Perceived Adverse Effects of Separating Government Institutions for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Within the Southern African Development Community Member States

Abstract

Integration of disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) is widely recognized as a solution for reducing the risk and impacts of disasters. However, successful integration seems elusive, and the two goals continue to function in isolation and in parallel. This article provides empirical insights into the perceived effects of separating government institutions for DRR and CCA within the Southern African Development Community member states. A mixed method research design was applied to the study. A total of 40 respondents from Botswana, Eswatini (until April 2018 Swaziland), Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe participated in face-to-face interviews or an online survey. Five major effects of separating the organizations for DRR and CCA that impede efforts to reduce disaster risk coherently were identified: duplication of services, polarization of interventions, incoherent policies, competition for the same resources, and territorial contests. Given the continued fragmentation of institutions for DRR and CCA, highlighting these effects is important to emphasize the need for integrated approaches towards the reduction of disaster risk.

Keywords

Climate change adaptation / Disaster risk reduction / Southern African Development Community / Sustainable development

References

[1] Ashoff G. Enhancing policy coherence for development: Justification, recognition and approaches to achievement, 2005, Bonn: German Development Institute

[2] Axelsson R, Axelsson SB. Integration and collaboration in public health—A conceptual framework. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 2006, 21(1): 75-88.

[3] Banwell, N., S. Rutherford, B. Mackey, and C. Chu. 2018. Towards improved linkage of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in health: A review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15(4): Article 793.

[4] Barki H, Pinsonneault A. A model of organizational integration, implementation effort, and performance. Organization Science, 2005, 16(2): 165-179.

[5] Becker, P., M. Abrahamsson, and M. Hagelsteen. 2013. Parallel structures for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in Southern Africa. Jàmbá: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies 5(2): Article a68.

[6] Begum RA, Sarkar MdSK, Jaafar AH, Pereira JJ. Toward conceptual frameworks for linking disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 2014, 10: 362-373.

[7] Birkmann, J., and R. Mechler. 2015. Advancing climate adaptation and risk management. New insights, concepts and approaches: What have we learned from the SREX and the AR5 processes? Climatic Change 133(1): 1–6.

[8] Birkmann J, Pardoe J. Glavovic BC, Smith GP. Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction: Fundamentals, synergies and mismatches. Adapting to climate change, 2014, Dordrecht: Springer 41-56.

[9] Birkmann J, von Teichman K. Integrating disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation: Key challenges—scales, knowledge, and norms. Sustainability Science, 2010, 5(2): 171-184.

[10] Chmutina, K., R. Jigyasu, and L. Bosher. 2016. Integrating disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into the built environment. In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Building Resilience, 7–9 September 2016, Auckland, New Zealand, 7–9.

[11] Collins KMT. Tashakkori A, Teddlie C. Advanced sampling design in mixed methods research. SAGE handbook of mixed methods in social science and behavior, 2010 2 London: Sage Publications 353-378.

[12] Creswell JW. A concise introduction to mixed methods research, 2014, London: Sage Publications

[13] Creswell JW, Clark VLP. Designing and conducting mixed methods research, 2017, London: Sage Publications

[14] DasGupta R, Shaw R. Kelman I, Mercer J, Gaillard JC. Disaster risk reduction: A critical approach. The Routledge handbook of disaster risk reduction including climate change adaptation, 2017, London: Routledge 44-55.

[15] Dias N, Amaratunga D, Haigh R. Challenges associated with integrating CCA and DRR in the UK—A review on the existing legal and policy background. Procedia Engineering, 2018, 212: 978-985.

[16] Djalante R, Thomalla F. Disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in Indonesia. International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, 2012, 3(2): 166-180.

[17] Eakin H, Tompkins EL, Nelson DR, Anderies JM. Adger WN, Lorenzoni I, O’Brien K. Hidden costs and disparate uncertainties: Trade-offs in approaches to climate policy. Adapting to climate change: Limits to adaptation, 2009, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 212-226.

[18] Forino G, von Meding J, Brewer GJ. A conceptual governance framework for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction integration. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2015, 6(4): 372-384.

[19] Galderisi A. Colucci A, Magoni M, Menoni S. Nexus approach to disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation and ecosystems’ management: New paths for a sustainable and resilient urban development. Peri-urban areas and food-energy-water nexus: Sustainability and resilience strategies in the age of climate change, 2017, Berlin: Springer 11-21.

[20] Herrera H, Reuben E, Ting MM. Turf wars. Journal of Public Economics, 2017, 152: 143-153.

[21] Hord SM. A synthesis of research on organizational collaboration. Educational Leadership, 1986, 43(5): 22-26.

[22] IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). 2014. Climate change 2014: Impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Part A: Global and sectoral aspects. Contribution of working group II to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change, ed. C.B. Field, V.R. Barros, D.J. Dokken, K.J. Mach, M.D. Mastrandrea, T.E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K.L. Ebi, et al. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.

[23] Johnson RB, Onwuegbuzie AJ. Mixed methods research: A research paradigm whose time has come. Educational Researcher, 2004, 33(7): 14-26.

[24] Keast R, Brown K, Mandell M. Getting the right mix: Unpacking integration meanings and strategies. International Public Management Journal, 2007, 10(1): 9-33.

