Mozambique

Disaster Risk Management along the Rio BúziCase Study on the Background, Concept and Implementation of Disaster Risk

Management in the Context of the GTZ-Programme for Rural Development (PRODER)

Governance and Democracy Division

On behalf of:

Imprint

Responsible: Dr. Christina Bollin, Nicolas LamadeAuthor: Jeremy Ferguson Editors: Dr. Christina Bollin, Jens Etter, Nicolas Lamade, Martin Rößler, Wolfgang Stiebens Layout: FREUDE!design, Rendel Freude, KölnPrinting: Schloemer Gruppe, DürenPhotos: Jeremy Ferguson (pp. 5, 21, 22, 24), GTZ (p. 8 (bottom), p. 12), Franziska Steinbruch (p. 8 (top), pp. 14, 15)As of: December 2005

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

1. Background and Purpose of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2. The Búzi District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.1 Environmental Conditions (Relief, Vegetation, Hydrology, Climate) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.2 Socio-economic and Cultural Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.3 Environmental Hazards and Vulnerability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2.3.1 Floods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2.3.2 Cyclones/Tropical Storms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2.3.3 Drought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

3. Disaster Risk Management – A Part of Sustainable Rural Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3.1 Concept and Components of Disaster Risk Management:

Risk Analysis; Prevention; Preparedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3.2 Disaster Risk Management in the Búzi District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

3.2.1 Integration of Disaster Risk Management as a Political Learning Process . . . . . . . . . . . 13

3.2.2 Implementing the Disaster Risk Management Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

3.3 Disaster Risk Management as a Contribution to Poverty Eradication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

4. Búzi in the Context of the International Discussion on Disaster Risk Management . . . . . . . 24

5. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

List of Contents

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Summary

Mozambique is one of the countries in Africa mostfrequently and most seriously affected by natural disasters such as floods, cyclones and droughts.During the floods in 2000, over 700 people lost theirlives, thousands became homeless, and altogetherover 4 million people were affected. At the sametime, Mozambique is one of the poorest and mostvulnerable countries in the world, and there is a closelink between poverty, vulnerability and disaster risk.

Today, it is widely agreed that disaster risk manage-ment (DRM), poverty eradication and sustainabledevelopment are interdependent, and that DRMmeasures need to be integrated into the developmentplanning of regions at risk. This includes both thevulnerable population at the local level as well asrelevant actors at the different political and institu-tional levels.

The DRM component in the Deutsche Gesellschaftfür Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbHProgramme for Rural Development in CentralMozambique (Programa para o DesenvolvimentoRural – PRODER) follows this idea.

For the Búzi district, at first a participatory risk analysiswas carried out, which identified approximately athird of the district’s population as being endangeredby the different types of disaster. Subsequently,different measures and activities from the ‘disasterprevention’ and ‘disaster preparedness’ componentswere implemented in order to reduce the vulnerabilityof the population and – where possible – the hazardrisk as well, especially concerning the risk of floodsand cyclones. These measures included the construc-tion of new settlements on higher ground furtheraway from the river, cyclone-resistant constructionmeasures in the rebuilding of the damaged infra-structure, a disaster preparedness simulation and theimplementation of early warning systems.

A key factor was the sensitisation of the actors ondifferent levels with regard to the topic of DRM andits advantages. This was achieved via numerousworkshops, seminars and work meetings in Búzi andthe endangered communities, which showed goodsuccess at the district level.

Furthermore, the project provided the population atlocal level with a good basic and advanced trainingprogramme, based on GTZ’s wide experience withDRM and flood early warning systems in CentralAmerica. Important progress was also made withtraining at the political level, and a concept to integrateDRM measures into the district development planwas formulated in close cooperation with the districtadministrator of Búzi, who has already presented thepositive experiences of the project at internationalconferences.

The vulnerability of the population in the Búzi districtwith respect to the dangers of floods and cycloneshas clearly been lowered by the implemented DRMconcept, which represents an important contributionto sustainable rural development in the region. Theselected methodology has proven successful andshould be used in other disaster-prone districts.

The main goal of this case study is to present andsystematise experience with the DRM activities thathave so far taken place within the framework ofPRODER, with the aim of making recommendationsfor the further expansion of DRM activities inMozambique.

Firstly this study presents and illustrates in concreteterms the concept of disaster risk, which comprisesthe two components of ‘hazard’ and ‘vulnerability’,given the specific context of the local physical-geo-

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Mozambique is one of the worst and most frequentlyaffected countries in Africa in terms of the impact ofnatural disasters. Table 1, which lists only the top tennatural catastrophes affecting the largest numbers ofpeople in the past two decades, shows the seriousthreat that hazards such as droughts, floods and trop-ical storms pose to vast parts of the population.

At the same time, the social, economic and politicalstructures and institutions in the country, which isstill one of the poorest and least developed in theworld (ranked 170 out of 175 in the HumanDevelopment Index, 2003 figures), are still relativelyweak after the war of independence and the follow-ing 16-year-long civil war, which only ended in 1992and still contributes to a particularly high level ofvulnerability in relation to natural disasters.

The risk resulting from these factors became very obvious when, in spring 2000, the highest amountsof precipitation for 50 years, in combination withfour cyclones, led to a flood disaster of unknownextent. Reaching from the Rio Maputo in the south tothe Rio Púngue in Sofala, vast parts of the south andcentre of the country were struck, and Mozambique’scoping capacities were overtaxed. Between 700 and800 people died, and many thousands lost theirbelongings and houses. 4.5 million people in totalwere affected (see Table 1).

