Climate and Disaster Resilience in Cities: Volume 6

COMMUNITY, ENVIRONMENT AND DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT

In spite of increased investments in the area of disaster management in recent decades, the losses continue to mount. One of the emerging reasons for the current trend of increasing impacts of disasters is the unpredictability of natural hazard events coupled with the tendency of human settlements to move to vulnerable locations including coastal areas in search of economic gains. The urban areas are naturally the most affected due to concentration of habitat and resources. In the current context, it is impossible to make resistant urban growth. Instead, resilience is becoming more widely accepted, where certain vital infrastructures need to be resistant, but the urban systems need to be resilient enough to cope with the climate-related hazards. This book highlights the issues of resilience through regional, national, city- and community-based studies. The book shows how to enhance actions at local levels, and how the plans can be implemented through multistakeholder collaboration.

Due to changes in climatic conditions, hydrometeorological hazards are increasing. Cities are becoming more vulnerable due to usual urban issues, and additional pressure of climate-related hazards. While it is rather impossible to make a city resistant, urban resilience is the possible entry point for dealing the new types of hazards. Keeping this in mind, this book provides a unique series of examples of climate and disaster resilience initiative, which focuses on the different dimensions of city's resilience. Evolved through a participatory approach, the book exemplifies innovations in redefining city's resilience in a way, which is closely linked to city services. Analyzing the cities resilience through five dimensions of physical, social, economic, institutional, and natural, the Climate and Disaster Resilience Initiative (CDRI) focuses on detailed analysis on city or subcity level. CDRI is considered as a tool, as well as a process to enhance the city resilience through steps of assessment, planning, and implementation.

Climate change is happening now. Climate-induced disasters are occurring in the Asia Pacific region, where a distinctly increasing trend has been observed in recent decades. This shows that the region is the most disaster prone, compared with other parts of the world. Studies on the causes of disaster in many affected regions suggest that in a typical disaster, cities with high population density see increases in mortality and number of people affected. Increased economic losses within the region are also inevitable. In most Asian countries, 65–90% of economic activities are concentrated in urban areas. Estimates indicate that two out of three people on the earth will live in urban areas by the year 2030. Unless appropriate measures are taken in these urban communities, disaster incidents will continue to increase. Urban communities are a main player to confront this increasing trend of climate-induced disasters.

Urban resilience is a fairly new but rapidly emerging area of interest. Academia as well as the professional and practitioner communities are increasingly engaged in understanding the characteristics of resilience in complex urban issues. The year 2007–2008 was a historical milestone in human history for two reasons. First, the percentage of urban population to total population in the world touched 50 percent; second, the works of climate scientists were recognized as being so significant that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2007. Both events are closely associated with and provide special impetus to further research into and understanding of urban resilience, which this chapter discusses further in the following sections.

In this chapter the objective is to link the causes (risks) with the need of disaster resilient entities (urban areas) in an era in which the climate is changing and natural hazards are likely to occur more frequently and more severely (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2007). The previous chapters defined what a resilient city is and how it can be understood, but another question may arise subsequently: how to measure a disaster resilient city? This is what this chapter is about: to develop a tool that is capable of adequately addressing the vulnerable parts of a city's functional system, and additionally, its responsive capacity to cope with a potential disaster. This tool – named Climate Disaster Resilience Index, which is only the process of measurement, or Climate Disaster Resilience Initiative (CDRI), which encompasses all aspects of this approach – shall demonstrate how different functionalities of a city can be assessed in a comprehensive single attempt. Accordingly, the CDRI is more than just a tool to measure the condition of a city at a certain point of time; it also has the wider ambition to lead communities and local governments onto a path of sustainable development that ought to increase the overall resilience level of their city to climate-related disasters. As a result, the CDRI tool shall serve as an urban planning tool depicting the sectors within an urban context that are more or less resilient.

In this chapter, the question posed is how the CDRI, applied at various cities spread across a country like India, can draw implications that are applicable for other cities in this country. The aim is to understand the risks, vulnerabilities, and capacities (resilience) of 12 Indian cities to respond to potential climate-related disasters. Surjan, Sharma, and Shaw (in press) highlight that particularly the Asian region is experiencing rapid urban growth, which is not only leading many cities to become megacities, with a population above 10 million, over the next decades (UN, 2010), but also making many smaller and middle-sized cities experience the phenomenon of urbanization (UNISDR, 2009). As it is perceived that more densely populated areas are at greater risk from potential disasters than the less populated ones, like rural areas/villages, cities require particular attention when it comes to reducing risks (UNISDR, 2009). Unplanned urbanization and poor urban governance are regarded as the two main underlying factors accelerating risk to disasters (UNISDR, 2009). The tool to assess the current condition and resilience of these 12 Indian cities is a contextualized CDRI addressing the Indian characteristics. In an era where climate change–related natural hazards (floods, storms, droughts, etc.) are expected to occur more frequently and with higher intensity (IPCC, 2007), Indian cities are becoming more vulnerable to such events (Revi, 2008).

