World Vision Asia Pacific Community Resilience Project by World Vision Asia Pacific

ACRP 2011

Asia Pacific Community Resilience Project Annual Review Highlights

Reducing Disaster Risk Together

Content Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Disasters in Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Building Resilient Urban Communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Project Highlights for FYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;11 Urban Resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction Mainstreaming DRR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Making DRR a Part of ADP Life Child-Focused Disaster Risk Reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Ensuring a Safety Conscious Future Generation (Arnel Alipaoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Journey with CF DRR) Ripples of Change with DRR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 World Vision Myanmar steps up DRR practice DRR training benefits Mongolian government, NGOs and communities World Vision China spurs government and citizens action on DRR Building Partnerships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Strategic Engagement and Collaboration for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Moving Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Lessons Learnt Build Resilience in Your Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 You can spark a change

Abbreviations AADMER

ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response

ACRP

Asia Pacific Community Resilience Project

ADP

Area Development Programme

APG

AADMER Partnership Group

CCA

Climate Change Adaptation

CF DRR

Child-Focused Disaster Risk Reduction

DME

Design Monitoring and Evaluation

DRR

Disaster Risk Reduction

HEA

Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs

LEAP

Learning through Evaluation with Accountability and Planning

National Office

RRP

Regional Resilience Project

UNCRC

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

UNISDR

United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

Background “People of the Asia-Pacific region are four times more likely to be affected by natural disasters than those living in Africa, and 25 times more likely than those living in Europe or North America – and while the region generated only one quarter of the world’s GDP, it accounted for a staggering 85 percent of deaths and 38 percent of global economic losses during 1980 - 2009. It is clear that the Millennium Development Goals cannot be attained in the region if its hard fought development gains are not protected from the risks and impacts of disasters...

No government or development agencies can afford to relegate disaster risk reduction (DRR) and resilience building to the sidelines now due to climate change, population pressures and inequitable economic growth. According to the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) Global Assessment Report 2011, the proportions of population living in flood-prone river basins rose by 114% over the last 30 years, and those living on cyclone-exposed coastlines by 192%. Also, more than half the world’s large cities, with 2 million to 15 million populations each, are facing high risks of seismic activities.1

Disaster risks are increasing exponentially, a result of the compounding effects of inequitable economic growth patterns, population pressures and extreme climatic events. Good efforts thus need to be matched by urgent scaling up of efforts in disaster risk reduction and new multidisciplinary policy approaches.”

Climate change poses a double threat to set back development gains that took years to achieve and jeopardizing children’s well-being in the process.The issue is even more critical in Asia Pacific, a region four times more prone to disasters than Africa.

by Dr Noeleen Heyzer, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, and Margereta Wahlstrom, UN Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, in The Asia-Pacific Disaster Report, 2010

UN News Centre. (2011). As disaster increases, risk reduction should be a concern for all – UN Chief http://www.un.org/apps/news/story. asp?NewsID=40031

Abbreviations AADMER

ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response

ACRP

Asia Pacific Community Resilience Project

ADP

Area Development Programme

APG

AADMER Partnership Group

CCA

Climate Change Adaptation

CF DRR

Child-Focused Disaster Risk Reduction

DME

Design Monitoring and Evaluation

DRR

Disaster Risk Reduction

HEA

Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs

LEAP

Learning through Evaluation with Accountability and Planning

National Office

RRP

Regional Resilience Project

UNCRC

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

UNISDR

United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

UN News Centre. (2011). As disaster increases, risk reduction should be a concern for all – UN Chief http://www.un.org/apps/news/story. asp?NewsID=40031

Source: Asia-Disaster Statistics, Prevention Web, 2010. http://www.preventionweb.net/english/countries/statistics/ index_region.php?rid=4

Disasters in Asia On average, each year: 40,000 people were killed US$ 23 billion were wiped away in economic damage