After this event, the German Federal Ministry forEconomic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)entrusted GTZ with a reconstruction project that, atthe beginning of 2001, was supplemented by a DRMcomponent. A goal of this project was to reduce thedisaster risk as far as possible for the villages inquestion along the Rio Búzi. Therefore, an integral,multi-sector and decentralised methodology wasselected. This has proven successful, and has alreadyled to important progress in the way that the regionmanages disaster risk.

Disaster Date Affected

Drought 1980 6,000,000

Drought Feb 1983 4,750,000

Flood Feb 2000 4,500,000

Drought 1981 4,000,000

Drought Apr 1992 3,300,000

Wind Storm 26 Mar 1994 2,502,000

Drought 1985 2,466,000

Drought May 2005 1,000,000

Drought Mar 2002 600,000

Flood Jan 2001 549,326

Top 10 Natural Disasters in Mozambique, sorted by numberof affected. Source: EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED InternationalDisaster Database, www.em-dat.net, 2005

1. Background and Purpose of the Study

Mozambique isrepeatedly affectedby floods

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graphical and socio-economic conditions of theproject region. The necessity for preventive measuresderives from the level of risk: sustainable develop-ment in disaster-prone areas is only possible incombination with an effective and tailored DRMcomponent.

In a second step, the reasons for and the goals of the integration of DRM into PRODER will be presented, drawing attention to the advantages forthe endangered population on the one hand, and for the decentralisation process on the other.

The study pays particular attention to the methodologyand implementation of the concept of DRM and itsindividual components risk analysis, disasterprevention and mitigation as well as the disasterpreparedness or preparation for emergency. Whileoriented towards outlining the achieved impacts, thestudy nevertheless raises the following questions:Which activities took place in the context of thesethree complementary components in Búzi and theneighbouring municipalities? Which participants wereinvolved? What kind of structures were created, andwhat are the impacts? A special aspect briefly consid-ered within this framework is the connectionbetween DRM and poverty.

Finally, the study addresses the relevance andmethodology of the concept used in Búzi in thecontext of international objectives and demandswithin the range of development aid and DRM.

Answers to these questions were drawn from exist-ing GTZ concepts and studies about DRM in generalas well as from reports and documents about thespecific structure and activities of the local DRMsystem in Búzi on the one hand, and from interviewswith the involved participants and local investiga-tions on the other.

The district of Búzi is one of 13 in the province ofSofala in central Mozambique, and extends in thesoutheast of this province over a surface of 7,160km2. The Rio Púngue in the northeast and the IndianOcean in the east represent natural borders; in thenorth lie the districts of Dondo and Nhamatanda; inthe west Sussundenga (the province of Manica) andChibabava; and in the south Machanga.

2.1 Environmental Conditions

The relief of the district is dominated by a vast andflat lowland plain that reaches from the coast to theinland plateau made of granite and metamorphicrock, which in the Búzi district reaches a maximumelevation of 130 m above sea level at Grudja. Thereare large uninhabited surfaces near the coast as wellas between the Rio Búzi and Púngue which liebelow the middle sea level and are regularly inundatedin the rainy season and then turn into marshland.The few elevations in the downstream area are theresult of erosion and accumulation in different phasesof sedimentation.

The potential natural forest and grass savannah vege-tation is strongly over-formed by anthropogenic use(i.e. agriculture, slashing and burning). The Rio Búzi,which rises in the mountains of Zimbabwe, dominatesthe hydrology of the district and is, on its 437 km-longjourney to the ocean, joined by two other majoraffluents, the Rio Lucite and Rio Revue, whose catch-ment areas extend likewise partly into Zimbabwe (see maps). In the upper run of the Rio Revue in theprovince of Manica, there is a dam at Chicamba whichforms a large artificial lake and serves as a source forhydroelectric power. Further downstream, the RioBúzi meanders cross from west to east of the entireplain of the district, producing the typical phenomenaof erosion and accumulation. It is perennial, thoughnear the coast the water level depends on the tideand thus varies daily around several metres. In therainy season precipitation creates numerous smallerseasonal tributary streams in the district.

The district has a tropical semi-humid coastal climate.The annual average air temperature is 24.4°C, theaverage annual amount of precipitation lies at scarcely1,000 mm, while the annual potential evapotranspiration

rate is at 1,860 mm. There are two main seasons, acooler dry season and a hotter rainy one. The formerstretches from April until October/November, withdaily temperatures averaging about 20°C and onlysporadic and low levels of precipitation. In the vicini-ty of the river and the sea, however, morning fog canprovide a certain entry of humidity.

With the arrival of the Inter-tropical ConvergenceZone in December, the rainy season begins, bringingdaily average temperatures of 28°C and above, to-gether with substantial precipitation which can beextremely strong in the catchment areas of the RioBúzi, Rio Lucite and Rio Revue in the mountainousregion of Manica province.

2.2 Socio-economic and Cultural Conditions

The Búzi district numbers 145,638 inhabitants, whichcorresponds to a population density of around 20inhabitants per km according to official data from2005. Just over half the population (50.3%) are under18. The majority are Catholic, followed by Muslimsand then animists. The local language used in thedistrict is (Ci-) Ndau, a dialect from the family of theShona languages.

Apart from a few public service employers (the dis-trict administration, hospitals and schools) and com-

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2. The Búzi District

Catchment Areaof the Rio Búzi

8

vated area.1 The keeping of livestock, especially ofsmaller animals (i.e. chickens and goats), is operatedby some families as an additional source of incomeor food. Along the river and the coast, fishing alsoplays a role.

Poverty is another important issue: 69% of the ruralpopulation of Mozambique were living below thepoverty line in 1997, Sofala being the poorestprovince with 87%.2 Recent studies however suggestthat the number of the poor has been reduced to54%3 by PARPA, the national Poverty ReductionStrategy Paper (PRSP).

