How local communities and global development agencies reduce vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change: examples from the Pacific
This paper investigates how community based disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) approaches are becoming the common methodology employed by development agencies to increase resilience to disasters, as local communities are able to work with development partners and identify risks themselves, thereby addressing vulnerability issues using local knowledge.
It further examines how local cultures, communities and global development agencies forge relationships in the field of DRR and CCA using participatory approaches at the community level. Through extensive research in DRR and CCA in the Pacific, using specific case studies in Fiji and Samoa and through interviews and focus groups with relevant development partners and community members, it aims to answer the questions: Who drives DRR and CCA at the local level? What is the role of national governments? How do local systems of governance in the Pacific fit in with global agency’s approach, or vice versa?