Reducing risks in Asia Pacific Most governments invest on emergency response but the value of risk reduction and building resilience cannot be undermined, especially so in Asia Pacific. The Asian Development Bank and the World Bank estimate that for every dollar spent on DRR, four to seven dollars can be saved in costs associated to emergency response.2 Responding to the call to help Asia Pacific countries manage and cope with disaster risks, World Vision Asia Pacific Regional Office started the Regional Resilience Project (RRP) in 2007. RRP supported existing national offices’ work on communitybased disaster risk management, which was mostly sporadic and project-based then. In assisting national offices (NOs) enhance their disaster risk reduction (DRR) capacities, it had collectively with selected NOs partnered various stakeholders at the regional, sub-regional and national levels to develop an institutional approach to systematically incorporate DRR in World Vision’s ADPs. The project, which ended in 2010, had raised the DRR profile in the region and increased interests on DRR among the NOs here. RRP pilots in Indonesia and the Philippines produced new tools and resources on DRR integration into ADPs and the child-focused DRR approach, respectively.

164 million people were affected

3,341 total natural disasters from 1980 - 2008

Building on the Momentum Realizing the importance of sustaining the momentum created by RRP, the Asia Pacific Regional HEA Office in partnership with World Vision offices in Australia and Canada launched the Asia Community Resilience Project (ACRP) in October 2010. ACRP built on RRP’s gains and adopted a new focus on urban DRR programming and climate change adaptation (CCA). It hopes that within the next three years, NOs will be confident in making DRR an integral part of ADPs, implementing effective and innovative CCA initiatives, and addressing complex urban disaster and emergency risk issues through World Vision’s urban programs.

ESCAP. (2008). http://unescap.org/idd/events/AMCDRR-2008/ documents/ES-message-to-AMCDR-3Dec08.pdf

Key Outcomes of ACRP

Empowered urban communities Enhanced capacity of urban communities to plan and deliver disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation programs/ projects and policies in line with the Hyogo Framework for Action

Empowered Regional and National Offices Increased partnerships Improved participation in and collaboration with internal and external networks at the regional, national and ADP levels to inform both World Vision and community’s understanding of and response to disasters, climate change and urban risks

Enhanced institutional capacity of Regional and National Offices to support the integration of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into relief and development programming

Source: Asia-Disaster Statistics, Prevention Web, 2010. http://www.preventionweb.net/english/countries/statistics/ index_region.php?rid=4

Disasters in Asia On average, each year: 40,000 people were killed US$ 23 billion were wiped away in economic damage

164 million people were affected

3,341 total natural disasters from 1980 - 2008

ESCAP. (2008). http://unescap.org/idd/events/AMCDRR-2008/ documents/ES-message-to-AMCDR-3Dec08.pdf

Key Outcomes of ACRP

Enhanced institutional capacity of Regional and National Offices to support the integration of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into relief and development programming

Building resilient urban communities Project Highlights for FY ‘11 Urban Resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction

Changing mindsets on hazard reduction A big, ongoing challenge in urban Jakarta

Key Highlights: “Through World Vision Indonesia’s urban pilot project called ‘Urban Community Resilience through Disaster Risk Reduction (UCRDRR)’ in Cilincing and Kramat Jati – two important sub-districts in urban Jakarta – we found that flood, fire, disease, and conflict are the most common hazards here.

With an aim to build World Vision’s capacity in conducting urban DRR programming effectively, ACRP had worked closely with World Vision Indonesia to implement the NO’s Urban Community Resilience through Disaster Risk Reduction (UCRDRR) Project in ADP Cawang and ADP Cilincing in Jakarta. ACRP hoped that the UCRDRR could provide key findings, insights and recommendations critical to the overall thinking for effective urban DRR programming. So far, ACRP was able to contribute a broader, regional perspective to the project. Most of these were primarily helping World Vision Indonesia analyze and interpret findings from the urban risk research done by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) in Cawang and Kali Baru areas, and turning this information into practical and empowering actions for the ADPs. by Adi Suryani, Disaster Risk Reduction Coordinator, Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs, World Vision Indonesia

It was important for us to establish a linkage between the localities and disaster risk reduction so that the communities could support coherently efforts to lower calamity risks in their areas. This also improved sustainable development and built the people’s resilience towards disaster. Poor sanitation was the main issue here, contributing to disaster risk during floods and tidal surges. In these slums, the ditches and seashore were contaminated because people lacked access to clean and good household toilets. The communities then identified a list of priority areas to work on and rolled out communal action.They determined places to build massive public toilets and used these facilities to reduce risk of diseases that could harm children’s wellbeing. Changing mindsets is not about the goals but the process to achieve these goals to reduce disaster risk.”