The district’s road system of 500 km is in relativelybad condition as there are no tarmac roads, whichmeans that communities are partly cut off in the rainyseason, and the river becomes the only means oftransport to the province’s capital, Beira. Búzi is theonly municipality in the district that is connected tothe national grid, with an overhead power line thatconnects in Tica to the main power line, running between Chicamba dam and Beira. However, it onlysupplies approximately 300 connections in Búzi dueto the small capacity of the transformers. The supplyof drinkable water in the district, at a total of 243wells (= 1 well per 600 inhabitants), remains belowthe goal of the national water policy, which envisagesone well per 500 inhabitants. In Búzi itself, however,a water tower and a pipe system for running waterprovide private supply for some 400 connections.

2.3 Environmental Hazards and Vulnerability

The physical-geographical conditions of the districtdescribed above lead to an endangerment of itspopulation regarding different types of natural phe-nomena. However, these hazards only turn into anactual disaster risk if at the same time the populationis vulnerable: these events would not turn out to be

Women and children in a village

1 From the Búzi District Development Plan, October 2003.

2 Data from 1997 taken from PNUD: Moçambique. Mulher, género

e desenvolimento humano. Uma agenda para o futuro. Relatório do

Desenvolvimento Humano de Moçambique, Maputo 2001.

3 Poverty and Well-being in Mozambique: The Second National

Assessment, March 2004.

panies in the private sector (e.g. trade, handicrafts,transport and catering), which are almost exclusivelyconcentrated in the town of Búzi and seven largerlocalidades, there are practically no jobs outside theprimary sector. Production at the Companhia Colonialdo Búzi, a plantation where sugar cane, coconut andlater cotton and sunflowers were cultivated duringthe colonial era by means of irrigation, has come toa standstill.

This explains the high proportion of people depen-dent on subsistence farming. Typical cultivationproducts include rice, manioc, millet and corn, whichtogether make up more than 85% of the entire culti-

Relief andimportant rivers inCentral Mozambique

disasters for an accordingly well-prepared and protected population. Before the project’s DRM activities, however, the socio-economic and culturalconditions of the population in the district of Búzitranslated into a high level of vulnerability, accompa-nied by a high level of disaster risk. The followingsub-sections list the most important demands,together with the crucial vulnerability factors.

2.3.1 Floods

Hazard:• Heavy rainfall within the headwater of the Rio Búzi

and/or the other rivers can lead the water level inthe lower reaches to rise considerably within only afew days, even if no or only low levels of precipita-tion were registered there.

• With continuous or particularly violent rainfall, inparticular towards the end of the rainy season, theflood gates of the concrete dam at Chicamba wouldpossibly have to be opened in order to protect thedam, which will lead to disproportionately high dis-charge quantities along the Rio Revue.

• High precipitation in the district can cause the riachos(= small side streams of the Búzi which run dry orcontain only trickles of water during the dry season)to rise so they become impassable obstacles.

• The daily tidal course of the ocean periodically influ-ences or prevents the Rio Búzi waters from running off.

• In combination with the flat geographical relief ofthe district, these events can therefore lead to theinundation of wide areas.

Vulnerability:• Due to the population’s low level of education, there

is a lack of fundamental knowledge about the originand cause of floods (risk perception), as well as howto prepare for these events (i.e. by using DRM).

• Several municipalities in the district, including thedistrict capital of Búzi, lie in direct proximity to theriver. Many houses and/or loam huts stand only afew metres from the banks of the Rio Búzi.

• There are no artificial dams and only a few naturalelevations in the plain where people might seekrefuge in an emergency.

• The majority of the population do not know how toswim, and there are not enough boats availablelocally for any evacuation.

• There is still no effective and well-functioning earlywarning system capable of warning the whole en-dangered population reliably and in time.

• The poor infrastructure makes access more difficultfor external assistance.

• The masses of water flood the simple latrine holesin the villages, causing faeces and animal carcassesto contaminate the drinking water in the wells,which represents a severe health danger.

• In emergency accommodation, where the evacuatedpopulation lives only provisionally, close togetherand under poor hygiene conditions, susceptibility tocontagious diseases and the danger of an outbreakof an epidemic (e.g. cholera) is particularly high.

• Due to poverty and dependence on agriculturalproducts, the disaster does not end with the ebbingof the flood: supplies, personal belongings and theharvest are lost, houses destroyed and cattledrowned; people do not have monetary reserves orsavings. The future is thus uncertain for the survivors.

2.3.2 Cyclones/Tropical Storms

Hazard:• Cyclones occur over the Indian Ocean or the Strait

of Mozambique if the water temperature increasesto temperatures over 26.5°C down to a depth of > 50 m. They usually move in a westerly directionand can reach velocities of over 300 km/h in gusts,giving them a tremendous destructive potential andthus making them a serious threat.

• They are usually accompanied by heavy rainfall,which can additionally lead to floods.

• For the settlements near the coast in particular, cyclones represent a significant threat, since their intensity is greatest here, whereas their destructiveimpact weakens further inland.

9

Hazard

Disaster risk

Disaster

Vulnerability

10

Vulnerability:Many of the vulnerability factors concerning floodsare very similar to those concerning cyclones, partic-ularly since they tend to occur together. People donot know when or why such storms occur, and nordo they have the knowledge or the means or materi-als to resist them.• Due to the low level of education, people do not

know about what causes cyclones (risk perception)and therefore are unable to prepare for these events(via DRM).

• Traditionally built houses in the municipalities arenot cyclone-resistant.

