Disaster Risk Reduction:

Beyond Microcredit?
Presented By: Rusty Binas

Beyond Microcredit: A Wholistic Approach to Poverty Eradication

Orientation on Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction
Apo view Hotel, Davao City
July 29-30, 2010
Who is Cordaid

• 80 years emergency aid and

structural poverty
eradication;

• Almost 1000 partners in 36

countries;

• Annual budget Euro 170m,

of which Euro 30m for
emergency aid

• Netherlands based
UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

Hyogo Conference on Disaster Reduction for

January 18-22, 2005
December 26, 2004

Tsunami hit the

Indian Ocean
Land Mark January 18-22, 2005

UN’s International Strategy for Disaster Reduction’s

Hyogo Framework for Action (2005-2015):

Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities
168 Countries Adopted

UN’s International Strategy

for Disaster Reduction’s
Hyogo Framework for
Action (2005-2015):
Building the Resilience of
Nations and Communities
 Hyogo Framework for Action
1. Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a
local priority with strong basis for implementation

2. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risk and

enhance early warning

3. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a

culture of safety and resilience at all levels

4. Reduce the underlying risk factor

5. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective

response at all levels
world development
direction was
shifted from
poverty reduction
to disaster risk
reduction.
 The Millennium
Development Goal
(MDG) is now being
defined by the UN
agencies from the DRR
perspective. Their
thesis is that the MDG
will never be attained
unless disaster risk is
address.

“As long as these risks is

not being reduce,
achieving progress in
poverty reduction,
social equity
improvements and
sustainable economic
growth may be
seriously jeopardized”.
UN System Moving Towards DRR

UNDP, UNICEF, ISDR, UN-OCHA and etc.

are all talking about DRR. Some are
expanding their program scope others created
a position for DRR.
 Financial Institutions Shifted Gears Too!

World Bank – Provention consortium (in the 1990’s) – specifically

created to understand disaster and networking group to facilitate
disaster preparedness and quick response.

Year 2006, IDB (Inter-American Development Bank)

circulated their DRR policy for consultation… is a new Disaster
Risk Management Policy
(http://www.iadb.org/sds/ENV/site_2970_e.htm). This policy is
intended to improve the Bank's ability to assist the borrowing
member countries in the attainment of their development goals in
sustainable economic growth, poverty reduction and promotion of
social equity, by supporting their efforts to proactively manage
disaster risk. It will replace in its entirety the current Natural and
Unexpected Disasters Policy (OP-704), which was approved in
1999.

Asian Development Bank – Set up their desk on DRR (first

quarter of 2006)
NGO’s enriching themselves in DRR

• The ECB Project - Inter-agency Working

Group on Emergency Capacity: Since March
2005, these agencies and their partners are
jointly addressing issues of staff capacity,
accountability and impact measurement, risk
reduction and the use of information and
communications technology in emergencies,
with the aim of improving the speed, quality
and effectiveness of emergency response.
For further information, visit
www.ecbproject.org
Donor Agencies Open Windows for Funding

Austria
Belgium: Caritas Catholica Belgica
England and Wales : CAFOD and Caritas - Social Action
Germany
Ireland - where the Caritas agency is Trócaire
Poland
Portugal
Scotland - where the Caritas agency is SCIAF
Switzerland
The Netherlands - where the Caritas agency is CORDAID
United States - Catholic Relief Services
Canada - Développment et Paix /Development and Peace - Caritas Canada
Australia

DFID, GTZ, European Union, etc….

So What is DRR
Building from the assumptions
Is Disaster Natural?
Disaster is an act of man
People have control
Number of disasters registered in EM-DAT
(Emergency Events Data Base)
1900 - 2005
Causes of disasters are closely associated with
unsustainable development patterns which
increase the risk faced by large sectors of society.
Its all about changing power relations, decisions
making, access to resources…
It tackles unresolved issues in
development and centered around
capacity development and
releasing peoples potentials.

the end state is people become

resilient
DRR espouses building resilient
communities, guided by the
following principles:

Recognition that
communities have
accumulated
knowledge in
addressing hazard
events and
navigating from
their adverse
conditions
 DRR Principles

Recognition that communities are survivors

rather than victims
DRR Principles

Recognition that basic

rights are foundation of
safety
DRR Principles

Recognition that
community
organizations are
mechanism for
successful disaster
risk reduction
initiatives and that the
government is a major
player
DRR Principles

Recognition that
communities have
to take
responsibility for
their most at risk
members
DRR Principles

Recognition that it is
the communities that
decide if they are in a
state of disaster: if
they could not cope
and need outside
help or they can
cope and have the
capacity to face the
challenge
DRR Principles

Recognition that resiliency

is not merely accumulated
physical assets or secured
livelihood. Resiliency is
the will to survive and
claim his/her rights to be
members of just and
equitable society.
Clarifying the dividing line
 Clarifying the dividing line
DRR DM

Towards resilient Towards saving

individuals, family, more lives and
community, society reducing the
and nations… impact of the
resolving the hazard
unsustainable
development
patterns
 Clarifying the dividing line
DRR DM
Activities
Building the foundation of safety: Systems in place to save
through activities that will espouse basic lives and reduce the damage
rights to be fully delivered.

