BUILDING RESILIENT COMMUNITIES

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3 BUILDING RESILIENT COMMUNITIES THROUGH DISASTER RECOVERY: Lessons Learned by Concern Worldwide India Mihir R. Bhatt with Mehul Pandya and Tommy Reynolds* All India Disaster Mitigation Institute December 2010 Experience Learning Series 49 Learning Documentation Series, No. 2 (Concern Worldwide India) * Mihir R. Bhatt is the Managing Trustee of All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) based in Ahmedabad. He is the lead author of the paper. Mehul Pandya and Tommy Reynolds are with AIDMI. Corresponding author: Mihir R. Bhatt. mihir@aidmi.org Contact person in Concern: Dipankar Datta, Country Director, Concern Worldwide India. Address: A 7 Ashok Nagar, Unit 2, Bhubaneswar , Orissa, India. dipankar.datta@concern.net All India Disaster Mitigation Institute and Concern Worldwide India iii

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6 FOREWORD Over the past 10 years, we have seen the total number of people affected by natural disasters rise sharply. An average of 211 million people is directly affected each year, nearly 5 times the numbers affected by conflict. Women and children are particularly vulnerable: they are already affected by poverty, insecurity, hunger, poor health and environmental decline. Climate change is also expected to dramatically affect patterns of population movement and migration. The millions of people who will be displaced from their homes and who will lose assets due to prolonged droughts and cyclical floods or storms will be especially vulnerable. These people will require significant humanitarian protection and assistance. Despite the growing urgent needs worldwide, levels of humanitarian funding decreased by 11 percent between 2008 and 2009, dropping from almost US$17 billion a year to just over US$15 billion. The global economic crisis has put huge constraints on the overseas aid budgets of all donor governments, but the impact of the recession is being felt most painfully by crisis-stricken people in poor countries. The drivers of poverty and of humanitarian crises are increasing, not only because of the economic crises, but also because of the increase in urbanisation and population pressure, global health pandemics, increasing food insecurity, worsening water shortages, and increasing numbers of people on the move. Meeting these challenges requires preparedness and that requires more flexible funding sources as well as more flexible emergency responses and humanitarian interventions to address these emerging and complex developments. In 2009, Concern Worldwide responded to 44 disasters in 17 countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Conflict and extreme weather events cyclones, flooding and drought were responsible for the majority of the emergencies, and Concern and its partners directly assisted over 2.5 million people with cash, food, shelter, health care, and water and sanitation. But our humanitarian work is not just about responding to large, high-profile emergencies. Our humanitarian interventions also meet the daily humanitarian needs of the poorest populations. These needs are not always generated by large, sudden, globally visible disasters, but are often driven by what may mistakenly appear as a small events: the failure of a single crop, a mudslide, the death of the primary family income earner. Any of these events can tip a vulnerable family or community from poverty into a life-threatening crisis. And that crisis will almost certainly make them more vulnerable to future shocks and stresses, forcing them to sell their assets and make choices that undermine their future well-being and their children's prospects. Protecting the poorest communities from these "small" shocks is a critical part of Concern's humanitarian work. Our work in India has proven that we can successfully reduce the risk of disasters and minimise their impact in the poorest communities. Concern is building the capacity of communities to reduce the impact and risk of disasters in highly vulnerable states by setting up local Emergency Response Teams and recruiting volunteers to ensure that they are better prepared. Our Emergency Unit is working hard to ensure that disaster vi

7 risk reduction is integrated into all our programming in India and into the school education system in India. Excellent work such as this often goes unnoticed. While many agencies are aware of gigantic need for risk reduction in South Asia, few realise that lack of learning from previous experiences and making lessons available for application to other agencies and policy makers can actually improve the impact of each other's efforts. The humanitarian sector should avoid the tendency of "reinventing the wheel" every time and repeating mistakes that can be avoided. Understanding of "what works and what doesn't and why" often helps. I am happy to present this lessons learned document on the decade-long experiences of responding to emergencies in India by Concern and its 26 partners from 8 states of India, jointly prepared and published in partnership with the All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI). I congratulate both Concern India Emergency Programme team and the AIDMI for recognising the need for documenting valuable lessons from past experiences and sharing this document at national and regional level. The publication has been developed around three sources of information: a review of literature, a community survey, and state level workshops in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Orissa. The key achievements of Concern in India have been assessed and captured in terms of impact, relevance, quality, and innovations. It has found that Concern is an emergency response agency with a development approach to emergencies. The key message emerging for this effort is that working with the extreme poor and excluded communities, even in a disaster context, essentially means dealing with development issues within the framework of disaster recovery. The paper recommends regional, if not global, role for Concern experience in India. I am sure this learning document put together jointly by Concern India Country team and AIDMI will be of immense value for the active and vibrant humanitarian sector in India and South Asia. We would like to thank Irish Aid, European Commission for Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), Isle Of Mann (IOM), Jersey Overseas Aid Commission (JOAC) and the people of Ireland who have supported us generously in all our work. We would also like to thank all our partner organisations across India without whose dedication and commitment we would not have been able to achieve what we did. We are also grateful to our collaborators, especially the state governments of Orissa, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal and International Non- governmental Organisation (INGO)s, Sphere India and state IAGs in Orissa, Bihar, Assam and West Bengal for their cooperation and collaboration. With regards, Dipankar Datta Country Director Concern Worldwide India vii

8 ABBREVIATIONS AIDMI BAAHKP CBRN CCD CEAD CIER CSOs DDMAs DEC DMC DRR ECHO ERT GoI GSDMA GVT IOM JOAC NCDM NDMA NDMC NDMD NGO NIDM ODMM OMRAH OSDMA RLF SDMAs SHEDS TEC VDC All India Disaster Mitigation Institute Banki Anchalika Adibasi Harijan Kalyan Parisad Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Covenant Centre for Development Centre for Environment and Agricultural Development Concern India Emergency Register Civil Society Organisations District Disaster Management Authorities Disaster Emergency Committee Disaster Management Committee Disaster Risk Reduction European Commission for Humanitarian Aid Emergency Response Team Government of India Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority Gramya Vikas Trust Isle Of Mann Jersey Overseas Aid Commission National Centre for Disaster Management National Disaster Management Authority National Disaster Management Congress National Disaster Management Division Non-governmental Organisation National Institute of Disaster Management Organization for Disaster Management and Mitigation Orissa Institute of Medical Research & Health Services Orissa State Disaster Management Authority Revolving Loan Fund State Disaster Management Authorities Society for Education, Health and Development Services Tsunami Evaluation Coalition Village Development Committees viii

9 BACKGROUND Concern aims not only to respond to emergencies as they arise, but also to work with vulnerable communities to reduce the frequency and impact of disasters. Our Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) approach helps the poorest and most vulnerable to plan for potential disasters and minimise their impact DISASTER SITUATION IN INDIA India is the seventh largest country in the world occupying most of the Indian sub-continent. It is bounded to the north, northeast, and northwest by the Himalayas, to the east by the Bay of Bengal, to the south by the Indian Ocean and to the west by the Arabian Sea. It can be physiographically divided into seven regions: (1) Himalaya, (2) Indo-Gangetic Plain, (3) Thar Desert, (4) Central Hills, (5) Deccan plateau and Eastern and Western Ghats, and (6) Islands. India is rapidly urbanising, but remains a rural country. As per 2001 Census report, 72.2% of India is rural. India has the second largest population in the world over one billion that constitutes one-sixth of the world's population with more than 2000 ethnic groups, 4 major language families, and all great religions. India is also a country prone to various natural disasters such as droughts, floods, earthquakes, and cyclones. Disasters are not uncommon in India. India is vulnerable, in varying degrees, to a large number of natural as well as man-made disasters per cent of the landmass is prone to earthquakes of moderate to very high intensity; over 40 million hectares (12 per cent of land) is prone to floods and river erosion; of the 7,516 km long coastline, close to 5,700 km is prone to cyclones and tsunamis; 68 per cent of the cultivable area is vulnerable to drought and hilly areas are at risk from landslides and avalanches. Vulnerability to disasters/emergencies of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) origin also exists. Heightened vulnerabilities to disaster risks can be related to expanding population, urbanisation and industrialisation, development within high-risk zones, environmental degradation and climate change (NDMA, 2009). Image: Concern Worldwide 1 Inauguration of the '10 Years of Commitment' event in Bhubaneswar. One of the beneficiaries of Concern's Orissa 1999 Super Cyclone response also spoke in the event. 1 For more information, visit 1

