Disaster Risk Reduction in Drought Cycle Management: A learning companion

8/6/2019 Disaster Risk Reduction in Drought Cycle Management: A learning companion

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Disaster Risk Reduction inDrought Cycle Management: A Learning CompanionOxfam Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate ChangeAdaptation Resources


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1. About this Companion

This Companion aims to support Oxam sta to integrate

disaster risk reduction (DRR) into programmes where

drought is a signicant hazard. In East Arica, this work

is commonly called drought cycle management (DCM).

For more on this approach, please see the Oxam DCM

bries available on the Intranet and rom [email protected].

uk. I you need denitions and more inormation on key

terminology used in DRR, please see the rst Companionin this series:An Introduction to Disaster Risk Reduction.

2. What is drought cycle management?

Droughts have traditionally been viewed as one-o

disasters requiring an emergency response. Typically,

emergency responses ocused on the delivery o ood

aid and lie-saving humanitarian support including

rehabilitating boreholes, emergency vaccination

campaigns and so on. Following a drought, agencies

tended to move onto rehabilitation programmes, such

as restocking, and then back to normal development

activities in various sectors such as health and education.However, given the requency o droughts in many regions,

development work is increasingly disrupted and oten

undermined by the shit to emergency response.

Learning Objectives

After reading this Companion, you should:

knowwhatDCMisandhowitcanbeusedfor

programming in dry land areas;

understandtherangeofinterventionsthatare

appropriatefordifferentstagesofthedroughtcycle;

understandtheimportanceofpromotingriskreductioninyourworkondroughtcycle

management;

knowhowDRRrelatestoOxfamsOne

ProgrammeApproachandhowitcanbe

integratedacrossdepartmentsinprogramming

for dry land areas;

understandtheimportanceofinformation

managementsystemsinDCMandhowto

developthem;

understandtheimportanceofadvocacyin

applyingDRRapproacheswithindroughtcycle

management; and

knowwheretogotolearnmore.

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Oxfams DCM learning: Wajir Pastoral

Development Programme, Kenya

The periods when the Wajir Pastoral Development

Programme is not involved with drought response

or recovery are ew and ar between. From 1996

to date, a response- and/or recovery-related

programme has been ongoing in Wajir, in relation

to either drought or food and interspersed withconfict and human health issues (excluding a short

respite in 20023). Concentrating on development

and mitigation activities has, thereore, been very

dicult. This reinorces the notion that we cannot

look at the drought cycle in discrete phases; rather,

we must nd ways to increase DRR eorts at all

stages but particularly as part o our response

and recovery eorts.

During the late 1980s and 1990s, drought became

increasingly accepted as a normal occurrence in pastoral/

dryland areas and not a rare or intrinsically disastrous event.

The DCM model emerged rom this thinking and improved

programmes that recognised the cyclical nature o drought.

The DCM model acts as a guide to development agencies

supporting pastoral communities in planning or and

responding to droughts. By putting the drought cycle asthe central reerence point, it ensures that appropriate

interventions are implemented beore, during and

ater droughts. This ultimately reduces the risks and

consequences o drought.

Below: Pastoralists in Wajir migrating in search of new pasture. Photo: Brendan Cox/Oxfam

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Itprovidesacommonframeworkagainstwhich

humanitarian, development and advocacy work can be

aligned to reinorce each other.

ItisanexcellenttoolformainstreamingDRRactivitiesin

the pastoral/dryland livelihood context, as the DCM model

reduces the prominence o traditional relie activities,

and emphasises the need or disaster mitigation and

preparedness activities.

Themulti-sectoralnatureofthemodelisverycompatiblewith a livelihoods approach to addressing pastoral

development. By considering the multi-aceted ways in

which drought aects pastoralists lives, it is easier to

consider cross-sectoral linkages.

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3. Why integrate the drought cycle management

model into programming for dryland areas?

The DCM model conceptualises drought as a cycle

o our warning phases: normal, alert, emergency,

and recovery. There are clear advantages in viewing

drought as a cyclical process rather than an isolated

event preceded and ollowed by normal development

activity. Some o the benets o integrating the model into

programming are as ollows:

Themodelimprovesthetimeliness,appropriateness,and

ultimately, the eectiveness o work by ensuring that activities

are matched to the current stage o the drought cycle.