Building resilient urban communities Project Highlights for FY ‘11 Urban Resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction

Changing mindsets on hazard reduction A big, ongoing challenge in urban Jakarta

Mainstreaming DRR Making DRR a Part of ADP Life

Ibu Robiah was troubled by the long-standing sanitation problem in her village. In the sub-village area 13(RT) in Kilibaru village, Cilincing sub-district, Indonesia, these villagers were part of 71 million of Indonesians or 30% of its population who did not use toilets because they lacked access to one. Worldwide, a staggering 2.6 billion people still have no access to sanitary toilets. “Until today... I still see adults defecate in ditches in the morning, there are feces everywhere,” Ibu Robiah once said. It was a tricky situation. Whenever Ibu Robiah tried to confront the villager concerned, it could stir a conflict. Realizing this, World Vision Indonesia then started an intervention program in ADP Cilincing to reduce hazards and risks caused by the poor sanitation system. Awareness on good hygiene spread throughout the village and the community built public toilets together. After the program, a villager known as Bu Tarmi said firmly, “Children shall not defecate in the ditch in front of the houses anymore. There are public toilets that they can use. Everybody must clean the ditches together to reduce risk of diseases to our families especially during floods and tidal waves. From now on, no one shall have to pay for using the toilets.”

Flushing down disaster risk How clean toilets change community behavior in ADP Cilincing, Indonesia

As NO and ADP staff work with communities to help them manage disaster risks and build resilience, ACRP continues to support NOs through training, coaching, and mentoring staff on DRR and DRR programming. DRR funding referral with major grants donors and sponsors has been a key role of ACRP in assisting NOs secure additional funding for their DRR and CCA programmes. The NOs which ACRP worked closely on these areas include Cambodia, Thailand, China, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Mongolia and Pacific-Timor Leste (comprising of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Timor Leste). ACRP guided the NOs in writing strong funding proposals, which successfully secured the finances needed to run more DRR programmes in the ADPs. With the raised profile of DRR in recent years, many of the senior management leaders in NOs are now more conscious and place higher priority on DRR and Community Resilience in their strategies and programs. NO and field staff have also become more confident in engaging communities and networks in risk reduction and resilience building activities.

LEAP (Learning through Evaluation with Accountability and Planning) is World Vision’s design, monitoring and evaluation process.

Mainstreaming DRR Making DRR a Part of ADP Life

Flushing down disaster risk How clean toilets change community behavior in ADP Cilincing, Indonesia

Key Highlights: • ACRP recently produced a LEAP 5 toolkit integrated with DRR and ChildFocused Disaster Risk Reduction (CF DRR) modules to support NOs in integrating DRR into their development programming. The toolkit – developed and piloted in Indonesia – will help ADP managers, sector specialists and DME staff to systematically incorporate DRR into the ADP design. At least 10 national offices in region have used these in their programming, namely Cambodia, Thailand, China, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Mongolia. The results were encouraging as field staff have become increasingly confident in handling DRR issues and programming concerns at the ADP level. Likewise, the modules on CF DRR have guided ADPs in several NOs to engage children and their communities in disaster risk reduction. Key staff from NOs have been trained in the Philippines, the pilot site of CF DRR, to anchor the roll out of this approach in their respective offices. As NO and ADP staff work with communities to help them manage disaster • risks and build resilience, ACRP continues to support NOs through training, coaching, and mentoring staff on DRR and DRR programming. DRR funding referral with major grants donors and sponsors has been a key role of ACRP in assisting NOs secure additional funding for their DRR and CCA programmes. The NOs which ACRP worked closely on these areas include Cambodia, Thailand, China, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Mongolia and Pacific-Timor Leste (comprising of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Timor Leste). ACRP guided the NOs in writing strong funding proposals, which successfully secured the finances needed to run more DRR programmes in the ADPs. With the raised profile of DRR in recent years, many of the senior management leaders in NOs are now more conscious and place higher priority on DRR and Community Resilience in their strategies and programs. NO and field staff have also become more confident in engaging communities and networks in risk reduction and resilience building activities.

