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AUDMP
Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation News - May 2002
This month's issue includes
the following features:
Should you wish to receive
the News by e-mail please send a message to the AUDMP Information
and Networking Coordinator at ccapikul@ait.ac.th
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click here to go to AUDMP monthly activity highlights
Decentralization, community empowerment and partnership development identified as major key components for disaster management enhancement
The Asian regional workshop on ‘Policy, Legal and Institutional Arrangements, and Planning for Disaster Management’ during 25-27 April 2002 in Bangkok, Thailand extracted many critical issues on disaster management policy, planning and legal and institutional arrangements in the region based on each country’s individual context and needs. It was collaboratively organized by AUDMP, the project of Partnerships for Disaster Reduction- South East Asia (PDRSEA), the Asian Development Bank, the
Australian Government’s Overseas Aid Program (AusAID), the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), the Danish International Devleopment Agency (DANIDA) and the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance
(OFDA).
The workshop’s opening ceremony was presided over by H.E. Prof. Krasae Chanawongse, Minister to the Prime Minister Office and Chairman of ADPC Board of Trustees. The workshop brought together more than 40 participants from 10 different Asian countries, including representatives from National Disaster Management Organizations (NDMOs) and relevant ministries, partner organizations, researchers and individuals concerned with legal and institutional frameworks and planning for disaster management. The workshop provided a forum for sharing, discussing and distilling approaches related to DM policy and legal framework and the institutionalization of DM in Asia. Furthermore, it helped to establish linkages and networking among individuals and institutions involved in DM in the region for further development of mutual understanding and information sharing.
The 3-day workshop was guided by a team of advisory committees equipped with a vast experience in the field of disaster management. Among them were Ms. Shirley Mattingly, Urban Risk Management Advisor, U.S.A., Dr. Neil Britton, EQTAP Chief Coordinator and Team Leader of Earthquake Disaster Mitigation Research Centre (EDM), Japan; and Mr. Anil Ka Sinha, Head of National Center for Disaster Management, India.
Legislation, policy, planning and institutional arrangements of each country were presented, compared and analyzed in order to develop an understanding of factors contributing to or inhibiting effective disaster management. The major recurring themes gleaned from extensive discussions were decentralization, community empowerment and partnership development. These key components are essential for increasing efficiency in DM paradigm as the approach has gradually been undergoing a significant change, shifting from relief and response to preparedness and mitigation in recent years.
Tackling those challenges is already visible in many countries in the region. This is evident in Thailand and Bangladesh. “Within the next five months, Thailand is expected to introduce government reforms. As a result, a new disaster management agency will be established.The cabinet is likely to stream down layer of processes of government
sector to increase the efficiency and will try to design a flexible structure. This paves the way towards decentralization,” stated Mr. Montree Chanachaiviboonwat, Director of Thailand’s Disaster Relief Operations Division, Department of Accelerated Rural Development in his presentation.
Mr. BMM Mozharul Huq, Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Bangladesh, pointed out that, “Learning from other countries is very useful. Bangladesh is embarking on a comprehensive disaster management plan where partnership development and community empowerment are included.”
In the last day of the workshop, subsequent steps at regional and national levels were identified. Three options endorsed by the workshop were research agenda, publication of a document to present lessons learned in policy, legal and institutional arrangements and planning and organizing workshops at national level. ADPC would facilitate
further dialogue for achieving the target objectives.
Summit addresses the Enhancement of Urban Safety and Urban Security in the 21st Century
This year’s Cities Asia Summit 2002 theme on “Enhancing Urban Safety and Urban Security in the 21st Century” will address the challenges of creating safer cities that are critical to sustainable urban development and governance in Asian cities today. The event will be held on 5 and 6 November at Singapore Expo, Singapore.
ADPC, one of the supporters of the Cities Asia Summit 2002, is pleased to invite you to participate in the unique gathering of government leaders, city mayors and councilors, city planners, academicians, researchers and NGOs to explore innovative strategies for improving urban safety.
Issues that will be presented and discussed at the Summit ranges from disaster management, facilitated by ADPC, to crime control and prevention. The Summit provides an opportunity to witness a wide range of approaches being used to deal with these issues in a rapidly urbanizing world. A few examples of these approaches include the
formulation of local emergency management and response plans, design of safer buildings, infrastructure and public spaces, rehabilitation of criminals and the mobilization of youth participation.
