m~c t~nea ciwr engTheef~ Łt~ co~~munlLv lewe~ oat-trcwat~art
Pt~otaCowteSy Tanm WThnt Sanoft rvcc’t
Role of NCOS in community Based Disaster Preparedness
14K JaM
JCIIU AssistantS Centre
•Worid/sirrcreaslnqJ~beinq tflreatenedbyiarqe scale disasters třqqered byPanrds. i~thic1i wm have k)r’q temineqflws socJa~ eCOr?on-rfC a~7d wwmnmenta~ consequences an gjt societies and hamper our capacity to ensurs Sustainable development am~i Investment particutatly in developing wrrntfler
rCenev~ ~an ci are ory Disaster Rawer/on JuM 199W
For a safer world FO 2lW Century, the vision envisJo-ned
LtlSfl rs;
TO enable air commuruties to hecom~ resilient to tfle
effects of naturaL techt~a!o9lca1 Inc envfronmental hazarcs~ reducing me compound risks thej~ F)ose to social and economic vuinerabiJitles With modern societLe~.
To proceed from protectLon against hazards to the
cnan~ciemeflt of risk through the Inte~rEIon of risk
prevention and sustainabEe tlevelopment
On December i~ 1939 [fle WI General As5en1tpi~j. while
proclaiming 1990s as me International IJecade for Natural
Oisater Reduction asiced nations throughout the worM to give special aftentiori to proçrammcs and projects
desp~rt~d to reduce 4055 of life, txopefly damage, *FtCI
eCOr~Om~c aid svc’a1 dFsruptIon caused by natural
cfisastert This Oroclamati on caine on the basis of a report
t]%~t was based on the Das~c premise much that 15 knewn 15 nOt unFVefSallV applied in me context Of disastest The resolution prop oseii several innovative apDroacfles
incLuling~
1. A shift In emphasis to nredisaster plan nthg ani preparedness;
2. PUCIIC ecJuat4on~ anc
3. Enhancement of organIzational strengths and training of 5PeCIaPL5~.
The UNDRO while outllnln9 what can he done to achSve the above clearly stated that none of the
ore~tentivs and protective measures will be fully effective
without u-re lnform~d IFarticiDatiin Of Ene whole comrrninity, On the en of UN WCr~ Conference on
Dlsastei teductlon En Yokohama LM~y~ 1SM~, a MARC
study clearly uutilneer the limitation oc the
Government iystetn and called for a çreater role for 1100 sector. The Conference itleif wtrened that caPacity building and eoucation at au levels have
an knportant role to play in the development of a culrtjre of Dreventlon by ~nsuririg a two-way Fkiw of lflfcwrnatlcn kietween decision makers and communities at rIsk,
Prnaredness at Comn2uritty Level
Sc ~ar a~ India Is concerned a distinct national capability exists in terms of tecnnoiog~es for monitoring Dredict ion and forecasting. relief administration. safe nousing and Shelters, clsveiOumeflt of suitable Infrastructure, Howe’iter, despite Vie fact that we suffer from perhaos tne larcjest nLtrnber Of drsa~tecs rouna the veal these caoabiiities have not Deco me nations capability that woulc~ enacie action for mitigating disaster lrrrDact at local level wrth Jo-cal re~oijrce~ whicfl may be supplemented by outside support wnen the impacc causes cama~e bevon~ the local resources,
Panchavati I~aJ institutions ha~re Come Into
existence arid can play an increasingly Important
role l~ buiidinq up disaster re~liient local commtirtities. This however Is possible only with cortcelteG efForts and
conscious Poilcy at top level.
mat towards the end Of th~ decade We are still deDattrlQ
the need for preparedness at community letret Is ‘niicative Of mucft yreater ef-Forts needed in the rpe)ct rnhiieniurri IraweNGOsaone anytning otnernian providing
food. clothing. shelter or even medicines Dun rr~ trie emergency phase~ as a matter ~f relief? Are they realty capable of taking up responsib(lltles in preparedness actkuties? We must concede that this mc not yet become a priority agenda For most Woos. Pertiaps di~e to lacEr cia ciear ooi~cy and lack of Fundrnq most Government schemes encourage NICO participation tri fields Likm environment, adult education, hearth care, development ano issues connected with women, youth, children. aged iM the poc’rIbacicwards.
