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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the findings from the body of case studies offered in the issue, combined with three external perspectives on local voices and action.

Using as its basis the eight key case studies and three external contributions to the special issue, the paper offers a theoretical framework as a basis for discussion of this material. Through this, it identifies possible modes of action understood through the theoretical framework and elaborated through the specific cases. It concludes with proposals for further work.

The discussion finds that from a local perspective, the ambitions of local populations and local NGOs to achieve emancipatory change depend on the scope for local collaboration and partnerships to exercise influence on underlying risk factors. It resolves the suggested tension between operating within, and outside the system through the concept of “legitimate subversion”.

It is felt that the original recording of case studies of local level action combined with the process of iterative critical reflection on the part of the contributors offers a novel approach to knowledge creation from practice, and offers insights bridging theoretical and practitioner perspectives into means of addressing underlying risk factors affecting local populations.

The purpose of this paper is to present the knowledge gained from the experiences of community-based, women-led organizations of workers in the informal economy which strengthen food security, enhance livelihoods in peri-urban areas through solidarity economy initiatives, and advance women’s empowerment as they respond to disasters arising from climate change.

This paper is based on case studies of Buklod Tao in San Mateo, Rizal, and the PATAMABA chapter in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo. The study was conducted within the tradition of gender-responsive participatory action research anchored on a human rights-based approach.

Experience of flooding motivated mature organizations of women informal workers to establish community-based peri-urban gardens connected to other solidarity-based sustainable livelihood initiatives to address food security concerns, increase income, and mitigate the impact of similar disasters. Although women have been empowered through these initiatives, much still has to be done to transform gender relations in various spheres.

This research process lends itself toward unearthing gender inequalities which would otherwise remain hidden.

The solidarity-based initiatives documented in these case studies may be adopted by women informal workers’ organizations in similar situations to advocate for and attain food security.

Solidarity-based strategies to attain food security among women informal workers are rarely documented for assessment and knowledge sharing. How they are or can be further empowered by these initiatives is a significant contribution to the literature on gender and disasters.

This paper is to contribute to addressing the knowledge gap on the roles of rural cooperatives in disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM).

This study adopts a mixed-methods approach highlighting indigenous strategies of community engagement – the pantatabtaval/tong tongan (brainstorming and dialogs), pan-iestorya/dad-at (storytelling session) and field observations with 50 village-level cooperatives in Benguet, Philippines to understand their contributions to local DRRM.

Rural cooperatives in Benguet have evolved on their context of service from mere rural development to now include DRRM donations and aid for disaster-affected families, credit and loans are the most common services of these rural cooperative extended to their members to deal with risks of disasters.

Most research on cooperatives focuses on their contribution to socio-economic development and only few dealt with DRRM. This paper explores the link of these rural organizations with DRRM drawing evidence from cooperatives in the rural communities of Benguet, Philippines.

The recent shift in the Philippine Government’s emphasis from response to a more proactive approach came with the recognition that different stakeholders play important roles in the governance of disaster risk. The purpose of this paper is to look beyond the question as to whether all stakeholders are involved in disaster risk management planning and examines the extent by which the narratives of risk of actors at the margins shape how risk is framed in municipal DRM planning in Antique, Philippines.

This paper is based on a field study carried out in San Jose de Buenavista, Antique Province, Philippines. Data were gathered through key informant interviews and focus group discussions as well as a review of archival records and documents.

The narratives of CSOs and communities, which revolve around livelihoods and community life are conspicuously absent from the plans whereas that of government actors occupy a central position in the risk discourse. The study highlights the power-saturated process of defining and addressing risk to disasters, where knowledge is intimately linked to power as some voices shape plans and policies, whereas, others are excluded because their knowledge is socially constructed as less reliable and therefore irrelevant.

There is a dearth of studies that examine disaster risk as social constructions in the context of planning in the Philippines and in other disaster-prone countries.

Managing disasters using modern science and traditional knowledge systems in silos has several prospects and limitations. Despite the catalyst role of the traditional knowledge in reducing the risks of disasters and adapting to climate change, this knowledge has not featured prominently in any of the existing disaster policies and disaster science. The authors demonstrate how traditional knowledge and modern science can be integrated for holistic approach of disaster risk reduction and management.

