Report on Community Based Disaster Management Course (CBDM 4 & 5)

ADPC in collaboration with the Duryog Nivaran network, conducted the fourth and fifth courses on Community-Based Disaster Management (CBDM) from 3-14 July and 24 July to 4 August, 2000 respectively in Bangkok Thailand. There were 23 participants in CBDM-4 coming from 13 countries namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Libya, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Solomon Island, South Africa, Uganda and Vietnam and 18 participants in CBDM 5 from 4 countries namely Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. These 41 participants occupying mid level to senior management positions come from government departments, ministries, national and international NGOs, UN agencies, universities, training institutions and other disaster management agencies, e.g. IFRC, ICRC, Save the Children Fund, Oxfam, Church World Service, Caritas, UNICEF and Center for Disaster Preparedness.

During the course, the participants, trainers and resource persons discussed about disaster situation in Asia and Pacific with special focus on Asia and the community based disaster management initiatives aimed at addressing the situation. They had comparative discussions about the dominant and alternative/progressive approaches to disaster management and the importance and philosophy of community based disaster management.

The participants practiced in the classroom and in community setting the hazard, vulnerability and capacity assessment. The group work and exercises made the participants recognize, that different groups of people in a community are exposed to different levels of risk, based on their special vulnerabilities and capacities. The application of Participatory Risk Assessment tools demonstrated that risk assessment can be undertaken by the community members themselves and they are capable of developing appropriate interventions. On the basis of community risk assessment the participants and trainers discussed about strategies, measures and interventions for strengthening community capacities for reducing disaster risks in order to achieve the objectives of sustainable development. The participants also did a simulation on village/community level evacuation in the wake of a flood. They had formed different committee in order to organize the simulation; e.g. Village, Food Committee, Early Warning Committee, Security Committee and Health Committee.

Before leaving back home the participants developed Community Level Risk Reduction Plans to be followed by their organizations in their respective work areas, when they go back.

Director of the National Disaster Management Center Sri Lanka, Mr. W.B.J. Fernando of the second batch said that he attended many disaster management courses during his professional life, but, it was the CBDM course which equipped him with the vision and strategies, which could lay foundations of disaster free communities in his country. Both CBDM-4 & 5 were appreciated by participants due to the innovative adult learning methodologies adapted by the ADPC training team, including role plays, classroom and field based exercises, simulations, video showing, group discussions, buzz sessions, individual presentations, interactive lectures and plenary discussions. During the closing ceremony of the first batch, Mr. Mohamed Babikar of the International Federation of the Red Cross Societies Afghanistan delegation stressed the relevance of their learning in his country. Mrs. Sukeshini Segmani of the UNICEF India thanked the ADPC for launching this course for it provided the participants a good view of how CBDM can be realized especially in disaster prone communities.

Many participants felt that the skills and knowledge provided during the course will highly influence the ongoing projects of their organizations towards people centered disaster risk reduction, including risk assessment, planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. They find that lot of opportunities were given for experience sharing amongst the participants, which turned the courses into a valuable learning experience. They felt that different methods were carefully selected and used by the training team, which helped them to comprehend the subject matter in interesting manner.

The opening ceremony of CBDM4 and 5 were presided by His Excellency Mr. Rajendra Kumar Rai, the Ambassador of India and His Excellency Mr. Karunatilaka Amunugama, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka, respectively.

The CBDM-6 which aims to enhance the understanding of community based approaches to disaster risk management through sharing of systematized knowledge, information and experiences, will be held in July 2001.