Edwards, E

Johnson, R.M

Kuniyal, J.C

ResearchSPace - Bath Spa University

  Kuniyal, J.C., Edwards, E. and Johnson, R.M. (2019) 'Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in the Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh: developing pathways to enhanced resilience in mountain regions’, Current Science, 117 (4), pp. 557-559. Accompanying video: https://hpkullu.nic.in/pathways-to-resilience/     ResearchSPAce http://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/ This published version is made available in accordance with publisher policies.  Please cite using the reference above. Your access and use of this document is based on your acceptance of the ResearchSPAce Metadata and Data Policies, as well as applicable law:-https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/policies.html  Unless you accept the terms of these Policies in full, you do not have permission to download this document. This cover sheet may not be removed from the document. Please scroll down to view the document.  Full list of contributors: J.C. Kuniyal, K. Chand, P. Kumar, E. Edwards, R.M. Johnson, S. Shashni, V.E. Gosavi, K. Kumar, R. Lata, S.S. Samant and D.D. Sharma. Copyright © Current Science. NEWS CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 117, NO. 4, 25 AUGUST 2019 557*A report on a multi-stakeholder meeting inJune 2018 in Kullu to discuss and developlocal disaster risk reduction approaches.MEETING REPORT Disaster Risk Reduction in Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh, India* The rugged landscape of the Indian Hi-malayan region elevates the risk of ha-zard events and holds back socio-economic development opportunities for remote and vulnerable communities. Par-ticularly notable are landslides, floods, forest fires and earthquakes. A recent in-ternational assessment of disaster im-pacts (1996–2015) revealed that India as a whole suffered the fifth largest mortali-ty, especially related to flood events1. The 23–24 September 2018 floods which impacted the Beas River watershed in Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh high-light the significant damages (to infra-structure and environment), disruption and costs that disaster events inflict upon us. It is therefore important for society to develop a better understanding of how the magnitude, frequency and impacts of these hazards are shifting in the context of climate change and variability, land-use change, and increasing mountain populations2,3. Challenging these risk conditions, international, multinational and national disaster risk reduction (DRR) frameworks (e.g. The Sendai Framework 2015–2030 (ref. 4); Asian Regional Plan, re-appraised at the July 2018 Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction5, and Indian National Disaster Management Plan 2016 (ref. 6)) are driving transitions to resilience, in which people and commun-ities are central to achieving disaster re-duction. Resilience is defined as: ‘The ability of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to resist, absorb, accommodate, adapt to, transform and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner, including NEWS CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 117, NO. 4, 25 AUGUST 2019 558 through the preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and func-tions through risk management’7. In order to be effective, policy makers and practitioners need to translate these ideas into local action, to deliver reduced vul-nerability and increased resilience to hazard and risk conditions.   In this context, G. B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment and Sustainable Development (GBPNIHESD, Kullu), Bath Spa University (BSU, UK), other Indian and Canadian Universities, Indian Government agencies, NGOs and local communities have together been exploring interrelated aspects of flood hazard, local vulnerability and resilience to disasters and DRR development in Kullu district.  Here, we report on recent activity which is delivering novel insights into local disaster knowledge and local en-gagement with DRR, following Johnson et al.8. In June 2018, meetings between local communities, GBPNIHESD and BSU took place in mountain villages, followed by a one-day workshop in Kullu (hosted by GBPNIHESD; Hima-chal Regional Centre), attended by more than 30 delegates from local communi-ties, Government agencies and local/ international NGOs. Together we: (1) Delivered an interim synopsis of re-search findings from the village dis-cussions.(2) Screened a Hindi version of a tri-lateral (India, Canada, UK) researchfilm on flood disaster impacts, localknowledge and local DRR develop-ment in the Phojal Nalla catchment(Beas River tributary).(3) Considered opportunities for enhanc-ing DRR in Kullu district, throughthe District-Level Disaster Manage-ment Plan.The meeting panel of the 2018 Kullu DRR Workshop (academic and Kullu district Government officials) collective-ly emphasized the need for: (1)  Enhanced collaboration and coordi-nation among scientists, villagers,policy planners and practitioners toimprove DRR in the mountain re-gions.(2) The value of multidisciplinary,  multi-national, participatory and col-laborative approaches to underpinDRR.(3) A need to compile improved under-standing of past hazard events to bettermanage future risks (e.g. the UGC-UKIERI-funded project HiFlo-DAT[2018–2020], which is an in-develop-ment flood database for Kullu dis-trict).(4)  The importance of local knowledgeand village-level awareness in theDRR partnership.Objectives 1 and 2: Discussions with five village groups in the Phojal Nalla catch-ment (i.e. Kathi/Kukri, Neri, Phojal, Runga and the Dobhi Tibetan communi-ty), used a short film (see later) to initiate focus group discussion. These provide important observations for for-ward DRR development, namely: (1) Existing local knowledge of floodsand landslides. This revealed clearunderstanding of past hazard eventcause, location, time and impacts. Itdemonstrated how local knowledgehas much scope to supplement andenrich official knowledge sources,which are otherwise fragmentary andincomplete.