MITIGATION

PREPAREDNESS

RECONSTRU

CTION

RELIEFASSISTANCE

NormalA

lertAlarm

Emergency

Recovery

Information

Community Development

Contingency Planning

Capacity Building

Infrastructural Development

Animal health interventions

Human health interventions

Emergency water supply systems

Supplementary feeding of

vulnerable groups

Strategic stockpiling

of cereals and grains

Rehabilitation of

critical boreholes

Livestock Marketing

Animal health

Human health

Supplementary

feeding of livestock

Restocking

Rehabilitation of

dams

Capacity building

Infrastructural

development

Food for work

Cash for workNatual Resource

Mangement

Interventions

The Original Drought Cycle Management Model. The DCM Model is widely understood within Eastern Arica and

provides many benets to mangers and experts. Users o the model recognise that representing drought (and

associated responses) as our distinct phases is a simplication. But the DCM model remains a well-accepted concept

that ts well with programmers and pastoralists own understanding o the drought cycle.


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4. Why use disaster risk reduction approaches

alongside drought cycle management?

Climate change adaptation and DRR are corporate

priorities or Oxam, because Oxam recognises that it

will be unable to ull its mission to overcome poverty and

suering unless i can address the impact o disasters

and climate change on peoples livelihoods.

Many arid and semi-arid land areas are already eelingthe impact o climate change as it increases the severity

and unpredictability o droughts and foods. In addition,

high levels o poverty among pastoral populations and the

deteriorating terms o trade have meant that communities

in the drylands are increasingly vulnerable and at risk rom

food, confict, livestock and human disease, and landslides.

The DCM model ollows a simple logic easily understood

and accepted by both pastoralists and sta in drought-

prone areas. While Oxam has committed to integrate the

DCM model into all pastoral programmes, the ailure to

implement this commitment means that relie interventions

can be late and inappropriate or example, when ood

relie arrives months ater malnutrition rates have peaked.

In addition, while the DCM approach has a specic

ocus on vulnerability to drought, it is oten only applied

in preparedness response and recovery, rather than to

address the underlying causes o vulnerability and risk.

Thereore, many programme managers are unable to

determine whether, in the long-term, their programme

reduces vulnerability to drought. For example, in Wajir,

Oxam ound that the installation o new boreholes

to provide water or livestock resulted in a shit in

traditional herding patterns. This caused overgrazing and

degradation o pastures normally used at the end o the

dry season, thus urther undermining pastoralists ability

to cope during a prolonged dry season or drought.

5. How to integrate disaster risk reduction in

drought cycle management programming

DRR is not a radically new concept, but it is a valuable

way o analysing humanitarian, development and

advocacy programmes to improve their quality and

eectiveness in targeting the most vulnerable people.

Taking a DRR approach does not mean that you have

to establish new or distinct projects, since risk is mosteectively reduced when DRR principles are internalised

into wider programming. DRR should be considered at each

stage o the programme cycle. Please see the Companion:

An Introduction to Disaster Risk Reduction or more on this.

To support programme sta to use the DCM model in

practice, Oxam has identied the ollowing issues that

should be considered when attempting to build a greater

risk reduction ocus into a more comprehensive DCM

approach:

5.1 Identication: assessing and analysing levels of

risk

Risk is made up o the interaction between hazards,

vulnerabilities and capacities. Generally, it is understood

in the ollowing ormula:

Risk = Hazard x Vulnerability

Capacity

Thereore, assessments o risk require analysis o

hazards, vulnerabilities and capacities.

There are a variety o dierent methodologies or

analysing risk. Some o these are described in more

detail in the CompanionAn introduction to Disaster Risk

Reduction.

Men who sold sick livestock as part of an Oxfam de-stocking programme. This was part of a range of measures to minimise the impact of the

failure of the short rains in 2008. Photo: Jane Beesley/Oxfam


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However, whichever methodology is used, the essential

outputs o this process should include an understanding

o:

therangeandrelativeimportanceofhazardsaffecting

the target population;

thepriorityrisksexpressedbythecommunity;

thegroupsmostlikelytobeseverelyaffected;

whysomegroupsaremoreaffectedthanothers

(including a capacity analysis o all stakeholders,especially the community itsel);

whysomegroupsarelessabletocopethanothers;

howOxfamscurrentprogrammesneedtochangeto

reduce disaster impact and increase communities

capacity to deal with hazards;

theadditionalactivitiesrequiredtoreducerisksand

vulnerability and build communities capacity to cope and

respond;

whichactivitiescanbecarriedoutbyOxfamandwhich

by others; and

anactionplan(forexample,acommunity-baseddisaster

management plan CBDM).

