Building climate resilience – experiences from dis... - Environment and adaptation to climate change ESRC_briefing_paper_1

Building climate resilience – experiences from disaster

risk reduction

‘The people I work with every day see many clouds – international initiatives and plans – but very

little rain – actual change at the frontline’. This quote from Donald Mtetemela, a development worker

for over 25 years and head of an East African development organization sums up the challenge of

turning the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005–2015 – a global policy blue print for preventing

disasters – into practical, sustainable activity. Lessons may be relevant to scaling up climate

adaptation.

‘Clouds but little rain’ was the name given to the Views

from the Frontline (VFL) action-learning initiative. This

brought together 7,000 people and 400 organizations in

48 countries in a unique collaborative action designed

to paint a global picture of the progress being made

in implementing disaster reduction activities where it

matters most – amongst vulnerable people.

The VFL review provided substantive evidence that,

despite progress at international and national policy

levels, the greatest barrier to building disaster-resilient

communities is the lack of systematic implementation

of disaster risk reduction activities at the grassroots

level. Reports of progress fade as activities get closer to

vulnerable people, particularly high-risk groups such as

women and children.

Key findings were that:

• The foundation for reducing vulnerability is an

understanding of the risks people face, yet this was

one of the lowest scoring areas.

• Lack of resources was cited by communities as a

main constraint to progress, but there are resources at

local level which remain untapped.

• Turning policy into practice means finding the

right balance between top-down and bottom-up

engagement, through deepened engagement with and

accountability to vulnerable people.

• It is not possible to measure effectiveness of policy

interventions without local monitoring framework

and baselines. Connecting measurable inputs at the

national level with measurable outputs and outcomes

at sub-national levels is essential.

Lessons for climate adaptation

Similar challenges will be faced in connecting the

aspirations of internationally and nationally formulated

climate adaptation policies with the realities of

policy execution at the local level. Whilst experts may

differentiate between DRR, CCA and poverty alleviation,

at the household level the issues converge into one

complex inter-related problem which boils down to the

same thing – the security and well-being of people’s

lives, livelihoods and assets.

Accordingly, experience and insights gained through

the realities of DRR execution at the local level provides

relevant learning and policy recommendations that are

transferable to global efforts to build adaptive capacities.

There are many benefits to carrying out an impartial local

level monitoring process such as VFL, for instance:

• Building a credible evidence base to link policy and

practice.

• Establishing local baselines against which to measure

future progress.

• Opening opportunities for policy dialogue.

• Enhancing transparency and domestic accountability.

• Enhancing local research, analytical and advocacy

capacities.

Possible next steps

The lessons from the first VFL have been significant.

They point towards interesting opportunities for the

future. Could a VFL 2011 develop a participatory model

for measuring climate and disaster resilience at the local

level? Could the VFL survey indicator metrics be adapted

to incorporate climate adaptation considerations? Could

the geographical coverage be extended to other low-

income countries?

Author

Marcus Oxley,

Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for

Disaster Reduction,

100 Church Road,

Teddington, TW11 8QE, UK.

Email: [email protected]