Jamaica: trends in strengthening local communities in reducing disasters
The development of a sound community base through the provision of the necessary resources to undertake programmes as well as to spearhead educational projects and other support structures is a concept that is being used in development programmes around the world. It comes as no surprise therefore that disaster management practitioners across the globe are embracing this new thrust to propel the concept of disaster management into prominence in the daily life of a community.
In order to minimize the risk of 'natural' disasters it has been recognized that greater emphasis must be placed on the people who will become directly affected by hazards such as landslides and flash floods, which can severely affect the life of a community. A community can be defined as persons living in a common place of settlement or a group which interrelate and benefit from their interdependent association in some way.
Emerging from this type of community strengthening over the years are some key trends in fostering participation at the community level, which will be integral in shaping the way we practice disaster management in Jamaica in the near future. Some of these concepts have been explored fully in the Jamaican context while others, although in the embryonic stages, need to be highlighted in addressing the issue of strengthening disaster management for greater disaster reduction planning.
One underlying trend is the adoption of the “bottom up” or grass root approach to community strengthening starting with the common man and his existence within a low-income community. Barbara Ward, co-author of Only one Earth states that, “inaction on the part of the individual is often simply not knowing what to do” in the event of a disaster which brings to the fore the importance of educating the community on the concept that people are responsible for their own actions as well as taking the time to be responsible for their own safety and protection.
This means that the community in which you live, the church and school communities, the parochial structure which is overseen by the respective Parish Councils must be looked at as agents of change. There must be commitment from the local officials to work together and with any entity that has made the decision to be responsible. Efforts to revisit governance at the local level so that community-based laws are amended to facilitate the growth of this type of management must become an important issue.
The community of Majesty Gardens in south St. Andrew is a good example of this “bottom up” approach, as they have identified a gully in their community which is a major hazard to their settlement. They have managed to establish a committee and have been successful in getting it cleaned with plans to conduct fundraising activities to construct additional barriers to prevent flooding as a mitigation strategy.
An argument being put forward by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) is that a community which invents its own ideas and work programmes to address their individual needs has a better chance of finding long term solutions to its problems than feasibility studies done from the outside looking in on the community. It has been found also, that by identifying resources from among its members the community can often find creative ways of implementing projects and programmes at a far less cost than any government-directed or bi-lateral initiative.
In Jamaica, this could be regarded as being a fair statement to the extent that the ingenuity is evident on the ground, one which only needs to be properly harnessed. However, the economic situation that prevails at present makes the provision of some form of incentive and financial backing in the earlier stages that much better in ameliorating some of the problems which may exist in its implementation as the majority of the populace based on their economic status rely on government’s poverty alleviation strategies for greater social and economic stability.
The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management by its very mandate is committed as the facilitator in taking action to prevent or reduce the impact of disasters through hazard mitigation strategies and preparedness measures such as public education, while managing initiatives such as the zonal and shelter programmes. Embedded in all of this are the methodologies used in fully carrying out its directives in assisting communities through training and mitigation techniques such as early warning systems to realize their full potential in managing disasters by which the community is most likely to be affected.
The link between natural disasters and sustainable development is another trend that has been looked at. The debate on the development of a national policy for Environmental Management Systems for sustainable development for example, is no longer “waiting in the wings” as its implementation is now a matter of compliance with world environmental standards. Likewise, the recognition that changes which impact negatively on the environment increase our vulnerability to natural hazards must be looked at seriously. Although there must be government commitment and by extension commitment by local authorities, the community as a viable resource will need to take the initiative to ensure that if the area is threatened by, e.g., landslides then the relevant steps are taken to mitigate against its occurrence.
One may ask the question as to whether voluntarism is a thing of the past or whether it is alive and well in Jamaica. The passing of Hurricane Michelle to the south west of the island in October 29-November 5, 2001 speaks to the latter. Volunteers from the parishes of Portland and St. Mary are cases in point. Several church and service organizations volunteered their services freely in providing clothing and food as well in the removal of debris from some affected communities.
Zonal committees in Portland such as the Buff Bay, Fruitfulvale and Swift River committees have been instrumental in running shelters in their areas. This means that the community itself can mobilize and identify its resources without much outside help, motivated by a strong humanitarian spirit and the desire to help his or her neighbour in an emergency. Barriers to this mobilization may be a lack of a core volunteer structure which can be alleviated if the ODPEM’s zonal committee is in place and operating as it should.
There is also a gender perspective to the whole issue of generating stability by minimizing community risk as is the trend internationally by examining gender separate roles in an effort to strengthen the coping capacity of the community. As Dr. Glenda Simms of the Bureau of Women’s Affairs puts it, what would happen if flash flooding suddenly impacted a community and only the men/boys could swim? The idea to many may appear far-fetched but points to how important it is to identify the skills of both men and women.
Women are responsible for the food resources of the family. In the event of a flood in which the community is isolated it is the woman who will be responsible as always for ensuring that her food rations carry through to feed her family until relief items arrive. She will be responsible for ensuring that her child’s health remains intact as well as being responsible for her own sanitation with limited water resources. According to the Bureau, it has been found that more women in the communities are on medication than men and therefore are more in need of health benefits in a disaster.
Therefore, public education has to be geared towards conducting a gender analysis to identify what are the impacts on men or on women in a particular community whether it may be a rural or an urban one while examining their ability to cope with drastic changes to the daily activities of their community life.
Some community programmes which have been spearheaded by the ODPEM have recorded great success levels. Nestled in the hills of upper Clarendon, the Kellits Zonal Committee has gone beyond responding solely to disasters but has fully integrated itself in the community where they conduct annual fairs and community street meetings. Likewise, communities such as Breastworks, Fellowship, Windsor and Comfort Castle found along the Rio Grande Valley in Portland have managed to sustain their community flood >Any programme or strategy that aims to strengthen the community to minimise the risk of disasters whether by capacity building or training is an important step in the strengthening the community-base.
Efforts to teach people to survive especially for at least the first 72 hours, until further assistance could reach them has been tried, proven and tested and points to positive gains for disaster management in Jamaica.