Basic Concepts of DRRR

• Disaster risk reduction (DRR)

  Reducing and preventing disaster risks
• DRR is founded on the principle that while hazards are inevitable, its adverse effects like lost lives and/or destruction of property are not
• There are steps that we can do to ensure reduction of risks. DRR actions can be political, technical, social and economic
• Disasters


  A result of the combination of: exposure to a hazard; conditions of vulnerability that are present; and insufficient capacity or measures to reduce or cope with the potential negative consequences
• Disaster Impacts


  • Loss of life
  • Injury
  • Disease
  • Other negative effects on human, physical, mental and social well-being
  • Damage to property
  • Destruction of assets
  • Loss of services
  • Social and economic disruption
  • Environmental degradation
• Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)

  The concept and practice of reducing disaster risks through analysis and management of the causal factors of disasters
• DRR leads to


  • Reduced exposure to hazards
  • Lessening of vulnerability of people and assets
  • Effective management of land and the environment
  • Improved preparedness for adverse events
• DRR usually requires long-term planning across sectors and must be integrated into general national and regional development strategies
• DRR strategies usually begin with plans for assessing

  • Hazards and risks that threaten the target area
  • Extent of harm that would occur to communities and infrastructure
  • Vulnerable people's capacities to cope with and recover from possible disasters
• Key Principles of DRRM

  Explain the urgency of creating a DRRM plan and why certain changes have to be made
• Development can either increase or decrease disaster risk
• DRRM policies, laws, and regulations can save lives if properly and strictly implemented in the community
• The main objective of DRRM is to build a resilient community
• Elements of Disaster Risk Reduction

  • Prevention
  • Mitigation
  • Adaptation
  • Preparedness
  • Response
  • Recovery
• Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) education is crucial for all communities living in disaster prone areas
• Disaster risk reduction is vital for building a more equitable and sustainable future
• Five priorities identified for action

  • Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority
  • Identify, assess, and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning systems
  • Use knowledge, innovation, and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels
  • Reduce the underlying risk factors
  • Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response and recovery at all levels, from the local to the national
• Responsibility for disaster risk management does not lie with disaster managers alone. It is rather a concern for everyone - from citizens who must be empowered to make decisions which reduce risk, to political leaders, government institutions, the private sector, civil society organizations, professional bodies, and scientific and technical institutions
• Risk communication must be clear and simple. It is essential for everyone to be better prepared when disaster and crisis hit
• Every organization and government engaged in disaster risk reduction awareness must plan and communicate harmonized messages – a key element to avoid confusion
• A disaster risk reduction approach helps us consider our emergency response activities in light of existing and new disaster risks
• DRR approaches and tools will prevent relief work from rebuilding the vulnerabilities that made people prone to similar disasters
• Community-based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM)


  The active engagement in identifying, analyzing, treating, monitoring and evaluating disaster risk to ease vulnerabilities and enhancing the capacities of at-risk communities
• Community can be defined as

  • Geographically: a cluster of households, a small village, or a neighborhood in a town
  • Shared experience: particular interest groups, ethnic groups, professional groups, language groups, particular hazard-exposed groups
  • Sector: farmers, fisherfolk, business sector
• Nobody can understand local opportunities and constraints better than the local communities themselves who therefore need to be involved in the identification and resolution of disaster vulnerability issues
• Nobody is more interested in understanding local affairs than the community whose survival and well-being is at stake
• The aim of CBDRM is to reduce vulnerabilities and to strengthen peoples' capacity to cope with the disaster risks they face
• CBDRM should lead to general improvement in people's quality of life and the natural environment
• The community is the key actor as well as the primary beneficiary of the disaster risk management process
• CBDRM brings together the many local communities and even national stakeholders for disaster risk management to expand its resource base
• Lessons learned from practice continue to build into the theory of CBDRM
• CBDRM recognizes that different people have different perceptions of risk
• Different individuals, families and groups in the community have different vulnerabilities and capacities
• Characteristics of Community-based Disaster Risk Management

  • It looks at disaster as a question of vulnerability
  • It recognizes people's existing capacities and aims to strengthen them
  • It contributes to addressing the roots of people's vulnerabilities and transforming or removing the social structures generating inequity and underdevelopment
  • It considers people's participation as essential factor to disaster risk reduction
  • It puts premium on the organizational capacities of vulnerable sectors
  • It mobilizes the less vulnerable sectors into partnerships with vulnerable sectors in DRR and development projects
• Disaster


  Serious disruption of the functioning of society, causing widespread human, material or environmental losses, which exceed the ability of the affected people to cope using their own resources
• High-Intensity Low-Frequency Disasters


  Highly destructive intensive disasters responsible for the vast majority of global mortality and direct economic loss but only occur relatively infrequently in any one place
• High-frequency Low-intensity Disasters


  Slowly evolving localized disasters, which tend to manifest themselves frequently and their effects are felt cumulatively
• Disaster Management


  A collective term encompassing all aspects of planning for, preparing and responding to disasters and refers to the management of the consequences of disasters and includes all the pre and post disaster interventions
• Hazard


  A dangerous phenomenon, substance, human activity or condition that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage
• Disasters


  Slowly evolving localized disasters, which tend to manifest themselves frequently and their effects are felt cumulatively