Using qualitative research method complemented by thorough literature review, this article captures traditional knowledge and practices of communities in the Narayani Basin for flood disaster risks reduction and management and shows ways to integrate traditional knowledge and modern science for holistic approach of disaster risk reduction and management.

The authors found that traditional knowledge system and practices have worked as an alternative to modern technoengineering approaches of disaster risk reduction and management and hold immense potential to contribute against disasters; therefore, this knowledge system of the communities not only needs to be recognized, conserved and documented but also is to be incorporated into efforts to formulate effective disaster management strategies and be amalgamated with the technoengineering practices for a holistic approach so that it can ensure disaster safety and security of the communities.

The authors conducted this study collecting primary data from Narayani basin only; however, the authors believe that these practices and findings of the research may still be representative.

The practical implication of this research is that traditional knowledge system needs to be integrated with technobureaucratic knowledge of disaster management, enabling to develop a more robust and holistic approach of disaster risk reduction and management.

This research documents being extinct traditional knowledge system and empowers communities by supporting them to integrate and use both traditional knowledge and modern technobureaucratic knowledge for building communities flood resilient.

This research is based on both primary and secondary data and original in case of its findings and conclusion, and no similar research contextualizing the role of traditional knowledge system in flood disaster management has been conducted in Narayani Basin of Nepal in the past.

The purpose of this paper is to look into the socio-cultural contexts that shaped people’s evacuation decisions during typhoon Haiyan in three affected areas in the Philippines.

This is a multi-sited ethnography that utilized interviews, focus group discussion and participatory risk mapping among selected women and men in areas affected by typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

Coastal communities encounter threats from storm surges as brought about by typhoons. During such periods, disaster evacuation programs are implemented. In some instances, evacuation programs are met with resistance from community members. Such resistance has been attributed to the people’s hard headedness and ignorance of the potential impacts of living in hazard prone areas. This paper argues that it is not solely for these reasons that people refused to evacuate. Results showed that hesitance may also be due to other considerations and priorities vital to people. It is also because people had faith in the knowledge and strategies that they were able to develop by engaging with hazards through time. Furthermore, previous experiences with disaster evacuation programs cast doubt on their value in saving their lives. Life in the evacuation areas can be as dangerous if not more compared with living in their coastal homes. Some of the informants believed that they were being moved from hazard zones to death zones. This paper ends with recommendations for the development of evacuation programs that build people’s resilience while taking into consideration the local moral world in identified hazard zones in the Philippines.

The study focused on three areas affected by typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, namely, Tacloban City, Guiuan, Eastern Samar, and San Francisco, Cebu.

Most research on disaster mitigation looked into the engineering and technology aspects. This paper looks into the socio-cultural contexts of disaster evacuation.

This paper develops a model of social vulnerability. Specifically, it aims to (1) determine the factors of social vulnerability to flood risks and (2) interrogate the discursive structure and framing of vulnerability within the local domain of disaster governance.

This is a descriptive-survey research design mobilized through sequential exploratory mixed method.

For ordinary people, vulnerability is due to five factors: (1) government inaction, (2) age-based frailty, (3) disability-based social exclusion, (4) weak social capital and (5) material susceptibility. Moreover, there are two patterns of discursive structure surrounding the risk of flooding in Davao del Norte: (1) where Cavendish banana is a favored export commodity of those who are in power, the Pressure-and-Release Model fits within the narrative of land-use changes in the province, and (2) where the local domain of disaster governance frames the DRR as a “hero-villain” normative duality.

At the policy level, the findings should inform the current government practices in development planning to mitigate flood risks, specifically the proposed Philippine National Land-use Act and the pending Bill to create the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Department. Operationally, the “hero-villain” finding challenges the self-awareness of disaster managers and functionaries whose technical trainings inculcated a one-size-fits-all approach to disaster response.

The findings support the theory that disaster and disaster risks are socially constructed realities.

This paper teased out the gap between the people's risks perceptions in Davao del Norte and the government's DRR episteme, and it points to power relations that impede its closing.

