1. Session 1 World Bank Institute Krishna S. Vatsa
Vulnerability Assessment: Foundations of Community- based Disaster Management
Session 1 World Bank Institute Krishna S. Vatsa
Community-based Disaster Risk Management
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2. Conceptual Issues Community-based Disaster Risk Management2

3. 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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4. 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 households to 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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5. 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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6. 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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7. Vulnerability Assessment Framework
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8. 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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9. 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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10. Vulnerability Assessment (VA)
VA methods developed by organizations for their own specific 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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11. 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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12. 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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13. Reducing Vulnerability: Aspects of CBDRM Program
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14. Ability to Resist: Asset-building for Vulnerability Reduction
Assets key to vulnerability reduction; necessary to build asset 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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15. 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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16. 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 measures are planned and implemented as necessary by the community
Proactive: stress on pre-disaster measures of prevention, mitigation and preparedness
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17. 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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18. 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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19. 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.
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