2.3.3 Drought

Drought, in contrast to the other two threats describedabove, is more a “creeping” or “slow onset” disaster,which is difficult to define spatially and temporally ina precise way: instead, various different definitionscan be used. First of all, a dry period with arid con-ditions (i.e. when potential evaporation is higherthan precipitation) beginning in April and continuinguntil October is a completely normal phenomenoncharacteristic of the climate of the semi-arid tropics.A drought in the meteorological sense is defined aswhen the amount of precipitation in one yearremains at least 25% below the long-term averagevalue; by contrast, we can speak of a hydrologicaldrought if the watercourses run dry; and a droughtin the agricultural sense when soil humidity is notsufficient to provide appropriate plant growth.Drought can only be considered a disaster when “adisruption in the normal functioning of a society […]exceeds the ability of the affected communities tocope unaided”.4 This can be the case in particular ifthe necessary precipitation stays below averageexpectations continuously for more than a year.

Hazard:• Climatic variability in Mozambique can always lead

to one or more consecutive years with below aver-age precipitation. The reasons for this are to be

found in the global climate system, in particular the“El Niño” phenomenon, which arises in certainyears and is caused by increased temperatures inthe Pacific Ocean. It leads to high temperatures andlow precipitation in southern Africa, whereas itscounterpart, “La Niña”, leads to disproportionatelyhigh precipitation and thus the danger of floods.

• Without a necessary minimum amount of rain, evendrought-resistant crops can fail to grow.

• With the water level of the Rio Búzi dropping low ina heavy drought, there is the risk of an intrusion ofsaline seawater into the groundwater and the soilsdue to strong tides (their influence reaches 80 kminland) and the flat relief.

Vulnerability:• Subsistence farmers are directly dependent on their

harvest as a source of income and food supply.With insufficient crops, no supplies can be stored toserve as seeds for the next year.

• A second year of drought can lead to faminebecause no capital reserves are usually available topurchase food or seeds. Other forms of food pro-duction, e.g. fishing, small animal/cattle breeding orhoney production, do take place, but not to the ex-tent that they could serve as alternatives for the se-curing of food supply. Hardly any methods of irriga-tion are used, neither traditional nor modern and,moreover, negative effects could occur as a result ofthe intrusion of seawater.

Erosion and uncontrolled bush fires represent furtherlocal or regional problems or hazards. Erosion featuresare formed along the banks of the Rio Búzi andalong the coast, and lead to the loss of valuable andfertile soil. They are intensified through anthropogenicinfluence and are closely linked to the disaster typesspecified above. So, for example, houses or fields situated close to the river might be eroded and com-pletely flushed away by floods. Fires lit by humansin order to hunt animals or to practice slash andburn agriculture can spread in the dry season, in particular during a drought, turning into uncontrol-lable bush fires and causing widespread damage.

4 See definition from the “GTZ working concept Disaster Risk Management”.

The main focus of activities in the context of DRM inthe district of Búzi lies in the reduction of vulnerabilityof the population in relation to floods and cyclones.

The flood of 2000 clearly showed the local popula-tion of Búzi the devastating intensity with whichnatural disasters can strike and the negative andsevere consequences that can entail. It certainlyopened the eyes of the population, the local admin-istration, the national institutions and the federalstate government, the international partners andorganisations as well as the world press. And onlyone year later, the region was again struck by floods,although not to the extent of the previous year.

On one hand, the natural occurrences that led to thisdisaster cannot be prevented. On the other hand, thefrequency of this type of phenomena can be expectedto increase in the future, intensified by global climatechange and the rising temperatures of the oceans. Allresponsible persons should therefore feel obliged totake some form of action.

The population’s disaster risk must be reduced, andpeople need to be better prepared for future extremenatural events in order to keep the number of victimsand casualties as well as material losses – and thussetbacks in the efforts for development – as low aspossible; this insight has become generally acceptedby the responsible persons at different levels of theMozambican government. It is neither sufficient tosupply emergency aid during a disaster (which in theworst case even has to be requested from abroad),nor to rebuild everything that was destroyed after a

disaster, only to begin the same procedure againafter the next disaster. This would be neither eco-nomically sensible, nor would it correspond to thepostulate of sustainable development. But how canthis goal be achieved, considering the permanentnature of the threat and scarce financial and humanresources?

3.1 Concept and Components of Disaster Risk Management

An elementary component in the course of sustain-able rural development of a district exposed to therisk of different natural disasters, and therefore thefirst and most important step of an efficient disastermanagement, is a DRM process adapted to the loca-tion. Since it is however very difficult and expensive– or even impossible – to reduce the hazard risk,disaster risk must be reduced by lowering the vul-nerability of the population. This can be achievedwith the help of numerous different measures andactivities, structured around the following threecomponents:

I. Risk AnalysisThe first step in the course of a systematic implemen-tation of DRM activities in a region is a detailed andcomprehensive risk analysis. This consists ofanalysing the hazard risk, a vulnerability assessmentas well as an analysis of the population’s copingcapacities (human, technical and scientific), andshould always include the experience and knowledgeof the local population in a participatory manner. Theaim is to evaluate the probability of the occurrenceof extreme natural events, their possible intensity aswell as their consequences and potential damage toa subpopulation and its assets. Only on this basiscan measures to reduce risk and disastrous effects beplanned and implemented. A precondition for exist-ing disaster risk (see Section 1.3) is the simultaneouspresence of hazards and vulnerability.

II. Disaster Prevention and MitigationDisaster prevention and mitigation designate thoseactivities that prevent or reduce the negative effectsof extreme natural events on a medium and long-term basis. These include political, legal, administra-

before ...

... a disaster

during ... after ...

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Disaster RiskManagement

(DRM)

risk analysis, disaster

prevention and mitigation,

disaster preparedness

EmergencyAid

Recon-struction

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3. Disaster Risk Management – A Part of Sustainable Rural Development

12

tive and infrastructure measures regarding hazardrisk on the one hand, and the influence on lifestyleand behaviour of the population with the aim ofreducing their disaster risk on the other. In this fieldin particular there are connections with the develop-ment targets of the following primary developmentcooperation sectors: • Rural Development,• Decentralisation and Community Development, and• Poverty Eradication.In this particular instance, there is a special connec-tion with PRODER’s goal to integrate, among otherthings, DRM into district development planning. Sodisaster prevention measures lead to synergies whichalso positively affect these goals.