Other supporters of the Summit include UNDP’s The Urban Governance Initiative (TUGI), UN-Habitat, City Managers’Association, Gujarat (CMAG) and the Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore, to name a few. For more information, please visit the website at
www.cities-asia.com or contact Mrs. Anu Ghosh, at:
PSA Exhibiations Pte Ltd, 3 Changi South Lane, Kingsmen Creative Centre #03-13, Singapore 486118, Republic of Singapore, tel: (65) 6587 7133 fax: (65) 6587 7132, e-mail:
citiesasia@psa.com.sg
AUDMP starts its 8th project in Lao PDR
AUDMP recently set another key milestone, adding in Lao PDR as the eighth country project. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony took place at the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in Vientiane, Lao PDR on March 7 between ADPC and the Social Welfare Department for the implementation of the Lao PDR Urban Disaster Mitigation Project.
ADPC was represented by Dr. Suvit Yodmani, ADPC’s Executive Director. Mr. Khammoune Souphanthong, Director of the Department of Social Welfare represented the department. The ceremony was witnessed by Ms. Susan M. Sutton, Deputy Chief of Mission, American Embassy, Dr. Khamphay Rasmy, Vice Minister of Labor and Social Welfare, Mr. Phetsavang Sounnalath, Director of National Disaster Management Office, Dr. Keo, Director of Urban Research Institute, and ADPC staff: Mr. Josh Moga, AUDMP Program Manager, Ms Suthira Suwanarpa, AUDMP Project Manager and Dr. Apichai Thirathon, Project Manager of Disaster Reduction Project for Cambodia, Lao and Vietnam (DRP-CLV) of ADPC.
After the MOU signing ceremony, Dr. Suvit Yodmani and his team paid a courtesy call on H.E. Somphanh Phengkhammy, Minister of Labor and Social Welfare. Also present was Mr. Sommai Xaixongdeth, Deputy Chief of Cabinet, Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare. The team briefed the Minister on the AUDMP’s Lao Disaster Mitigation Project and other ADPC collaboration with Lao PDR in disaster management, namely the PDR-SEA and DRP-CLV projects. The Minister expressed his appreciation for
the collaboration on the AUDMP’s Lao project.
The project focuses on fire hazard and road accidents, which are the main disasters in modern Laos, especially in Vientiane. The Lao Disaster Mitigation Project’s partners will be the National Disaster Management Office; Urban Research Institute; Vientiane Municipality; and the Fire Brigade.
IUDMP pushes forward its replication phase in four selected cities
After conducting the seismic hazard assessment in Denpasar last year, Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB) has accelerated its task under the IUDMP replication phase in three other identified cities, namely Palu, Manado and Bengkulu. It recently completed seismic hazard assessment in two more cities, Palu and Manado, respectively, and signed a contract agreement with the Provincial Government of Bengkulu to conduct a rapid risk assessment for Bengkulu.
The completion of seismic hazard assessment in Palu and Manado was a result of the survey visit to these two cities during 19-26 January 2002. The plan to conduct the rapid risk assessment in the respective cities is strongly supported by their local governments, following the wide interest towards rapid risk assessment raised during the workshop on “Increasing the Safety of Indonesian Cities from Earthquake Disaster Threat” held by ITB in October last year.
As for the city of Bengkulu, data collection for rapid risk assessment conducted by the Rapid Risk Assessment (RRA) team is underway.
The RRA team completed the model for rapid risk assessment study in June 2001. The model includes the data needs, methodology, output of the assessment and questionnaire to collect secondary data. The model will be used to conduct rapid risk assessment in the four selected cities.
AUDMP’s 1st Regional Lessons Learned Workshop scheduled for September 2002
Entering the 7th year of its operation, the AUDMP will organize the first Regional Lessons Learned Workshop on “Best Practices in Urban Disaster Mitigation: Lessons Learned from the Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Program and Other Initiatives” The activity is scheduled for 24-26 September 2002 in Bali, Indonesia.
