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Improved Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis for Community-Based Disaster Mitigation

Funder: European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO).

Project holder: South Bank University.

Dr Nick Hall Nick.Hall@plan-international.org

Principal BHRC Researcher: Roger Bellers.

Duration: one year (1998-9).

The project evaluated methods that are used to assess communities' vulnerability to disasters and capacity for dealing with them. This included evaluating participatory techniques used by agencies working on long-term development projects, which could be adapted for vulnerability assessment. During the one-year pilot phase, which was funded by ECHO, methods were assessed in three countries: India, the Philippines and Kenya. The locations were chosen to provide a range of hazard types, social structures and political systems - all factors that affect the viability of community-based and participatory methods. The local partners for this phase were the Disaster Mitigation Institute (India), Citizens’ Disaster Response Center (Philippines) and Drought Preparedness Intervention and Recovery Programme (DPIRP) (Kenya).

The original aim of the project was to carry out more case studies and produce a 'toolkit' of methods, comprising a set of principles, training materials, case studies and working guidelines, to be distributed to partners and other operational organizations, training agencies, documentation centres and academic institutions. However, ECHO’s support was confined to the pilot phase and the additional funding required could not be found.

Reports and other documents from the pilot phase can be downloaded below:

• Bhatt M (n.d.) Measuring and Managing Vulnerability: A Case for Influencing Public Policy. 6pp



• Hall N (n.d.) The Perception of Risk at Local Levels and Ways to Measure Community Vulnerability. 9pp.



• Bhatt M (n.d.) Investing in Vulnerability Reduction Tools. 4pp.



• Disaster Mitigation Institute (1999) Urban Risk Assessment Tools: Preliminary Status Report
  • Part A. 13pp.
  • Part B. 13pp.
  • Part C. 7pp.
  • Part D. 14pp.
  
  
  
• Citizens’ Disaster Response Center (n.d.), untitled report on risk assessment methods
  • Part A. 11pp.
  • Part B. 6pp.
  • Part C. 6pp.
  • Part D. 4pp.
  
  
  
• (1999) Preliminary Status Report: Drought Preparedness, Intervention and Recovery Programme (DPIRP) [Kenya]. 50pp.



• Untitled notes on 3 participatory vulnerability analysis tools (n.d.). 4pp.



• Disaster Mitigation Institute (1999) Review of Action Planning Tools. 7pp.



• Project report to ECHO (1999). 9pp.