III. Disaster PreparednessThe intention of disaster preparedness is to preventor minimise deaths or other losses, as well as damagein the case of an extreme natural event. Its activitiescomprise early warning systems, the establishment ofa deployment and coordination apparatus, the draw-ing up of emergency plans and their simulation, aswell as training measures.

3.2 Disaster Risk Management in the Búzi District

The Búzi region was selected as a role model for theintroduction of DRM owing to its high degree of dis-aster risk and the poverty of the population, its geo-graphical location and the relatively manageable sizeof the district5, combined with the existing interestand motivation of the population and the districtgovernment in taking precautionary measures. At thetime of the disastrous floods of 2000, the organisa-tional structures in Búzi and the affected municipali-ties had not been sufficiently prepared for the extentand the consequences of the event. People primarilylacked an awareness of the danger of their situationand the consequences they should draw from it, andtherefore there were neither political, legal, adminis-trative nor infrastructural mechanisms that couldhave responded locally to this situation.GTZ has supported rural development in centralMozambique since the 1990s. After the floods at the

beginning of the decade, first aid and reconstructionmeasures were supported. In 2003 these differentinitiatives were combined into one common pro-gramme, PRODER, whose emphasis is on the promo-tion of district development plans. PRODER consistsof the following four components:• District development planning• Strengthening of local government and the civilian

population• Adapted/innovative technologies and sustainable

use of natural resources• DRM.

The integration of DRM into these plans is a particu-larly important issue.

Therefore an integrated, multi-sector and decentralisedapproach was followed, whose individual measures,due to their broad range, not only help to reduce thevulnerability of the population at risk in relation tonatural disasters in the long run, but also create syn-ergies which positively affect the superordinatedevelopment targets of Rural Development,Decentralisation and Poverty Eradication.

Integrated: More than one DRM instrument was supported (e.g.risk analysis, early warning and emergency accommo-dation); risk was reduced with the help of a broadrange of risk analysis tools; preventive measures wereintroduced and preparations were made, adapted tothe region’s special needs. The reason for this approachis that disaster risk consists of different factors, so thatone can also contribute to reducing this risk at manypoints. Isolated measures are often insufficient or caneven turn out to be counterproductive if they producea false sense of security.

5 The dimension of a trans-border river system (e.g. that of the

Zambezi) would have been less apt as a pilot region. In the case

of the Rio Búzi, only about 13% of its catchment area lies outside

Mozambique’s borders in Zimbabwe.

13

Decentralised:To strengthen DRM in the region, cooperation withparticipants from the village, district, province andother levels was and is necessary. The aim is tocreate a network in which all relevant participantscan contribute to supporting risk reduction accordingto their authority, capacities and resources. It is alsoimportant to secure the integration of efforts intonational processes and structures and to anchor themin order to:• receive additional support; • benefit from the decentralised capacities and

existing know-how; and to • make sure that the process is sustainable and self-

supporting, and can continue autonomously afterthe end of the active phase of cooperation with(and financing by) GTZ.

Village level:Population, CVM and GRC volunteers, Régulos

District level: Administrator, ETP, CCD, MADER and other sectors, INGC,CVM, ÖEZA

Provincial level: Governor, INGC, EPAP, INAM, ARA, UCM

Other levels:Subordinate Administration Posts (postos administrativos), Radio Comunitario do Búzi, Radio Moçambique, Press

Multi-sector: Given the various possibilities of reducing disasterrisk, it is necessary to include the relevant actorsfrom the different areas of society (public andprivate, administration, sectors, régulos, population,non-governmental organisations (NGOs), etc.)

The following sections present the application of thisapproach and its individual activities in the pilot dis-trict of Búzi.

3.2.1 Integration of Disaster Risk Management as a Political Learning Process

The process of decentralisation that Mozambique iscurrently going through gives more power to the dis-trict administrators. A National Institute for DisasterRisk Management (Instituto Nacional de Gestão dasCalamidades – INGC) has been (re)opened, a nation-al DRM policy was decided upon (Política Nacionalde Gestão de Calamidades, 1999), and a politicalcouncil at ministerial level (Conselho Coordenadorde Gestão de Calamidades – CCGC) was established.Since 2003, for example, there has been a law stipu-lating that it is the task of district administrators andgovernments to coordinate and implement measuresconcerning DRM.

The Mozambican Ministry of Planning and Financehas defined requirements for the conception of dis-trict development plans, which should be drawn upby a team of multi-sector experts (Equipa Técnica dePlanificação – ETP) under the management of thedistrict administrator and with the active participationof the local population for a period of five years,thus representing the basis for yearly plans of actionas well as for the planning process at the provincelevel, as they contain all planned activities. Otherimportant actors in this process are the district con-sultancy council (Conselho Consultivo Distrital –CCD) and the teams of planning experts (EquipaProvincial de Apoio à Planificação Distrital – EPAP)sent by the provincial government and installed by aWorld Bank programme in 2003.

The financial resources of the districts for implement-ing important measures are still extremely limited asthe national structures are still very centralised, so toensure successful progress, the financial support ofsector ministries (e.g. of infrastructure, health, educa-tion, etc.) or from external sources would be neces-sary. DRM and its integration into district developmentplans lie within the responsibility of INGC, butconditions there are similarly limited regarding finan-cial and human resources.