I wT5h to give beicw few exan~ples of the Work clone by NODS Jn other areas:
1. N~tJon~L institute Of Amateur Radio t~ased zn
1-lyderabad ~‘ave in July, 1999 Fauncherj a ilambulance aimed at prchrijjing emergency Care ailti carrying a mobJie amateur radio station This would fulfill the neea for effectlye cornmunlcaticm and prompt relieF of medical nature. sum a scheme has aeen launched under me provisions of Menthers of P~11a merit Local Area Development Scheme
2 Ahmedabad Study Actioll Group nave undeflMen an appropriate tecnnoiogy Oevelopment project foFiow’n~ the Latur €artllciualce. Iliey have now developed a shake cable located in the Viflages that is carried oct trie roiier wneeis and can ce gwen horizontal thrust egrrlyalent to various earth Ciuake magniwdes. This can test shde-by•slde the trařltronal flous}n~ qtrucwres and structures wrtn tfle earthciuake
MEMBERS OF THE NETWORK
AND INSTITUTIONAL RESOURCES
DETAILS OF PARTNERS
resistant features, by applying forces to half-scale models. They have even produced educational material and a video - ‘Seeing is Beileving. The ASAG Team undertakes a three month long awareness building campaign in earthquake affected areas in Chamoli region.
3. JAC based in Gurgaon collaborated with a food manufacturer to develop ‘disaster food’. It was developed duly packed in food quality tins and long shelf life. The food meets the requirements of WHO standards for calorie intake in relief situations and the nutrition standards set by National Institute of Nutrition. The food was developed specific to the tastes prevalent in four regions of India i.e. East, W~5t, South and North. itwas tested in laboratories and presented in samples to the First World Assembly of NGO5 for Disaster Reduction held in Kathmandu in October, 1996.
4. JAC was again involved in a National Programme of Community Hazard Mapping as a tool for Disaster Preparedness at the school level. A programme that was commended by the UN/IDNDR as a Low Cost Activity capable of replication.
S. JAC has been involved in conducting studies on community based disaster preparedness and have organised training courses In Nepal and in India at Pune, Dehradun and Deoria.
6. Centre for Rural Developed based in Guntur has devoted the HUDCO Building Centre to promoting disaster resistant technologies. lnfact, H1JDCO beginning with uttarkashi Earthquake (1991) have almost throughout the decade setup large number of Building Centres in disaster prone belts.
7. During the World Conference at Yokohama (19941, NGOs from six continents got together and established Global Forum of NGO5 for Disaster Reduction. It initiated several schemes like, twinning for Disaster Reduction, Volunteers for Disaster Prevention, Register for Disaster Resources, It works within the framework of the 10MW and in close co-operation with it.
8. Several International NGO5 in consultation with large number of individuals, researchers, agencies have evolved a ‘Code of Conduct’ for Relief Agencies, established principles for People in Aid and have developed a human charter for Disaster Response and Minimum Standards in Relief. These are landmark documents that will perhaps, in times to come, will be Quoted like the Geneva Convention.
community Based Preparedness Planning
Any community is a reflection of our society in terms of their culture and behaviour patterns. Hence in the event of a disaster for calculated response some sort of a plan is essential. While details could be spelt out to the minutest point, yet essentially any DBDP would be:
1. Clearly perceived hazard and development of hazard profile of the community and its neighbourhoods.
2. Assessment of risk and vulnerability.
3. Identification of individual and community resources.
4. Identification of gaps and knowledge or resources that will impede effective emergency response.
5. Like any other plan it must be clear and simple, specific in details, define duties and responsibilities of each member, earmark various escape roots and locate shelter sites.
6. Since no community can be 100 per cent self sufficient for an effective response, identification of resources and development of mutual aid agreements with neighbouring resource providers, is vital.
7. Periodical mock drills to test the plan and update it are of paramount importance. Since community is a dynamic entity, no plan can be a static document.
8. The plan has to be written and in order that we do not have to refer to the document when emergency arises, a simple concise ‘checklist’ Is needed.
“Communities resp ondto their real prior/ties in the context oF a/I the constraints they face, Including socia4 economic and political pressures, whereas outside experts never see the fuil picture. sy itself, community capacity is not suffIcient for effective disaster mitigation. Hut it/s a vita/part of any integrated and sustainable disaster mitigation strategy. With the changing nature and the increasing intensity of the impact of disasters, community efforts barriers to the cu/i real/sat/on of community efFOfls’~.
conclusion
It is the NGO5, by virtue of their proximity to the people and their comparative flexibility in operations, that are better suited to work in the area of community based disaster preparedness, than the Government or the Government organised NGOs IGONGO5I. Herein lies the key for making it a safer world in 21~ century. JAC, a voiuntary agency with over two decades of work in the area of prevention and preparedness and having developed a unique resource centre is willing to play its part in building up local capability to cope with the disasters, with or without external assistance.