5.2 Design: drought-proong programme planning

A key aspect o integrating DCM into programmes in arid

and semi-arid land areas is learning to drought-proo

programme work. This means that all programme teams

need to consider how all interventions will continue or

be modied in the (very likely) event o a drought. As a

minimum this will entail ensuring that:

projectproposalsincludeoptionsforarangeofactivities

at dierent stages o the drought cycle;budgetsincludecontingencyamountsforadditional

or expanded activities that may be required during the

drought;

projectstaff havetheskillsandtrainingrequiredto

implement both development and humanitarian activities

as circumstances dictate; and

informationfromspecialisedexternalorinternalearly

warning systems is incorporated into programme

decision-making, even where the programmes ocus

is not working directly on response to hazards. For

example, an education project will still need early

warning inormation about drought or foods to implementcontingency plans accordingly.

Working within the drought cycle supporting livestock markets in Turkana, Kenya

Oxfamslong-standingTurkanaprogrammeinKenyaidentiedastrategicneedtoimproveaccesstolivestock

markets.Fundingwassecuredtosupportthedevelopmentoflocallivestockmarketingassociations(LMAs),

constructfournewlivestockmarkets,anddeveloplinkswithlivestocktradersfromoutsidethearea.The

objectivewastoensurethatlocalstakeholdersinthelivestocksectorwereactivelyinvolvedinmajorlivestock

interventionsandinmakinglivestockmarketswork.

Theprojectfacedmanydifculties,asChristopherEkuwom,OxfamsLivestockProjectOfcerinTurkana

explains:Aswewerecompletingtheconstructionofthemarketsitbecameclearthatadroughtwas

developing.Thismeantwehadtodelaytheopeningofthemarketsassomuchlivestockhadlefttheareain

searchofpasture.ThedroughtalsoforcedOxfamtoshiftitspriorities.Wereallocatedthefundingtoundertake

emergencyde-stocking.Justwhenthedroughtendedandmarketconditionsreturnedtonormal,theareawas

hitbyanoutbreakofPPR(goatplague).Thismeantlivestockwerequarantined,soagainthemarketswere

unabletooperate.Soagainwereallocatedprojectfundingtoundertakeanemergencyvaccinationcampaign.

Butthistime,theLMAswerestrongerandplayedakeypartintheemergencyresponse,collaboratingwellwith

localstructures.Finally,OxfamandtheLMAsmanagedtoopenthemarketsassoonasthequarantinewas

lifted.TheactivityofLMAsthroughtheemergencyperiodwaskeyforkeepingthemvibrantandforbeingabletoswitchbacktodevelopmentactivitiesassoonastheconditionspermitted.

TheLMAsarenowrecognisedaskeystakeholdersintheareaandhavegainedfurtherlegitimacyfrom

pastoralists.Thishasgivenpastoralistsaccesstoinformationandaleveloforganisationabsentbefore.The

fourmarketsrunbyLMAsaimedtolinkproducerstohigher-valueterminalmarketsinLodwarandbigger

centres.Despitethedelaystotheiropening,thesaleyardsarenowvaluableassetsandareinregularuse,

raisingsalesincomeforpastoralists.

TheprojectwasnotinitiallyconceivedwithDRRinmind.However,severaldisastersstruckduringtheproject

thatforcedOxfamtomodifyprojectstoincorporateaDRRapproachthathasultimatelyreducedthedisaster

risktothetargetpopulation.Thisexamplehighlightshowimportantstructuralproblems,suchasalackof

markets,canbeaddressedinawaythatadaptstothedifferentstagesofthedroughtcycleandsupportsnotonlycommunitiesresiliencetorecurrentdroughtsandotherhazardsbutalsotheirabilitytorespond.


