Excerpt: Introduction

Climate change is increasing the risk of extreme events and disasters.1 While disaster risk reduction (DRR) offers an important opportunity to adapt to current climate variability, in order to be successful, DRR efforts must also take into account changing climate‐related risks in the medium to long term. Many national climate change adaptation plans consider the need to plan over various timescales and acknowledge the essential role of local communities2 in addressing these changing risks. The Minimum Standards for climate‐smart disaster risk reduction were created to serve as an essential bridge between national climate policy and local capacities for DRR. The standards are not idealized solutions, but rather practical approaches to implementing climate‐smart DRR activities in a way that is achievable by many communities with relatively limited external support.

The Minimum Standards are presented in two tables: The first table outlines standards meant to guide local leaders, oftentimes selected by their community (e.g. Red Cross local disaster preparedness volunteers), to inform and facilitate resilience building across the wider community. The second table focuses on the role of national and provincial civil society organizations (CSOs) in providing supplemental guidance for improving the flow of information between various types of scientific ‘knowledge centres’ and vulnerable communities, to enable implementation of climate‐smart DRR. For local actors and their counterparts in CSOs, the Minimum Standards are intended as a practical tool, allowing them to integrate changing climate risks into their efforts to support communities reduce risk to extreme events and disasters. When the Minimum Standards are met, local DRR actions can be considered to be climate-smart and contribute to climate change adaptation. This lends importance to the Minimum Standards for national actors as well, who may use the standards to guide integration of community‐level action on DRR into national adaptation and climate risk management strategies. National strategies that consider these standards will be able to go to scale, knowing that they are realistic and achievable. Overall, these standards provide assurance that DRR goes beyond business as usual and truly addresses changing climate‐related risks.

The minimum standards are based on ample local experience and consultation, including lessons learned during the first years of the Partners for Resilience program, the largest program of its kind focusing on local‐level climate‐smart DRR. The Minimum Standards are a living document that should continue to be
discussed, tested, revised and validated through local‐level activities around the world.

View and download the full document here.

A couple of years ago, the Philippines made headlines around the world as Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest storm recorded, smashed ashore and tore through the Visayas. Within 24 hours, Haiyan battered and wiped out almost everything along its path, leaving behind its wake millions of people homeless, and thousands lifeless. The full document details how communities were slowly starting to reap the sowed resilience two years after the typhoon.

While the scale and strength of Haiyan is unprecedented even in a disaster-prone country as the Philippines, disasters like this are becoming more frequent, destructive, and unpredictable as a result of climate change and ecosystem degradation. Disaster upon disaster, vulnerable communities are pushed deeper into poverty. They are ones who face the vicious cycle of destruction and reconstruction. Their vulnerabilities are magnified, and their developments stalled. It is therefore not enough for communities to recover from Haiyan’s destruction. They must be able to withstand, adapt to, and recover from disasters. It is imperative that they start rebuilding towards resilience.

In the immediate aftermath of Haiyan, ACCORD in partnership with CARE, drew opportunities from lessons brought by Haiyan to cultivate resilience. From the onset, seeds of resilience were sown where possible, both in the form of material assistance and building local capacities, and embedded in integrated response, recovery, rehabilitation, and risk reduction programmes for Haiyan-affected areas.

Two years on, much remains to be done, but vulnerable communities are beginning to reap the fruits of resilience.

View, read, and download the full document here.

The ACCORD Model for disaster risk reduction was borne out of the experience of implementing the community-based disaster risk reduction called ACCORD (or Strengthening Assets and Capacities of Communities and Local Government Units for Resilience to Disasters) and two follow-up projects: ACCORD-2 and ACCORD-3. Subsequently, ACCORD-3 was incorporated into ASCEND (or Advancing Safer Communities and Environments against Disasters) which is a consortium project between CARE Nederland and Christian Aid. The ACCORD model, however, also the good practices and lessons from the humanitarian response, and other projects of CARE Nederlands and partners in the Philippines. The ACCORD model also draws inspiration from the experiences in DRR of other practitioners in the Philippines and abroad.

The ACCORD Model is constantly evolving, as the organizations behind the model, ACCORD Incorporated, CNDR, CorDis RDS, AADC, and CARE Nederland, strive for quality DRR programming. The ACCORd model makes use of community-based DRR and rights-based approach as the complementary frameworks for disaster risk reduction. Climate change adaptation is being combined with DRR. Sustainable natural resource management is also strongly promoted as a complementary approach, and more recently, the more comprehensive ecosystem management and restoration.

The ACCORd model is being documented and shared on the hopes that, based on specific contexts, it can provide useful knowledge about DRR practices of communities, people’s organizations, local authorities, schools, and other practitioners.