Abstract terms such as hazard, vulnerability or risk,or complex scientific topics such as climate changewill at first be difficult to understand for the rural

14

population, where the level of education – in partic-ular of the older generation and women – is low andthe illiteracy rate high; this is also the case for mem-bers of the district administration or the provincegovernment.

This does not mean however that these subjects can-not be communicated in a straightforward way. For afarmer, for example, even if he can neither read norwrite and possibly only speaks his local language,the water that washes away his house or the stormthat destroys his harvest are not abstract ideas butinstead concrete events which he has already experi-enced – and he has a very great interest in protect-ing himself and his family from them. Once this self-interest is awakened and a basic understanding ofthe connections achieved, there will usually also bethe motivation to learn and use suitable preventionmeasures. Similarly, the need for a district administra-tor to act responsibly is strong: although individuallyless vulnerable than a subsistence farmer, whosehouse and fields may lie directly in a flood-pronearea, as a democratically elected politician he is nev-ertheless responsible for the well-being of his fellowcitizens and dependent on the favour of his potentialvoters. With these suffering regularly from the conse-quences of natural disasters, the support of DRMmeasures not only represents an investment insustainable development in his district (which on along-term basis also pays off financially, as cost-benefit-analyses have demonstrated), but is also asuitable and legitimate means of gaining popularityand respect. It is the task of PRODER on the onehand to communicate and promote understanding of

the topic of DRM, thus reinforcing the motivation ofthe participants, and on the other hand to create asharing of experiences in terms of a network struc-ture based on trust, thereby creating a functioninginformation flow between the participants of differentlevels and institutions by creating contacts on a long-term basis.

At the national level, GTZ/PRODER and the districtadministration in Búzi work actively together withINAM (Instituto Nacional de Meteorología) and ARA(Administração Regional de Aguas). These are the twoMozambican institutions that collect and evaluate meteorological and hydrologic data in order to forecastfloods, droughts and cyclones (the latter only INAM).Austrian development cooperation (ÖEZA), the RedCross (Cruz Vermelha de Moçambique – CVM) andseveral NGOs are also based in Búzi and are activelycontributing to the implementation of the concept.

Successful implementation is not only a question offinance, but is also only possible with the activeparticipation of those involved. The “donor andrecipient mentality” must give way to an “ownershipmentality”, selling the following idea: only if peopleare themselves convinced of something and feelresponsible for the associated working procedures,does the chance exist to achieve long-term andsustainable success from the efforts and investments.

Creating this conviction and responsibility are thegoals of the three components of DRM and theirmeasures and activities, which are described in thefollowing section.

Analysed municipalities in the Búzidistrict and flood-prone area of the 2000 incident

15

3.2.2 Implementing the Disaster Risk Management Components

I. Risk Analysis

The first step in the course of systematicimplementation of DRM activities in a region has tobe a detailed and comprehensive risk analysis. Forthe district of Búzi as well as the neighbouring west-ern district of Chibabava, such a participatory riskanalysis was accomplished in cooperation with theGeo-information System department of the CatholicUniversity of Mozambique (UCM). This project iden-tified nine municipalities in the Búzi district as beingdisaster-prone, with altogether approximately 38,000inhabitants, as well as the district capital of Búziitself (with around 15,000 inhabitants). This repre-sents about a third of the total population of the dis-trict. The municipalities are represented on the map,which shows the extent of the flood in 2000 (for thehazard and vulnerability factors, see Section 1.3).

Primary data were collected using a participatoryapproach, using various different methods (semi-structured interviews, transect walks, participatoryschematic production of risk maps of the municipali-ties). These data were supplemented by individualinterviews with district members and local authoritiesas well as the CVM, and were then submitted to astatistical and spatial analysis by means of a geo-information system. Furthermore, indicators weredeveloped which allow the vulnerability of thedifferent municipalities to be compared. The studyconfirmed that the levels of economic, socio-culturaland political-institutional vulnerability are all general-ly very high, although some differentiation needs tobe made between the municipalities. For example,Muchenessa is overall the most endangered munici-pality, whereas Ampara is particularly vulnerable inrelation to cyclones due to its proximity to the coast.6

As a provisional final product, the maps produced inthe participatory risk mapping were digitalised, andhave since been made available to community mem-bers. They show in dark brown which areas of thecommunity are more elevated and would providesafe ground in case of a flood with a similar extentas that of 2000. The maps were mainly needed in

order to set up emergency evacuation plans, but canalso be used to select new building sites or to designate fields to be cultivated again.

This scientific approach in the form of cooperationwith the university made detailed analyses possibleand allowed robust results to be generated. Withinthe process of expanding the integration of DRM into

other districts’ risk analysis, from now on this will bethe task of the district administrations and/or the localteam from multi-sector experts (ETP). In the districtof Chemba in the north of Sofala province on theZambezi, this already seems to be functioning well.

II. Disaster Prevention/Mitigation

On the basis of the risk analysis, a number of meas-ures and activities to reduce the hazard risk and vul-nerability of the population were planned and imple-mented for the Búzi district. The components ofdisaster prevention and disaster preparedness are rel-

6 From: Hazard Risks and Vulnerability Assessment of the Búzi RiverBasin/Central Mozambique, Franziska Steinbruch, September 2003.

Risk Map of Munamicua on the banks of the Rio Búzi

16

atively closely connected. For example, sensitisationmeasures as well as training measures can be foundin both components. In this study they are outlinedin this chapter as prevention measures.

As already stated in Section 3.1, disaster preventionor mitigation designates those activities that are pri-marily supposed to prevent or reduce the negativeeffects of extreme natural events from a medium andlong-term perspective. These activities include politi-cal, legal, administrative and infrastructural measuresregarding the hazard posed. Other activities aredesigned to exert an active influence on the lifestyleand behaviours of the endangered population withthe goal of reducing their disaster risk.

