Community Based Disaster Management Model                                                                  

Considering the significance of vulnerability factor in the peoples' lives and having an experience of responding to a number of disasters in the past, Sungi had initiated a Community Based Disaster Management (CBDM) model to enable communities and local institutions to effectively cope to emergencies. An organizational capacity building programme in disaster management initiated in 2006. This included formation of disaster management committees (DMCs) at village and Union Council levels. These committees include men, women and children as active players in disaster preparedness and management. Disaster management is an integral part of the social mobilization strategy of Sungi and about 503 DMCs have been developed till Febraury 2009. DMCs have been trained during the last three years, contributed significantly to emergency response and needs assessment for rehabilitation and livelihoods improvement. Disaster management committees are formed at district and tehsil levels. Forums for establishment and strengthening of district DMCs have been conducted in Mansehra, Battagram, Abbottabad, and Muzaffarabad. These forums have played a vital role in information sharing, dissemination and coordination among all stakeholders during the relief and rehabilitation process. There is a need to put mechanisms in place to strengthen transparent decision-making, information sharing and effective communication to ensure accountability and to guard against patronage and manipulation. Citizens must be given opportunities to participate in decision making and implementation of disaster management plans. Sungi aim to empower communities in planning, management, monitoring, and the handling of grievaiences through consultation processes and participatory planning techniques. CBDM system would play a vital role in this regard. The role of District Coordination Officer (DCO) as overall incharge of the disaster management would enhance in terms of his supervisory and maintenance functions of organizational systems and mechanisms for disaster risk reduction and response preparedness. In the community based disaster management model, Sungi develop district disaster management committees. Local government capacity is strengthened through training, developing and implementing disaster management plans and facilitating the district government in resource generation.

Strategic objective of the Sungi's disaster management programme is to develop and implement efficient and effective people-centered disaster management systems and processes for reducing vulnerability of the people and enabling them to effectively respond to the hazards. Following are the three major themes of intervention:

• Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation
• Emergency Response
• Disaster Advocacy

Disaster mitigation and preparedness would be the centerpiece of disaster management programme. It is developed on the principles of sustainable livelihoods and the outcome of the programme will contribute in overall sustainable development process.

Disaster Management Committees (DMCs): CBDM model is embedded in the social mobilization and rights based development and advocacy approach of Sungi. It emphasizes on the institutional building at the gross roots, capacity building and advocacy. Village Disaster Management Committees (VDMCs), the grassroots institutions responsible to achieve the objectives, are developed as an integral part of Village Committees (VCs) at the village or hamlet level. Union Council Disaster Management Committee (UDMCs) will be formed at the UC level. These will be the sub-committees of the Area Coordination Councils (ACCs). The DMCs will be responsible to:

• Carry out hazard, vulnerability and capacity assessment using participatory methods with support of Sungi team. This exercise will be carried out through PRA techniques as part of the VDP process. Where VDP has already done fresh exercise will be done and existing information will be used in this analysis.
• Prepare and update hazard, vulnerability and capacity maps, keep and update relevant data
• Develop village disaster risk management plan, implement, monitor and evaluate preferably as part of VDP process
• Identify volunteers for sub-committees and form these committees i.e Search & Rescue Committee; and First Aid, Health & Hygiene Committee; these must include men, women and children
• Identify training needs and ensure capacity building and rehearsals of sub-committees
• Develop and manage disaster management fund at least at UC level
• Develop and regulate early warning system at village and UC level
• Carry out and facilitate emergency response in emergency situations
• Advocating on disaster preparedness and mitigation

After formation of ACC, UDMC will be formed as its sub-committee. This committee will have the similar roles, with more emphasis on coordination, linkages, resource generation and advocacy.

Sub- Committees of DMCs: On the basis of hazard mapping of each village, disaster risk management plan will be prepared. This plan will be prepared as part of village development plan (VDP). To implement this plan and develop resilience in the community sub-committees will be formed. These will include:

• Search and Rescue Committee

This committee will include 04 men and 04 women volunteers. They will be primarily trained in search and rescue along with first aid as secondary. Their role incase of disaster would be to search and rescue but after initial days they will facilitate in provision of relief assistance and early recovery programs. They would be trained in humanitarian standards, accountability, transparency, logistics management and coordination etc.

• First Aid, Health & Hygiene Committee

This committee will include 04 men and 04 women volunteers. They will be trained in first aid, health and hygiene skills. For committee members, based on their skills emergency kits would be provided to ACC for utilization incase of any disaster.