DSMG 29001 Disaster Risk Reduction Report 2
Based on the findings from Assessment One, write a report that identifies and develops appropriate disaster risk reduction strategies and propose measures to mitigate or reduce the identified risks tailored to your chosen community. Prioritise an intervention/s that target the root causes of vulnerability, enhance community resilience to disasters, and include appropriate stakeholders in the chosen community.
Your report should be 2000 words (10% deviation accepted) and address, at a minimum, the following points:
1. Propose specific disaster risk reduction strategies aligned with the Sendai Framework principles.
2. Discuss how these strategies can be implemented at the community level.
3. Address the unique challenges and opportunities associated with the community& geographical, socioeconomic, and cultural context.
4. Identify relevant stakeholders, including professional agencies, businesses, and community groups, who contribute to your disaster risk reduction strategies and resilience.
5. Describe how you would engage these stakeholders in your strategies and the risk reduction process.
Your report should be 2000 words and must include the following:
• Minimum of four (4) different references
• The four (4) references must be peer-reviewed sources. You are free to use additional non-peer-reviewed sources.
A country of 1,190 islands, the Maldivian people live in danger from both natural and man-made threats (Magnan and Duvat, 2020). The island country of the Maldives and its people are in real danger from storms, possible floods, climate change, global warming, and pollution. The goal of this report is to give the people of the Maldives disaster risk reduction (DRR) plans for intervention and prevention that will work with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. The report will also talk about how these strategies can be used in real life at the community level. It will also talk about the unique features of the Maldives' geography, socioeconomic situation, and cultural setting. Finally, it will list possible stakeholders that can be involved in future interactions.
There are four main goals in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. They are to better understand disasters and learn about their risks, to improve the way disaster risks are managed and to promote disaster risk reduction, to put more money into disaster risk reduction, and to make people better prepared to deal with disasters (Carrington, Ranse, and Hammad, 2021).
Figure 1: Sendai Framework
(Source: Carrington, Ranse and Hammad, 2021)
• Risk Assessment and Mapping: Coordinate the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to find areas that are most likely to be affected by disasters like floods, coastal erosion, and bad weather (Tomaszewski, 2020). To help find these places, a map will need to show details about rising sea levels, storm surges, and how vulnerable infrastructure is.
• Community Awareness Programs: Make sure that events are held from time to time to remind the people of the Maldives of the dangers that come with climate change, pollution, and other risks. These campaigns should talk about both present threats and possible future effects, such as the fact that islands might not be able to support people anymore.
• Policy Development: Improve the policies that are already in place for infrastructure and the environment so that they are more DRR-friendly. Also, rules should be put in place that say all big projects must include an environmental impact assessment (EIA), especially ones that involve tourists and building on the coast (Albris, Lauta, and Raju, 2020).
• Institutional Coordination: Constitution of a one stop DRR agency made up of government department, NGOs and community-based organization. This body would be responsible for coordination of implementation of the framework at national and local level to avoid fragmentation of effort for MBA assignment expert.
• Infrastructure Resilience: Protection against flooding, managing water, and making buildings and structures safe in case of disasters (Imperiale and Vanclay, 2021). They should push for the repair of infrastructure to make it more resistant to natural disasters and impacts of global warming like storm surge.
• Sustainable Tourism Development: Adopt tourism activities that are good for the earth and do less damage to it, like managing plastics and carbon footprints.
The tourism activities that are good for the nature and the people who live there should be supported.
• Emergency Response Planning: Make and update backup plans that should be used at the community level, like escape routes, shelters, and ways for people to get in touch with each other (Zuccaro, Leone, and Martucci, 2020). Such ideas need to be tested through simulations that get more people in the community involved.
• Capacity Building: Teach first aid, search and rescue, and how to handle disasters to the local crisis response teams. Give communities the right products and
knowledge they need to deal with disasters and make it easier for them to get them.
To deal with DRR at the neighborhood level in the Maldives, it is very important to include locals in the whole process. First, risk mapping is done with the help of all the people who have a stake in the matter to find the risks that are most likely to affect them, such as changes in sea level, floods, and storms (Kelman, 2020). Participatory risk mapping also makes sure that the data gathered is accurate and based on real life. It also makes people feel more involved and like they own the process. Using both traditional information and modern tools like GIS, people can make a good risk profile of disasters that can help them decide what to do.