10 Disasters, natural and manmade, slow down development or destroy fruits of development, especially and most frequently, of the poor among the affected communities. Despite high and steady growth in the country, the cycle of disasters and vulnerability deprives many millions of poor of the human development that might have accompanied such growth. Within Asia, 24 percent of deaths due to disasters occurred in India because of its size, population, and vulnerability (GoI, 2002). Since 2004 alone, India has faced three major disasters the Indian Ocean a tsunami, the South Asia earthquake, and the 2007/08 Bihar floods which killed more than 10,000; 2000; and 1000 people in India respectively. Bihar Floods Although India has a much larger population than most other Asian countries, the country represents a microcosm of Asia in terms of impact of hazards on local development efforts. Each year, India suffers disaster losses of US$1 billion according to World Bank studies (Lester and Gurenko, 2003). On average, direct natural disaster losses amount to 2% of India's GDP and up to 12% of central government revenues (Lester and Gurenko, 2003). These estimates do not fully include losses incurred by informal sector businesses and workers, which constitute a major proportion of the economy in India. The Calamity Relief Fund of the Government of India spends US$ 286 million towards providing relief to the victims of disasters. Over the past 35 years, India has suffered direct losses of US$30 billion; losses are also increasing, US$9 billion in direct losses were suffered between 1996 and 2000 alone (Lester and Gurenko, 2003). The 2001 Gujarat earthquake alone has been to the tune of US$2.7 billion (NCDM, 2002). Image: GPSVS, Bihar. Remesh Kumar On 23 December 2005, the Government of India (GoI) took a defining step by enacting the Disaster Management Act, 2005, (hereafter referred to as the Act) which envisaged the creation of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), headed by the Prime Minister, State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs) headed by the Chief Ministers, and District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs) headed by the District collector or District Magistrate or Deputy Commissioner as the Case may be, to spearhead and adopt a holistic and integrated approach to DM (NDMA, 2009). 2

11 The States of Orissa and Gujarat established Orissa State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) and Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA) in 1999 and 2001 respectively, a way before the enactment of the Indian Disaster Management Bill. Both OSDMA and GSDMA are headed by the Chief Ministers of the respective states and were set up in the wake of the Orissa super-cyclone in 1999 and the Gujarat earthquake in However, no States have yet set up Disaster Management Authorities after the 2005 Disaster Management Bill. The Bill requires the state governments establish District Disaster Management Authorities for each district in a state as well. The country has integrated administrative machinery for management of disasters at the National, State, District and Sub- District levels. The basic responsibility of undertaking rescue, relief and rehabilitation measures in the event of natural disasters, as at present, is that of the State Governments concerned. The Central Government supplements the efforts of the States by providing financial and logistic support (NDMD, 2002). Image: Concern Worldwide Gujarat Bhuj Earthquake India is one of the most disaster-prone counties but is also home to the most vibrant array of public and private disaster reduction and recovery initiatives. The Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) complement the efforts of victims and government to prevent and modify hazard occurrence with the measures that would reduce vulnerabilities and increase people's capacity to face hazards. In last decade or so efforts of CSOs have helped to draw attention and resources to disaster prevention and risk reduction, instead of relief only. These CSOs have demonstrated and mainstreamed risk reduction measures, and challenged development that induces or reinforce risk. They have also introduced and supported several professional standards such as the Red Cross Code of Conduct and the Sphere Standards, including the Hyogo Framework for Action Despite impressive gains in the economic sector, India continues to face pressing problems, such as the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, environmental degradation, severe 2 For more information, visit Country.aspx?cid=85 3

12 Dipankar Datta, Country Director, Concern Worldwide visiting AILA Cyclone affected areas in West Bengal. Image: Sabuj Sangha, West Bengal. Ashok poverty and ethnic and religious strife. The country's growing population of over one billion strains its resources, and the floods, drought, landslides and cyclones that occur regularly are an impediment to basic human development. As a result, over one quarter of the population live on less than $1 a day and nearly half of children under the age of five are underweight 2. It is certain that India will experience more disasters. Much progress has been made in the past decade in India toward addressing disasters in a more sustainable manner. The institutions such as NIDM, NDMA, OSDMA, and GSDMA are contributing to the formulation and implementation of national and state level policies. Many national and international nongovernmental organisations are promoting CBDRM. Multi-agency efforts such as the National Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction 3 (launched by SEEDS in New Delhi, All India Disaster Mitigation Institute in Ahmedabad, and Swayam Shikshan Prayog in Mumbai), Sphere in India 4 /Inter Agency Group, and Training and Learning Circle 5 are trying to ensure that disaster responses are better organised and achieve better impact. Yet, helping the poor in India to reduce their risks effectively remains a distant dream. It has been repeatedly experienced that locally embedded institutions and partnerships are more likely to be effective than external interventions. Thus, raising and nurturing local capacities and institutions is key to risk reduction in India and other developing countries of Asia CONCERN WORLDWIDE Concern is a voluntary non-governmental organisation devoted to the relief, assistance and advancement of peoples in need in less developed areas of the world. A small group of determined people started Concern in response to appeals from missionaries working in war torn Biafra in Africa Concern, as it was then known, was formally established in the home of Kay 3 For more information, visit 4 For more information, visit 5 For more information, visit 6 For more information, visit 4

13 and John O'Loughlin Kennedy on 19 March Since then, Concern has gone on to work in over 50 countries, responding to major emergencies as well as working in long term development programmes. Today, with more than 3,200 staff of 50 nationalities, Concern operates in 28 of the world's poorest countries, helping people to achieve major and long-lasting improvements in their lives 6. Since 2007, Concern has implemented 34 emergency projects in 20 countries 7. Concern is a member of the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC 8 ). Concern Worldwide focuses on the following five key areas 9 : Education: With 113 million children of primary school age not enrolled in school, Concern is focused on providing basic education to those who need it most. Emergencies: Concern aims to respond to emergencies as they arise. We also work to reduce the frequency of disasters. Health: Concern recognises the importance of nutrition and a safe environment in the promotion of good health. Livelihoods: "Livelihoods" means a person's ability to earn a living. Our livelihoods work is fundamental to what we do. HIV and AIDS: Over 40 million people around the world are now living with HIV. Among these, more than 95% live in developing countries In emergency work, Concern to adhere to the following international humanitarian codes of practice: The Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief the Humanitarian Charter the Sphere Project Minimum Standards in Disaster Relief the People in Aid Code of Good Practice in the Management and Support of Aid Personnel In addition, Concern's humanitarian aid interventions particularly in conflict situations are informed by three main 7 For more information, visit 8 The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) was formed in We are an umbrella organisation for 13 humanitarian aid agencies. At times of overseas emergency, the DEC brings together a unique alliance of the UK's aid, corporate, public and broadcasting sectors to rally the nation's compassion, and ensure that funds raised go to DEC agencies best placed to deliver effective and timely relief to people most in need. 9 For more information, visit 5

14 bodies of international law: human rights law, refugee law, and international humanitarian law as laid down in the Geneva Conventions and their protocols CONCERN WORLDWIDE INDIA PROGRAMME In October 1999 the coast of Orissa in Eastern India was struck by two cyclones. The first, on October 17 did serious damage in one District, Ganjam, and caused about 250 deaths, but did not receive much international attention. The second, on 29 October, struck a far wider area of coastal Orissa and a tidal wave spread across many low lying areas near the sea. At least 10,000 people died and many more lost their homes, livestock, and crops. With electric power and telecommunications cut, and roads and railways blocked, the cyclone brought much of Orissa, including the State Government, to a standstill 10. In response to this emergency the DEC launched an Appeal on 6 November Eleven DEC members, including concern participated. At the start of the DEC Appeal made in response to the Orissa Super Cyclone in 1999, concern had no office in India and had never worked there. Concern's operation quickly ran into the bureaucratic difficulties of any foreign organisation trying to start operations in India, and all its funds had to be sent via its major local partner NGO, SHEDS which accepted this additional responsibility and managed the funds efficiently. Since Concern could have started work in Orissa using other funding sources even without joining the Appeal, it could be argued that it was better for the DEC to include it rather than leave it out. DFID took a less positive view and refused emergency funds to Concern on the grounds that it had not worked in India before the cyclone 11. It was certain that this financial arrangement could not realistically last forever. As a result, Concern Worldwide established its Liaison Office in India with the approval of the Reserve Bank of India in January Today, Concern Worldwide India (hereafter refer to as Concern) is one of the most successful agencies having presence in more than six vulnerable states of India. Concern has been working in India since the 1999 Orissa Super Cyclone, providing support to local organisations to implement relief, rehabilitation and development work. The Country Office is in Bhubaneswar, Orissa, which is the priority state for Concern's long-term development work in India. Concern is 10 Independent Evaluation of Expenditure of DEC India Cyclone Appeal, Independent Evaluation of Expenditure of DEC India Cyclone Appeal,

