Community-based Disaster Risk Management1 Access to Resources for Community-based Preparedness and Mitigation Programs Session 2 World Bank Institute Krishna S. Vatsa

Community-based Disaster Risk Management2 Access to Resources  Access to resources gives households and communities the ability to withstand a shock  Builds an asset ownership which allows people a minimum level of well-being against disasters  Creates livelihood and diversifies income-generating opportunities and helps meet basic entitlements of households  Necessary to develop programs and instruments through which access to resources is secured

Community-based Disaster Risk Management3 Assets for Risk Management  A minimum level of assets required to cope with risks. Reallocation of assets in response to risks  Poorer households have lesser assets; they break down when faced with a major shock  Moderate and wealthy households are endowed with more assets; they manage their risks with minimal welfare loss  Important to have a mix of assets. Financial and physical assets are necessary, but human and social assets have also become important.

Community-based Disaster Risk Management4 Financial Resources  Credit: to be used for income-generation, asset-building, and consumption  Savings: flexible savings programs help households in coping with disasters  Insurance: credit- and savings-linked insurance for compensating disaster losses

Community-based Disaster Risk Management5 Livelihood Strategy  Provide financial resources for income-generation activities  Diversify income-earning opportunities  Organize training in skills  Commence large-scale public works  Implement post-disaster reconstruction program for employment generation

Community-based Disaster Risk Management6 Social Protection  Assistance for improvement in shelter, and flood and wind hazard protection  Cash transfers to poorer households  Food programs (free distribution, food stamps, subsidies, school-feeding, etc.),  Assistance for agricultural inputs (subsidies, free packs), and  Health and education fee waiver programs

Community-based Disaster Risk Management7 7 Housing  Housing is one of the most important assets for protection against natural disasters  Provides an asset which could also be used for home enterprise, renting, and social use  Requires infusion of public and private resources for construction of better houses, strengthening of existing houses, and improvement in sites and services

Community-based Disaster Risk Management8 Housing  Housing is one of the most important assets for protection against natural disasters  Provides an asset which could also be used for home enterprise, renting, and social use  Requires infusion of public and private resources for construction of better houses, strengthening of existing houses, and improvement in sites and services

Community-based Disaster Risk Management9 Community Networks  Importance of community networks in mobilizing resources: Relief and Recovery: the role of expatriates in reconstruction of Kutch, India and El Salvador earthquakes Early Warning and Response Programs: Volunteer-based Cyclone Preparedness Program, Bangladesh Women’s Participation in Reconstruction Programs and SEWA’s Micro-insurance program in Gujarat, India

Community-based Disaster Risk Management10 Information-sharing  Sharing of information and knowledge an essential part of disaster risk management: disaster-resistant design, regions of high and low risk, sources of emergency supplies, preparedness plan, etc.  Credibility of source, clarity of message, and simplicity of solutions are factors that facilitate dissemination of disaster-related information  Access to electronic media and Internet need to be improved for wider sharing of knowledge and information

Community-based Disaster Risk Management11 Programs / Instruments for Accessing Resources  Government’s Fiscal Support  Disaster Funds  Insurance  Microfinance  Social Funds  Public Works Program

Community-based Disaster Risk Management12 Government’s Fiscal Support  Specific budgetary provision for ex-ante community preparedness and mitigation measures.  Reallocation of budget for ex post recovery and reconstruction  Government may provide incentives and subsidy for encouraging mitigation and preparedness at community level  Government may design poverty alleviation programs with a view to reduce physical and social vulnerabilities

Community-based Disaster Risk Management13 Community-based Disaster Risk Management13 Disaster Funds  In a number of countries special funds have been constituted: calamity/ reconstruction/ mitigation fund  These funds are instituted as a separate entity, independent of budgetary cycle  Specific mandate for these funds: mitigation, recovery, and reconstruction  These funds can directly support community initiatives and activities  Autonomy and flexibility of these funds are strengths, but misutilization and lack of accountability are considered as shortcomings.

Community-based Disaster Risk Management14 Disaster Funds  In a number of countries special funds have been constituted: calamity/ reconstruction/ mitigation fund  These funds are instituted as a separate entity, independent of budgetary cycle  Specific mandate for these funds: mitigation, recovery, and reconstruction  These funds can directly support community initiatives and activities  Autonomy and flexibility of these funds are strengths, but misutilization and lack of accountability are considered as shortcomings.

Community-based Disaster Risk Management15 Insurance  Government can provide subsidy for insurance on a group or community basis: National Flood Insurance Program in the United States  In France, Spain, and New Zealand, insurance for individual catastrophic risk provisioned by public sector companies  In developing countries, property insurance has a small market  A great potential for increasing insurance coverage if promoted on a community basis, thus increasing the size of risk pool

Community-based Disaster Risk Management16 Social Funds  Social Funds have been set up for investment in social infrastructure and social security  Recently, social funds used to respond to emergencies: civil war in Cambodia, an earthquake in Armenia, and drought in Zambia  In both Honduras and Nicaragua, Social Funds played a key role in helping communities cope and rebuild after hurricane Mitch in October 1998  Social funds not sufficiently broad-based to cover a large number of risks

Community-based Disaster Risk Management17 Public Works Program  Public works programs a useful instrument for providing employment to poor households affected by a crisis or disaster  Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Scheme in India and Trabajar II in Argentina well-known examples of public works programs  Employment through infrastructure projects and create community assets  Public Works Programs are expensive to support  More effective in dealing with drought or famine rather than floods or earthquake

Community-based Disaster Risk Management18 Microfinance  Microfinance targeted at poor households and communities excluded from formal banking sector, pioneered in Bangladesh  Provision of financial services for income-diversification and asset-building, necessary for disaster risk reduction  Provision of temporary loans, postponement of debt repayment and withdrawal of savings to cope with disasters  Provision of microinsurance to poorer households  During 1998 Bangladesh floods, microfinance services useful in coping and recovery  Not many examples of successful replication

Community-based Disaster Risk Management19 Community-based Disaster Risk Management19 Feasibility of Programs / Instruments  Risk reduction strategy household- and community- specific  A combination of these programs / services a more feasible strategy for disaster risk reduction  A converging trend of public and private sector sharing the financial burden  Need for more choice to households and communities in terms of programs, services and products

Community-based Disaster Risk Management20 Feasibility of Programs / Instruments  Risk reduction strategy household- and community- specific  A combination of these programs / services a more feasible strategy for disaster risk reduction  A converging trend of public and private sector sharing the financial burden  Need for more choice to households and communities in terms of programs, services and products