Community risk reduction: How-to guide | Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Guide | 101
100 | Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Guide | Community risk reduction: How-to guide
Step by step: integrating climate change into CBDR and VCAs Step 1:
Collecting general background information.
face in the future. But explaining that information and making it relevant can be a challenge. So the team preparing the VCA should decide beforehand how basic or complex the integration of climate change should be. Below are three options to choose from.
• Risk map (or transect walk): ask people to describe not only the current situation in a particular place but also how it has been changing. • Questionnaires and focus group discussions: add special questions such as, “Have you noticed unusual weather patterns?” and “How did that weather affect you, your family and your community?”
By default: keep it simple (Option A). More detailed Step 2: discussions on climate change Preparations Assessing priorities. should only be included when the You do not need to include any These two steps are typically National Society has clear and new scientific climate information undertaken as part of a broader relevant information about how in the VCA process: it is enough assessment of the changing risks are changing at the local to clearly communicate, after risks a country faces (see Getting level, and skilled facilitators are eliciting observed changes from Started: How-to guide, step 3) available to discuss this comfortparticipants, that people all over and priorities within the overall ably with the communities. the world are reporting similar disaster-management activities of changes, and that scientists tell a National Society (see Disaster OPTION A (BASIC): Getting us that things are likely to get management: How-to guide, additional information from worse in the coming decades. steps 1 and 2). the community, by asking the During preparations, all that The prioritization should consider right questions needs to be done differently is the selection of areas/communiMake sure that the VCA asks the to include questions such as the ties to be targeted for CBDR right questions to get information ones above in the VCA materials and VCAs, guided (among about unusual climate phenom(checklists, tools, etc.). other things) by the way climate ena and trends that the comchange is affecting particular munity is experiencing, or has VCA training parts of the country. seen happening over the past The training needs to pay attendecades. This requires attention tion to the additional questions Step 3: to a number of VCA tools that to be asked, and how to use the Conducting VCAs examine trends, particularly: answers to improve dialogue Integrating climate change into • Seasonal calendar: ask whether with communities. For awareVCAs can be done in a very seasons have been changing, ness raising, it might be good to simple way. The main purpose for instance if the rainy season is inform them about global climate of the VCA is to discuss the risks starting particularly early or late, change, but it should be stressed a community faces so they can or if weather that used to occur that there is no expectation that identify their priorities for risk in one season is now occurring they discuss these issues during reduction. in another. the VCA. This does not depend on • Historical calendar: ask about complicated scientific informasystematic changes in tempera- Conducting the VCA tion, although sometimes it ture, rainfall and other weather Include the suggestions listed can be discussed to confront a events; as well as occurrences of above. community with what they may “strange” weather phenomena.
Analysing the results After the VCA, the team should analyse the community’s information, particularly documenting the way they have described new risks or trends in weather patterns. If possible, you should crosscompare those community observations with the scientific information from your society’s national climate-risk assessment. Assess whether risk reduction strategies identified in the VCA are robust in the face of climate change trends suggested by scientific reports. OPTION B (INTERMEDIATE): Provide climate information as a backgrounder for VCA facilitators Option B is similar to Option A, but with the additional element that facilitators are briefed on climate change so they are aware of the context when they conduct the VCA. The intention is simply to provide them with background information, not that facilitators should “explain” climate change, and the changing risks, to the communities. This places more demands on training and development of communication materials (such as posters or video tools). There is a risk of misleading communities if volunteers wrongly interpret scientific information or erroneously guide the VCA’s outcomes in a particular direction. However, it can help the facilitators to have a more meaningful dialogue with the communities, and to better
assist them in discussing options to reduce their risks. When preparing and conducting the VCA, just follow the steps of Option A. In addition, the training should include a presentation on climate change and its implications in the local context. The information is generally based on the national risk assessment done at national society headquarters, and adapted to the circumstances of the communities where the VCA will take place.
of extreme precipitation (above the 90th percentile in the current distribution) will decrease by at least 10 per cent”. Force climate experts to explain what they mean, and to translate it into language that facilitators and communities will understand.
OPTION C (ADVANCED): Helping communities to plan for the future by bringing in outside information on climate change In this option, VCA facilitators are explicitly instructed to discuss During preparations, try to climate change with the comtailor relevant climate change munity. It requires much more information (for instance, from expertise and experience, and the national risk assessment) to should only be chosen if you are the specific situation of the VCA. confident you have the informaKeep in mind that the general tion, training capacity, support climate information needs to be materials and experienced examined from the local perspecvolunteers who will be comforttive: what might the changes able doing it. mean for the location/community? This should be done in The process is similar to Option general terms, written down on B, but during the training you one page, in simple language, should not only convey key such as: information about climate change “The rainfall may come in heavier to the facilitators but also enable bursts, and there may be longer them to really understand it and periods without rain”, explain it to communities. This “Storms may be stronger than is not easy! Most importantly, before”, the training must also provide “The rainy season may start guidance on how to carefully later”. introduce changing risks into the VCA discussions. You may need to ask for help from a climate expert, but make Without proper guidance, comsure that the analysis stays relemunities may be tempted to start vant to Red Cross/Red Crescent labeling every weather-related needs. “Increasing risk of flood” problem they have faced as is better than “six out of seven “climate change”. This is unhelpof the best climate models agree ful. All we want to accomplish is that there is at least a 70 per cent to increase their understanding of probability that the return period their circumstances, and explain