Climate Change & Disaster Risk Reduction in Urban Informal Settlements - Seminar Summary Report

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1 Norwegian University of Life Sciences Faculty of Social Sciences The Department of International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric) 2015 ISSN: Courting Catastrophe Project Report 02 Climate Change & Disaster Risk Reduction in Urban Informal Settlements - Seminar Summary Report COURTING CATASTROPHE? Author: Marianne Mosberg Humanitarian Policy and Practice in a Changing Climate

2 The Department of International Environment and Development Studies is part of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). The Department s activities Include research, education and assignments. This report is an output from the international research project Courting Catastrophe? Humanitarian Policy and Practice in a Changing Climate ( ), which is funded by the Research Council of Norway through the HUMPOL programme. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this publication are those of the author and cannot be attributed directly to the Department of International Environment and Development Studies, the Norwegian University of Life Sciences or the Norwegian Red Cross. Mosberg, Marianne Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction in Urban Informal Settlements Seminar Summary Report Courting Catastrophe Project Report No. 2 (December 2015) Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Noragric Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) P.O. Box 5003 N-1432 Aas, Norway ISSN: Photo (cover): Ernie Penaredondo/GWP. Typhoon Ondoy/ Philippines. Cover design: Berit Hopland/NMBU 1

3 Climate Change & Disaster Risk Reduction in Urban Informal Settlements Today, more than half of the world s population lives in cities and more than a billion of these live in informal settlements and slums, where factors such as lack of access to basic services, poor physical and social infrastructure and weak local governance make residents disproportionately vulnerable to hazards such as storms, landslides, sea level rise, flooding and epidemics. When disasters strike cities it is therefore often the people living in these hazard-prone informal settlements and slum areas that suffer the most. Climate change is furthermore expected to exacerbate existing climate-related hazards, such as tropical storms and floods, making urban informal settlements potentially future disaster hotspots. Disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation measures in urban informal settlements are therefore essential to prevent massive human suffering, and ensure resilient and sustainable cities. Humanitarian and development organizations are however commonly more accustomed to working in rural areas, and engaging in urban informal settlements presents a number of specific challenges. Identifying beneficiaries and their needs, conducting vulnerability and capacity assessments, coordinating with other agencies, safety concerns, physical accessibility, and tackling the size and extent of the problems faced by slum dwellers are just some of the most common challenges cited by NGOs. Furthermore, domestic policies and legal issues influence the ability of humanitarian and development organizations to provide assistance to these populations. How to overcome these challenges in order to reduce vulnerability in urban informal settlements, was the overall question discussed at the final seminar of the Norwegian Red Cross/Noragric collaborative seminar series entitled Humanitarian Policy and Practice in a Changing Climate, held on 27 th November 2015 at the Red Cross Conference Centre in Oslo. The seminar gathered researchers, practitioners, policy makers and students interested in urban challenges, to discuss how humanitarian and development organizations can contribute to reducing disaster risk and vulnerability to climate change in urban informal settlements. The panel included representatives from the private sector and academia, whom emphasized the role of modern technology, markets and marketplaces, and institutions and governance in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in urban informal settlements. Panelists: * Dr. Lutgart Lenaerts, Noragric, NMBU, Post-Doctoral Researcher (Moderator) * Dr. Bente Pretlove, DNV GL, Programme Director Climate Change * David Smith, NTNU, PhD Candidate * Dr. Trond Vedeld, Norwegian Institute for Regional and Urban Research (NIBR), Senior Researcher 2

4 Urban Resilience and the Role of Modern Technology In her presentation, Dr. Bente Pretlove, Programme Director for Climate Change in DNV GL, provided us with insights from DNV GL s systems approach to urban resilience. She emphasized that the purpose of DNV GL is to safeguard life, property and the environment, and that the company therefore has particular expertise within hazard assessment, risk management and decision-making support. This expertise is currently being utilized in a DNV GL-Norwegian Red Cross partnership project in Caloocan, Philippines. Here, DNV GL is providing support to digitalize elements from Red Cross Vulnerability and Capacity Assessments (VCA) in a cloud-based solution, in order to ensure flexible and efficient use of the data before, during and after emergencies. Relevant information from the VCAs, such as the location of safe shelters and community centers, will be plotted into interactive maps using GIS technology, and combined with live weather and projected climate data to construct hazard maps. This information will then be made available to stakeholders and Red Cross volunteers through an app on their telephone. During emergencies, this information can be used by the local people to find the best evacuation routes, the closest hospitals and so on, Pretlove said. This system will hopefully improve resilience through more data smart risk reduction planning and by allowing people to have all relevant information at hand during a disaster and in the recovery phase. Urban Resilience and the Role of Cash, Markets and Marketplaces David Smith, PhD candidate at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), emphasized in his talk the importance of markets and marketplaces in strengthening urban resilience. Cities rely on a cash-based economy, and most people in urban informal settlements depend entirely on markets to access goods and services. 3