The workshop consists of five aims as follows:
- Showcase how communities, cities, governments and businesses have been able to make cities safer before disasters strike
- Present strategies and approaches to urban disaster mitigation derived from analyses of real-life experiences, good practices and lessons learned in Asia
- Provide an array of proven ideas, tools, policy options and strategies for urban disaster mitigation
- Offer a forum for knowledge sharing and networking for the replication of urban disaster mitigation practices worldwide
- Exhibit urban disaster mitigation activities and outputs including videos, photographs, publications, case studies and posters
The workshop will employ a thematic approach to urban disaster mitigation. Eight fundamental themes in DM have been identified. The themes include 1) hazard mapping and risk assessment; 2) mitigation planning and implementation; 3) policy, legal and institutional arrangements; 4) public awareness and social marketing; 5) capacity building; 6) safer building construction; 7) community-based approaches to disaster mitigation and; 8) climate applications and preparedness.
The workshop is open for everyone interested. The registration fee is US$100 per person, which will cover workshop documents, admission to all theme sessions and local hospitality during the meeting. ADPC will be able to arrange accommodation in the meeting venue on subsidized rate.
If you would like more information about the workshop, please contact AUDMP at
audmp@ait.ac.th .
Alternatively, you may register online at www.adpc.ait.ac.th/audmp/rllw/form.html.
Elements of Social Marketing
As noted in the previous issue, social marketing is a planned, consumer-driven process, which will catalyze attitudinal and behavior changes. Like commercial marketing, social marketing’s planning process focuses on target audience’s needs and take them into account by addressing the elements of the ‘marketing mix’, which consists of the concept of 4 P’s, namely product’, ‘price’, ‘place’ and ‘promotion’.
- Product—A continuum of social marketing products ranges from tangible, physical products (e.g., condoms), services (e.g., medical examination), practices (e.g., using condoms or breastfeeding) to intangible idea and attitude (e.g., environment protection).
- Price—refers to what the consumer must do in order to obtain the social marketing product, be it monetary or non-monetary exchange, sacrifice of time or efforts, giving up what one likes, embarrassment, inconvenience or even social disapproval.
- Place— is the distribution channels used to make the product available to target audience. When the product is a physical item, it must be easily obtainable by consumers. When it is an idea, it must be social available, referring to decisions about the channels through which consumers are reached with information or training.
- Promotion—refers to the efforts taken to ensure that the target audience is aware of the campaign. Promotion consists of the integrated use of advertising, public relations, promotions, media advocacy, personal selling and entertainment vehicles. The focus is on creating and sustaining demand for the product.
Apart from these four P’s, which are central elements needed to be considered when designing a social marketing campaign, modern social marketing also adds a few more ‘P’s, which are ‘positioning’, ‘partnership’, ‘policy’ and ‘politics’ so as to fully cover all aspects of complex social issues.
- Positioning—is a psychological construct that involves location of the product relative to other products and activities with which it competes. For instance, physical activity could be positioned as a form of relaxation, serving low-fat meals to one’s family could be positioned as an act of love.
- Partnership—Social issues are often too complex for one agency alone to make a difference. In order to maximize the benefits, partnership development with other organizations could generate a synergy, which would result in greater benefits.
- Policy—When a social marketing campaign can galvanize change of attitude and action of individual, it is very crucial that the environment in which it operates must provide a support for sustaining the result in the long run. Therefore, policy change/adjustment is needed to maintain the effectiveness of the campaign. Media advocacy is also helpful in this case.
- Politics—The issues addressed by social marketing campaign is usually complex and controversial. Therefore, political support from all levels (national, provincial and local) is needed in order to smoothen the access of the campaign to its target audience. Political diplomacy with government organizations is also an important key for social
marketing campaign.
To secure the success, each elements of the marketing mix should be taken into account as the social marketing program is developed, as they are the cores of
social marketing efforts. Next issue of the AUDM News will illustrate how social marketing can be employed in disaster management.
Additional references:
- “A 7 Step Social Marketing Approach” by Les Robinson for presentation to Waste Educate 98 Conference
(http://media.socialchange.net.au/strategy/)
- “Building Social Marketing into Your Program” by Weinreich, K. Nedra
- “Introduction to Social Marketing” by Center for Advanced Studies in Nutrition and Social Marketing
(http://socialmarketing-nutrition.ucdavis.edu/)
- "Social Marketing: A
Synopsis by the Centre for Social Marketing" by MacFadyen,
Lynn et al., 1999 (www.csm.strath.ac.uk/smchapter.html)
- "Social
Marketing" (www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hppb/socialmarketing/sm.html)
- "What is Social
Marketing?" by Weinreich, K. Nedra, February 1999 (www.social-marketing.com/whatis.html)
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