15 committed to working with the poor and excluded to enable them to exercise their fundamental rights and create just and fair societies, where the rights of all are respected and maintained. Concern has completed 10 years of continuous presence and work in India in November In last decade or so, Concern has responded to several emergencies which include the Orissa Super Cyclone of November 1999, the Gujarat Earthquake of January 2001, the Orissa Drought and Floods of 2001, the Bihar Floods of July 2002, 2007 and 2008, Orissa Floods in 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008, the 2004 Tsunami in Southern India, Tamil Nadu floods in 2006, Gujarat floods in 2006 and 2007, Andhra Pradesh flood and Cyclone AILA in West Bengal in Besides this, Concern has also responded to the man-made disaster in Khandamal in Orissa in Image: Sabuj Sangha, West Bengal. Ashok AILA Relief work in progress. Following is the historic timeline of key emergency responses by Concern India from and internal institutional changes/developments that took place within Concern during this timeframe. On the other side, we are also presenting the key developments on the disaster related policy front in India. It can be seen that some of the major disaster responses have led to major changes in government policies and establishment of new institutions. While, it is difficult to say who contributed the most in bringing about all these changes, it can be certainly said that Concern was a part of these emergency responses and supported the idea of better governance at all levels throughout its decade long presence in India. Concern's new country strategy recognises the need for enhancing Concern's capacity to respond to national emergencies anywhere in India. In line with this strategy Concern has restructured the functioning of emergency unit by appointing a programme manager to head the unit for the purpose and for mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction in its development programmes. One of the key elements in the new strategy is to move away from direct funding of community based projects and grassroots NGOs. Instead the focus is towards building Concern and its partners' capacity to respond to national emergencies. Advocacy is also one of the most important agendas of the new 7

16 Table-1.1: Historic timeline of key emergency responses by Concern India ( ) Year Key Actions by Concern India 1999 Response to Orissa Super Cyclone, the first major intervention in India 2001 Response to January 26, 2001 Gujarat Earthquake Response to Droughts and Floods in Orissa 2002 Response to floods in Bihar and riots in Gujarat 2003 Response to Orissa Floods Approaches to Disaster Risk Reduction Developed (Strategy and Guidelines) 2004 A comprehensive Emergency Mitigation and Preparedness Programme ( ) launched in Orissa and Gujarat. Response to India Ocean Tsunami in South India 2005 Response to India Ocean Tsunami in South India 2006 Response to Floods in Orissa and Bihar A Strategic Plan of Action for developed 2007 Response to Floods in Orissa, Bihar, and Gujarat Emergency Response Capacity Building Strategy was developed for effective response 2008 Response to floods in Bihar and Orissa 2009 Response to Andhra Pradesh Floods, AILA Cyclone in West Bengal, and Kandhamal Conflict Key Development on the Policy Front Orissa State Disaster Management Authority was established. The Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority was established. The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) came into existence National Disaster Management Framework was developed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, GoI. The Government of India (GoI) took a defining step by enacting the Disaster Management Act, The First India Disaster Management Congress organised by NIDM and NDMA Second Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction Organised in India. National Policy on Disaster Management 2009 was published by NDMA, MHA, GoI. Second India Disaster Management Congress Organised. 8

17 strategy. Following the country strategy, Concern Worldwide India has also come up with its 'emergency capacity building strategy'. This focuses on building partnerships at the national, State and local level and building of Concern's staff capacity on the one hand and the capacity of partners' staff on the other. Another important element of the strategy is to integrate disaster risk reduction (DRR) concerns into their ongoing 'governance and livelihoods' programs. The HIV and AIDS interventions are being viewed as intimately linked to poverty issues, as the poor invariably migrate and in the process pick up the deadly infection and spread it further BACKGROUND OF THE LESSONS LEARNED DOCUMENT Simple interventions, such as supplying families with drought resistant seeds, or planting trees in areas prone to flooding or landslides can prove life-saving should disasters occur 13. Concern has responded to several disasters in different parts of the country over the last decade. During the 10th anniversary of the devastating 1999 Orissa Super Cyclone, Concern felt that it has not been able to document lessons from these responses systematically for institutional memory. It found that most of the Concern experiences and lessons learned were partially captured and scattered in various reports. As a result, it decided to commission a study to prepare a comprehensive lessons learned document with the following objectives: A comprehensive report on the key accomplishment of Concern in India since 1999 along with the lessons learnt and how these learning has been applied in successive programmes; Share the lessons learnt with other actors/ collaborators for policy advocacy. Make use of the lessons learnt to enhance programme quality and effectiveness within and outside India. To systematically document the learning to make it institutional memory. The aim of this report is to assist international and local humanitarian agencies working in India by capturing key lessons that have been learned by Concern and its partners from emergency responses in various parts of India. 12 Emergency Mitigation and Preparedness Program, Program Evaluation Report, March 4, For more information, visit 9

18 1.5. METHODOLOGY This study has been developed around two sources of information, a review of literature provided to the consultant by Concern and a unique partner and community survey. The literature included programme proposals, evaluations, and other reflections from the Concern team regarding major disaster responses since A community survey was conducted to collected information for this review by Concern partners in three states 14 of India. The survey included eight partners and community representatives. The data was tabulated and responses analysed quantitatively. In addition, three workshops in the states of Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Orissa were organised with key officials of Concern and its partners during the month of June 2010 to share and validate the primary findings of the study. A community visit in Orissa was done on June 26, LIMITATIONS The study was undertaken a long time after the major disaster events, thus specific details such as exact time-frame and numbers were difficult for the stakeholders to recall. In order to address this limitation, authors of this report circulated an outline well in advance for partners to assess past documents and experiences. Another limitation of the study was that of limited direct interaction with the programme participants and field staff. Also, many of the staff members who responded to previous emergencies have left. In retrospect we can see that more focus on the views of poor and excluded communities in the survey could have been very useful. To an extent we have tried to counteract these factors in the report. 14 As well as Puducherry, information was collected in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Orissa. Cash for work in progress at Lahiparas, Basantpur, Bihar Koshi Flood. Image: Concern Worldwide. Mamata Sahu 10

19 Image: XIM, Bhubaneswar Fr. P T Joseph, Director, XIMB; Surya Narayan Patra, Honourable Minister, Revenue & Disaster Management; Mr. Mihir Bhatt, All India Institute of Disaster Mitigation and Dipankar Datta, Country Director, Concern Worldwide India on World Humanitarian Day

20 MAIN FINDINGS 2 In September of 2008, Bihar suffered the worst flooding in 50 years due to heavy rains in Nepal that breached the embankment of the Kosi river Barrage. Concern launched an emergency response to meet the basic survival needs of people displaced by the flooding, providing water, food rations, and temporary shelter to affected populations RELEVANCE: THE ORISSA FOCUS Orissa is vulnerable to multiple disasters. To quote from the vulnerability ranking of Concern "Orissa stands at the top" among other vulnerable states of India according to their vulnerability to emergencies. The unique geo-climatic conditions of Orissa make the Indian state vulnerable to various natural hazards. Coastal districts are prone to floods and cyclones, while drought is particularly frequent and severe in the western districts of the state (Concern, 2004). Traditionally, Concern has been more active in the state of Orissa compared to other states of India. On the basis of the fact that Orissa has the largest percentage of population living below the poverty line among Indian states, Concern has made the strategic decision to focus on Orissa for long term development support (Concern, 2007a). The strategy that Concern set out in November 2007 identified different strategies for Concern response in Orissa from Concern responses for other vulnerable states. This strategy can be seen as highly relevant for several reasons. First, the extent of disaster preparedness needs within Orissa are significant. Second, more limited engagement in other states allows Concern to focus on a core base while maintaining links needed for wider operations, when necessary. The Gujarat earthquake of 2001 was a major turning point for Concern. Concern turned this event into an opportunity. Gujarat has influenced the way DRR is developing in and with Concern and pointed out some of its more challenging aspects. Protection against flooding is a basic requirement for the salt pans. The tsunami affected the salt pans by breaching the protective walls and silting the pans extensively. Not that everything was perfect before the tsunami. Essential infrastructure had long been neglected. Lack of repair and maintenance had made available infrastructure also ineffective or defunct. When the 15 For more information, visit Country.aspx?cid=85 12

21 Image: OPDSC, Orissa. Venkat Rao Concern supported project was initiated, primary focus was placed on supporting the existing community organisations in repairing and rebuilding the basic infrastructure. It involved clearing the farms and putting up bunds including protective embankments. The intervention had been planned much beyond the recovery of damaged infrastructure to address the long pending infrastructural issues as well. Access roads were built to help salt producers reduce the cost of transportation. Work was also done on infrastructure for management of salt farms including storage platforms, repairing of pumps and engines, and making electricity available to the farms. Introduction of Sunflower cultivation in Chandrapur Block, Orissa after the 2007 floods. Institution building among salt producers meant organising them as Common Resource Groups (CRGs), salt vending women into Common Livelihood Interest Groups (CILGs), and forming their federations. Formation of CRGs was more of an articulation of already existing collectives of salt farmers around shared pump sets. However, not necessarily all members of a CRG shared a single pump. CLIGs were formed out of DWCRA groups. Existing societies of salt farmers were also supported. Higher structures included NET as village level 13