View, read, and download the full document here. 

This book has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) under the 7th DIPECHO Action Plan for Southeast Asia. The views expressed herein should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of the European Commission.

ECHO us one of the world’s largest providers of financing for humanitarian aid operations. Through its Disaster Preparedness Programme (DIPECHO), it assists vulnerable people living in the main disaster-prone regions of the world in reducing the impact of natural disasters on their lives and livelihoods.

Humanitarian actors around the world are becoming overwhelmed with increasingly destructive, complex, and chronic disasters. Globally, more than 200 million people are affected by natural disasters every year, with those living in low-income countries being three times as much affected as those in high-income nations. Just as people are recovering from one disaster, another one comes along, setting back humanitarian response and development gain. This setback can be avoided by humanitarian assistance and strengthening resilience.

Watch the full video below:

You may also learn more about CARE Netherlands by accessing their website here. 

by Liza Hoefnagels

Excerpt: Extensive summary

This study was commissioned to analyse development programs in an urban context in order to identify key principles for future programs on urban resilience building. The study focused on the experiences of development practitioners working in an urban context. The methods of analysis included a context analysis and program analysis to identify urban context characteristics, good practices and lessons learned from experiences of practitioners who work within the CARE International foundation. Furthermore, this study contains a SWOT analysis on the Integrated Risk Management (IRM) programs in the Philippines to identify which characteristics of the IRM approach contributes to urban resilience. Lastly, a comparison was made between the general experiences of development practitioners working in an urban context and the SWOT outcomes. Which was used to develop a set of key principles, providing a way for development programs to increase resilience in an urban context, especially for the urban poor. 

The study highlights the impact of the high population density of urban areas. These populated areas consist of highly diverse communities, who have very diverse livelihood strategies, needs and vulnerabilities. Land shortage is a common problem in urban areas, and many practitioner indicated that as a result, they faced challenges with resilience building due to land right, trust and power relations issues. Furthermore, operating in an urban area can be challenging due to the variety of actors and interests, integrated urban systems and dynamics and the multi-faceted risks. Another characteristic of poor communities in urban areas is that they are ‘time poor’ because they have to find new sources of livelihood on a daily basis. This makes it difficult to involve urban poor people in resilience trainings and workshops.

However, it was found that the urban context provides many opportunities for resilience building, if the right practices are used by development organisations. As a result of the analysed good practices, lessons learned, strengths and weaknesses from the experience of practitioners, the following key principles were identified and recommended for future development programs on urban resilience:

• Be flexible
• Support local ideas and use local systems
• Identify and empower champions within each stakeholder group
• Develop a holistic approach
• Promote collaboration
• Involve the private sector
• Organise the community
• Create platforms for dialogue
• Invest time in an extensive context analysis

Furthermore, the IRM approach, which was developed for and until now mostly used in rural areas, has proven to have a positive contribution in urban resilience building because it integrates disciplines, focuses on both short term risks and long term change, recognizes multiple scales and invests in an extensive context analysis. However, there are still some concerns about how to define the urban ecosystem and integrate all the facets of the IRM approach in short term programs. Lastly, the researcher recommends that non-government organisations develop an overall strategy on how they want to and can contribute to urban resilience. This strategy should be specific on which facets of urban resilience it focuses on as well as embracing the expertise of the organisation. The ‘five Ws of urban resilience’ can be a useful tool to develop a strategy in such a way.

View and download the full document here.

The global pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected millions worldwide. Presently in the Philippines, there are more than 250,000 cases, with more than 58,000 active cases, and 4,000 dead. The government responded to the crisis using public health measures including travel restrictions, strict community quarantine protocols, work suspension, and promotion of proper hygiene and a strong immune system.

Metro Manila is the center of COVID-19 crisis in the Philippines. At least 54% of the total number of cases in the country is found in Metro Manila. The protracted quarantine measures resulted in severe consequences for urban poor communities. This includes economic displacement particularly for daily wage earners and workers in the informal sector, limited access to basic services, and issues with safety and security. Restrictions were also met with difficulties as urban settlements are often densely packed, overcrowded, and often lacking basic facilities, thereby increasing the risk to spread infection.

The COVID-19 Philippines Inter-Agency Rapid GenderAssessment (RGA), of which the NCR RGA is a part, was conducted to document stories of women, men, and other vulnerable sectors from urban poor communities in Metro Manila. It is a collaborative study aimed at identifying the different needs, risks, capacities, and coping strategies of women, men, girls, and boys in the COVID-19 crisis. The research design was developed by GBV Sub-cluster member agencies UNFPA, Plan, CARE, and Oxfam.