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5.3 Implementation: DRR in practice

Preparedness

Establishmentandcapacitybuildingofdisaster

management committees and other structures

Developmentofcontingencyplansbyallstakeholders

Supportingdevelopmentof earlywarninginformation

policy

Livelihoods

Facilitatinglivestockde-stockingbeforeconditionand

prices decline

Restockinginrecoveryperiods,butidentifying

appropriate breeds or crop varieties

Improvingaccesstomarkets

Foodorcashforworkideallygearedtowardsrisk

reduction

Cashorsocialtransferprogrammesthatcontinueuntil

other income sources are established

Financialservices:savings,credit,insurance

Advocacyonkeypolicyissuese.g.landuseplanning,environmental protection

WASH

Maximisingthenumberandreliabilityofwatersources,

e.g. rehabilitating boreholes, construction o water

catchment systems, training water user associations

Ensureconsistentpromotionofhygieneandsanitation

that continues ater emergency response and is

appropriate to pastoral liestyles.

Health and education

HIVpreventionactivitiesLobbyingforservicesforpeopleaffectedbyHIV

Lobbyforcontinuedimmunisationcampaigns

Provisionofmobileoralternativeeducationsystems

5.4 Implementation: incorporating advocacy

Marginalisation is a primary actor in the vulnerability o

pastoral and other drought-aected populations. This

is because communities such as pastoralists generally

lack the means to hold the powerul to account, so too

oten their rights are not addressed relative to the rest

o the population. Too many governments only ocus

on drought-aected populations during the emergency

stage when welare indicators or the media spotlight

highlight a crisis. The DCM model is a useul means to

ensure that authorities consider communities rights at all

stages o the drought cycle. This involves ensuring that

humanitarian, development and campaign programming

all aim to:

helppastoraliststobuildordeveloptheirown

organisations, through which they can represent

themselves and their values, and come to understand,

articulate and claim their rights; and

workwithotherstoinuencethoseinpowertobecome

more responsive to pastoralists needs and concerns.

Harvesting sorghum in Mali. The seeds for drought resistantsorghum were provided by Oxfam. Photo: Dave Clark/Oxfam

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Pastoralists engaging with politicians in Wajir

Withanilliteracyrateofabout80percent(WajirDistrictDevelopmentPlan,20028),pastoralistsinWajirare

poorlyinformedandnotwellrepresentedinkeydecision-makingforums.

Despitesomeadvancesinpro-pastoralistpolicy,thereisstillawidespreadlackofrmcommitmentstodevelop

thepastoralareasaccordingtothewishesandaspirationsofpastoralcommunities.Forexample,service

provisionineducation,health,veterinaryservices,trade,andwater,andoverallresourceallocationfailto

considerpastoralistsvulnerabilityandwayoflife.

Until2007,theWajirprogrammefocusedonsupportingmembershiporganisations(suchaspastoral

associationsandwomenssavingsgroups),civilsocietyorganisations,andthedistrictgovernment(Pastoral

SteeringCommittee).However,asignicanttrendinWajiroverthepastvetotenyearshasbeenthegrowing

strengthofclanpoliticsandthegrowinginuenceofthepoliticalclass(MPs,councillorsandothers).Partof

thereasonforthiswastheincreasedavailabilityofdevolvedfundsandthediversionofresponsibilityforthese

fundsfromlineministriestoelectedrepresentatives.Unfortunately,whiletheseactorshavesignicantpowerfor

good,inmanyinstancestheywereunderminingtheeffortsoftheotherthreegroups.

Strategiescurrentlybeingemployedtosupportpastoraliststohaveagreatervoiceandinuenceoverpolitical

decision-makinginclude:

1. Strengthening constituency advocacy groups and pastoral associations, by:

increasingtheirawarenessonarangeofissues,includingbasicrights,devolvedfundsandtheirmanagement,

policydevelopment,andthedistrictplanningprocess;

encouragingdebateaboutthequalityofleadership,bothwithincommunityorganisationsandinthedistrictasa

whole(includingattentiontoissuesofequityandexclusionfromagenderandgenerationalpointofview);and

strengtheningnegotiationandrepresentationskills,tohelppeoplemaketheircaseandpresenttheirarguments.