Building codes and regulationsOne prevention measure with sustainable impact wasthe implementation of regulations for cyclone-proofbuilding during the reconstruction of public infra-structure in several districts. Schools and administra-tion buildings that had been built according to theseinstructions, using simple local materials such asrope or wire to secure the rooftops, have proventheir efficiency: during a cyclone in 2002, only build-

ings that had been rebuilt without paying any atten-tion to cyclone-proofing were damaged or destroyedonce more. These building instructions were adoptedby the Provincial Ministry of Sofala as compulsorymeasures for all future construction projects.

ResettlementOne of the first prevention measures was the con-struction of new settlements (campos de reassenta-mento) on higher ground further away from the riverfor some of the families worst affected by the floods.As their new surroundings are not suitable for farm-ing, they continue to farm on their fertile soils by theriverside, up to 15 km from their new homes.Therefore they return daily, or weekly in labour-intensive times, to their old homes. Their propertyand relatives however (in particular older people andchildren) mostly remain in the new safer settlement.In this way, it proved possible to reduce disaster riskfor the most vulnerable parts of the population. Thisexample clearly shows the connection between thelocal and political levels: decision-making andfinancing take place at the political level, whereasconcrete actions are taken at the local level.

A cyclone and its results

anchorage

reinforcement

durability

With preventionWithout prevention

17

SensitisationThe sensitisation of both the population concernedand the local political and administrative decision-makers regarding the topic of DRM in terms of thecauses and connections of extreme natural eventsand vulnerability are crucially important if disasterreduction measures are to be successfully imple-mented. The aim is therefore to reach two differenttarget groups on two different levels with these sen-sitisation measures: on the one hand the endan-gered local population in the rural communities,and on the other hand the decision-makers, politi-cians and institutions concerned with relevant tasksregarding DRM, such as coordination of land useplanning.

In Búzi, numerous sensitisation measures tookplace in the form of workshops, seminars and workmeetings which addressed not only DRM, but alsothe causes, consequences and dangers of climatechange. These measures have proven very success-ful at the district level. The district administrator, akey figure, is personally convinced of the impor-tance of the topic, has recognised his central rolewithin the process, and contributes actively to inte-grating DRM into the Búzi district’s developmentplan.

This plan implicitly already contains several DRM-relevant activities, e.g. the constitution of the disasterrisk management or GRC (Comités locais de Gestãode Risco de Calamidades) groups, the constructionand repair of drainage systems under the responsibili-ty of the district administrator, the procurement of alifeboat by the Delegação Marítima, or different meas-ures to address the problem of drought and bushfires under the direction of the District Managementfor Agriculture and Rural Development (DirecçãoDistrital de Agricultura e Desenvolvimento Rural).However, DRM at present does not play an explicitrole in the development strategy.

A further important point, both in the context of sen-sitisation and early warning, was the cooperationwith a local radio station, “Radio Comunitario doBúzi”. The radio transmits interviews and short playsfor radio concerning DRM topics. In the Búzi regionaround 90% of the population listen to the radio.Radio Comunitario is the most popular of the stations,and has already played an important role during thefloods in 2000, spreading the early warning alert. It isimportant to mention the fact that transmissions areboth in Portuguese and in the local language, Ndau.There have also been interviews broadcast on “RadioMoçambique” at provincial and national level.

Together with the

population, a detailed

risk analysis was

conducted in eight

flood- and tornado-

prone villages of the

Búzi district

18

Numerous articles in national newspapers have com-mented on the natural disasters and DRM activities inthe Búzi district, thereby contributing to the sensitisa-tion and spreading of the idea of DRM.

In order to build awareness among the populationconcerning the causes and dangers of bush fires,plays were performed in several communities by alocal theatre group from Beira in combination withan instructional film. This led at the local level to asuccessful awareness-raising of the communities withregard to DRM issues, and at the international levelencouraged donor organisations to broaden andextend their support for the project.

Creation of local disaster risk management committeesA central point in prevention and preparation at thelocal level was the creation of the GRCs, the localDRM committees. In all nine endangered villages, thecommunity members selected six representatives,making each one responsible for a certain task incase of an emergency. So for example, one person isresponsible for early warning, i.e. receives informa-tion in an emergency via the radio and then informsthe entire municipality, while another is responsiblefor organising transport and evacuation measures orfor supplies. Most selected representatives are usuallyrespected community members, such as teachers,

Phase of district Recommendations for the integration Central actors and their

development planning of Disaster Risk Management contributions

I Expert team (ETP) and publication Sensitisation of district government, EPAP EPAP – Sensitisation and training

and ETP for the need for and possibilities INGC – Technical advice

of DRM District administrator directs the process

II Analysis of the initial Analysis of vulnerabilities, dangers as ETP – Data collection and evaluation with

situation and quality control well as of endangered regions and disaster risk

existing capacities in endangered areas Population – Identification of endangered areas

CCD – Checking the quality of the analysis

III Drawing up the development Develop strategies to reduce vulnerabilities, ETP – Drawing up the strategy, taking the

strategy paying particular consideration identified disaster risk into account

to capacity-building EPAP – Technical and methodological support

CCD – Review and approval of the strategy

IV Drawing up the action programme Defining activities with responsibilities and ETP – Drawing up on the basis of the strategy

possible sources of financing for INGC – Technical advice

DRM Participation of the population

V Reviewing and approving

VI Implementation and monitoring Integrating DRM into the Reviewing commission (CPS)

monitoring system

Integration of DRM in district development planning, Búzi workshop, September 2004

19

etc. etc.