Building disaster risk reduction

measures; through activities that will
reduce disaster risk such as hazard
prevention and mitigation and
eliminating or reducing vulnerability
from the hazard through building
individual survivability and community
readiness
 Clarifying the dividing line
DRR DM
When hazard events strikes:
All internal capacities are being use to All actions that will use
cope from the hazard events. No need external help beside internal
for external help because internally capacities
have capacities to cope. Hazard Insiders could not cope that
management! need outside help
If all the set up contingency
plan requires further
assistance from the outside,
resource mobilization from
the outside is activated
Damage assessment and needs analysis is a
determinant if the situation is to be declared disaster Emergency Response
– meaning community needs an outside help because
the situation is beyond their capacity
An emerging framework for
development and a tool
 Hazard

Those based in nature: earthquakes,

droughts, floods, avalanches, etc.
Those based in violence: war, armed
conflict, physical assault, etc.
Those based in deterioration:
declining health, education and other
social services; environmental
degradation, etc.
Those based in the failing of
industrialized society: technological
failures, oil spillage, factory explosions,
fires, gas leakages, transport collisions.
Vulnerability
Is hazard specific and in the eyes of a hazard we
are equally vulnerable if we are living in the same
location but the capacity to cope is another story
 Releasing Potential Power of
the People
Capacities refers to individual and
collective strength and resources that
can be enhanced, mobilized and
accessed, to allow individuals and
communities to shape their future by
reducing their disaster risk
“People are the foundation of a nation.
Our only chance for a lasting peace on
earth: the release of the strength of the
common man.” Human Ascent
Dr. YC James Yen
Resolving underlying causes
of disaster risk
Capacities are analyzed
as the interaction of the
resources and access
to these resources by
the different groups at
risk and the
overarching systems
and structures that
decrease or increase
the capacity to confront
the disaster risk.
 We want to see the framework of
development and a tool applied at the
community level…our center of gravity
Community Managed…How?

“Relief breeds
parasites…release develop
partners”

“True independence is not a

gift to be received. It can’t
be hand out to people. It
must be an achievement of
the people”
Dr. Y.C. James Yen
“Operations without
research is stagnant,
Research without
operations is sterile”
It means… people analyzed their risk and translated this
into disaster risk reduction measures. A functional
community organization emerging to implement the DRR
plan and an M &E & Learning system that measures
that indeed disaster risk is reduced.
Time O
2 Risk Reduction Measures
Time End

Risk Assessment And Analysis • Development Plan

1 • Contingency Plan
4 Tools to
measure if
Risk is

3 reduced?

Community organizations who will implement the plan

 WHY? Because
•Disaster are local.
•People in the community themselves are the
affected and the first responders
•Global Warming …Climate adaptation happens
locally
•People are the foundation of nation etc…
Because we are resolved that if it works
DISASTER will become a history
But the challenge is how to make this a
reality at the community level
in our context we
have layers to
reach at the
community level
Engaging Sustainable Structure

Community Support System

Government, NGOs

Stronger

Implementing Partner Organization

with appropriate channel and accompaniment
---actions in the ground will happen
 We will probably see that it can be
done…this is the time that we become
irrelevant
DRR Cordaid Strategic
Programming
Started in 2004

Climate hazards + other hazards

All similar approach, however

implementation in practice
depends on local situation

Different levels: community, partner,

local government, other
stakeholders

Being mainstream in other sectors

e.g. Health, Microenterprise…
The Role of Microfinance and MFIs
Building upon
community resiliency
through developing and
facilitating financial
products that would
help individual and
community to survive
and bounce back

e.g. savings, crop

insurance, risk
assessment, inclusion
of high risk individuals
Why it is important for MFIs and
their client
Hazard Resistant/Resilient
• MFIs products
• Client investment

Resiliency is not economic

empowerment alone

Disaster can be prevented.

The Road to Disaster Resilience is far from over…
Thank You Very Much!