22 federation of CRGs, and Forum as the apex federation of NETs and CILGs at the overall project level. Considerable support was extended to advocacy programme that focused on some of the long pending issues crippling the salt farming sector. The emphasis here had been on getting salt sector recognised under 'agriculture', thus changing its current status of 'industry', and to establish the rights of traditional salt farm workers on salt pans, protecting them against the onslaught of modern industry on the coasts. Advocacy work also included an elaborate study of Andhra Pradesh's salt industry, which formed the baseline for further interventions, educational programmes, and interfacing with political parties and the government. Attempts had also been made on value addition and quality improvement (CWI, 2009). Disaster preparedness is a critical issue in areas that Concern works, which are often in the complex process of disaster recovery. Concern programmes have been effective in raising community awareness of the importance of preparedness. Activities such as local contingency planning and creation of VDMCs have been particularly effective. Still, more work will be needed before many partner communities recognise preparedness as one of their own priorities and initiate action to expand preparedness. Concern had supported a civil society initiative that had members from most humanitarian agencies working in Orissa, to review and make recommendations to revise the Orissa Relief Code to make it relevant and appropriate to modern times. This was done through a series of regional consultations with civil society representatives from across the state. The summary findings and recommendations were further reviewed and modified by the NGOs based in Bhubaneswar. This was reviewed by SMRC (by late Ashok Hans) to ensure inclusion of issues of PWDs. This was then edited by two former IAS officers before submission to the Revenue secretary in This document is being considered by OSDMA which is now drafting the Disaster Management Code. All Concern programmes integrate and encourage advocacy with state and district level authorities to highlight gaps in recovery and draw attention to acute needs of the community. The most important contribution at the State and national level is the attempt to modify the relief code of the State Government by an NGO 14

23 network ODMM supported by Concern. This needs follow up to ensure that changes occur at the national level and in other State relief codes 16. Many of Concern's emergency response and recovery programmes support the Hyogo Framework for Action 17 (HFA). A list of select actions complying with the HFA is given below. Table-2.1: Complying with the Hyogo Framework for Action HFA Priority Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels. Reduce the underlying risk factors. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels. Concern Worldwide India Activities Pressuring state and national government to revise relief code; Arguing for community participation in framing DRR policies; Formulating programmes that support the formation of policies supporting DRR; Holding dialogues with key government institutions such OSDMA and GSDMA to foster government commitment. Gathering data for vulnerability assessment; Encouraging community participation in hazard mapping; Helping disseminate early warning; Organising awareness campaigns to make people at risk understand early warnings and take appropriate actions. Developing Emergency Response Capacity through Concern India Emergency Register (CIER); Conducting training programmes on DRR topics for partners and communities; Developing Village Disaster Management Committee (DMC) and Emergency Fund for local disaster response. Helping DRR communities in integrating HIV/AIDS related risks; Supporting the implementation of land use plans and building codes; Applying financial risk sharing mechanisms; Incorporating DRR approaches into development projects. Networking with community-based organisations, government bodies, and DEC agencies; Ensuring female participation in emergency response and recovery programmes Strengthening of local Emergency Response Team (ERT) 16 Emergency Mitigation and Preparedness Program, Program Evaluation Report, March 4, For more information, visit 15

24 Table-2.2: Complying with the Red Cross Code of Conduct No. Red Cross Principle Concern Worldwide India Level of Performance** 1. Humanitarian Imperative 6 Medium 2. Non-discrimination 7 High 3. Religion and Politics 9 High 4. Foreign Policy Culture and Custom 6 Medium 6. Build on Local Capacities 5 Medium 7. Involve Beneficiaries 5 Medium 8. Reduce future vulnerabilities 5 Medium 9. Accountable to beneficiaries 6 Medium Accountable to donors 8 High 10. Dignity in images 6 Medium **1-3 = low, 4-6 = medium, and 7-10 = high 2.2. PROGRAMME QUALITY The use of strategic objectives for planning is one of the most important mechanisms for management learning. Concern India recognition of this and creation of a country strategy ( ) and capacity building strategy allow efficient and effective monitoring and reflection of activities performed. Adherence to Red Cross code of conduct It is evident from the review of literature and interaction with Concern and its partners that their joint responses to emergencies in India have been extremely successful. Concern and its partners tried their best to follow the Red Cross code of conduct 18 for disaster response programme and Sphere minimum standards, while designing and implementing different interventions. They could reach out to the most vulnerable and needy communities and the interventions were/are timely and need based. Programme interventions were designed and implemented with adequate participation of beneficiary organisations and local partners (CWI, 2006a). The emergency responses of Concern during have been assessed against the Red Cross Code of Conduct below. This is entirely based on our assessment of Concern performance in last decade and is subjective. Capacity Development Capacity development of partner organisations and their staff members through training and exposure visits has been one of the 18 For more information, visit 16

25 most significant achievements of Concern in India. The completion report of the 2007 Bihar report noted that concern has facilitated capacity building of the implementing partners in the areas of need assessment, programme planning, implementation and monitoring. Concern Emergency Response Team members and Emergency Response Volunteers spent time with the partners to assist and guide them in programme planning and management. Besides orientation on record and book keeping, Concern also helped partners to establish linkages with other organisations/networks who are engaged in disaster response work (CWI, 2007b). Similarly, Concern helped Gramya Vikas Trust (GVT) in Gujarat during its post earthquake recovery programme develop a vision and mission statement of the organisation. Image: Concern Worldwide. Sebastian T V People interacting with ECHO monitoring mission. Partnership Development Partnership development is a key area for anyone that implements programmes through local partners. The partnership between implementing partners and Concern has been very good and they have been complementing each other in order to make the programme effective and sustainable. As partners they tried to recognise each other's strength and weaknesses & look forward to better partnership without undermining values and commitments. Partners were quite comfortable with each other and maintained cordial relationship so as to achieve the goal. While the implementing partners were open to learning and adapting to new ideas, wherever required they were also practical and made suggestions for improvement. Since Concern is not operational, all activities and programme has been implemented through partners. After implementing this programme for over 3 three years in partnership with the local organisation with different capacities the relationship has been strengthened. Concern considers its partners as the strengths of Concern itself and values partnership to great extent (CWI, 2004). Following is our assessment on how Concern complied with the Principles of Partnership 19 endorsed by the Global Humanitarian Platform, 12 July For more information, visit 17

26 Table-2.3: Complying the Principles of Partnership No. Principles 1. Equality requires mutual respect between members of the partnership irrespective of size and power. The participants must respect each other's mandates, obligations and independence and recognise each other's constraints and commitments. Mutual respect must not preclude organisations from engaging in constructive dissent. 2. Transparency is achieved through dialogue (on equal footing), with an emphasis on early consultations and early sharing of information. Communications and transparency, including financial transparency, increase the level of trust among organisations. 3. Effective humanitarian action must be reality-based and action-oriented. This requires result-oriented coordination based on effective capabilities and concrete operational capacities. 4. Responsibility. Humanitarian organisations have an ethical obligation to each other to accomplish their tasks responsibly, with integrity and in a relevant and appropriate way. They must make sure they commit to activities only when they have the means, competencies, skills, and capacity to deliver on their commitments. Decisive and robust prevention of abuses committed by humanitarians must also be a constant effort. 5. Complementarity. The diversity of the humanitarian community is an asset if we build on our comparative advantages and complement each other's contributions. Local capacity is one of the main assets to enhance and on which to build. Whenever possible, humanitarian organisations should strive to make it an integral part in emergency response. Language and cultural barriers must be overcome Performance of Concern Worldwide India*** **1-3 = low, 4-6 = medium, and 7-10 = high In general, quality of Concern programmes has been high. However, like another agencies Concern has some limitation also. The following table highlights strengths and weaknesses of Concern and is based on the Emergency Response Capacity Building Strategy: Building an effective response to emergencies, a document created in November 2007 by Concern. 18

27 Table-2.4: Strengths and Weakness/Limitations of Concern Strengths Experience and credibility: Thanks to the response to major national emergencies during the last two decades - from Lattur earth quake to Orissa super cyclone; to Gujarat earth quake to the recent Tsunami, besides having responded to other medium emergencies like floods in Assam, Bihar, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, Concern has gained considerable experience in working with partners and reputation in India as a serious and credible actor in the area of emergency response. The key experience has been in the areas of livelihood restoration, shelter, gender and equality and policy advocacy. Concern India can also get technical guidance and support from the Emergency Unit and the Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU) in Dublin, if and when required. Fund raising: Concern Worldwide has a humanitarian imperative to save lives and reduce suffering in the event of a disaster and this is backed by a reasonable financial commitment from the HQ. Concern India has also established linkages and credibility with DEC and the European Commission for Humanitarian Aid (ECHO). These factors guarantee a certain degree of financial capacity to respond to emergencies in India, though not unlimited. Human Resource: Concern has established an Emergency unit as part of the new strategy to enhance our emergency response capacity. Concern staffs from other programme units too are members of CIER who have the basic training to take part in emergency response. We have also enrolled partner staff as CIER members and they too have receive training in emergency response work. Partners: Concern can also rely on our emergency programme partners from Orissa, Gujarat, Bihar, Weakness/Limitation Fund Raising: Fund raising for humanitarian response is often linked to, the magnitude of the disaster, the death toll, its media coverage / publicity and the appeal by the national governments for external assistance. India is an emerging economic power and is becoming less inclined to seek international assistance to meet even large emergencies like the Tsunami of December This factor could affect fund raising for emergency responses. Human Resource: Concern Worldwide India programme is managed by a small number of programme staff and we do not intent to increase the staff number in the near future. This would mean that our capacity to respond is not unlimited. Our intervention decision will be guided by our policy and driven by our assessment of need, ability to respond in good time and the potential of being effective and efficient in programme implementation. Geographic focus: It is becoming increasingly difficult to have geographical focus for emergencies as natural hazards are no longer limited to 'traditional disaster prone areas'. While our aim is to respond to large emergencies in any part of the country, we will have 19