It is important for the community to learn about and support this kind of plan because it will only work if people are on board with it. To teach people how to be ready for disasters, it is suggested that educational programs be sensitive to different cultures and use stories, local languages, and religion (Tariq, Pathirage, and Fernando, 2021). Because of this, schools should also get credit because it is their job to teach about disasters in the classroom. Also, every once in a while, community exercises and emergency simulations are held to make sure that all residents, especially those who are more likely to be hurt, know how to get out of the area, where to go in case of an emergency, and how to survive in general. This makes the community more prepared for disasters.
Local government should have more power, and people should have a say in how building projects are planned so that they last. Also, the DRR policies should be put into place by giving local governments the tools and information they need. To make sure people are held accountable and stop corruption, these rules can be put into place with the help of community-based monitoring groups (Kelman, 2020). Also, using local workers to build durable infrastructure could not only bring in extra money, but it also makes sure that the people who built the asset own it and are responsible for keeping it safe. Putting together the native style of architecture with modern engineering creates buildings that fit in with the community's culture and can also stand up to the imminent danger.
The Maldives has its own problems with putting Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) into action because of its unique geography and social and economic situations. Because it is an island, the ocean rising and weather are the main threats to this small country. Its many islands are spread out, which makes it hard to coordinate emergency services and handle disasters over big ocean areas (Petzold and Ratter, 2019). Also, having little land makes it hard to build big facilities like hospitals and emergency camps that are used in case of disasters. This means that new methods, like floating buildings or elevated platforms, need to be used.
Since the Maldives' economy and society are so dependent on tourism, DRR comes with both dangers and opportunities. In some places, tourism is a big source of income. In others, many buildings are at risk because they were made for tourists, not crises (Quesada-Ruiz and Peña-Alonso, 2023). During the busiest tourist season, the large number of guests may put a strain on the resources that are available, making emergency management less effective. However, this reliance on tourism also opens the door to possible ways to pay for DRR steps. Because of this, the government can work with the tourism industry to build disaster-ready buildings that will protect both the people who live in the country and the tourists who come to visit.
The Maldivian people are very traditional in how they do things, which could be both a problem and a chance when it comes to DRR. If people think that modern DRR strategies are dangerous to their way of life, they are more likely to stick to old information and ways of doing things (David et al., 2021). But these traditional ties can also be used to get more people in the community involved in DRR. Religious leaders, community elders, traditional building methods, and modern engineering can all be used by the Maldives to help plan DRR in a way that fits with the culture of the people who live there. All of these steps, along with the Maldives' support for sustainable development around the world, make this a unique chance to make a DRR policy that fits the country's needs and risks.
The following stakeholders are identified as crucial to the success of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) strategies in the Maldives:
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA): Overseeing disaster risk management in the country and ensuring country fulfilment of the said frameworks like the Sendai Framework.
Ministry of Environment: Supports two components of DRR that are environmental protection and sustainable development.
Local Government Councils: Responsible for exercising policy and programme implementation in the field of DRR, along with the construction of infrastructures, and community-based preparedness programmes at the island levels (Booth et al., 2020).
Environmental NGOs: Contribute to the specific actions relevant to the causes of vulnerability which would include pollution and poor management of the environment.
Humanitarian NGOs: Some of the relatively broader aims that can be align with the objectives of an NGO engaged in disaster management are:
Private Sector:
Tourism Operators: Have a very important function in the process of sustainable tourist practices and can be involved in DRR by applying environmentally friendly patterns of their enterprises’ work and supporting community resilience programs (Booth et al., 2020).
Construction and Infrastructure Companies: It charged with the function of constructing disaster resilient infrastructure hauling strict DRR standards and criteria to avoid expansion of risk.
Community Groups:
Local Leaders and Elders: Act as opinion leaders within the chosen community about DRR activities and funds mobilization.
Youth and Women’s Groups: Fund community programs such as public awareness campaigns to ensure that all the people of the community are calamity prepared.
Stakeholders need to be active in the DRR process in order to get the country and the Maldives in particular to take long-term steps. As far as DRR actions, policies, and resources go, the local government is the most important part. This is important because it would allow local governments and administrative bodies to be involved in making DRR plans that are right for each country, since each state is not fully prepared (David et al., 2021). These authorities also help the national government and the local people talk about national DRR policy programs and figure out what part and how much the local people are involved in these measures.