2. Engaging directly with political leaders, for example by:

organisingregulareventsatwhichcommunitiesandleaderscanmeetanddebate;

briengpoliticalleadersaboutdevelopmentactivitiesandpriorities;and

involvingpoliticalleadersinprogrammeactivities(suchasevaluations).

3. Encouraging transparency in the use of district resources, for example by:

documentingtheimpactofdevolvedfundsanddisseminatingthisinformationwidely;

doingthesamewithrespecttoNGOandpastoralistassociationfunds,inordertosetanexample;and

encouragingmoretransparentsystemsofmanagementfordevolvedfunds.

Women dancing at the Museum

Centre in Ololosokwan,

Tanzania. The centre was

developed by the villagewomens groups with support

from the village government.Because of the project, the

village government also gave

women rights over land, anovel concept in Masai society.

Photo: Geoff Sayer/Oxfam.

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5.5 Monitoring and evaluation: improving information

management systems

Good inormation is central to DCM programming, both

to identiy the drought cycle stage and to review and

assess the appropriateness o interventions. The ollowing

recommendations will ensure the quality o inormation

management systems:

Improve external context monitoring. Moving rom aproject-based monitoring and evaluation system to a

comprehensive inormation management system helps

programme sta to understand how the external context

aects their programming activities. For example,

this might include collecting data to show changes in

community wealth status (wealth ranking), access to and

usage o productive assets, inrastructure and resources

(resource mapping), and changes in policies or laws.

Collecttherightinformation. Most programmes already

collect too much inormation. Programmes must

examine what decisions they need to infuence and

what inormation is required to do this. Only collect theinormation needed. The table below highlights potential

components and intervals or gathering data.

EnsureinformationsystemsaredrivenbyafewSMART

indicators. A single strategy with shared goals and

objectives is a key element o the One Programme

Approach. Progress in achieving these goals and

objectives should be measured using a minimum number

o agreed targets and indicators. The indicators should

clearly relate to the programme logic and should include

reerence to vulnerability and coping capacity. Having

similar indicators which require dierent data or settingtoo many indicators make it less likely that data will be

gathered and that monitoring and evaluation will give the

inormation needed to inorm decision-making.

Increasethecapacitytouse,analyseandrespondto

information. Oten, it is not the quantity o inormation

that is usually a problem, but the critical gap is oten in

the quality and use o this inormation. The purpose o

collecting data should be to inorm programme decision-

making, and it is vital to ensure that systems are in place

to make this happen.

Createalearningorganisation.Recording and sharing

inormation between sta within programmes andbetween dierent area or country programmes is

essential.

Baseline context

assessment

Repeat context

monitoring

Early warning

Emergency needs

assessment

Project monitoring

Project impactevaluations

Programme

monitoring reviews

Documentation or

advocacy

Inrequent (e.g. every

ve years or when

context changes

Periodic (annual to

every three years)

Continuous (at regular

intervals)

As required (annual)

Continuous

Periodic (annual orbi-annual)

Periodic (every six

months)

As required

No standard ormat, but could use PCVA, RVPA, or HEA. 1 See the

LearningCompaniononDRRAnalysisformoreinformationonthese

tools and methods.

This provides a regular update to the baseline context assessment.

Frequency depends on the size o the survey.

Should be led by government bodies, with agencies working to improve

the quality o inormation and analysis not duplicating eorts.

Undertaken during alert/emergency phases as required. Should be

used to ne tune existing contingency plans.

Project monitoring should ocus on tracking process indicators (e.g.

activities and outputs). Sector-specic surveys can add to overall

context monitoring and be used to assess wider impacts (nutrition,

water quality, KAP2 survey etc.).

These ocus on data collected at outcome and impact level and

usually provide recommendations which can be incorporated into

uture project planning.

These are critical opportunities to analyse the inormation collected

through monitoring in order to review progress against indicators, the

outcomes o evaluations or impact assessments in order to identiy

opportunities to improve programme quality.

A good inormation management system should provide data which

strengthens lobbying and advocacy eorts.

Component of a comprehensive information system

5.6 DRR and the One Programme Approach

Activities to eectively manage drought risk and

response all under the remit o both Humanitarian and

Development departments. This oten makes it dicult to

implement DCM programming e ectively, as almost all

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programmes tend to organise themselves into separate

departments with distinct work plans, projects, and

resources. By ollowing the principles o Oxams One

Programme Approach, some o the problems

encountered can be overcome.


