Government to Governance - From Disaster Risk Management to Integrative Risk Management-the Paradigm Shift in DRR, bringing greater clarity and distinction in DRM and DRR, calling for exactly that - a paradigm shift. It seems we are not as far along as we should be, and policy makers and practitioners alike can do well to heed the wise counsel of these two leading thinkers and global leaders, Dr. Ammann and Dr. Ferrari.

 

 

 

New Knowledge & New Conceptual Models
Professor Peijun Shi gave an absolutely brilliant presentation on "Professional Management and Integrated Governance" presenting his latest thinking around DRR and governance, along with some refined conceptual models which I will share more about tomorrow. As usual, Dr. Shi from Beijing Normal University, knocked our socks off. In addition, he showed his kindness by gifting me a complete publication of the Atlas of Natural Disaster Risk of China, an amazing book. Thank you, Dr. Shi!

 

 

Priority 5 of the Children's Charter for Disaster Risk Reduction -

Prioritization of the Most Vulnerable as Expressed by a very Powerful  Advocate

 

Finally, in one of the most moving speeches I've ever heard, a Vietnamese boy and budding DRR activist with cerebral palsy shared his experience of being trapped in his parents' home in a flood, and them helping him escape... he spoke on behalf of children with disabilities and challenged the international community to urgently prioritize people with disabilities preparedness and response planning, helping them evacuate first in times of disaster. To me, listening to him was really what DRR is all about. When we launched the Charter, it was really a way to express voices and experiences like his, and it was such a privilege to hear him speak out at the GPDRR. I was told by one of the facilitators that two months ago, he had never been to school, as his parents are very poor. One day, he attended a DRR training with his father, and after the flood he wanted to help people in his village so he continued to learn about DRR, and was invited to attend the GPDRR in Geneva. If the future of DRR is informed and guided by the likes of him, it will indeed be very bright. May it be so!

For more information on the Children's Charter, see  http://www.preventionweb.net/english/professional/publications/v.php?id=19894

 

 

Panajachel Bound...

I'm back! Headed for Guatemala in 48 hours to work with NGO staff and local communities on a new multi-country DRR capacity building venture. Stay tuned! We are just beginning this journey!

Killer Year caps deadly decade - reducing disaster impact not an option, says UN SRSG Margareta Wahlström

2010 tied for the warmest year on record, and ranks as one of the deadliest in two decades for natural disasters, with the Haiti earthquake and the Russian heat wave driving total deaths to nearly 300,000. $109 billion was spent on dealing with disasters in 2010 - money which could have been invested in helping vulnerable communities cope with poverty, climate change and other development deterrants. With the scale of these statistics coming in to cap this deadly decade... disaster risk reduction (DRR) is no longer 'an option'.

Speaking from Geneva, Margareta Wahlström, UN Special Representative to the Secretary General said,

"These figures are bad, but could be seen as benign in years to come...Unless we act now, we will see more and more disasters due to unplanned urbanization and environmental degradation. And weather-related disasters are sure to rise in the future, due to factors that include climate change."

When will we think ahead and begin to really work together well? It does seem that what was once an issue that may have been in the margins is now becoming mainstreamed into public conscience - and into development mechanisms at national, international and local levels... but this is happening far too slowly and these good cases are too few in comparison with the scale of the problem. Among the critical issues now are to bring DRR into mainline development budgeting and implementation processes at these various levels, and to bring all the stakeholders around the table to truly make reducing risk 'everybody's business' - rather than the business of disaster managers or civil protection or "specialists". Everyone has a role to play in becoming aware and being prepared, in reaching out during disasters, and in their aftermath to build back better. Speaking on the importance of key actors in this process, Ms. Wahlstrom said,

"It’s critical for local governments, city leaders and their partners to incorporate climate change adaptation in urban planning,” Ms. Wahlström said, stressing that disaster risk reduction was “no longer optional”. “What we call ‘disaster risk reduction’ – and what some are calling ‘risk mitigation’ or ‘risk management’ – is a strategic and technical tool for helping national and local governments to fulfill their responsibilities to citizens.”

A recent press release by the UNISDR draws on research provided by CRED on disaster trends - which hopefully are a wakeup call for us all to our own role in building resilience both at home and abroad.

Defying Drought in Ethiopia

Defying Drought in Ethiopia

03 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT03 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Source: Catholic Relief Services (CRS) - USA

By Debbie DeVoe, CRS Regional Information Officer, East Africa

Poor rains throughout the year have left 6.4 million Ethiopians in need of emergency food assistance as of October 2008. In May, Catholic Relief Services and its local Church partners began responding to the growing crisis by supporting emergency feedings and medical services. Now CRS is leading a consortium of international aid agencies to deliver more than 75,000 metric tons of food donated by the United States -- enough to fill an entire ocean freighter -- to almost 3 million drought-affected Ethiopians this fall.

While this food assistance is critical, just as important are CRS' ongoing long-term development projects. Irrigation activities, including construction of wells and water systems, enable families to reduce dependence on rain-fed crops and grow high-premium vegetables they can eat and sell -- a lifesaving lifestyle change in drought-prone areas. Seed distributions, agricultural training and agro-enterprise projects that connect farmers to markets are also helping Ethiopians to boost food availability, increase incomes and ultimately survive this latest cycle of drought.

Photo by Debbie DeVoe/CRSSimple hand-dug wells help farming communities reduce their dependence on the rain and enable them to harvest and sell vegetables two to three times a year.

Grassroots Community Resilience movement tracking progress of Hyogo Framework for Action

An exciting blog site to watch out for is http://www.globalnetwork-drr.blogspot.com/ Check it out to see latest updates from the Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for DRR Chairman Marcus Oxley. Marcus is now in Peru facilitating the first ever training of regional Latin American organisations, to launch the massive research project tracking implementation of the Hyogo Framework at the local level in over 50 countries across the world. The Global Network is a major international network of civil society organisations implementing and influencing disaster risk reduction policy and practice. The Global Network has a diverse membership of over 600 subscribers with a range of knowledge, skills and experiences from 90 countries around the world. See http://www.unisdr.org/eng/partner-netw/ngos/rd-ngo-eng.htm for more information. There's Marcus in the photo at our April '08 Steering Committee meeting in New Delhi.