LEAP (Learning through Evaluation with Accountability and Planning) is World Vision’s design, monitoring and evaluation process.

Child-Focused Disaster Risk Reduction Ensuring a Safety Conscious Future Generation (Arnel Alipao’s Journey with CF-DRR) When the La Nina brought a massive flood in Surigao del Norte in Philippines, a teenage boy named Arnel Alipao saved his own life by wading through the floodwaters to dry land... on a makeshift raft. World Vision had been conducting a Disaster Risk Reduction pilot project in Arnel’s hometown. Through World Vision’s Child-Focused Disaster Risk Reduction (CF DRR) training module, children were included in disaster preparedness. They learned how they and their families can reduce risk and build resilience, made flyers to tell others on DRR, and cleaned up their neighbourhood. “The child-focused DRR gives children a clear picture and understanding about our vulnerability and risk before, during, and after disaster strikes,” said Arnel, who shared on the importance of teaching children on disaster risk at the United Nations Thematic Debate on Disaster Risk Reduction last year. The UNISDR estimates that annually over 100 million young people and children are affected by disasters, making them the largest affected group.6 The good news is that they can learn to be resilient, are Internet savvy and skilled in spreading the message to their parents and friends. All these make children our valuable and important partners in DRR.

World Vision’s CF DRR modules empower young people aged 9 to 16 on the basic concepts of disaster risk management so they, too, can help protect their community. This is in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which states that every child has the right to be listened to and participate in decisions that affect their lives. The CF DRR is founded on World Vision’s emphasis to improve a child’s holistic growth and well-being. When children participate in reducing disaster risk, they learn to make good judgments, communicate ideas, manage emotions, protect themselves, and care for others and their environment. Arnel and his young friends in Philippines were prepared before disaster struck. What about the children in your community?

UNISDR. (2011). UNIDR says the young are the largest group affected by disasters. http://www.unisdr.org/archive/22742 Arnel’s story sourced from: http://wvasiapacific.org/climatechange/philippines-13000-kilometers-for-disaster-risk-reduction.html and http://worldvision.org.ph/advocacy/world-vision-sponsored-child-speak-un-general-assembly-child-focused-drr

DRR training benefits Mongolian government, NGOs and communities

Ripples of change with DRR “After our zone manager attended the regional training on DRR conducted by ACRP, we requested for DDR-CCA training for seven of our ADPs. Our technical departments developed a questionnaire to assess disaster risk for new ADPs. We will use it in our two upcoming ADPs in September and automatically integrate DRR in our early assessment phase from now on. For existing ADPs, we have developed baseline questionnaires to integrate DRR activities for the project redesign phase. At the National Office level, our Humanitarian Emergency Affairs department is focusing on capacity building. They saw the importance of integrating DRR not just for response but also in reducing risk and increasing preparedness. I am very encouraged by the positive response from our staff who participated in the trainings.”

by Byambatseren Adiya, Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs Specialist, World Vision Mongolia