28 Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to respond to emergencies, who by now has good exposure to Concern's humanitarian response principles, values and systems, should the need arise. Geographical location: With its national office at Bhubaneswar, Concern is in a good position to respond to emergencies in Orissa, arguably the most vulnerable state in India. The vulnerability analysis show that eastern part of India is more vulnerable to multiple hazards compared to the rest of the country and this makes our location in Orissa all the more strategic. Bihar, Assam and the north eastern states, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh are accessible form Bhubaneswar. strategic focus on some of the most vulnerable areas of the country where we think the need is more and local community and government capacity to respond is inadequate. With our limited human and financial resources, we may not be able to respond to all emergencies across the country and therefore we would begin the capacity building process with select states. This is not to rule out the rest of the states from probable intervention. We will be better prepared in the selected states to respond. Targeting Targeting is very important for any effective emergency response operation. Based on the review of documents and interactions with Concern and its partners it seems that Concern has quite well established and unified response strategy. Concern India's strategy with the first distributions after an emergency is to target entire villages that have been severely affected to achieve the greatest speed. For instance, during 2003 Orissa Floods Emergency Response Programme, the following criteria were applied for emergency distributions. Villages that are most affected. Displacement of all or some villagers. Villages cut off from the outside world. Considerable damage to houses, property and crops. High proportion of vulnerable groups amongst population. While selecting the areas, first the most severely affected blocks, then the most severely affected Gram Panchayats within those blocks and then most severely affected villages within those GPs were selected. Efforts were made to avoid duplication with other agencies through co-ordination at each administrative level (Concern, 2003). Project participants were identified through a doorto-door survey during end June The survey conducted by local volunteers, covered basic demographic information and impact of the cyclone 20

29 Image: GPSVS, Bihar. Remesh Kumar (conditions of houses, loss of property and livestock etc.). Significantly, the format helped identify the most vulnerable families by collecting information on households headed by women, with elderly people, families which depended on begging for their livelihood and belonging to minority communities. The data was analysed. The resulting master list of potential project participants was discussed with Panchayat members, Sansad level representatives and the all party relief committees at the village level. The finalised lists were singned by the Panchayat representatives IMPACT Based on the data received through partner and community surveys, Concern has had significant impact in building safer communities. Information collected for this review by Concern partners in three states 21 of India indicate that the communities where Concern works now meet many indicators of disaster resilient communities 22. However, the survey results regarding the level of community resilience is slightly less positive. It must be noted that Concern works in some of the most vulnerable locations and areas that are affected by disasters. This adverse selection suggests that the surveyed communities would tend to score low on resilience-related issues. Over 40% of respondents believe that people in their community are engaged in unsafe livelihood 20 Brochure: Uday, An Emergency Response to Cyclone Aila in West Bengal, As well as Puducherry, information was collected in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Orissa. 22 For more information, visit Sebastian T V, Emergency Programme Manager, Concern Worldwide India, explaining Concern Worldwide emergency approach to Jurgen Tummler, Regional Water and Sanitation Sector Expert during ECHO Monitoring mission to Birpur, Bihar in

30 Women attending hygiene education session, OMRAH, Orissa. Image: OMRAH, Orissa. Nalini activities. 34% of respondents do not believe that household asset base is sufficiently large and diverse to support crisis coping strategies and another 10% say they just do not know. 38% of respondents say there is no community fund to implement response activities. Finally, 34% of respondents say that their communities do not have access to affordable insurance. Concern communities scored strong on some measures within each of five measured areas of DRR, including DRR governance, risk assessment, knowledge management, vulnerability reduction, and preparedness. Community based cyclone shelter management has been a successful example/ model for the state government, the communities and the international support organisations, who are providing support for construction of such huge community infrastructure. In the past such cyclone shelters and flood shelters were constructed in Andhra Pradesh with least community involvement leading zero ownership. After spending big budget and other resources the utility of the infrastructure is very poor, rather the same were misused by people for antisocial activities, which proved to be threat to the communities. As a lesson learned from the neighboring state Government of Orissa encouraged peoples' involvement in management of the structures. Through this programme intervention Community based cyclone shelter management was initiated and thereby the cyclone shelters are better managed and utilised. The same process could be replicated in other districts/ states by the relevant authorities (Concern, 2004). With respect to community governance, Concern scored very well. For example, in areas where Concern and partners work, 95% of respondents indicated that "committed, effective and accountable community leadership of DRR planning and implementation". Additionally, 96% of community respondents agree or strongly agree that there are representative organisations in their community that are dedicated to disaster risk management. Concern supports in establishing VDCs has been a successful strategy in this regard. 22

31 Yet, when questions come to community management of resources, the response is not as positive. When asked if their community has "community managed funds" and resources for disaster recovery, 24% of respondents disagree and 9% do not know. With respect to risk assessment, the two outlying points were positive. 88% of respondents believe that their community has the capacity to carry out a hazard and risk assessment. Awareness raising for disaster preparedness is achieved through many Concern programmes. Taking this to further levels of firmly establishing community commitment, capability and resources for local leaders to take programming forward remains a challenge (Concern, 2008a). The EPP found that training provided to partners teams on community contingency planning was particularly useful in building local capacities for community mobilisation and planning for emergencies (Concern, 2008a). Responses regarding community preparedness for future emergency response reflect the fact that preparedness has been a component of several Concern recovery programmes. Preparedness against recurring hazards such as floods and cyclones are largely addressed (Concern, 2008a). 81% of respondents say that safe evacuation routes are identified and known to their community's members. 68% of respondents say that the community they are associated with has "knowledge of how to obtain aid and other support for relief and recovery." Finally, 81% of respondents suggest that their community trusts the "effectiveness, equity and impartiality of relief and recovery agencies and actions." Coastal island agriculture in Andhra Pradesh, practised in estuarine geographies, is characterised by a dependence on seasonal or distant fresh water sources for irrigation and a limited crop composition. Area is prone to crop destruction by natural calamities such as floods, cyclone and tsunami. Livelihoods are broadly in isolation from the mainland with near total absence of alternative sources. Distress situations lead to extensive migration to mainland. Shrimp farms looked lucrative in the beginning, especially because of the crisis in agriculture in the mid eighties. Large stretches of agricultural land were converted into shrimp farms in late eighties. However, they never delivered on the promise they held. Instead they inflicted serious blows to the village economy, pushing farmers into debt. It left the farm lands saline and infertile. Vast stretches of farm 23

32 lands that had been converted into shrimp farms lay abandoned along the islands. Reclamation of saline land was taken up in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry. While the main efforts were in Andhra Pradesh were focused on converting the abandoned shrimp farms back to agricultural land, the attempt in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry was to reclaim land affected by tsunami and related floods. Conversion of abandoned shrimp farms to green farms mark the completion of a cycle which started in the late eighties, when farmers of the area resorted to shrimp farming under the blue revolution programme to escape distress. But they failed to realise the profits that the shrimp farms were expected to generate. In spite of incurring regular losses, farmers continued in shrimp farming till early nineties, ultimately abandoning the farms as the land had become heavily saline and were unsuitable for cultivation. The Concern supported intervention therefore marked a shift in this trend. The intervention showed the far-sightedness of the stakeholders in addressing the local problems from a historic vantage point, with a sectoral perspective (Concern, 2009) INNOVATIONS Concern has been quite innovative in its approach to emergency response and recovery operations. The uniqueness of Concern's approach was highlighted in the DEC Evaluation Report of the 1999 Orissa Super Cyclone. Concern Worldwide was unusual amongst DEC members in that their rehabilitation programme has also included the provision of what they called "community assets" to two of its local partners. The idea is that these assets will generate income for the NGO, which it will then be able to use to run its own credit scheme. The assets given include a tractor for one NGO, and a minibus for another Concern partner, SHEDS. 23 As an organisation based in just one state of a very large country and with quite a small staff, it is a challenge to be ready to respond to a national level emergency wherever it may arise in India. For this reason, the Concern India Emergency Register (CIER) has been established. This includes a number of staff from local NGOs in Orissa and other two states such as Gujarat and 23 Independent Evaluation of Expenditure of DEC India Cyclone Appeal,

