Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Local Governance (MDRRG)
The overall objective of the course is to develop a cadre of local government professionals sensitive to issues presented by the recurrent hazards. The course intends to increase their knowledge, as well as other stakeholders in disaster risk reduction, on urban governance and disaster risk management to be responsive to the needs of vulnerability reduction, and to create opportunities for mainstreaming risk reduction as a component of urban governance. Specifically, the course aims at building capacities of local government officials, NGOs working in urban areas and other stakeholders for more understanding of governance issues in relation to disaster risk reduction at local level. The secondary objective of the training is to build the capacity of national training partner institutions, which will make an attempt to institutionalize the training program at national level.
The course consists of several broad related issues of governance, namely: Vulnerability and Governance; Institutional Aspects of Local Disaster Risk Management:, Approaches, Systems and Methods for integration of disaster risk reduction in governance and Planning for Change, with particular emphasis on:
Developing and implementing the city-level Risk Reduction Plans
Institutionalizing of community-based Disaster Risk Management in local government policy and development programs.
Under those broad issues, the course consists of the following subjects:
Introduction to hazards and concepts of vulnerability to disasters
Concepts of governance for disaster risk reduction
Decentralization and disaster management
Urban land administration and disaster risk reduction
Legal and institutional structures relevant to disaster mitigation
Generating information for local disaster risk reduction
Participatory approaches in governance and disaster risk reduction
Stakeholder Analysis
First responses at the municipal, ward and community levels
Dealing with informal settlements
Disaster risk reduction experiences at the local level
Attribute of gender, ethnics, minorities and migrant population to disaster risk reduction
Case studies and good governance practices to disaster risk reduction
The first regional course on Governance and Disaster Risk Reduction was conducted in Manila, the Philippines in September 2006. The second course will be conducted in Bangkok on 17-21 September 2007.