People, policy and partnership for disaster resilience development: proceedings

This document contains the proceedings of a two-day workshop entitled “People, policy, and partnership for disaster resilient development” held on 3-4 November 2007 at India Habitat Center in New Delhi. The workshop focused on sharing lessons and building partnerships to scale up community-led disaster reduction initiatives.
The workshop proceedings were centered on a wide range of community level risk reduction efforts that are effectively reducing vulnerabilities as well as influencing development processes and policies. Community leaders from drought, cyclone, earthquake and tsunami affected areas stressed the need for their efforts to be recognized, the importance of protecting their development gains and livelihoods, and halting of programs that leave the poor more vulnerable.
The key objectives of the workshop were to: create visibility and recognition for grassroots initiatives, provide opportunities for community leaders to engage with government and other institutional actors and identify strategies to strengthen and scale up community initiatives through partnerships.
The workshop brought together over 150 participants representing disaster-affected communities, networks, international humanitarian organizations, academics, research and training institutions, policymakers, and civil society organizations including representatives from India, Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh.