Proactive risk management involves the continuous development of community capacities to monitor and manage risk on an ongoing basis, instead of solely relying on the provision of relief to cope with its impact. This is particularly relevant in the context of recurring risks that are unpredictable (e.g., natural disasters) such that community members need to be constantly prepared to manage them as a way of life.
In these instances, active participation of community members to manage risk is necessary to enhance the preparedness and sustainability of the community risk management efforts. Ensuring sustainability requires systems for embedding risk management training, mapping risk at the household level and engaging community members on the ground to monitor and manage risk.
- SIntroduce curriculums in schools or other educational institutions to teach and remind students how to assess and manage risk. Allow community members to tailor and share their local knowledge on risk management, according to their needs and capabilities, see Case Study 2.4a.
- Invite older persons with experiences and knowledge in managing the risk (e.g., flood survivor) to share in schools. These sharing sessions do not need to be confined to textbook knowledge and can be carried out through role play or drills in actual community settings.
In Thailand, communities are allowed to tailor their own Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) module. Older adults take part in the educational curriculum as subject experts for disaster risk management in schools.
- Collaborate with academics or other professionals to conduct comprehensive assessment of risk and needs of community members. This assessment should be mapped to the geospatial locations to guide outreach, and recovery efforts. See Case Study 2.4b on geospatial mapping of risk in Ban San Klang, Thailand to aid flood management efforts.
- Build platform and guidelines for sharing of these data among community members and organizations working for the community
Geospatial mapping of risk that households along the river in Chiang Mai, Thailand face due to floods, on Google map with the help of village volunteers, FODPEV and local academics. Household risk was color-coded depending on vulnerability of members living there (e.g., disabled, older person with high, medium, or low risk), with exact GPS coordinates of each household to aid rescue and relief operations. Healthcare workers can use it to identify older persons at risk and provide interventions where necessary.
Availability of information on the needs according to geospatial locations makes a difference in life and death situations, as it informs outreach and rescue efforts, as well as planning for recovery.
- Set up informal resident work groups at different geographical levels to collect data that can be used for geospatial mapping and disseminate information to manage risk.
- Appoint informal community leaders within each workgroup to drive meetings and participation of other residents. See Case Study 2.4c for more details on the purok system in Philippines which was set up to do so.
- Link informal leaders to relevant committees within government agencies and other community organizations addressing the same issue. Given their experience, these leaders are likely to have local practical knowledge of existing vulnerabilities and on what works and does not work to manage the risk. They can be the eyes and years (or knowledgeable informants) of their community and help agencies to understand on-the-ground realities and needs to identify appropriate solutions; see Case Study 2.4d of how local place experts were tapped on to protect heritage and address cultural displacement in Chinatown, Singapore.
Disaster risk management committees are formed at the Purok level in Philippines, who take care of 20-50 or more households within a division at the barangay level. These committees disseminate early warning about upcoming disasters, assist in evacuation, as well as maintain relationships with members to gather information and help in risk management. Each purok leader has census data of households under his or her zone.
To protect local heritage in Chinatown, Singapore, the National Heritage Board, and other agencies in Singapore engages local experts to conduct community walking tours and train other tour docents to tell stories about Chinatown. Knowledgeable about the people and heritage at risk in their neighbourhoods, these place experts help government agencies like NHB to better understand local needs, and support community efforts to preserve heritage.
Having an informal system to engage community members in monitoring risk and connect community leaders to government agencies increases the flow of information and the effectiveness of national level policymaking in risk management. More active efforts are required to develop and motivate community leaders on the ground, see Good Practice 2.6 for more details.
Involvement of members in regular risk monitoring hones the Community’s Skills (CC8), knowledge and capacities to cope and adapt to risks that they face. Moreover, it strengthens members’ sense of community wherein they experience first-hand each other’s challenges, efforts, and successes in risk management to create a stronger bond among them. This Sense of Community (CC4), coupled with community skills and knowledge (CC8) boosts the community’s collective efficacy (CC2) (CC3?) and Emergency Preparedness (CC9). Development of these capacities in turn increases the sustainability of community risk management efforts.
- While data sharing can promote collaboration and aid relief operations, data protection guidelines should be put in place to protect the confidentiality of personal data. For example, setting of passwords and differentiated access across groups of users etc.
- Disaster management during peacetime should also take a holistic perspective to increase resilience and livelihoods at the individual level, so community members can contribute to risk management efforts at the community level.
from javascript
from javascript