Community early warning systems: back to basics
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Natasha Marie UDU-GAMA1, Frank THOMALLA2, Michelle CARNEGIE2 1Macquarie University, Australia; 2Macquarie University, Australia
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Community early warning systems: back to basics
- 1. Community Early Warning Systems: Back to Basics Natasha Udu-gama, Frank Thomalla, PhD, Michelle Carnegie, PhD TUE1.4: Early warning in disaster risk reduction IDRC Davos 28 August 2012 1
- 2. Project Overview Thesis hypothesis: Local partnerships may support effective and sustainable community multi-hazard early warning systems in the Asia-Pacific region. Aim: To demonstrate whether community partnerships support effective and sustainable CEWS. Goals: 1. CEWS 2. Partnerships 3. Social Capital 2
- 3. Community Early Warning Systems Community-based People Centred Community-managed Community-driven 3
- 4. Characteristics of CEWS Element Reason Target-group and location specific All must know. Message must reach everyone (focus on the most vulnerable) & be clearly understood. Multidimensional analysis Inclusive of a variety of key factors Investment in DRR EW will not work with prior investment in DRR Build on existing local structures Increased likelihood of sustainability Build on existing and appropriate Info must be presented in a form that people information systems recognize and understand using the most accessible media Local ownership Increases effectiveness and long-term sustainability Multifunctional Increases sense of ownership & sustainability if used for sensible purposes beyond warning 4
- 5. Next Steps Study partnership efficacy and sustainability in Bangladesh with two multi-stakeholder initiatives Semi-structured interviews Focus group discussions Understand contributions of social capital and participation in CEWS ownership, effectiveness and sustainability Development of a community partnership framework for CEWS 5
- 6. Thank you! References: Action Aid. ND. Successful People-Centred Early Warning Systems: 10 Essential Ingredients. Online: http://www.actionaid.org.uk/doc_lib/238_1_10_points_on_people_centred_early_warning_syste ms.pdf Basher, Reid. 2008. Global early warning systems for natural hazards: systematic and people- centred. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. 364:2167-2182. IFRC (2005).Community Based Early Warning Systems: The Challenge of Sustainability. International Coordination Meeting for the Development of a Tsunami Warning System for the Indian Ocean within a Global Framework. Paris: 3-5 March 2005. IFRC, forthcoming. Global Guidelines for Community Early Warning Systems. Geneva. Rogers, David and Vladimir Tsirkunov. Implementing Hazard Early Warning Systems. GFDRR:Washington, DC. Online: http://www.gfdrr.org/gfdrr/sites/gfdrr.org/files/Implementing_Early_Warning_Systems.pdf UNISDR (2006). Developing Early Warning Systems: A Checklist. EWC III: From Concept to Action. PPEW: Bonn. 1-13. 6 natasha.udu-gama@mq.edu.au
Editor's Notes
- Despite international and national efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of natural hazards upon the lives and livelihoods of communities at-risk, many are still unable to adequately cope with hazards. It is now well recognized that disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts are critical to mitigating these ill effects and, since the number of high profile disasters like the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami has escalated, early warning systems are considered necessary and important. Despite this, many existing EWS are disjointed, ineffective and unsustainable since few have genuinely managed to address multiple community vulnerabilities and priorities, and to link local hazard knowledge and skills with sustainable technology, financial and human resources. As climate-related hazards have increased in magnitude, frequency and severity in many parts of the world, the call for community EWS (CEWS) has become louder. Good morning, everyone… My name is Natasha Udu-gama, I’m PhD candidate at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.
- This presentation is based on a paper that is part of my thesis “Building Community Resilience through Early Warning Systems: Role of Community Partnerships”The thesis hypothesizes that local partnerships may support effective and sustainable multi-hazard CEWS in the Asia-Pacific region.The aim is to demonstrate whether community partnerships do support effective and sustainable multi-hazard CEWSThe purpose of this presentation is to explore the role of community in community early warning systems (CEWS)How does community participation in CEWS contribute to the overall resilience of a community in the face of natural hazards? How are partnerships manifestations of community participation?Can they ensure ownership, effectiveness and sustainability of CEWS?Community role in CEWS is based on several assumptions:That a community at-risk recognizes the risks it faces and requests for a CEWS to be implementedThe community at-risk has the capacity and relevant resources to participate “meaningfully” in the CEWSThe community at-risk is aware and believes that mitigation, in the form of a CEWS, is useful.
- Different organizations give CEWS various monikers and the reason stems from the level of participation that the communities have in the system.What is most important to note about these various terms for CEWS is that:Community is always centralCommunity can participate in various ways – the lowest levels being community-based (where systems are established by an external actor) or highest levels of participation (community-driven – where communities participate in all stagesPeople-centred recommends a multi-stakeholder approach (partnership)Communities may not always have the capacity and understanding to participate in CEWS, thus it is important to understand community needs, priorities and capacities and determine how the community at-risk might best be involved.Each denote various stages of empowerment
- These are the fundamental characteristics of CEWS as described by a number of different organizations. My work in Sri Lanka a few years ago was primarily concerned with appropriate technologies that would be target- and location-specific, build on existing/appropriate information systems and multifunctional. This present research builds upon that background in trying to understand how and why local ownership is important and what factors are key in achieving it under the premise that partnership is an important means of integrating multiple sectors crucial to comprehensive CEWS.
- Next week, I travel to Bangladesh for fieldwork which will entail a number a semi-structured interviews with partners within two case studies that are partnerships tasked with achieving CEWS. The first case study is a GPS early warning system for floods and cyclones for fishermen in Cox’s Bazar (southern Bangladesh) and the second is a mobile early warning system in 14 coastal districts of Bangladesh. In each of the two locations – Cox’s Bazar and Faridpur – I will be conducting focus group discussions with community members to understand:Social capital and what aspects of it contributed to the community becoming part of the partnership;What benefits and contributions the communities receive and make within the partnership;Whether the structure of the partnership lends to greater community ownership and effectiveness and sustainability of CEWS.It is expected that the data collected will contribute to the development of a partnership framework for community early warning systems.
- Before I turn it over for questions, I’d like to pose one to the audience. Is anyone in the audience or known to the audience involved or plans to be involved in a partnership focusing upon CEWS? Since this is a newly emerging field with few examples, I would very much appreciate if I could chat with you to learn more about your particular partnership. Please meet me after today’s session. Thank you for your kind attention.