The NCR Rapid Gender Analysis was conducted from 15 April- 27 May 2020 in six cities in Metro Manila. A total of 145 participants from multiple sectors form part of the study. Semi-structured phone interviews were used as the primary data collection method to ensure the safety of both partner organizations and participants.

The NCR RGA is structured to surface stories according to eight (8) key areas of inquiry: 1) Gender Roles and Responsibilities, 2) Access to Basic Services, 3) Impact of Interventions, 4) Access to Information and Technology, 5) Coping Strategies and Capacities, 6) Addressing Social Stigma, 7) Protection and SRHR Issues, and 8) Leadership and Participation. The NCR RGA is an inter-agency initiative coordinated by CARE, with participating INGOs Oxfam Pilipinas, Plan International, Asmae; local organizations ACCORD Inc., ChildHope, Kanlungan sa Er-ma Ministry Inc.; and individual volunteers from DFAT.

View and download the full Rapid Gender Analysis Report here.

Climate change affects women and men differently. Unequal access to resources, rights, and opportunities between women and men means that they also experience the impacts of climate change and disasters in different and unequal ways. To ignore these inequalities is to ignore a key factor in the success or failure of our work. Women play an essential role in tackling the climate change challenge. They are demonstrating innovative ways to adapt to the effects of climate change and build resilient societies. Women are taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by leading initiatives that put forward new solutions to dealing with climate change. If we can address and transform gender inequalities through climate change and disaster risk reduction initiatives, then we not only promote the equal rights of women but also multiply the sustainable impact of climate-related activities.

Produced by CARE International in Vietnam, UN Women in Viet Nam and GIZ, ‘Making It Count’ offers practical questions, actions, tools and resources for integrating gender into climate change and disaster risk reduction interventions. It is designed to be an easily accessible entry point for practitioners and was created through several consultations with multiple stakeholders, including members of Vietnam’s Climate Change Working Group, and other experts with experience in climate change and gender. Whilst it is Vietnam focused, most elements can also be useful for both government and non-government actors around the world.

View and download the material here.

Originally posted on https://careclimatechange.org/

Guidelines on how to create Community Digital Storytelling (CDST) videos for participatory monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and advocacy purposes.

CDSTs are short videos, based on a sequence of photos supported by a narrative. CDST can play a role in enhancing the community’s climate change adaptation strategies and increase local ownership of the processes of producing the CDST, and thus, their future monitoring and evaluation of components in the programme.

The overall objective of this guide is that the user learns how to produce short video stories that strengthening marginalized voices and sharing their priorities for adaptation strategies.

The CDSTs are designed to be used as part of participatory processes aimed at empowering community members. Videos are a powerful medium for involving community members, especially those who do not read or write as it allows them to share reflections and learning in their own voice and language.

The added value of CDST is that community members are able to document their own processes in prioritizing adaptation strategies as well as their reflections and results. In addition, CDST can be a valuable advocacy tool, both for addressing issues facing local communities with similar challenges in adapting through local and national advocacy as well as having the potential to address an international audience. This guide is built on a methodology applied in the Adaptation Learning Programme for Africa.

View and download material here.

Originally posted on http://careclimatechange.org

“Development” is about increasing goods and services, increasing access and opportunities, increasing freedom and choices, and sustaining these gains over time. Climate change can undermine or, in some cases, reverse the effectiveness and sustainability of development interventions. What’s more, some interventions can unintentionally leave people even more vulnerable than before to worsening droughts and floods, changing rainfall patterns, sealevel rise and other impacts of climate change. Conversely, welldesigned development activities can increase people’s resilience to these impacts.

It is, therefore, critical to integrate, or “mainstream” thinking about climate change into development strategies, plans and programmes. This is especially true when pursuing goals that are most likely to be affected by the impacts of climate change, such as greater access to safe drinking water, healthy ecosystems or food security.

This Toolkit offers practical, “how to” guidance for integrating climate change adaptation into the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects. Its step-bystep structure helps users build climate-resilient projects with sustainable impacts. The Toolkit also includes simple checklists to ensure that development activities don’t increase people’s vulnerability to climate change. It provides guidance and recommended tools for all stages of the project cycle, as well as tools, resources and practical examples from CARE projects around the world. Water resource management and agriculture projects are specifically highlighted, as they were targeted in the early tests of the Toolkit.

This interactive Toolkit is designed to be flexible. Users can tailor the process to meet their needs, priorities and available resources. Furthermore, we see the Toolkit as a ‘living’ document or resource. We welcome feedback on its structure, content and overall utility from users. We intend to update the Toolkit periodically as we receive this feedback and continue to learn more about the process of integrating adaptation into development projects.

View and download the material here.