Guidelines for Assessing the Impact of Natural Disasters on Livelihoods, Employment and Social Protection ILO Programme on Crisis Response and reconstruction (ILO/CRISIS)

Assessment techniques and coordination issues ILO Programme on Crisis Response and reconstruction (ILO/CRISIS)

Location within the assessment process Where are we? Initial Livelihood Impact Appraisal PRE-DISASTER PHASE POST-DISASTER ASSESSMENT AND APPEAL PHASE DETAILED PROGRAMMING PHASE Livelihood Assessment

Initial Livelihood Impact Appraisal  The E&LA is primarily designed to generate a credible and well justified picture of the current and likely impact on livelihoods of a sudden-onset natural disaster immediately after the disaster occurs.  It also allows a livelihood rehabilitation response plan to be constructed for the Flash Appeal, which is normally issued between 72 hours and 10 days after the natural disaster event(s).  It also allows to identify areas and issues for more detailed follow-up in a subsequent assessment. Objectives and scope of the Employment & Livelihoods Assessment (E&LA):  The E&LA should have severity, exposure, livelihood impact and recovery elements.  The severity of an event can be measured by data on rainfall, wind-speed, Richter-scale magnitude, etc.  The degree of exposure can be measured by the size and location of particular geographical areas and numbers of population in such areas.  The vulnerability of livelihoods to the event in those exposed areas/amongst those exposed populations will depend on livelihood types and poverty, and will often vary according to demographic variables such as gender, age and ethnicity. Key measurements of the E&LA:

Initial Livelihood Impact Appraisal  In most cases after a natural disaster there will be an interagency assessment organized by the United Nations Development Group (UNDG), the World Bank and the European Commission, denominated Post-disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA).  The E&LA will constitute the livelihood recovery element of this integrated assessment, and will need to be coordinated with the other aspects of the inter-agency assessment process.  It is absolutely critical that there is coordination with other actors to ensure that particular communities and districts are not overwhelmed by different assessment teams.  The E&LA guidelines are aimed at international and national experts who are trained to gather and analyze information and contribute to the preparation of a recovery plan in the programming phase. Aim of the guidelines: Assessment context for the E&LA:

Conducting an E&LA: mechanics When field visits are possible:  This type of E&LA combines baseline and exposure information to derive working hypotheses about vulnerability and livelihood impacts.  These hypotheses are then “tested” and elaborated through rapid actual field checks which are done either as part of an inter-agency process or as a stand- alone process. When field visits are not possible:  The E&LA is based entirely on baseline information and reported information on exposure and damage.  From these two pillars, the E&LA generates a livelihood impact extrapolation followed by an indicative livelihood recovery response plan. About the baseline:  In some cases, livelihood baseline information will have already been conducted, whereas in other cases, it will be necessary to conduct a “Quick and Dirty” baseline exercise as part of the E&LA. Types of E&LA:

Conducting an E&LA: initial secondary information collection  When it is not possible to go to the field, livelihood impact estimation is done on the basis of extrapolating or estimating from available secondary data and key informant information on livelihood types and vulnerability.  The collection process of secondary information usually starts immediately after a disaster strikes.  The E&LA team would ideally collect information on the magnitude of the disaster, areas and populations exposed to the disaster; underlying livelihoods of affected populations; and possible sources of livelihood recovery support for affected communities. Key questions:  What is the nature, extent and magnitude of the shock/crisis?  What geographical areas have been affected?  Which groups of people have been affected (livelihood types) and numbers?  What is the current information and knowledge on level of disruption to livelihood activities (including market disruptions)? About secondary information: Initial severity and exposure information:

Conducting an E&LA: initial secondary information collection  Information on actual and possible sources of support for affected populations must be included in the initial data gathering.  Mapping the sources of support for livelihoods recovery will help determine the magnitude and need for additional resources, especially for the Flash Appeal. Support and recovery information:

Conducting an E&LA: field visits  Field visits are required to ground-truth working hypotheses derived from initial livelihoods impact data and to get a first hand understanding of livelihood impact and recovery priorities.  Visits to the field usually consist on selective meetings with district level authorities, settlement level key informants and individual households in the affected area.  It is important to strike a balance between focus on the most vulnerable areas / persons and getting an overview of the entire population affected by the crisis. Key questions:  How were people making a living before the disaster?  What effect has the disaster had on their livelihoods?  What coping mechanisms and livelihood strategies have different people / households developed and how effective / damaging are these?  What are the opportunities and capacities for livelihood recovery within the local economy?  What types of activities are needed for livelihood recovery of the different people / households? Structure of field visits: Profiling livelihoods in affected areas:

INTERVIEW TIPS Key informants at provincial / district headquarters What are the main ways in which people make a living in this area? Who are the most vulnerable groups, where are hey and what is their relationship to those making a living? Which groups have been most affected and why? What has been the general impact of the disaster on how people make a living in the area? Elements to keep in mind: proportion of shops or businesses closed or collapsed, proportion of farms or crops flooded or otherwise damaged, roads closed, communal marketplaces, etc. What are people doing to cope? What are they likely to do? Elements to keep in mind: internal displacement, overexploitation of natural resources, liquidation of assets, reduction of food intake, etc. What are the immediate priorities to support? What can be expected from governmental and non-governmental agencies operating in the area? What changes are required for longer term recovery of affected populations and reducing vulnerability to similar events in the future? Checklist (example):

INTERVIEW TIPS Traders and SME owners Market availability and prices of essential goods Factors constraining / likely to constrain the availability in the coming weeks and months Key items to be addressed: 1 2 TO BE COMPLETED

INTERVIEW TIPS Community leaders and households How were people making a living before the disaster? Identify skills existing in the community/household What types of damage has resulted from the disaster? What effect has the disaster had on their livelihoods? Identify businesses that have stopped functioning and the causes thereof: Lack of merchandise or inputs, destroyed crops or livestock, interrupted road to carry products, collapsed locale, etc. Identify key factors that would enable them to resume activity. Checklist (example): What coping mechanisms and livelihood strategies are different people / households using to get along these days, and how effective are they? How sustainable / damaging are they in the long term? What are the opportunities and capacities for livelihood recovery within the local economy? Wage levels for skilled and unskilled workers before the disaster. Wage rates ongoing (if any) for casual work before and after the disaster

Direct impact:  Damage or destruction of workplaces, equipment and stocks.  Damage or destruction of access roads and marketplaces.  Damage or destruction of power plants, water plants, irrigation systems, etc. Indirect impact:  Market contractions.  Loss of clients.  Interruption of sources of funding.  Loss of staff (manager, qualified employees, etc.) Conducting an E&LA: defining direct and indirect impact Employment losses and disruption of income flows:

Conducting an E&LA: estimating the impact of a disaster on livelihoods Data available on the impact:  Sectorial reports on damages and income losses (official, field work estimates) TYPE OF INFORMATION Absolute numbers  Dwellings destroyed in a neighborhood  Area of standing crops destroyed by the disaster Relative proportions  Percentage of market stalls destroyed in some representative marketplaces within disaster area

EXAMPLE Using satellite images to estimate damage to buildings in Haiti Original source:

EXAMPLE Situation report of the Department of Civil Protection of Haiti Situation report #14a – Department of Civil Protection of Haiti Website:

Conducting an E&LA: estimating the impact of a disaster on livelihoods The assessment of employment losses may be based on the information on workplaces and productive assets destroyed by the disaster.  Direct estimation: field work listing the number (or the proportion) of workplaces destroyed  Indirect estimation: estimated from other proxies (e.g. percentage destruction of dwellings ) Direct proxy: Workplaces  Proxy for jobs For sector X and area A: [ # of jobs lost = baseline jobs x % of workplaces destroyed ] Indirect proxy: Dwellings  Proxy for workplaces  Proxy for jobs For sector X and area A: [ # of jobs lost = baseline jobs x % of dwellings destroyed ] Use of proxies to estimate the permanent loss of employment:

Conducting an E&LA: estimating the impact of a disaster on livelihoods Note:  Some wage workers affected may continue receiving their wages even if not working after the disaster (e.g. public sector employees) Wage workers: For sector X and area A: [ Income loss = # of workers affected x average wage (per day) x working days lost ] Use of proxies to estimate the loss of income flows for wage-workers:

Conducting an E&LA: estimating the impact of a disaster on livelihoods Note:  May be based on the number of microenterprises affected and the average income loss per microenterprise Self-employed: For sector X and area A: [ Aggregate income loss = # microenterprises affected x average income loss ], where: [ # microenterprises affected = % of microenterprises affected x # of households self-employed ] [ average income loss = average baseline income of microenterprises x working days lost ] Use of proxies to estimate the loss of income flows for self-employed:

Conducting an E&LA: estimating the impact of a disaster on livelihoods Note:  May be based Peasant farming: For sector X and area A: [ Total smallholders’ income loss = reduction of smallholders’ revenue due to disaster ] [ # of smallholders affected = cultivated area affected / average cultivated area per farm ] [ Income loss per smallholder = total smallholders’ income loss / # of smallholders affected ] Use of proxies to estimate the loss of income flows for small farmers:

Working days lost by area and sector Note / comments

Income losses by area and sector Note / comments

Consolidating impact assessment information from the different PDNA sectors The idea of this table is to consolidate the expected employment losses in all sectors analyzed in the PDNA Similar tables can be built to reflect employment losses and working days lost by region, gender, age groups and level of specialization