Second Action Plan

Introduction | Objectives | Intervention at the Regional Level | Intervention at the National Level | Intervention a the Community Level | Budget

I. Introduction

South East Asia is one of the world's most vulnerable regions, exposed to a large variety of hazards, both climatic (hurricanes, flooding, droughts linked to El Niño, hazes) as well as telluric (earthquakes), recurring at varying intervals. These populations are therefore exposed to high and multiple risks with among the highest toll of victims and socio-economic consequences in the world. It is for these reasons that the region was selected in 1996 (along with Central America and the Caribbean), to benefit from the DIPECHO programme. A diagnosis was conducted in the region that included the countries of Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. This diagnosis was intended to identify the risks and the existing disaster preparedness mechanisms at the various regional, national and community levels as well as external supports.

Following this diagnosis, a first DIPECHO Action Plan was approved by the Commission in July 1998, implemented and subsequently evaluated in 1999. The recommendations made in this evaluation were included in the call for proposals and taken into account for the selection of projects within this Second DIPECHO Action Plan.

I.1. Call for proposal

The role of ECHO in the field of disaster preparedness and prevention is humanitarian and is therefore limited to promotion, demonstration and initiation of all kinds of actions that will lead to a reduction in disaster related risks of vulnerable populations in developing countries. These are the type of actions that ECHO endeavours to support in the framework of the DIPECHO programme and of the Regional Action Plans without going beyond its remit in a field which pertains otherwise to a sustainable development policy. The First DIPECHO Action Plan for South-east Asia included 10 projects in 5 countries, totalling € 2 million. Projects financed were at national and local level, trying to encourage consistency within the region and to create closer links between the local, national and regional levels.

The completion and evaluation of the First Action Plan concludes that the strategy of DIPECHO is valid and is stated to be rational and pragmatic. It recognises that the selected projects have all contributed to improve disaster mitigation and preparedness in the area of their implementation and local capacities have been strengthened. Some have resulted in high quality outputs in terms of approaches used, technical efficiency, durable methodologies and materials. The emphasis given to targeting local communities is a good basis on which to counterbalance (whilst not diminishing the importance of) prevailing approaches which have depended too much on top-down decision making.

However, some deficiencies remained in the first action plan. It lacked appropriate guidelines for project selection and for project implementation in compliance with respective aspects of the DIPECHO strategy. The dissemination achievements were below expectations because the recommendations of the cohesive DIPECHO strategy were not followed closely enough. In particular the holding of regular regional consultations that would have led to improved networks and greater co-operation did not occur. Consequently both the demonstration effect and the initiative impulse were lacking in impact. Some of these deficiencies were identified by the evaluation as a result of teething problems.

To answer these deficiencies, various lessons drawn from the First Plan by the external evaluation and by ECHO’s own assessment regard (i) disaster type, (ii) replicability, (iii) sustainability, (iv) targeting the most vulnerable, (v) dissemination of information interaction, and (vi) community-based approach.

These lessons have been applied by ECHO at the preparatory stage of the Second Action Plan:

• The publication on the Commission Website of a Call for Proposals, providing guidelines which took into account the conclusions of the evaluation, should contribute to enhance the quality of project proposals thanks to better guidance and greater competition.
• The appointment of ECHO correspondents responsible for the implementation of the DIPECHO programme in the various countries should help to strengthen the co-ordination between ECHO and its partners. They will put emphasis on the dissemination of knowledge and experience at national level. Coherence and dissemination will be ensured at regional level through ADPC implemented activities.

I.2. Project selection

Echo received about 38 project proposals from 33 organisations requesting a total amount of 12.5 M. EURO.

Projects were selected in collaboration with ECHO-Brussels and the correspondent in the field, within the priorities outlined in the Call for Proposal (geographical, activity type). The selection reflected the quality and pertinence of the projects with respect to the Call for Proposals, including:

• The selection process attempted to assess projects in terms of relative need, value-added and cost-effectiveness.
• It also emphasised not just the ‘best projects’ but the ‘best-combination’ of projects, both horizontal and vertical, that would together fulfil as many of the DIPECHO aims as possible.

Among these 38 projects, 14 projects were deemed to be suitable for the Second Action Plan for South-east Asia giving the following distribution:

It should be noted that no projects were selected for Thailand (due to its relatively low vulnerability to natural disasters) or Burma (the only proposal received related to HIV/AIDS, which falls within the competence of DG Development and not DIPECHO ).

I.3. Coordination with other ECHO projects

• With the other Commission departments

If one excludes the activities from mine clearance which are not in DIPECHO’s remit, currently the Commission does not have any other interventions in disaster prevention in SE Asia. The Commission took part in the “Intersessional Meetings on Disaster Relief” of the “ASEAN regional Forum (ARF)”, in 1999 in Moscow and in 2000 in Hanoi. These meetings led to the launch of some ideas however nothing concrete was agreed. The Delegation of Vietnam to the European Commission also follows the development of an initiative by the Netherlands.

• With the Member States

ECHO asked the Member States to forward a list of the prevention projects that they finance in the region. The answers received suggest the existence of almost no financing by Member states. This will be checked by the ECHO correspondent during the implementation of the Action Plan to ensure that there is no replication and that close co-operation is fostered where appropriate.