One area where stakeholders can help DRR is tourism, since entrepreneurs and other people who work in the sector are affected by natural disasters. All countries depend on tourism as a major source of income. Because of this, everyone has a role in making sure that the necessary structures are in place to support their operations. These structures must be able to withstand disasters (Booth et al., 2020). When the government works with groups, it might look for money to pay for its disaster risk reduction programs. This forces the groups involved to improve how they handle crises. For example, hotels and resorts could be given incentives to build their outlets in ways that use less energy and to adopt styles that make it easier for them to be ready for disasters and handle them, as well as to teach tourists about the risks that are out there.
Thus, it has been discovered that it is important to involve local groups such as local religious groups, non-governmental organizations, and volunteer groups to make sure that the strategies used to carry out a DRR plan are culturally appropriate and will fit in with the community's way of life (David et al. 2015). They usually work in the area and can get people to work together better than agencies or other large groups. Participants from the community help create and plan DRR measures. This makes it easy for programs to include the community's beliefs and values, which makes supporters want to support the program. This kind of group can also help by spreading information, giving training, and offering services during and after crises. This participation also helps make sure that all the plans and work done in line with the DRR strategy can benefit everyone while causing the least amount of harm to certain groups of people.
In conclusion, lowering the risk of disasters requires a mix of traditional information at the community level, activities that build people's skills, and communication between all Maldives businesses. The Maldivian community can make the universe more resistant to both natural and man-made threats by using participatory risk assessment, culturally sensitive education, efficient local government, projects that build community wisdom, and close monitoring.
Albris, K., Lauta, K.C. and Raju, E., 2020. Strengthening governance for disaster prevention: The enhancing risk management capabilities guidelines. International journal of disaster risk reduction, 47, p.101647. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420921001862
Booth, L., Schueller, L.A., Scolobig, A. and Marx, S., 2020. Stakeholder solutions for building interdisciplinary and international synergies between climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. International journal of disaster risk reduction, 46, p.101616. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420919307939
Carrington, M.A., Ranse, J. and Hammad, K., 2021. The impact of disasters on emergency department resources: review against the Sendai framework for disaster risk reduction 2015–2030. Australasian emergency care, 24(1), pp.55-60. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2588994X20300968
David, C.G., Hennig, A., Ratter, B.M., Roeber, V. and Schlurmann, T., 2021. Considering socio-political framings when analyzing coastal climate change effects can prevent maldevelopment on small islands. Nature communications, 12(1), pp.1-19. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26082-5/1000
Imperiale, A.J. and Vanclay, F., 2021. Conceptualizing community resilience and the social dimensions of risk to overcome barriers to disaster risk reduction and sustainable development. Sustainable Development, 29(5), pp.891-905. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/sd.2182
Kelman, I., 2020. Disaster by choice: How our actions turn natural hazards into catastrophes. Oxford University Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=RbfRDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Kelman,+I.+(2020).+Disaster+by+choice:+How+our+actions+turn+natural+hazards+into+catastrophes.+Oxford+University
+Press.&ots=utnxq7WxLN&sig=_HIW3goVWgpmU3u7t0KgZlzo1Hg
Magnan, A.K. and Duvat, V.K., 2020. Towards adaptation pathways for atoll islands. Insights from the Maldives. Regional Environmental Change, 20, pp.1-17. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10113-020-01691-w
Petzold, J. and Ratter, B.M., 2019. More than just SIDS: local solutions for global problems on small islands. Island Studies Journal, 14(1), pp.3-8. https://islandstudiesjournal.org/article/84529.pdf
Quesada-Ruiz, L.C. and Peña-Alonso, C., 2023. Studies of environmental coastal impacts in small islands: a review. International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 72(2-4), pp.99-128. https://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/abs/10.1504/IJEP.2023.137972
Tariq, H., Pathirage, C. and Fernando, T., 2021. Measuring community disaster resilience at local levels: An adaptable resilience framework. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 62, p.102358. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420921003241
Tomaszewski, B., 2020. Geographic information systems (GIS) for disaster management. Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781351034869/geographic-information-systems-gis-disaster-management-brian-tomaszewski
Zuccaro, G., Leone, M.F. and Martucci, C., 2020. Future research and innovation priorities in the field of natural hazards, disaster risk reduction, disaster risk management and climate change adaptation: A shared vision from the ESPREssO project. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 51, p.101783. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420920312851