5 Humanitarian and development organizations should take this realization into account, he argued. There is a tendency to focus our attention on residential urban areas, but urban areas are more than just neighborhoods. Local shops, public markets and street markets are important as well, Smith said, and emphasized that we need to have a broader perspective on cities, taking into account spatial, physical and social dimensions of resilience, and focusing more on working environments and marketplaces. NGOs should consider partnering more with the private sector and local businesses before disasters strike, Smith concluded. Providing financial aid to strengthen supply chains has been suggested as a potential way to make these systems more resilient. Urban Resilience and the Role of Institutions, Governance and Local Actors As the final speaker of the day, Dr. Trond Vedeld, Senior Researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Regional and Urban Research (NIBR), directed our attention to the role of institutions, governance and local actors in disaster risk management in urban areas. He had three main messages. Firstly, in order to work towards urban resilience, we need to integrate disaster risk and climate risk reduction with development. Secondly, he said: institutions matter. The capacity, resources, authority and mandate of institutions at state, municipal and local level matter in disaster management. Institutions require adequate staff, funding and equipment in order to reduce vulnerability to disaster and climate risks, and in order to respond effectively to emergencies. Transformation towards resilience requires stronger governance of development broadly speaking, he argued. Thirdly, he said: local actors matter. Local actors, such as neighbours, Red Cross volunteers, local NGOs and so on, are the first responders during emergencies, and contribute to saving lives during and after emergencies. Vedeld also reminded us of the importance of context specific knowledge. It is necessary to understand the interaction between different levels of institutions, and with the human and ecological systems at local level, because the context varies so much from one context to another, Vedeld stated. Urban Resilience - Challenges and opportunities After the three presentations, the audience were invited to provide questions and comments to the panellists. The first topic that was brought to the table concerned the trade-off between living in informal settlements and slums, and living in safer, but more remote areas outside the city. It was recognized that it there are many reasons why people choose to stay in risky, hazard-prone areas, such as proximity to work, markets and social networks, and forced resettlements or demolishing slum dwellings therefore commonly face considerable resistance from the local residents, and might not be an appropriate risk reduction strategy. The decision-making power of populations in informal settlements vis-à-vis the local government was another topic brought up in the discussion, and it was emphasized that different governance structures might influence the ability of local populations to raise their concerns to local authorities. In relation to this point, it was also highlighted that mapping and assessment exercises in informal 4

6 settlements might be contested by local authorities precisely because physical maps can be powerful tools in decision-making processes. Other topics highlighted in the discussion included the role of the police in disaster management, the scalability and replicability of the Red Cross-DNV GL project to other areas, such as in situations with prevalent urban violence, the secondary effects of floods, the role of informal governance systems and the importance of incorporating concerns for people with disabilities in disaster risk reduction and response efforts. Furthermore, the area-based approach was suggested as a potential alternative to the current humanitarian cluster system in urban settings. Summary of key recommendations Efforts to strengthen urban resilience should build on a holistic systems approach that takes into account interdependencies between physical and social systems across space and time. When conducting hazard, risk and vulnerability assessments, and when designing and implementing humanitarian and development interventions in urban areas, one should keep in mind the dynamic nature of risk and vulnerability, and plan for the unexpected. For instance, the risk of disease outbreaks after floods, due to stagnant and contaminated water, should be taken into account when developing disaster management contingency plans. 5

7 Responses should always be context specific. Not all urban informal settlements are vulnerable in the same way and the same risk reduction or adaptation measures might therefore not be suitable in different settings. Certain approaches, such as using mobile technology when conducting vulnerability and capacity assessments, may not be feasible or appropriate in all contexts. Modern technology could assist in conducting dynamic and comprehensive risk, vulnerability and capacity assessments, and in using this information efficiently and effectively before, during or after disasters. Humanitarian and development organizations could consider forming partnerships with the private sector and local businesses before disasters in order to draw on their specific expertise. For instance, one could partner with local mobile network operators in order to set up efficient communication lines with beneficiaries or transfer cash quickly during and after emergencies. Urban populations rely on a cash-based economy, and markets and marketplaces are important arenas for supply of food and goods during and after disasters. Humanitarian and development organizations could therefore consider providing financial aid to sustain and recover supply chains post-disasters, and/or provide cash transfer to consumers to enhance their purchasing power and stimulate the circulation of cash in local markets. Institutions matter. Formal and informal governance structures have implications for urban disaster management. Local institutions require capacity, resources and authority to function well and to coordinate efforts in a complex environment. One should not ignore power and politics. For instance, vulnerability assessments and mapping exercises in informal settlements may be contested by local authorities, as they might be used to legitimize and stake claims to entitlements, rights and services. Assessments and mapping might also serve to stigmatize certain populations and reinforce their subjectivity as poor or helpless, which in turn might reduce their authority in decision-making processes. An understanding of vulnerability as differential should form the basis of all disaster management contingency plans. Groups such as the elderly, children and persons with disabilities are typically vulnerable to a wider range of risks before, during and after disasters and might require specific mitigation measures, customized evacuation routes, or particular medical attention. Disaster recovery and rehabilitation should also focus on universal design of physical and social infrastructure, in an effort to bounce back better. 6