The only involvement by Member States identified concerns the central region of Vietnam. Owing to the gravity of the recurring floods (almost annually), the Netherlands, at the meeting of the Advisory Group of the World Bank, in December 1999, launched the idea of a prevention programme which is now being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and of Rural Development. France is also taking an active part in the process, as is the United Nations (UN) via the Disaster Management Unit (DMU) that was set up in Hanoi (a component of the UN programme that was financed under the First DIPECHO Action Plan). A feasibility study currently being undertaken will result in time in a Plan of Action. The Commission will then be able to consider a possible contribution in particular from ECHO/DIPECHO.

II. Objective of the Second Action Plan

The objective of the Plan is to reduce the vulnerability of the populations most exposed to disasters in Southeast Asia. This is achieved through the promotion, demonstration and initiation activities at local, national and regional levels, and through strengthening the links between these three levels.

III. Intervention at the Regional Level

III.1. Rationale

DIPECHO is designed to assist regional co-operation. Although the capacities and the disaster situations differ from country to country, exchanges of knowledge and expertise are considered an effective means for national capacities to be raised and risk reduced. High levels of technical and managerial skills exist within the region and many of the problems faced are similar. This rationale for co-operation is strengthened by the increased frequency of hazards which cross boundaries; El Niño, haze and floods. This is particularly the case in countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines, which have strong traditions in disaster preparedness but which do not have the capacity to deal with these increasingly common regional types of disaster.

III.2. Objective

The aim of DIPECHO’s intervention at the regional level is to encourage co-operation and co-ordination of disaster preparedness activities throughout the region in particular through exchanges and dissemination of knowledge and experience. This includes inter-NGO information exchange and dissemination.

III.3. Action

Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) – This project has two main components. Firstly, it will establish an institutional arrangement for information exchange, support national bodies to review and develop mechanisms for regional cooperation and information sharing and update disaster management training material. Secondly the project aims to build the capacity of DIPECHO partners in Community-based approaches to Disaster Management in order to maximize the implementation of local level disaster risk reduction programs. In addition, ADPC will conduct a regional forum among DIPECHO partners and among other relevant organizations working in this field. This forum has the potential for project collaborations, resource exchange, technical information sharing, advocacy and networking.

IV. Intervention at National Level

IV.1. Rationale
The motivation for acting at the national level is to enhance the capacities of central institutions responsible for national disaster management: the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) in Laos and the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) in Cambodia. Analysis of existing response structures highlights shortcomings common to all the South East Asian countries: underdeveloped institutions, the need for training in hazard management, a shortage of resources, inadequate legislation. The projects have been selected for their ability to reduce or overcome these shortcomings.

Mention must be made of the pivotal role played by the Red Cross in these countries as a parallel institution backed by the State. In order to maintain this role within its limited means, actions that prioritize strengthening and training are envisaged for the Cambodian, Vietnamese and Philippine Red Cross Societies. It is also important to note that this pivotal role exists at all levels, not just the national, and this is reflected in the selection of projects.

Moreover the accent is put on co-ordination between the various DIPECHO projects. The ECHO correspondents will encourage regular contact between the different NGOs because the activities fulfilled in the selected projects are not discrete; they have been selected also for their complementarity. This will be further promoted by establishing networks between the relevant national institution and other disaster preparedness actors and through the dissemination of training material and information.

IV.2. Objective

The objective is to strengthen National Institutions and Red Cross Societies in their capacity to respond to disaster.

TABLE

V. Intervention at Community Level

V.1. Rationale

Training is one of the best tools for strengthening the capacities of countries to respond to disasters. For public awareness to be raised training is necessary at all levels and must target all of the population. However it can be particularly effective in local communities and local preparedness committees and if designed correctly can have educational impact on the young.

Together with training, local pilot-projects with demonstrative value can illustrate the value of preparedness activities and indirect gains to the local economy. For instance small pilot reforestation activities in hilly areas vulnerable to floods have multiple illustrative qualities; a reduction of landslides will be apparent in the reforested areas as will the potential for future sources of income from tree-related products. These in turn make local authorities and populations aware of the value of replicating such activities.

The third major preparedness action at local level is to implement early warning systems with low cost technology. These systems, when combined with emergency planning and training have the dual impact of immediately warning the population of an imminent disaster and allowing them to react in the most effective manner. The value of this situation can be further enhanced if direct communication between the services responsible for disaster management at the provincial level allows for a co-ordinated response.

Once these three elements are successfully in place replication at the national level and in other parts of SE Asia which face the same difficulties will be possible. However it must be recognised that it will take longer than one year for these disaster preparedness activities to evolve so that they are absorbed into local tradition and culture to a degree that will allow replication on a national scale. However the role of the DIPECHO programme is to initiate such a change.

V.2. Objective

The objective is to strengthen the capacity of communities to respond to all kinds of natural disaster through increased preparedness.

V.3. Action

TABLE

VI. Budget

A reserve of €70.000 has been earmarked in the budget of the Action Plan that could be used for an external evaluation of the implementation of this Plan