33 Bihar. (All of whom have experience of working on emergencies), who have agreed to work on Concern's behalf for the duration of an emergency for a limited period should the need arise. A number of roles have been defined, which these members might play in terms of carrying out assessments, identifying new partners, following up on purchasing and logistics, monitoring and so on (CWI, 2004). This has now been re-constituted and renamed as Emergency Response Team (ERT). This team is the key capacity vehicle being developed by the Concern at the moment and holds a lot of promise in terms of meeting the agenda of the new country strategy to respond to national emergencies. 24 The Emergency Response Team (ERT) is an important innovation for Concern and for civil society in India. Although additional experience is needed to see how the capabilities of the team will be drawn on by partners, the ERT stands as a model for using available expertise to fulfil Concern's mandate on a much broader national level than would be possible through direct programming. Another such example is that of use of mobile tracking system by volunteers in Orissa to improve the service delivery for NREGS, old age pension, public distribution system etc. Image: Concern Worldwide. Narayan Khatua Fresh vegetables from the reclaimed fields in Birpur, Bihar. Replication of homestead raising: Previous experience has shown that low-lying households are prone to flooding causing damage to the house structure and goods inside. The damage or the impact of the flooding could be minimised or mitigated by raising the foundation of a homestead to protect against all but the most extreme levels of flooding. It is normally done at the cluster level involving households. The cost involved is substantial, so it really requires community input, as a single family probably cannot manage it easily by themselves. Through this programme intervention 1386 most vulnerable, poor and marginalised families were supported to raise their homesteads. But seeing the benefits of the work people in 24 Emergency Mitigation and Preparedness Program, Program Evaluation Report, March 4,

34 the adjacent villages have raised their homesteads on their own. No programme can support all the low lying houses or the vulnerable families in the block or district, but as a sample work it was an effort to encourage the communities to take initiatives at the household and community level utilising the available local resources instead of depending totally on the external support (CWI,Concern 2004). Different partners are using different concepts and frameworks and this strengthens the support Concern provides as there are multiple ways to reduce risk. There are many ways to reducing risks and each local partner and community needs to find his or her own way. Partner organisations reported appreciating the monthly reviews in the EPP Programme as a forum for experience sharing. The final report of the project noted this as a great opportunity for partners to learn from one another and develop shared view of the project with Concern. Yet, later in the programme, these were replaced by monitoring visits by Concern staff to verify outputs rather than provide technical assistance. Cash for Work in progress at Banelipatti GP, Supaul, Bihar. Common farming by SHG members: One of the best examples that have emerged out of the programme implementation in the EPP Programme is in respect of the SHG capacity building and resource mobilisation for emergency preparedness. It has been observed that in many of the programme villages the SHGs have taken big patches of land on rent / lease from some large farmers or the land owner and have done common vegetable farming. In Deulipari village of Satyabadi block, Puri district the SHG members have done similar activity. They have got good return from it, which has boosted their confidence to take up bigger work in future. The SHG members said that the profit from the investment has been used to start an emergency fund. It is a very good practice and it will be comparatively profitable and can effectively be replicated as a successful model elsewhere (Concern, 2004). Image: Concern Worldwide. Mamata Sahu 26

35 Village DMC and Emergency Fund have been established at the village level in the entire programme area. Through the programme implementation the community capacities have been strengthened in terms of their knowledge and resources. The roles and responsibilities of the DMC members are outlined and they are provided with trainings and exposure, which has enabled them to strengthen their capacities. With realisation of the need of resources the communities have come forward to generate fund locally, which has happened by small contribution (Rupees 2-5 per family per month). Currently in all the 160 project villages there is ` 4,000 to 22,000 available as Emergency Fund, which can be utilised in case of any emergency situation in the village. This shows the communities' proactive effort towards preparedness and a sense of dignity (Concern, 2004). Other key innovation includes setting up of a technology park on low-cost technologies and safer construction in partnership with Unnati in Gujarat. The Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme of Concern India is a classic example of being innovative and adopting to the changing circumstances. Like other aid agencies Concern initially prioritised to work for fisher communities but soon it realised the need for relocating its interventions to other areas because of the overcrowding of agencies with huge tied resources to serve the fisher communities. Concern then decided to work with the farmers, agriculture workers, salt pan workers/farmers and dalit communities, who are directly and indirectly affected by tsunami but are devoid of relief and rehabilitation. The 'tsunami rehabilitation programme' was revised in October 2005 to fit into the requirements of the target communities' (Concern, 2006a). The evaluation report of Tsunmai Rehabilitation Programme in January 2008 noted that Concern made its presence felt before the international aid community, civil society and the state because of its timely response to the needs and issues in agriculture and salt sectors after tsunami. The rehabilitation programme has primarily focussed on the sectors Agriculture, Fisheries, Salt farming, Micro finance/rlf, Shelter for dalit, Women development and Advocacy, study, workshop and coordination. While programme was designed 38 per cent of the budget was allocated for shelter and in the revised context it came down to only 7 per cent. Agriculture sector received the primary focus with 32 per cent of the total budget. While the allocation in shelter and fisheries has visibly declined, more resources were utilised in agriculture, salt programme and women development. Interventions for advocacy were integrated into each sectoral intervention. 27

36 30 per cent of the tsunami response resources of Concern were spent for rejuvenation/ reclamation/ strengthening of infrastructure essential for agriculture, fisheries and salt farming. These are durable economic assets created within the community and left at the disposal of community based organisations for their maintenance and use. Similarly another 30 per cent of the budget was utilised as revolving loan fund, which is again available with the community based organisations. Many of them have tried and have been trying to use this RLF to leverage larger capital both tied and untied, from financial institutions and the government. This credit capital has a potentiality of sustaining socio-economic interventions initiated by the tsunami rehabilitation programme. This needs to be managed with a clear and comprehensive business plan by a competent team of leaders and visionaries from the community based organisations. Efficient use of this credit capital in economically productive sectors would allow the capital to grow and further help the communities to diversify their enterprise development activities. Credit goes to Concern for its efforts to convert the grant to a credit capital in a disaster context and convincing the CBOs and NGOs to promote this concept. 25 Concern lead Alliance 2015 flood response to Bihar floods Evaluation Report of Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme, Concern India, January 2008 Image: GPSVS, Bihar. Remesh Kumar 28

37 LESSONS LEARNED: LEARNING FROM DISASTER RESPONSES Emergency responses and recovery initiatives of Concern and its partners often reflect Concern's expertise in other areas such as maternal child health; environmental health (water and sanitation); nutrition; food access; shelter and rebuilding infrastructure. 3 Concern has made regular efforts to reflect on lessons learnt through recovery and development initiatives. This is seen in a review of Concern literature, which includes programme reports (such as Concern, 2008c and Concern, 2007c), workshops 26, special consultations (Concern, 2009), and concept notes 27 on lesson reflection. Concern: an emergency response agency with development approach The ability to place an agenda for disaster proofing of vulnerable communities within the framework of a long term development perspective would qualify as the first learning of the intervention by Concern and its partners (Concern, 2009). Concern has learned that the sustainability of disaster recovery operations largely depend on its partners' ability to integrate long-term development issues into the rehabilitation and reconstruction. Many sources agree that disaster is also an opportunity for better development. One of the important lessons learned from the Concern supported interventions was the possibility to address long term issues even in a post disaster context (Concern, 2009). In fact, there was some confusion about the inclusion of HIV and AIDS in post Gujarat Earthquake operations as it was not on the agenda of most of the partners. However, later on partners considered it as appropriate and relevant. There are numbers of instances, where Concern had allowed its partners to carry on and integrate their ongoing development work with recovery projects across disasters and geographical areas. For example, Gramya Vikas Trust (GVT); Dwakra, Gujarat, was allowed to address water and salinity related issues during the 2001 Gujarat recovery programme. Prayas in Gujarat, while working on urban issues, included disability related issues as well. Similarly, in Tsunami recovery programme, Concern allowed the Centre for Environment and Agricultural Development (CEAD), 26 Such as, Lesson Learnt Workshop in 2007 on Orissa Flood Rehabilitation Programme, Phase II. 27 Partner Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme Lessons Learnt Exercise in Chennai. 29