The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical grounding on the management of inter-organizational roles in the delivery of mental health and psychosocial services (MHPSS) through the experiences of three disaster-stricken localities. It describes challenges in the provision of MHPSS, and offered implications to post-disaster management practices in a developing country context.

In total, 28 individual interviews and four focus group discussions were conducted among key informants in the three localities that experienced destructive typhoons. Thematic analysis, following the procedures of Braun and Clarke (2006), was used to examine patterns in the data.

The results surfaced disparate perspectives in the role and scope of MHPSS, lack of clarity in inter-organizational roles and service standards as well as contextual challenges in post-disaster MHPSS delivery. Specific issues pertaining to the absence of inter-organizational role clarity in MHPSS post-disaster response include varying perspectives on the role of local government employees as survivors and MHPSS providers; local government as facilitator of MHPSS efforts; the Department of Health as the lead agency for MHPSS; and standards on who can deliver MHPSS and train MHPSS responders.

The study is based on community accounts of MHPSS delivery during disasters. Future studies may focus on capturing longitudinal data that can further refine and enable the institutionalization of effective and sustainable MHPSS response.

The results suggest the importance of improving systems and structures for MHPSS response to enable effective multi-organization support in disaster scenarios. Findings also highlight the need to have guidelines anchored on international standards of MHPSS delivery that will be used by the designated agency leading and advocating MHPSS efforts. This lead agency may be tasked to operationally define MHPSS in a disaster context, develop guideposts and standards in MHPSS delivery as well as clarify roles and accountabilities of different organizations.

Existing literature often relied on the analysis of secondary evidence such as expert-driven state or national guidelines. This study provided rich empirical data from key organizational actors involved in MHPSS provision in disaster-stricken communities.

The Philippines is among the countries vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change. However, many local government units (LGUs) and the people themselves are not aware of the climate change phenomenon and do not have the capacity to undertake appropriate climate change adaptation measures. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the climate change adaptation strategies of communities and LGUs and the barriers and recommendations to enhance their adaptive capacity.

The study covered five communities vulnerable to climate change impacts. Information on extreme climatic events and their impacts and adaptation strategies undertaken were gathered through focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews. LGU staff members were assisted in the preparation of their climate change adaptation plan (CCAP).

The LGUs and communities have low adaptive capacity and employed temporary adaptation strategies. Strong social cohesion and spontaneous collective action are factors that could enhance the communities' adaptive capacity. The pursuit of awareness raising and capacity building activities on climate change phenomena, alternative livelihood, preparedness and adaptation possibilities, technology and infrastructure development and collective action, which are critical adaptive capacity enhancement factors were laid‐out in the CCAP.

The paper presents the barriers that constrain the adaptive capacity of communities and LGUs, the recommended adaptive capacity enhancement measures to overcome these barriers and the highlights of the CCAP jointly prepared by the partner LGUs and scientists.

Educational initiatives can provide the crucial foundation for capacity-building of stakeholders in the field of disaster risk management and disaster resilience. The purpose of this paper is to scope current initiatives to deliver disaster risk and resilience education (DRRE) in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Asia and explore factors that serve as barriers or as opportunities for promoting DRRE.

This study implemented mixed methods – scoping of existing programs of Asian universities, an online survey and a small-group workshop of Asian HEI representatives – and explored both the development and implementation phases of degree programs and coursework and other educational initiatives. Primarily involved were country partners of the Erasmus + CABARET network (CApacity-Building in Asia for Resilience EducaTion).

Results reflect that most of the existing formal degree programs are at the graduate level though a wide range of courses and research opportunities exist for both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Findings underscore the importance of institutional support from university leaders as a key factor for overcoming barriers, given the resources and logistics needed by DRRE as an interdisciplinary and multi-sectoral endeavor. Universities who participated in the small-group workshop gave mixed feedback on the level of adequacy of the potential drivers for DRRE, which indicates the need to level off capacities and expertise in the region.

This study provides a baseline assessment of DRRE currently lacking for the region, with recommendations for how to further build capacities of Asian HEIs.