From knowledge to action: learning to go the last mile

A participatory assessment of the conditions for strengthening the technology–community linkages of tsunami early warning systems in the Indian Ocean:

This SEI study illustrates that early warning systems established in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand still need improvement five years after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December, 2004. It advocates for a radical change of approaches to disaster risk reduction and early warning to reach effectiveness and sustainability. It argues that recent calls to develop participatory and people-centred EWS as promoted by the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 (HFA) have not been sufficiently translated into action in the implementation of national policies and strategies for early warning.

It recommends to: 1) Ensure that policy and guidance is relevant in different sub-national contexts; 2) Support practitioners in navigating and reconciling multiple needs and priorities; 3) Acknowledge and consider cognitive and normative differences amongst stakeholders; and 4) Improve platforms for knowledge sharing and collective negotiation of policy targets.