World Vision Myanmar steps up DRR practice

“Bonie, the Asia Pacific HEA DRR Specialist, facilitated a DRR training in Ulan Bator for 30 World Vision Mongolia (WVIM) staffs. I gained ideas to integrate DRR into development and saw the possibilities of reducing disaster risks by empowering the government. We ran a pilot program in ADP Zuunkharaa, developed the WVIM National DRR program and organized Community Based DRR trainings in 30 ADPs with the help of AP HEA, equipping some 1,300 participants – 60% of them government staff and 25% ADP staff. The CB DRR toolkit and handbook is user-friendly, so it was easy for us to contextualize and translate into Mongolian. This also benefits the UN’s Humanitarian Country Team in Mongolia as there is a lack of a common, contextualized training material. We have written to the government to take the DRR trainings under its wings. This August, WVIM and the government will implement the three-yearlong National Child Focused DRR Program that we developed together.

by Khual Tawna, CBDRR - Capacity Building Coordinator, World Vision Myanmar

We are currently developing the Community Resilience Tracking System to monitor DRR implementation and community resilience at disaster and economic areas. We would like to express our deep gratitude to the AP HEA DRR team for training and leading our office in DRR.”

DRR training benefits Mongolian government, NGOs and communities

by Byambatseren Adiya, Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs Specialist, World Vision Mongolia

“After our zone manager attended the regional training on DRR conducted by ACRP, we requested for DDR-CCA training for seven of our ADPs. Our technical departments developed a questionnaire to assess disaster risk for new ADPs. We will use it in our two upcoming ADPs in September and automatically integrate DRR in our early assessment phase from now on. For existing ADPs, we have developed baseline questionnaires to integrate DRR activities for the project redesign phase. At the National Office level, our Humanitarian Emergency Affairs department is focusing on capacity building. They saw the importance of integrating DRR not just for response but also in reducing risk and increasing preparedness. I am very encouraged by the positive response from our staff who participated in the trainings.”

World Vision Myanmar steps up DRR practice

by Khual Tawna, CBDRR - Capacity Building Coordinator, World Vision Myanmar

Building partnerships

“World Vision China is committed to improve the response quality and capacity to natural disasters in China. We believe that sustainable development works should be integrated with DRR approaches as this will reduce the risks towards vulnerable communities and increase their capacity to respond in calamities. Recently we organized our fourth DRR Conference in Kunming, China, where around 100 development professionals explored the linkages between disaster risk reduction and development. We are also working with our ADPs to integrate DRR into their development agendas. May 12th is the national DRR day for China, and this year we ran awareness campaigns and DRR workshops for government workers and volunteers in Sichuan ADP and Jiangxi province to build their capacity in disaster management and preparedness.

Strategic Engagement and Collaboration for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation

World Vision China spurs government and citizens action on DRR

Our ADP managers see the DRR tool as something proactive to help protect the fruits of development work; a missing link in their previous work. We have translated it into the local language and trained the staff to use it. We need more support to analyze the findings and integrate it meaningfully into development programs.”

by Meimei Leung, Department Head, Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs, World Vision China

Key Highlights: • ACRP was recognized as a regional leader in DRR when World Vision was given the lead role to implement the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) in Vietnam. For this, ACRP and World Vision Vietnam would work together to support the Vietnamese government and other key stakeholders in implementing AADMER’s strategies and plans in the country. Working closely with national governments and regional platforms is both a huge responsibility and a strategic opportunity for World Vision in the Asia Pacific to boost its capacity and raise its profile in disaster management in the region. • ACRP’s participation to the Global DRR Platform in Geneva, Switzerland in May 2011 continued to put World Vision in the DRR map globally.This global event – which hosted DRR experts, scientists, practitioners, researchers, bureaucrats, politicians and academicians across the world – gave ACRP the opportunity to participate in important DRR discussions including the midterm review of the Hyogo Framework for Action; understand the current approaches and trends in disaster management; exposure to practices and challenges faced by DRR practitioners; and the different ways countries build resilience and reduce risks in their communities. Apart from the huge networking opportunities, ACRP also shared its existing good practices in DRR and CCA, and gathered useful resource materials from organizations working in other parts of the world. • The 1st Asia Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum in Bangkok, Thailand in October 2010 opened up a lot of opportunities for ACRP. It helped the project to stay abreast with the latest CCA thinking and practices by key development and humanitarian industry players. The forum also created ways for ACRP to link up and stay engaged with major DRR/CCA organizations in the region – a priority task for the project. Partnerships and network developed would connect NOs with the key regional DRR players, with ACRP playing a facilitator role. In addition, when ACRP shared with the NOs the opportunity to get involved in this CCA Forum, World Vision Philippines and World Vision Indonesia responded positively. Both NOs benefitted from the scientific community and on-the-ground practitioners who shared the emerging trends in CCA, methods available, existing challenges, and how World Vision can support integration of CCA into development programming.