38 Puducherry to retain its focus on the agriculture. Activities included land reclamation, building irrigation related infrastructure, and Revolving Loan Fund. Another such example is that of the Covenant Centre for Development (CCD), Madurai, Tamil Nadu, where Concern helped the agency upscale and expands impact of its past work in the areas of agriculture. More such examples include the work of SARDS in the Salt sector and work of GUIDE in reviving island agriculture in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Including the excluded Many sources confirm that Concern and its partners have been focusing mainly on the poor and marginalised in disaster responses. It is very challenging to work with communities that have been traditionally excluded and vulnerable to multiple disasters. Over the period of last several years through its presence in South Asia and Africa, Concern has learned that identifying and including the excluded in the initial phases of needs assessment is crucial for their inclusion in the subsequent relief and reconstruction operations by various agencies and governments. Concern also understands that without addressing root cause of their vulnerability and issues that deprive the excluded from their rights, secured livelihoods and asset creation are equally important for the sustainable recovery. Concern has learned that working with excluded communities essentially means dealing with development issues within the framework of disaster recovery. Partnership with organisations such as the Banki Anchalika Adibasi Harijan Kalyan Parisad BAAHKP), Banki, Cuttack reconfirm and reiterate its commitment to the poor and excluded. Both partners recently worked jointly during the floods and targeted poor Dalit families for flood recovery in Similipur and Bilipada of Banki Dompada Block. The interventions included emergency food support, medicines, housing materials, and support for restoring water and sanitation facilities in the areas. Targeting the excluded also means working in areas that are isolated, far off, and scattered. For example, In Gujarat Concern decided to focus on non-kutch region. Similarly, many assumed that there is no impact of tsunami in Andhra Pradesh. Concern supported the tsunami affected communities in Andhra Pradesh also. Successful use of financial mechanisms The first learning is that the Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) can work given the right strategy and capacity building even in a post disaster context. It can be put to the best benefits of the community if the right needs are identified and credit is administered properly. Identification of the needs has been the highest point in the RLF 30

39 Image: GPSVS, Bihar. Jitendra Kumar Bernhard Hoeper, Regional Director, Welthungerhilfe and Dipankar Datta, Country Director, Concern Worldwide visiting Mansipiprahi village, Bihar, to jointly monitor ECHO supported project. scheme in the Concern supported projects, whether it is the debt redemption loan in marine fishery, land redemption loans in coastal agriculture, or financing for storage in farming and salt producing communities. The strategies adopted for the effective implementation of the programme especially the issue of share certificates 28 and the insistence on representation by rotation would form useful learning for any RLF programme. Educating the partner NGOs, the groups and their federations is crucial in ensuring the successful implementation of these strategies (Concern, 2009). Education programmes for groups, federations, and partner NGOs are critical in administering an RLF based loan programme. Where ever education took a back seat, the programme has suffered, repayment failed, and even groups withered away. Education should happen either before the money is given or at least along with that. Helping the groups fix the norms for lending including loan size and the upper limit in the case of asset based lending has proved to enhance the portfolio quality. However, in some cases, the norms are already being violated, with members, mostly office bearers or those with better repayment records, are allowed to take larger amounts that what has been fixed (Concern, 2009). Cash for work It can provide for immediate needs of affected families as well as build community infrastructure and improve public land. It was also seen to provide communities funds to invest in livelihoods. Concern is increasingly using cash over material inputs, where 28 Share certificates had been issued to the members of the groups stating their fund entitlement in credit programme. This meant, members and groups knew how much money was available in their name. 31

40 conditions are appropriate, and in every instance in which cash has been used, the impact has been very high. While cash for work has been used widely in Concern emergency programmes for many years, the use of cash transfers over food or non food assistance is relatively new to the organisation and is proving very effective in providing people with real choice, and creating a multiplier effect by stimulating the local market economy. The concept of transferring cash by mobile phone to people in emergency situations is innovative and when used in Kenya, ensured a degree of coverage, access and security previously lacking in cash transfers (Concern, 2009). DRR Capacity Building, Phase-II, 2007 Orissa Flood Rehabilitation Programme. Linking efforts with government It is important to remember that the first and major respondents of any disaster are local governments and the people themselves. Well established links with government often helps targeting the right areas and the right people. It also helps ensuring that the poor and marginalised are helped to recover. The government linkages of Concern in the state of Orissa are the strongest among other stages. In other states the links with government agencies during the emergency responses have been found weak. Pre-disaster links often helps. However, for instance, Concern had very limited or no relationships with the governments in Gujarat earthquake and tsunami affected areas of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Andhra Pradesh. It was revealed during the partner consultations that collaborations with local governing institutions from the beginning and ideally before emergency is critical for success even for local partners. Image: Concern Worldwide. Sebastian T V Building on local capacities Many of the Concern partners were responding to disasters for the first time in their respective areas of operations. Probably because of this many partners consider Concern a highly process oriented agency. In case of some partners it took 3-6 months to finalise project proposal. However, many partners appreciated Concern for its inputs in developing their capacities for relief, rehabilitation, recovery, and also preparedness. Based on these capacities many of the Concern partners, later on even without support from Concern responded to emergencies on their own. 32

41 For example Swati and Unnati from Gujarat responded to Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 and Bihar Floods in respectively. The Orissa Institute of Medical Research and Health Services (OMRAH) in partnership with Concern implemented an 18 months long project in to strengthen disaster preparedness capacities of Local Panchayats in the areas of Nishintakoili of Cuttack District. Under the partnership about 300 Panchayat members and 60 SHGs were trained in disaster preparedness and First Aid. In addition, 34 community Contingency Plans were prepared, including planting of around 10,000 sampling in community land. Being a partner Being a partner to local agencies, Concern realise that locally embedded institutions are more likely to be effective than external interventions. Implementing partners should have some space to explore their ideas and they should have flexibility to implement programme the way they envisaged. Because they know the context more and they are the ones to implement the programme keeping the local dynamics in view (Concern, 2005). The central purchasing committee provided greater transparency and accountability, but proved quite difficult to put into practice. 29 Partners prefer to work with local dealers they know, who want immediate cash payment. Follow-up with partners Follow-up with programme partners across emergencies and geographic areas is found weak. However, networking with partners in Orissa is very strong. Partners mentioned that Concern discussed appropriate exit strategy with its implementing partners a year before closing the Emergency Preparedness Programme in Partners pointed out that Concern has no formal mechanism to maintain regular contact with partners in states other than Orissa. Low-cost and/or no-cost networking activities could be considered. For example, the ERT consisting Concern and its partners meet once in every two years. May be this could be linked with efforts such as the National Disaster Management Congress (NDMC) which takes place every two years. Formation of Village Development Committees Selection of core committee members and building relations between VDC and local governing structures is critical for sustained VDC support. In several responses, the formation of VDCs was an 29 Progress Report, Orissa Floods 2003, Emergency Relief Programme". Concern Worldwide India 33

42 Seed bank in Dalisahi, Puri. Image: SWAD, Puri, Orissa early step in community work and set the stage for need assessment and support. Concern found success with partners reorganising VDCs when there were concerns about the credibility of some members. The team also found the option of creating an interim VDC where membership can be reviewed after an initial period to ensure suitable representation of the less powerful. (2007 Floods in Orissa). Seed provision Seed provision can be a viable early recovery activity after an emergency, especially in the floods and cyclone affected areas. Seed provision can result in edible vegetables within 10 days. (2006 Floods in Orissa). Tofan Swain is a poor farmer from Daleisahi Village, responsible for maintaining his 4 member family. He owns ¼ acre of own cultivated land and also cultivates another acre as a share cropper. The entire crop was washed away during the 2006 Orissa floods. It was difficult for Tofan to purchase new seeds, as he was already indebted for ` 7,000 from the previous year and could not repay the loan from relatives. He had no hopes to restart cultivation or to generate any income. As he was looking for a bank loan or subsidised seeds, he heard about DSS (Darabar Sahitya Sansad, Concern's partner) intervention and attended one of the village meetings conducted by DSS on flood rehabilitation. He saw a small hope of reviving agriculture. He was selected by the village committee and got 10 Kg of black gram seeds and a vegetable seed packet with 9 varieties of vegetables. He could sow the seeds and have vegetables grown within 10 days on his backyard, feeding his family with them. The seeds were such good quality that he could get good surplus of vegetables to be sold. He also sowed the black gram, which fetched him around ` 4,000 in 3 months. "We are going to start the seed bank of black gram in our village. Each of us will contribute the equal amount of seed we received from Darabar Sahitya Sansad. The entire pool will be handled by the 34

43 committee. In case of another flood we will be able to revive our agriculture on our own effort," said Tofan Swain (Concern, 2006b). Need assessment with CBOs CBOs can help Concern to identify the poor and their needs rapidly and allow timely support that can help avoid distress sale of assets and migration. Concern team members also suggested finalising recipients list before starting of distribution, to minimise interference from external stakeholders to influence the list. Final selection should be made public in a village meeting for information. (2006 Floods in Orissa; 2007 Floods in Orissa). Also, joint assessments with other DEC agencies have been recommended in the Independent Evaluation of Expenditure of DEC (2001 Gujarat) India Earthquake Appeal Funds. Similarly, the recent system-wide evaluation of tsunami responses by the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition 30 (TEC) support and recommend joint assessments. Rights-based approach and information Community programmes provide an opportunity to educate local households on wide-range of disaster and development issues, including information about state minimum wages. Concern programme have created awareness on NREGA, Calamity Relief Fund guidelines, entitlements of Persons with Disabilities etc. Concern partner has published a book on 'People's Entitlements policies, programmes and procedures in the context of disasters' to promote the rights of people. Similarly, Concern has tried to raise awareness about right to information, Forest Act, and promoted standards related to humanitarian accountability and transparency in its operations. Be prepared Rehabilitation initiatives can contribute to enhancing preparedness through the construction of embankments and other flood defence infrastructures, relocating homes away from low lying areas, strengthening house construction as well as linking communities to other road networks within their locality. (2006 Floods in Orissa). Coordination While NGOs need to be independent of the government, one of the major lessons of the Orissa Cyclone is that NGOs collectively do need to work far more closely with State Government structures to 30 For more information, visit 35

