Community – Based Risk Management and Resilience Assessment

• Author(s): Shadrack Azino Akiojano ; S. B. Obafemi
• Paper ID: 1702903
• Page: 53-64
• Published Date: 25-10-2021
• Published In: Iconic Research And Engineering Journals
• Publisher: IRE Journals
• e-ISSN: 2456-8880
• Volume/Issue: Volume 5 Issue 4 October-2021

Abstract

Community-based disaster management (CBDM) is an approach to building the capacity of communities to assess their vulnerability to both human induced and natural hazards and develop strategies and resources necessary to prevent and/or mitigate the impact of identified hazards as well as respond, rehabilitate, and reconstruct following its onset. CBDM strategies have become increasingly important in the face of global climate change, increased populations expanding into more vulnerable regions, and the heightened recognition of a need for greater linkages between top-down governmental and community level responses. CBDM empowers communities to be pro-active in disaster management and creates a space for them to develop strategies on their own terms rather than waiting for already overstretched governments and NGO's. Members of a community are the immediate victims of adverse effects of a disaster. They have the best knowledge about their local surrounding in terms of the most disaster-prone areas, the demography of their community and their social and traditional organization. It is important that they have the capacity to cope with the impacts of a disaster and are involved in the development of disaster management activities right from the initial planning stages. Community participation can also make them more confident in their capabilities to act in the event of a disaster leading to a self-reliant community. There for this Paper, focused on how Communities manage their risks and resilience in adverse effect of geographical location as well as development arising from organizational growth. Improving community/urban resilience is a global developmental goal as nowadays more than half of the world’s population lives in often vulnerable areas; especially for Cities and Communities along the coast of River Niger where rate of development and population growth is highest and challenges to cope with natural and man-made hazards arising while arrangements that will successfully support community – based disaster risk management are still quite seldom and no adequate assessment as well as implementation due to lack of resources as well as other challenges. A case study is on Niger Delta region with particular focus on Delta State Capital Asaba and it’s communities. Relevant primary and secondary data sources, such as Scholar projects, documents, literatures, Journals and documents published by government and Non-Governmental organizations (NGOs),Medias, newspapers, Oral interviews of victims affected by the hazards as well as Community Chiefs and government representatives, focused group discussion, authoritative reports from National Emergency Managent Agency (NEMA), National Institute of Meteorological Agency (NIMET), UNDP, UNEP all geared towards flooding, environmental vulnerability and resilience of Delta State Capital and its Communities. Findings reveal challenges which this write up gave recommendations to in order to reduce the impact and become resilience.

Keywords

Community – base, Risk, Hazard, Vulnerability, Disaster Management, Development, Climate change, Resilience

Citations

IRE Journals:
Shadrack Azino Akiojano , S. B. Obafemi "Community – Based Risk Management and Resilience Assessment" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals Volume 5 Issue 4 2021 Page 53-64

IEEE:
Shadrack Azino Akiojano , S. B. Obafemi "Community – Based Risk Management and Resilience Assessment" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals, 5(4)