Applied Research Grants Programme - Young Researcher's Project Brief – Round 1 (2003-2004) 047IND

Institutionalizing Local Knowledge for Risk Reduction in earthquake prone settlements of the poor

Hazard(s): Earthquake Geographic scope: Gujarat, India Keywords: Local knowledge, local partnerships; social marketing, constructive engagement; marginalized communities, disaster risk reduction

Project Summary The 2001 Gujarat earthquake (7.9 on the Richter scale) forged an unusual partnership in a crime prone region between local police, development planners and marginalized rural communities while responding to risk reduction in reconstruction. This project aimed to reduce risk in poor rural settlements by identifying local innovative practices developed during the rehabilitation phase, integrating them into formal risk reduction strategies, and preparing and advocating guidelines for

replication. The work was done with the village panchayat and communities in Porbandar, in consultation with government of Gujarat disaster management cell, local development planners, and the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, to identify and consolidate local innovative construction solutions to risk reduction: use of concrete bands: one each at the plinth, lintel and roof level; interlocking of walls at the corners; using smaller for windows; use of local dressed stone blocks in place of random rubble. Besides institutionalising the risk reduction practice in two settlements (400 households) the project inspired a local demand for replication and scaling up. To support this, findings were shared though workshops, constructive engagement, social marketing, an illustrated manual and a block model.

Key Findings

Ideas are often the constraint rather than insufficient funds. Excessive assistance in reconstruction (eg. Latur, Maharastra and other regions) can disrupt the local economy and reduce resilience. Thus, aid should be withdrawn as soon as the community can manage independently.

Vulnerability was not due to the use of local construction materials but rather to the methods of construction. Construction techniques required to reduce risk were available in the pool of local practices, however they were not popularly known, understood, or widely applied.

Care must be taken when addressing one hazard that another not be created; here ancient efforts to cope with floods had led the community to build on soil-filled areas vulnerable to earthquake shaking.

Local ownership is critical for sustainability and scaling up. Fully engaged local leaders, especially representatives at the Tuluka (Block) panchayats, for example, agreed to share good practice with other villages in the region.

The involvement of an unconventional government department, the police in this case, during the reconstruction initiative was critical and provided logistical support and an institutional structure.

Even simple solutions can be hard to communicate: villagers were reluctant to adapt and respond to information about methods of construction.

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The extent of damage and lessons for reconstruction are both visible. Useable construction material were salvaged and recycled and risk reducing construction methods applied during reconstruction. Courtesy: Shagun Mehrotra

This product is part of a series describing short-term research and implementation projects funded through the Applied Research Grants for Disaster Reduction Programme, an initiative managed by the ProVention Consortium as a collaborative initiative with the University of Wisconsin Disaster Management Center, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center in Bangkok, and the Disaster Mitigation for Sustainable Livelihoods Programme at the University of Cape Town. See www.proventionconsortium.org/grant_projects for a list of all projects. To learn more about other ProVention activities, please visit www.proventionconsortium.org.

Produced for ProVention Consortium by Risk RED. riskred@riskred.org Copyright © 2007 by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies / the ProVention Consortium. The opinions expressed in this project brief are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies / the ProVention Consortium.

Campaign and knowledge sharing tools.

Courtesy: Shagun Mehrotra Recommendations for public officials

Identify local solutions for risk reduction and popularize them. Spread the message of prevention effectively using active low cost marketing techniques, such as

public display in local languages in village square (500 Indian rupees (10 US$) or 0 .5 Indian rupee per villager.)

Recommendations for development professionals Tap local knowledge and reach out to local institutions through village schoolteacher, school

children, the sarpanch of the panchayats, and festival like Navrathi, Idd and similar resources and opportunities.

Engage self-interest for sustainability and scaling-up. Use constructive engagement to increase effectiveness. Local leaders, and village elders must be

consulted and reaching subsequent collective consensus is important. At times rigorous negotiations are required, but engagement should be constructive, not confrontational.

Recommendations for planning academics Develop coursework specifically to train planners in reconstruction. Integrate preventive measures into planning curriculum.

Shagun MEHROTRA, Masters in Urban Environmental Management, Asian Institute of

Technology, Bangkok. Currently PhD student, Columbia University, Economic Development and Urban Planning. Previously World Bank staff based in Africa and has also worked in South and South-east Asia on Infrastructure Economics and Urban Development.

Mentor: Dr. Ranjith Perera, Assistant Professor, Urban Environmental Management,Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand.

E-mail: svm2103@columbia.edu

Additional information related to this project can be found at: www.urbangovernance.org