Matt Grager :
Last month, philanthropists gave with their hearts to help after the 6.3 magnitude earthquake in Yunnan Province, China, which claimed over 600 lives and affected 1.1 million people. This outpouring of support has become all too necessary for communities across Asia.
While financial support for natural disasters is necessary, it is also only part of a puzzle. In order to lessen the need for large relief and recovery investments, private philanthropy must shift its focus in two ways. First, the private sector must prioritize funding disaster preparedness and risk reduction in addition to relief. This has proven not only to save lives, but also money. Secondly, community-based approaches must begin to replace the top-down models put forth by governments and other international organizations. These approaches are the key to long-term resilience.
For clarity, disaster preparedness activities are directed at saving lives and property during hazard events such as typhoons or earthquakes. It includes setting up early warning systems, emergency evacuation plans, and education campaigns about disasters. Disaster risk reduction (DRR) seeks to resolve the underlying causes of disaster risk and is closely linked to development work. DRR is based on the premise that unsustainable development patterns reduce the capacity of people to cope with hazards, thereby causing the impact of disasters to increase. Together these two approaches build disaster resilience – the ability to emerge from hazard events with minimal damage and disruption.
This shift toward preparedness and risk reduction is the best way to alter the outcome when hazards hit Asia’s vulnerable communities. We already know the effects of climate change, where hazards are most likely to strike, and who will be affected. Therefore, we must be forward-thinking in addressing these issues before horrific images and death tolls hit the news cycle.
As Kristalina Georgieva, EU commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response wrote recently, “Resilience is more than a buzzword – it is the only way to prevent more suffering and an ever-growing humanitarian bill.”
In Asia, the message is already clear. In 2013, 85 percent of the deaths and 90 percent of the affected population from all global disasters where in Asia. In Bangladesh, the predicted rising sea levels will cover 17 percent of the country by 2050, displacing 18 million people. Migrants are already leaving coastal communities due to soil erosion and re-locating to slums in Dhaka, where they exacerbate flood risks by creating dense settlements in the most vulnerable areas. Meanwhile in the Philippines, poverty and resource depletion push fishing communities to resort to dynamite fishing, destroying reefs and mangrove forests, leaving communities more vulnerable to typhoons and storm surges – something made obvious in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda in November 2013.
While building resilience in these communities is the most cost effective approach, it is severely underfunded. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) reports that for every $1 spent on preparedness and risk reduction, $7 is saved in relief and recovery. The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) reports that some of the world’s poorest countries receive approximately $160,000 in relief and recovery funding for every $1 in preparedness and risk reduction.
It is local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) that have long been building resilience. Despite being continually short of funding and capacity, it is these local groups that turn communities away from harmful fishing practices, as does the Guiuan Development Foundation in the Philippines; that adjust agricultural practices to climate change as does Bangladesh Integrated Society Advancement Programme in Bangladesh; or, that trains local teams to respond to disasters in neighboring municipalities, as does Yayasan IDEP in Indonesia.
However, it is here where the private sector can be most effective. While organizations, including the United Nations, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), have called for increased private sector investment in disaster resilience building, there are few direct pathways for support these communities. Rather, these groups call for the private sector to support governmental institutions and infrastructure projects. The reason this has largely failed to generate significant support is not a lack of importance, but because it does not easily integrate with private sector philanthropy strategies.
Private sector philanthropy generally aims to improve the lives of stakeholders, including employees, customers and the communities around them. Local NGOs and CBOs are created to serve, and widely known by, the stakeholders that private sector philanthropy aims to help. They have the community knowledge and local political capital to generate initial support and to sustain preparedness and resilience projects beyond the funding period. By engaging with increasingly effective local programs, private sector philanthropy receives a positive community response that aligns with its philanthropic goals, while building resilience that will ultimately save lives and money.
In addition to targeting stakeholders, private sector strategies for philanthropy often focus on a single issue such as education, health or environment. Community-based programs are easily integrated into such strategies. Students in vulnerable areas must be trained in evacuation plans, hospitals must have continuity plans, and the environment must be healthy to minimize damage from hazards.
It is not to say that building resilience is easy. It requires strong local leadership, community support, and technical expertise. These are elements that the private sector can support with a bottom-up approach that offers flexibility unattainable by working top-down with national government or international organizations.
The specifics of disaster and climate change vulnerability vary greatly between communities, but the urgency to build resilience remains the same. In India, 80 million people are affected annually by predictable disasters such as flooding and drought. In Indonesia, 90 million people are vulnerable, mostly to unpredictable disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. For the first group, the status quo means a cycle of migration, poverty and reconstruction, while for the second, it is a deadly and high-risk gamble. Neither situation should be acceptable to the private sector, which invests in and profits from the continued growth of Asian economies.
(Matt Grager is the Director of Disaster Preparedness Programs at Give2Asia, a US501©3 social enterprise.)