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Key questions to consider when implementing a OneProgramme Approach include:

Doestheprogrammehaveacommonvisionandstrategy

that is widely accepted by both Humanitarian and

Development department sta?

Domanagementstructuresandsystemsreinforceor

undermine the One Programme Approach?

Arerolesandresponsibilitiesclearbetweendepartments,

eld and head oces, and individuals?

Aregoodleadersinplacethatwilltakeresponsibilityfor

leading delivery and change?

7. Further readingMany o the documents listed below are available on

the Oxam Intranet or online. I you are having diculty

locating a resource, please email [email protected] to

request a copy.

BartonD,MortonJandHendyC(2001)Lessonsfor

DroughtContingencyPlanninginthePastoralLivestock

Sector: an Overview. In: Morton J (ed.) Pastoralism,

Drought and Planning: Lessons from Northern Kenya and

Elsewhere. National Resources Institute, Chatham

HECA (2008) Drought Cycle Management: Concepts

and practical guidance in integrating drought cycle

management into pastoral programming in the Horn and

East Africa a series o bries or practitioners

IIRR/AcaciaConsultantsLtd./Cordaid(2004)Drought

Cycle Management a toolkit for the drylands for the

Greater Horn

Useful websites

www.aridland.go.ke

www.droughtnet.org

www.livestock-emergencies.net

www.nri.org/work/pastoralists.htmwww.oxam.org.uk/resources/learning/pastoralism

www.proventionconsortium.org

www.undp.org/drylands

The HECA Regional Pastoralist Programme is the primary

source of expertise in DCM for Oxfam. You can contact

Helen Bushell at [email protected]. For more advice

on integrating DRR into your programme, please contact

your regional Food Security, Livelihoods or DRR Advisor or

the PPT Adaptation and Risk Reduction team in Oxford

[email protected].

Men sitting atop the earthen bank of Nalapatui water pan, which was created with Oxfam support. Nalapatui pan allows the Turkana herding

groups to exploit dry season grazing on the western border of the district without crossing into Uganda for water. Photo:Crispin Hughes/Oxfam.

6. Summary of key learning from this

companion

DCMprovidesacommonframeworktoalign

humanitarian,developmentandadvocacywork

andimprovestheeffectivenessofinterventions

byensuringthatactivitiesarematchedtothe

currentstageofthedroughtcycle.

DCMcanbecombinedwithDRRapproaches

toensurethatprogrammesarereducing

vulnerabilitytodroughtandotherhazards.This

shouldincludehazardsthatwillbecomemore

frequentorwidespreadduetoclimatechange.

Planningshouldtakeintoaccountthedrought

cycleandconsiderhowallinterventionscanbe

adaptedfordifferentconditions.

Informationmanagementsystemsthatcapture

datarelatingtotheexternalcontextand

communitiesvulnerabilitiesandcapacitiesare

essentialtoinformprogrammedecision-making.

Advocacytoensurethatgovernmentsrespond

appropriatelytotheneedsofcommunitiesatall

stagesofthedroughtcycleisacrucialpartofa

DRRapproach.

1 Participatory Capacity and Vulnerability Assessment (PCVA), Risk Vulnerability and Poverty Assessment (RVPA) and Household Economy Analysis (HEA). Theassessment should provide inormation that can be used to set and track overall programme indicators.

2 Knowledge, Attitude and Practice


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Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation arecorporateprioritiesforOxfamGB.TheLearningCompanionsareaseto articles, which provide accessible and practical guidance to Oxam sta wishing to integrate DRR and Climate Change adaptation

approaches into programming. To nd out about other resources on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation, and to give us

your eedback on these resources, please contact the Programme Resource Centre. Email: [email protected]

Pastoralists herd their cattle ready or vaccination at the launch o the Oxam supported Cattle Vacination Campaign in the Gao region, Mali.

Photo: Dave Clark/Oxam

OxfamisaregisteredcharityinEnglandandWalesNo202918andScotlandSCO039042.Inhouse4087

Documents

Disaster Risk Reduction in Drought Cycle Management: A learning companion