[25] Keating A, Campbell K, Mechler R, Michel-Kerjan E, Mochizuki J, Kunreuther H, Bayer J, Hanger S Operationalizing resilience against natural disaster risk: Opportunities, barriers and a way forward, 2014, Zurich: Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance

[26] Keefer P, Knack S. Social capital, social norms and the new institutional economics, 2003, Munich: Munich Personal RePEc Archive

[27] Kelman I. Linking disaster risk reduction, climate change, and the sustainable development goals. Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, 2017, 26(3): 254-258.

[28] Kelman I, Gaillard JC. Shaw R, Pulhin JM, Pereira JJ. Embedding climate change adaptation within disaster risk reduction. Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction: Issues and challenges, 2010, Melbourne: Emerald Publishing 23-46.

[29] Kelman I, Gaillard JC, Mercer J. Climate change’s role in disaster risk reduction’s future: Beyond vulnerability and resilience. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2015, 6(1): 21-27.

[30] Kelman I, Gaillard JC, Lewis J, Mercer J. Learning from the history of disaster vulnerability and resilience research and practice for climate change. Natural Hazards, 2016, 82(1): 129-143.

[31] Kelman I, Mercer J, Gaillard JC. The Routledge handbook of disaster risk reduction including climate change adaptation, 2017, London: Routledge

[32] van der Keur P, van Bers C, Henriksen HJ, Nibanupudi HK, Yadav S, Wijaya R, Subiyono A, Mukerjee N Identification and analysis of uncertainty in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in South and Southeast Asia. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 2016, 16: 208-214.

[33] Kodner, D.L., and C. Spreeuwenberg. 2002. Integrated care: meaning, logic, applications, and implications—A discussion paper. International Journal of Integrated Care 2: Article e12.

[34] Mall RK, Srivastava RK, Banerjee T, Mishra OP, Bhatt D, Sonkar G. Disaster risk reduction including climate change adaptation over south Asia: Challenges and ways forward. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2019, 10(1): 14-27.

[35] Mitchell, T., and M. Van Aalst. 2008. Convergence of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. A Review for DFID. https://www.preventionweb.net/files/7853_ConvergenceofDRRandCCA1.pdf. Accessed 13 Mar 2020.

[36] Mitchell T, Van Aalst M, Silva Villanueva P. Assessing progress on integrating disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in development processes, 2010, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex

[37] Mutimba S, Wanyoike R. Towards a coherent and cost-effective policy response to climate change in Kenya: Country report, 2013, Nairobi: Heinrich Böll Stiftung, East & Horn of Africa

[38] Mysiak J, Castellari S, Kurnik B, Swart R, Pringle P, Schwarze R, Wolters H, Jeuken A, Van Der Linden P. Brief communication: Strengthening coherence between climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 2018, 18: 3137-3143.

[39] Nalau J, Handmer J, Dalesa M, Foster H, Edwards J, Kauhiona H, Yates L, Welegtabit S. The practice of integrating adaptation and disaster risk reduction in the south-west Pacific. Climate and Development, 2015, 8(4): 365-375.

[40] Nemakonde LD, Van Niekerk D. A normative model for integrating organizations for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation within SADC member states. Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, 2017, 26(3): 361-376.

[41] Page SB, Stone MM, Bryson JM, Crosby BC. Public value creation by cross-sector collaborations: A framework and challenges of assessment. Public Administration, 2015, 93(3): 715-732.

[42] Pilli-Sihvola K, Väätäinen-Chimpuku S. Defining climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction policy integration: Evidence and recommendations from Zambia. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 2016, 19: 461-473.

[43] Schipper ELF. Meeting at the crossroads? Exploring the linkages between climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Climate and Development, 2009, 1(1): 16-30.

[44] Serrao-Neumann S, Crick F, Harman B, Schuch G, Choy DL. Maximizing synergies between disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation: Potential enablers for improved planning outcomes. Environmental Science & Policy, 2015, 50: 46-61.

[45] Shams R. Regional integration in developing countries: Some lessons based on case studies, 2003, Hamburg: Hamburg Institute of International Economics

[46] Shannon MA, Schmidt CH. Tikkanen I, Glück P, Pajuoja H. Theoretical approaches to understanding intersectoral policy integration. Cross-sectoral policy impacts on forests, 2002, Joensuu: European Forest Institute 15-26.

[47] Solecki W, Leichenko R, O’Brien K. Climate change adaptation strategies and disaster risk reduction in cities: Connections, contentions, and synergies. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 2011, 3(3): 135-141.

[48] Sushchenko, O., and R. Schwarze, 2020. Economics and finance of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation: Main gaps identified in the PLACARD project and arising alignment opportunities for the EU Green Deal. Lisbon: PLACARD project, FC.ID.

[49] Turnbull M, Sterrett CL, Hilleboe A. Toward resilience: A guide towards disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, 2013, Rugby: Practical Action Publishing

[50] UN (United Nations). 2016. Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, A/71/644. New York: United Nations.

[51] UNISDR (United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction) Terminology on disaster risk reduction, 2009, Geneva: UNISDR