In recent years, several studies have focused on city clusters like megacities and mega urban areas, as they concentrate a significant part of the world's human population and critical economic assets in potentially hazardous locations (Yusuf, 2007; WWF, 2009; Kraas, 2007; Jones, 2009). Metro Manila is one of such megacities, where even “regular” disasters affect a large number of people. The rapid pace of urbanization, coupled with an ever-increasing population burden, has significantly increased the overall vulnerability of urban agglomerations to natural disasters. By 2050, world population is expected to reach 9 billion people. Large numbers of people will be concentrated in megacities and on fragile lands, making the reduction of vulnerability to disasters in metropolitan areas a critical challenge facing development. Unmanaged rapid urban growth strains the capacity of national and local governments to provide even the most basic of services such as health, food, shelter, employment, and education. The challenge then is for the national government and most especially the local governments to develop effective policies, programs, and strategies that will help them manage urbanization to ensure development.

Building a resilient city requires detail and careful assessment of its current level of vulnerabilities and resilience. During such assessment and initiatives it should remember that there are large differences in risk and vulnerability within urban areas (Satterthwaite, Dodman, & Bicknell, 2009). It is natural to consider that the vulnerabilities and eventually the resilience level would not be same for all parts of a city, especially one that is relatively larger. A city, especially a large one, covers a substantial and often physiographically heterogeneous area with different exposures and susceptibility to hazards. Furthermore, a city's population and the conditions under which it lives are diverse. Therefore, some parts and peoples of a city may be more vulnerable than others (Klein, Nicholls, & Thomalla, 2004). In fact, cities form different microclimates within them because of the variations of land use, settlement patterns, functions, densities, and characteristics of the residential areas and their communities. All of these diversities contribute to disaster risk; in turn, these affect human development and the resilience of different parts of the city International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR).

The international agenda on disaster risk reduction (DRR) advanced significantly in the last two decades. In the late 1980s, increasing losses in development gains from disasters prompted a global movement toward DRR. The United Nations declared the 1990s as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) to contribute to technical and scientific buy-in and to make DRR agenda imperative. The “Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action” adopted at the first United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) in 1994 through the mid-review of IDNDR provided the first blueprint for disaster reduction policy guidance focusing on social and community orientation. At the end of the IDNDR in 1999, the United Nations General Assembly established International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) as the successor mechanism of IDNDR within the United Nations to promote increased commitment to DRR and strong linkages to sustainable development.

Climate and disaster resilience mapping has been discussed in detail in Chapter 3. The Climate Disaster Resilience Index (CDRI) as a comprehensive and well-structured methodology for measuring the resilience of cities is presented, as well as the differences between CDRI and various assessment tools. The resilience of cities, or their agglomerations or subzones, is being measured because cities are seen to be at a suitable level to efficiently initiate action, especially in developing countries where unplanned or haphazard urbanization is a major risk factor. But for climate and disaster resilience mapping to be of value, it should be followed by action planning. Having a vision for the future and charting a course to achieve it is what action planning is about. Studies have consistently shown that vision, planning, and goal setting can positively influence cities’ organizational performance. Action planning can compel future thinking, highlight new opportunities and threats, and refocus a city's mission. Productive action planning focuses on the most critical problems, choices, and opportunities. Action planning requires time and a process. If used effectively, it is a powerful tool for self-management and goal-based achievement. Action planning typically includes deciding who is going to do what and by when and in what order for the city to reach its long-term goals. The design and implementation of the action planning depend on the nature and needs of the city.

Urbanization is increasing the vulnerability in mega cities, where poor community often squat on low-lying areas, hilly areas, and hazards prone areas (IDNDR, 1999). The built infrastructures and systems are subjected to natural hazards: floods, earthquakes, landslides, cyclones etc. Thus, cities are vulnerable to disasters (IDNDR, 1999). Moreover, cities are also facing environmental risks due to increasing urbanization (Bhatt, Gupta, & Sharma, 1999). The vulnerability can be reduced by incorporating risk management into urban planning (Bhatt et al., 1999). The risk management includes risk analysis, prevention, and preparedness. Traditionally, risk management was seen as separate discipline to mainstream urban planning (Bhatt et al., 1999). The traditional urban planning is often good at making plans (city beautiful plans, land use plans, strategic plans, development plans) and regulatory controls (Hamdi & Goethert, 1997). However, they fail to deliver benefit at the ground. Only few benefits reach the poor, who are often considered as the most vulnerable in the cities. The urban planning can be improved with an alternative: action planning, which is “problem driven, community based, participatory, small in scale, fast, and incremental, with result that is tangible, immediate, and sustainable” (Hamdi & Goethert, 1997). The action planning is often considered relevant in scaling up its outcome from local level to sectoral and national level. This chapter focuses on linking action planning and community-based adaptation. The community can be defined as “a group of people that are directly linked to each other through a common identity, activity or interest” (Jones & Rehman, 2007). The adaptation here is used in context of climate change, which is already happening, and impacts are growing (IPCC, 2001). The community-based adaptation is process oriented and “based on communities’ priorities, needs, knowledge, and capacities, which should empower people to plan for and cope with the impact of climate change” (Reid et al., 2009). This chapter first briefly discusses the action planning process and its challenges. Further, the chapter discusses the action planning in detail. Later the chapter focuses on framework and tools for community-based adaptation. It also discusses few case studies and challenges and issues. Finally, the chapter tries to build a link between action planning and community-based adaptation.

Capacity development (or capacity building, capacity enhancement) is becoming an increasingly important component in development assistance through agreements among multilateral and bilateral donors and developing countries because it is critical for achieving development objectives. Much evidence has indicated that development assistance and projects have not been successful due to capacity constraints; therefore, many training programs for capacity development were implemented and continue to be in demand at various levels.

The latter half of the 20th century has seen the rise of local actors in the international milieu. Among these so-called local “internationals” (Alger, 1999) were local governments who have come to assert their role in various aspects of international development. Since the end of World War II, municipalities have actively forged partnerships with other localities in other countries,¹ even to the point of challenging the foreign policies of their own countries in such thorny issues as the apartheid in South Africa, nuclear disarmament, human rights, and the Sandinista war in Nicaragua (Hobbs, 1994; Shuman, 1994; Fry, Radebaugh, & Soldatos, 1989). The importance of municipalities as global players has grown substantially over the years. At the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, among the major issues highlighted in the Agenda 21 was the need to devote “greater attention to issues of local government and municipal management” (UNEP, n.d., 5.3). It further pointed out that in order for cities, especially those plagued by severe sustainable development problems, to develop along a sustainable path, they should, among others, “participate in international ‘sustainable city networks’ to exchange experiences and mobilize national and international technical and financial support” (UNEP, n.d., 7.20.d) and “reinforce cooperation among themselves” (UNEP, n.d., 7.21). Four years later, at the UN-HABITAT II City Summit in Istanbul, cities were officially recognized by the United Nations as the “closest partners” of national governments for the implementation of the Habitat Agenda (UN-HABITAT, 2003). In 2005, as a demonstration of their commitment to work for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on the ground, over one thousand cities and local government associations issued and adopted the Local Government Millennium Declaration at the Millennium+5 Summit in Beijing (UCLG, 2010).

The fact that the world is becoming increasingly urbanized is recognized by the United Nations (UNFPA, 2007) in the State of the World Population Report as the “The Urban Millennium.” In year 1950, 30% of the world's population lived in cities and as of recently, the population has reached up to 50%, making year 2007 a turning point in the history of urban population growth (Bigio, 2003; Kreimer, Arnold, & Caitlin, 2003; UN-HABITAT, 2007). By year 2030, the United Nations expects more than 60% of population to be living in cities (Munich Re, 2005). And as shown by Surjan and Shaw (2009), by year 2050, the world's urban population is expected to grow by 3 billion people. Most of this growth will take place in developing countries, with the urban population in cities and towns doubling. As it has been summarized, from 1991 to 2005, more than 3.5 billion people were affected by disasters; more than 950,000 people have taken their lives unwillingly and damages have reached nearly 1,193 billion US dollars. Developing countries will suffer the most from climate change, since they are disproportionally affected and have intrinsic vulnerabilities to hazards and so far have struggled in increasing the capacity for risk reduction measures (Wahlström, 2009). Nevertheless, by contrast, even in the largest and wealthiest countries, which have diversified economies and risk transfer mechanisms, the loss has topped an amount of billions of US dollars, as was the case with Hurricane Katrina in USA in 2005. It has been confirmed with facts over the last two decades (1988–2007) that 76% of all disaster events were hydrological, meteorological, or climatological in nature, whether it occurred in urban or in rural areas.

During the period of 2000–2009, a record 402 climate-related disasters occurred in the Southeast Asia region, and the number of geophysical disasters was 61 according to the International Disaster Database by Center for Research on the Epidemiology (CRED). The number of climate-related disasters is much higher than that of geophysical disasters, but due to small or medium scale of the events, attention and assistance to most of them have been limited. Although many people are affected by these disasters every year, in many cases, they do not have sufficient idea and knowledge on preparedness and disaster risk reduction (DRR).

Over years, the concept of dealing with urban risk has changed. While in 1970s urbanization was equal to industrialization and physical infrastructure development, 1980s focused on sustainable development and urban growth. In 1990s, new concept of eco-city and resilient cities came into practice, and in 2000, urban ecosystem concept became more popular. There are possibly two or three key issues that can be incurred from this evolution process: first, urban issues are becoming complex and urban boundaries extending beyond the traditional city or administrative boundaries. For resources (natural, food, human, energy, water), cities need to depend more on rural areas. Urban–rural linkage issues are getting increasing importance. Second, while dealing with the urban problems, traditional physical and economic approaches have limitations in solving this issue; rather, more ecosystem-based approach or the environment disaster interface needs to be focused. Third, due to climatic changes, urban areas are increasingly becoming more fragile, and the deep impacts are on the poor and vulnerable communities living in the informal settlements.