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Vulnerability Assessment: Foundations of Community-

based Disaster Management

Session 1World Bank Institute

Krishna S. Vatsa

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Conceptual Issues

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Risk, Hazard & Vulnerability

Risk, hazard and vulnerability are related, but not synonymous

Risk is the chance of a loss, or loss itself Vulnerability measures the resilience against

a shock—the likelihood that a shock will result in a decline in well-being.

Hazard refers to extreme natural events. It could be of varying intensity and severity, with known or unknown probability

A disaster event is an interaction between an extreme natural event and a vulnerable human group

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What is Vulnerability

Refers to negative outcomes of major ecological or economic shocks on the well-being of households or communities.

Measured against a minimum level of welfare Embodies both the risk and capacity of

householdsto respond to shocks

It has two sides: external and internal External side refers to natural hazard and its

characteristics (severity, frequency) Internal side refers to resilience: the

community’s capacity to resist and recover from the adverse impact of a disaster

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Vulnerability in Disaster Management

Vulnerability arises from shocks; physical hazard is therefore an essential dimension

Vulnerability manifests in negative outcomes on well-being; so it includes human exposure to hazard

It is different from poverty; non-poor are vulnerable too. Vulnerability can push the people into poverty.

Vulnerability arises from certain factors: income, class, race, caste, gender, age (endemic factors)

Vulnerability is reduced by access to resources and assets: financial and non-financial (ability to resist)

Vulnerability a complex issue: difficult to develop common measures or indicators of vulnerability

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Vulnerable Groups

Low-income groups: find it difficult to recover after disaster

Women as a group are disproportionately affected by disasters

Race / caste / ethnicity is closely related to their differential abilities for recovery

Elderly people have limited coping strength In rural areas, vulnerable groups include

smallholder agriculturalists, pastoralists, landless laborers, and the destitute

In urban areas, these could come from unemployed destitute, underemployed poor people, and refugees

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Vulnerability Assessment Framework

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Hazard Assessment

Nature, severity and frequency of the hazard Area and people likely to be affected Time and duration of the impact Prepared on the basis of a range of information:

existing assessments and hazard maps, scientific data, and historical records

A composite hazard map may be prepared at the community or regional level.

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Hazard Exposure

Hazard exposure refers to a wide range of objects and activities, which are at risk.

Risk to people’s lives and their health, their livelihood and economic activities, equipment, crops and livestock.

Risk to peoples’ houses and their social facilities such as schools, hospitals, and religious institutions.

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Vulnerability Assessment (VA)

VA methods developed by organizations for their ownspecific needs with a focus on households and

communities Essentially a micro-level approach, though

different approaches in developed and developing countries

VA could collect information through different sources: Basic quantitative descriptive statistics; Qualitative information on different vulnerable

groups, including people’s perceptions of their own situations;

Descriptive statistics from spatial and geographical mappings of vulnerability indicators

Multivariate modeling of vulnerability with respect to outcome indicators such as consumption

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VA in Developed Countries

VA in developed countries focuses on hazard and built environment

Socio-economic variables (income-group/ race/ gender/ age) less important in VA

VA under Project Impact (USA): Based on information about location and vulnerability of buildings, utilities, and transportation systems serving the community.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s VA (USA) includes societal analysis, but focuses on hazard identification, built environment and economic centers.

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VA in Developing Countries

Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) Developed by USAID for sub-Saharan Africa: focus on food security

World Food Program’s Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (VAM)

Capacities and Vulnerability Analysis (CVA) adopted by the International Red Cross

VA methods inspired by Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA): participation of community members in risk assessment

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Reducing Vulnerability: Aspects of CBDRM Program

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Ability to Resist: Asset-building for Vulnerability Reduction

Assets key to vulnerability reduction; necessary to buildasset profile of households and individuals

Tangible and Non-tangible Assets: Land, livestock, tools, capital, and food reserves are tangible assets, while membership of social networks are intangible in nature

Access to financial services for asset-building: credit, savings, and insurance

Access to non-financial services for asset-building: social capital, trust, reciprocity as arising from membership of an organization/ social group

Access profile (financial and non-financial services) determine Income / Livelihood Opportunities, Food Security, and Social Insurance

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Reducing Community’s Vulnerability: Requisite Conditions

Social consciousness for disaster preparedness and mitigation

Social organization: community / volunteer groups for disaster preparedness

Access to Resources (Finance, Knowledge, Expertise) for the Community and Households

Adaptive to innovations, while utilizing local knowledge, skills and traditional wisdom

Institutional framework and accountability

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Community-based Disaster Management: Critical Elements

Participation: Community members as active participants and decision-makers

Inclusiveness: Involvement of the most vulnerable sectors and groups in the program

Responsiveness: based on Community’s felt and urgent needs

Integrated: pre-, during and post-disaster measuresare planned and implemented as necessary by the community

Proactive: stress on pre-disaster measures of prevention, mitigation and preparedness

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Community-based Disaster Management: Main Features

An incremental approach: starts with a small initiative and builds upon experiences, institutional support and resources available.

Community-specific risk reduction measure Reliance on resilience and capacity of a

community Synergies with development and poverty

reduction: health, education, agriculture, and natural resource management

Support and Facilitation by external actors: Government, NGOs, Experts, etc.

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Challenges of Community Preparedness

Go beyond vulnerability analysis Engage the community Achieve balance between different

components of the program

Sustain community efforts Organize IEC Activities

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Constraints and Limitations

Externally-driven; most of the programs stop after external funding ceases

Outcomes not tangible Inadequate technical support Disconnect with development programs Overdependence upon the government In a divided community along race / caste /

income groups, cohesion and social action are always problematic.