(2) Environment and community chal-lenges of importance to the localcommunity. Common concerns in-clude water supply, forest health andservice provision, including educa-tion.(3)  The existing resilience measures invillages. These centre on traditionalarchitectural styles, land use (avoid-ing streams and planting trees), andthe value of modern communications.However, many types of resilienceare not fully recognized by the vil-lage community, revealing a need forfurther awareness and empowermentschemes.(4) Knowledge of aspirations for a Vil-lage Disaster Management Commit-tee (VDMC). At present, there islimited awareness regarding pro-posed VDMC, but villagers seek apartnership approach to developingthem. These need to explore thevalue that local communities com-monly place on official knowledgeabove their own knowledge.Objective 3: All attendees engaged in break-out group and plenary (whole group) discussions, to further examine DRR in Kullu district. These discussions considered: existing examples of DRR best practice in the district; the formation and role of VDMCs; how film, informa-tion leaflets and mobile-phone technolo-gies could be used to share local and official knowledge to improve resilience, and how academic research and colla-borative activities could assist future de-velopment of the Kullu District Disaster Management Plan. Detailed analyses of these discussion outcomes are ongoing, and form part of our forward recommen-dations.  The meeting concluded with an em-phasis on the importance of promoting integrated approaches towards DRR, ac-tively involving a diverse array of stake-holders, including those living in the region and beyond. In addition, all par-ticipants agreed that disasters cannot be averted, but their impact can definitely be minimized through a much closer in-teraction of local communities, responsi-ble agencies and wider science teams. Accordingly, it was resolved to: (1)  Extend the outreach of the importantDRR message using films, socialmedia, traditional media and publicengagement alongside governmentagencies at important religious fes-tivals (e.g. Kullu Dussehra). We takethis opportunity to invite discussion(via the UK author contact) from theCurrent Science readership, about theissues, challenges and opportunitiesshowcased by our DRR film, hostedon the Kullu District Governmentwebpage (https://hpkullu.nic.in/path- ways-to-resilience/). The medium offilms is societally accessible, con-necting hearts and minds, which isnecessary to galvanize collaborationin taking the effective next steps inimproving resilience to disaster risk.(2) Extend international partnerships andnetworks to bring new/diverse know-ledge perspectives to this global chal-lenge, and provide opportunities todevelop the next generation of criti-cal academic researchers. We agreedto target large-scale international res-earch funding and invite new aca-demic/NGO members to our researchpartnership.(3) Assist the iteration of the Kullu Dis-trict Disaster Management Plan inpartnership with government agencies,via publication of a policy-practicediscussion note on the developmentof resilience in Indian Himalayanvillage communities – which we hopeNEWS CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 117, NO. 4, 25 AUGUST 2019 559provides a catalyst for the improve-ment of DRR in the region and beyond.   These represent significant steps to help transform the policy positions into practice, by engaging with and valuing the knowledge of a broad consistency of stakeholders, and upscaling current efforts. They also serve to demonstrate the importance of multidisciplinary approaches in scientific endeavour.  1. CRED-UNISDR, Poverty & death: disastermortality 1996–2015. UNISDR, Geneva,2016.2. Gardner, J. S., In Risk Governance: TheArticulation of Hazard, Politics and Ecol-ogy (ed. Fra Paleo, U.), Springer, London,2015, pp. 349–371; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9328-53. Hewitt, K. and Mehta, M., J. Alpine Res.,2012, 100(1), 1–12; https://doi.org/10.4000/rga.16534. UNISDR, Sendai Framework for disasterrisk reduction 2015–2030. United NationsOffice for Disaster Risk Reduction, Geneva,2015.5. Asian Ministerial Conference on DisasterRisk Reduction, Action Plan 2018–2020 ofthe Asia Regional Plan for Implementationof the Sendai Framework for Disaster RiskReduction 2015–2030, 2018; https://www.preventionweb.net/files/56219_actionplan-20182020final.pdf (accessed on 2 Septem-ber 2018). 6. National Disaster Management Plan, Na-tional Disaster Management Authority,Government of India. May 2016; https://ndma.gov.in/images/policyplan/dmplan/National%20Disaster%20Management%-20Plan%20May%202016.pdf7. UNISDR, Terminology on DRR, 2017;https://www.unisdr.org/we/inform/termi- nology (accessed on 31 July 2018).8. Johnson, R. M., Edwards, E., Gardner, J.S. and Diduck, A. P., Reg. Environ.Change, 2018, 18(7), 2073–2087; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-018-1326-6ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. We thank the Director, GBPNIHESD, Kosi-Katarmal, Almora and Vice-Chancellors, Bath Spa Uni-versity, Bath, United Kingdom, and Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla for providing the necessary facilities.  Jagdish Chandra Kuniyal*, G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Envi-ronment and Sustainable Development, Kosi-Katarmal, Almora 263 643, India; Richard Johnson* and Esther Ed-wards, Hazard, Risk and Disaster Re-search Group, Bath Spa University, Newton Park, Newton St Loe, Bath BA2 9BN, United Kingdom. *e-mail: jckuniyal@gmail.com;r.johnson@bathspa.ac.uk

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in the Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh: developing pathways to enhanced resilience in mountain regions

http://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/12335/3/12335.pdf

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in the Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh: developing pathways to enhanced resilience in mountain regions

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

ResearchSPace - Bath Spa University