Building partnerships

Strategic Engagement and Collaboration for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation

World Vision China spurs government and citizens action on DRR

by Meimei Leung, Department Head, Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs, World Vision China

“We make it a priority to share technical knowledge and experience through strategic partnerships and relationships around the region, both internally and externally.

by Christy Davis, Regional Advisor, HEA and Community Resilience, Asia Pacific Region, World Vision International

Collaborate to accelerate DRR work in Asia Pacific

Internally, our goal is to support World Vision national offices and ADP staff by increasing their capacity and self-sufficiency on DRR and enabling them to protect their development programming through reducing risks. We also work with other WV regional offices and the Global Centre on urban DRR and development planning, child-focused DRR, and DRR educational materials. Externally, collaborations with other practitioners allow us to leverage our mutual strengths for greater impact. For example, sitting on the Asia Pacific OCHA-led Interagency Steering Committee (IASC) provides us with excellent opportunities to engage regularly with our UN and INGO colleagues on emergency preparedness and response strategies, actions and policies. World Vision International (WVI) is also a member of the ASEAN-level AADMER Partnership Group (APG), which works with National Disaster Management Organizations (NDMOs), the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) and its working groups, and the ASEAN Secretariat. WVI leads the agreement implementation in Vietnam and Myanmar. Forging partnerships at various levels encourages strategic sharing, and this helps us improve our endeavors to reduce and mitigate risk and make development safer.”

“I was the ADP Manager in West Kalimantan province when I heard about the Regional Climate Change Adaptation Conference facilitated by ACRP. I was very excited as we were about to start SOLVE (World Vision Indonesia’s first CCA-related project) and the conference deepened my understanding on CCA. When I shared what I learnt with other ADPs in our province, the ADP Managers were very interested because we faced similar issues with regards to climate change, such as forest and land conversion by large corporate plantations. The Zonal Program Manager committed to bring the Climate Change Adaptation project in Sambas ADP to a higher, provincial level. At the National Office level, we committed to increase awareness on CCA programming and mainstream it into ADPs. The regional office has encouraged us to make our first step in our CCA initiative milestone. Now we have two ongoing CCA-related projects and more in the pipeline, as ADPs realize that climate change is not a problem far in the future, but a threat that must be addressed from now on.”

World Vision Indonesia brings home climate change adaptation learning from regional conference

by Billy Sumuan, Director, Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs, World Vision Indonesia

“We make it a priority to share technical knowledge and experience through strategic partnerships and relationships around the region, both internally and externally. Internally, our goal is to support World Vision national offices and ADP staff by increasing their capacity and self-sufficiency on DRR and enabling them to protect their development programming through reducing risks. We also work with other WV regional offices and the Global Centre on urban DRR and development planning, child-focused DRR, and DRR educational materials.

Collaborate to accelerate DRR work in Asia Pacific

Externally, collaborations with other practitioners allow us to leverage our mutual strengths for greater impact. For example, sitting on the Asia Pacific OCHA-led Interagency Steering Committee (IASC) provides us with excellent opportunities to engage regularly with our UN and INGO colleagues on emergency preparedness and response strategies, actions and policies. World Vision International (WVI) is also a member of the ASEAN-level AADMER Partnership Group (APG), which works with National Disaster Management Organizations (NDMOs), the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) and its working groups, and the ASEAN Secretariat. WVI leads the agreement implementation in Vietnam and Myanmar. Forging partnerships at various levels encourages strategic sharing, and this helps us improve our endeavors to reduce and mitigate risk and make development safer.”

World Vision Indonesia brings home climate change adaptation learning from regional conference

by Billy Sumuan, Director, Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs, World Vision Indonesia

Moving forward Lessons Learnt

ACRP has been intentional in participating in global and regional networks and events because being visible and active in such platforms gives us opportunities to promote adoption of DRR and CCA and seek collaborations with other major players.

Documentation of good practices in community-level DRR and CCA needed

Staff’s knowledge key to mainstream DRR and CCA into programming

There is a lack of documented case studies showing how investments in DRR and CCA have reduced the negative impacts of hazards on communities and helped people bounce back quickly from disasters. This is one of the biggest reasons why people and institutions have not identified with the need to spend on equipping their staff and communities with DRR and CCA training.

ACRP has produced resources to support national offices and field staff in incorporating DRR and CCA into their work. It is equally important now to build staff ’s competence in using these materials effectively in their ADPs. They must be able to critically interpret and analyze risk-related data and decide on risk treatments at the ADP level.

Decision-makers have to be convinced of the DRR benefits vis-à-vis costs or they would remain unwilling to put their resources into disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness. As World Vision has strong grassroots presence through the ADPs, there is a need to train more staff to find and document good examples of resilience building in communities.

Active engagement in global and regional levels highly beneficial

If field staff are equipped and empowered to do this, then their national office HEA personnel in disaster management can move on from operational work to more strategic and value-adding roles. It is necessary to keep educating and raising staff awareness on DRR and CCA in all learning opportunities whether in formal workshops or informal coaching and group discussions.

In FY’11, ACRP’s Asia Pacific Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs played a key role in implementing the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER). World Vision is the lead agency in implementing AADMER in Vietnam and also serves in the AADMER Partnership Group (APG) – the governance board comprising seven NGOs working to put the agreement into action and increase civil society participation. ACRP’s involvement in the Global DRR Platform and 1st Asia Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum enabled us and selected national offices to share our DRR and CCA initiatives to a wide audience. This eventually opened doors for new networks and joint partnerships on DRR and CCA projects.

Moving forward Lessons Learnt

Documentation of good practices in community-level DRR and CCA needed

Staff’s knowledge key to mainstream DRR and CCA into programming

Active engagement in global and regional levels highly beneficial

Build resilience in your community You can spark a change You can play a crucial role to help your community, organization and country prepare better for disasters, reduce risk of hazards and rebound faster when calamity strikes. It’s never too early or late to introduce these measures that save lives and protect development investments. Should you need any resource or assistance, we at ACRP are most happy to support you with the following:

• DRR-integrated LEAP Toolkit – If you are in a World Vision national office, this tool will help you incorporate disaster risk reduction assessment into your ADP programming. • Child-Focused DRR Module – Equip trainers and children to identify hazard and risks and how they can protect themselves and respond better in the face of disasters. • Technical support and coaching – ACRP can come alongside you in running disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation components for your development programs. • Training workshops – Our DRR and CCA workshops have moved from grassroots community leaders to government agencies into action that help build resilience to disasters.

For more info contact: Christy Davis, HEA and Community Resilience Advisor, Asia Pacific World Vision International - Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs Mobile: +65 8189 984 | Office Direct Line +65 65117120 Email: christy_davis@wvi.org | Skype: christydavis Bonie Belonio, Community Resilience Specialist, Asia Pacific World Vision - Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs Mobile: +63 927 8403106 | Office: +65 6511 7100 E-mail: bonie_belonio@wvi.org | Skype: boniebels Office Address: 750B Chai Chee Road #03-02, Technopark @ Chai Chee, Singapore 469002 Ronilda Co, DRR Specialist, Asia Pacific World Vision International - Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs Mobile: + 66 8279 57907 Email: ronilda_co@wvi.org | Skype: ronilda co World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by addressing the causes of poverty and injustice.