44 Pete Baynard, Regional Director meeting programme participants in Bhandaripokhari, Bhadrak, Orissa, during ECHO visit. Image: Concern Worldwide. Sebastian T V ensure better co-ordination in future; and that they need to have these relationships in place before a disaster strikes. 31 Involving communities in decision making Communities themselves are empowered when they decide what type of support is needed, who will receive it and at what levels. Still, Concern has recognised the need for monitoring the distribution to ensure that assistance is indeed provided to those most in need. In one case, Concern's partner recognised that land-owning non-residents of a particular village were trying to take relief. (2007 Floods in Orissa). Similarly, in response to the May 25, 2009 cyclone AILA in West Bengal, Concern fully respected community demands identified by its local partner, Sabuj Sangha and carried out successful interventions in the areas of emergency relief and desalination of local ponds in the Sundarbans. Community participation Community participation and partner's rapport with the community plays major role while implementing the project, so this has to be clearly understood before agreeing to partnership. Partners who have had an earlier base in the village and rapport with the community were able to generate better community participation than those who identified new villages for programme implementation (Concern, 2005). Vocational training Training provided to affected communities can make measured improvements to vocational skills, links to government line departments that offer public services and livelihood opportunities. It is also suggested that agricultural training, where possible, be conducted before the planting season as many farmers are unavailable after this time. (2007 Floods in Orissa). Importance of livelihoods From the EPP intervention it is learned that emergency preparedness interventions in isolation, without taking in to account the livelihood interventions, cannot successfully achieve 31 Independent Evaluation of Expenditure of DEC India Cyclone Appeal Funds, Volume 1 36

45 the desired output envisaged in the programme (Concern, 2005). Even the Independent Evaluation of Expenditure of DEC India Earthquake Appeal Funds noted that the notion of shelter can be a misleading one; houses are places of work as much as protection from the elements. Engaging new partners Since Concern is committed to respond as soon as possible in the event of any emergencies, partners' capacity to respond quickly and effectively has to be considered without compromise. Experience through multiple recoveries have taught Concern that partners should be engaged based on demonstrated: Experience and rapport with the community and approach to development activities Commitment to the recovery programme Capability to respond urgently and in ways that meet quality standards Capability in managing a budget transparently PRA in progress at Budubali village, Chandrapur, Orissa. Image: OPDSC, Orissa. Venkata Rao 37

46 Image: Concern Worldwide Mr Howard Dalzell, a former Director of Concern Worldwide, Mr. Jagadananda, Information Commissioner, Orissa; Mr. Aurobindo Behera, IAS, M.D., IDCOL, Govt. of Orissa and Mr. Dipankar Datta, Country Director of Concern Worldwide India with Kenneth Thompson at the unveiling of the quilt. 38

47 CONCLUSIONS Experience matters. Concern is one of the few international agencies that have a long standing experience of working in the Indian context. Agencies like Concern, with their direct and undivided focus on the marginalised communities have successfully demonstrated that It is possible to respond rapidly and effectively with the help of well established local partnerships; It is possible to eliminate exclusion of women, Dalits, minorities, PwDs and casual labour with positive bias; It is important to be flexible and learn from past experiences. 4 The global humanitarian communities can learn about community risk transfer approaches, cash transfer, and inclusive disaster risk reduction from successful Concern interventions in India. Overall, Concern work in India is a good practice example of linking disaster risk reduction with development. 39

48 RECOMMENDATIONS 5 "We want to learn and replicate lessons and successes from India in other parts of the world," said Dipankar Datta, Country Director, Concern Worldwide India Lessons from past experiences are of immense value for the overall organisational development process as well as improved action on the ground. Concern should be more systematic and consistent in ensuring that all major emergency responses are well documented-individually as case studies and comparatively as thematic reviews-from learning point of view. This is not possible without planning for such learning outputs, providing suitable budget, and working out Evaluation Utilisation Mechanism that will put lessons to use. Capturing learning of and by partners is equally important for Concern and the partners and must not be undervalued. Every major emergency response programme should encourage partners to document their own learning experiences with focus on poor and excluded in mind. Greater attention needs to be given to shape partners' learning demands and form a knowledge initiative across partners. A knowledge agenda may be developed for this purpose around key areas of operation, policy, and institutions. Emergency response and recovery evaluations are key learning exercises for organisations such as Concern. We recommend use of tailor made tools like Evaluation Utilisation Matrices, which can be used for project and programme evaluations as they offer senior managers the opportunities to respond to key evaluation findings and the responsibility to take recommendations forward. Concern in India has many field-action oriented partners and partnerships. Their contribution is concrete and valuable. Many initiatives, not all, have the potential to be upscaled with (Concern and other) mobilised resources. We recommend pilot projects in upscaling. We also recommend that Concern should establish new partnerships with academics, researchers, or training institutions to strengthen Concern's field-learning and documentation capacities. In order to achieve greater impact, Concern may search out such multi stakeholder initiatives for applied research. We observed that most of the advocacy work is at the district or state levels. This work creates enabling environment for local action. More direct support for such work is recommended. Concern must also find partners that do advocacy on DRR issues at the 40

49 national level with various authorities and premiere institutions by piloting a project or two. Clear, context specific, and dynamic advocacy agenda may be developed. We have found that Concern India has limited documents on its work available online. Concern must share more information on its work in India through sharing past reports and publications. It must be remembered that Concern India is also a source of inspiration and learning for many others, worldwide and web wide, and work on the ground cannot be lost. Concern should also encourage its partners to share similar knowledge oriented documents. Note: The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent those of Concern Worldwide, or any of its country programmes and their partners. Acknowledgement: Sincere thanks are due to Mr. Dipankar Datta, Country Director, Concern Worldwide India for providing the All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) with this opportunity to document learning from a decade long disaster responses of Concern and its partners in India. Special thanks are extended to Mr. Sebastian T V for guiding the AIDMI team and organising meetings with Concern partners in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Orissa. We would particularly like to thank all the Concern partners who conducted the field survey and participated in these workshops and offered their valuable experience and insights on the topic. Last, but most importantly, we are grateful to all community members who participated in field survey and field visits. 41

50 REFERENCES 1. CWI (2003) "Progress Report, Orissa Floods 2003, Emergency Relief Programme". Concern Worldwide India 2. CWI (2004) "Emergency Mitigation and Preparedness Programme Report, ". Concern Worldwide India 3. CWI (2005) "Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme Proposal, March 2005-February 2008". Concern Worldwide India 4. CWI (2006a) "Mid-Term Evaluation Report of Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme". Concern Worldwide India. October 2006, 5. CWI (2006b) "Rebuilding lives: 2006 floods in Orissa". Livelihood Restoration Programme. Concern Worldwide India 6. CWI (2007a) "Emergency Response Capacity Building Strategy: building an effective response to emergencies." Concern Worldwide India. November CWI (2007b) "Completion Report of Bihar Floods 2007: Emergency Relief Programme (August September 2007)". Concern Worldwide India. 8. CWI (2007c) "Rebuilding lives: 2006 floods in Orissa: Livelihood Restoration Programme". Concern Worldwide India. 9. CWI (2008a) "Concern Worldwide India Emergency Mitigation and Preparedness Program. Program Evaluation Report". Concern Worldwide India. 4 th March Evaluation Report of Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme, Concern India, January CWI (2008c) "Reviving Hopes. A Report on Orissa Flood Rehabilitation Programme, October 2007 March 2008". Concern Worldwide India, 15 June Orissa Floods Programme 2008 Report: Supported by ECHO 13. CWI (2009) "Lessons Learnt exercise Purpose and Plans: A note for Concern Partners". Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme: Concern Worldwide India. January CWW (2009) "Review of Humanitarian Action and Emergency Response Meta Evaluation, ". Concern's Emergency Unit. Concern Worldwide. July Independent Evaluation of Expenditure of DEC India Cyclone Appeal Funds, Volume Emergency Mitigation and Preparedness Program, Program Evaluation Report, March 4, GoI (2002) "Tenth Five Year Plan ". New Delhi: Government of India. 18. Lester, R. and Gurenko, E. (2003) "India: Financing Rapid Onset Natural Disasters in India: A Risk Management Approach." World Bank Report No IN. New York: World Bank. 19. NCDM (2002). "Gujarat Earthquake: A Case Study." New Delhi: National Centre for Disaster Management (India). 20. NDMA (2009) "National Policy on Disaster Management". National Disaster Management Authority. 21. NDMD (2002) "Disaster Management-The Development Perspective: An extract of the chapter in the Tenth Five Year Plan Document ( )". National Disaster Management Division, Government of India. 22. VI (2005) "Independent Evaluation of the DEC Tsunami Crisis Response: Report to the DEC Board". Valid International. November

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