Definition of a development objective for the district (vision)

Specific target 1e.g. agriculture

Specific target 3DRM

Specific target 2e.g. infrastructure

Specifying and definingrelevant activities

for agriculture

Specifying and definingrelevant activities for

DRM

Specifying and definingrelevant activities for infrastructure

Action plan 1Agriculture with DRM

Action plan 3DRM

possibly as part of District Administration

Action plan 2Infrastructure with

DRM

doctors or traditional leaders (so-called líderes comu-nitários), who take on these tasks as unpaid volun-teers.

These groups were equipped with the necessarytechnical materials (e.g. flashlights, life jackets, aradio, shovels, a megaphone, a bicycle and a first-aidkit), and – this being most important – sensitised tothe dangers posed by natural disasters, in particularfloods and cyclones, and trained to use concrete dis-aster prevention and preparedness measures thathave been adapted to the local conditions. At pres-ent, the trained people are still working in their posi-tions and the technical materials are still in use. Thenecessary repairs and maintenance have been carriedout. These are not only positive results concerningimpact orientation, but also indicators of the project’ssustainability.

Basic and advanced training measuresA particularly important measure was the employmentof a consultant from Costa Rica who had alreadygained several years of practical experience in DRM inCentral America. She passed on her own experiencesto the community members with the help of adaptedteaching methods in several field workshops, creatinga familiar and confidential atmosphere that encouragedgroup members to perceive the training not asabstract theory, but as being directly applicable totheir own circumstances. They in turn were extremelyinterested and showed a high level of motivation.

A further measure in the context of this South-Southexchange of experiences was an educational journeyto Central America in order to present GTZ’s DRMprojects there, in which different INGC representa-tives participated.

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Furthermore, GTZ also closely cooperated with theCVM and trained its members and volunteers in DRMmethods, which go beyond mere first-aid measuresand emergency response. In cooperation with CVM,INGC and Capacity Building International (InWEnt), abrochure was published including many drawings, car-toons and photos. Designed as training material, thisbrochure makes the population aware of the causesand effects of their vulnerability, suggesting concreteprevention measures and explaining the tasks and re-sponsibilities of the GRC committees and their members.

Integration into district development planningAn important question is how to achieve the aim ofintegrating DRM in a sustainable way into other dis-aster-prone districts without active and permanentsupport from GTZ/PRODER. The achievement ofself-sufficiency is therefore one of the main aims oftraining measures at the political level.

During a workshop in Búzi in September 2004, anexchange of information and experiences took placebetween the representatives and planners of differentdistricts on the one hand, and national as well asinternational DRM planners on the other.

The goal was to define core elements and to developa model for the integration of DRM into districtdevelopment plans. The suggestions compiled thereare presented in the following table in six chronolog-ical phases. It is of special significance for the suc-cess of the scheme that the actors of the initial phaseare very familiar with the topic of DRM and con-vinced of its importance. This would usually only bethe case after intensive sensitisation measures.

Furthermore, the question arises whether DRMshould be integrated as an independent sector or asa cross-sectional task in other relevant sectors of thedevelopment strategy and the plans of action. As anindependent sector, DRM would of course containaspects from other different sectors (e.g. in the infra-structure sector, the inclusion of instructions forcyclone-proof building of schools; or in the agricul-ture sector, the consideration of drought-resistantcrops) which would lead to a certain overlappingand possible ambiguity at the point of financialresponsibility. As an integrated cross-sectional task,the danger is that DRM might not receive the neces-sary and required attention.

7 “Mozambique Integrated Information Network for Decision-making

(MIND)”, within the scope of its ongoing “Famine Early Warning

System Network (FEWS NET)”.

During the workshop a two-stage model was devel-oped. In the first stage, DRM is treated as a separatesector within the district development plan. Only inthe second stage, at the level of the plan of action, arethe deduced measures assigned to their associatedsectors.

Since the conception of and permission for the district development plan are not yet final in Búzi,nothing can yet be said about the current conditionsof the procedure. For Caia, in Phase II (analysis ofthe starting situation) the district was divided intodifferent areas, and currently DRM measures arebeing integrated as a cross-sectional component inthe areas close to the Zambezi River.

III. Disaster PreparednessThe intention of disaster preparedness is to prevent orminimise deaths or other losses and damage in thecase of an extreme natural event. Disaster prepared-ness activities comprise early warning systems, theestablishment of a deployment and coordination appa-ratus, the drawing up of emergency plans and theirsimulation, as well as training measures. An importantprecondition for the functioning of these measures,which has already been discussed in detail regardingthe prevention activities, is the successful sensitisationand specific training of the participating actors (amongothers, GRC committee members, the district adminis-trator, radio stations, etc.). The following measureswere or are still being implemented in the Búzi district:

Early warning system on cyclonesIn 2002 the US Agency for International Development(USAID)/FEWS NET MIND established a new cyclonewarning system7 in cooperation with INAM undINGC. It is based upon a direct information flowfrom the World Meteorological Organization’s TropicalCyclone Committee for the South West Indian Oceanto INAM and INGC. It transmits the intensity anddirection of the cyclone, and uses a system of

21

coloured banners at the local level to inform thepopulation in the communities at risk. A blue flagindicates that a tropical cyclone may affect the areawithin 24 to 48 hours, yellow that it is moving closerand is highly likely to affect communities within 24hours, and red that high winds are either imminent(within six hours) or may even be already happen-ing. People in Búzi are aware what the respectivecolours indicate and what actions they have to taketo avoid damage. (For the early warning system on floods, see below).

Disaster preparedness simulationA fundamental understanding of the causes and con-nections of extreme natural events and the region’sown vulnerability has been created, and the commu-nities now know what actions they have to take inan emergency. This was demonstrated in a large-scale disaster preparedness simulation carried out inDecember 2003 in the community of Begaja. Withinthis framework, GTZ-PRODER also cooperated withthe existing structures of CVM, and first performed adisaster preparedness exercise in which the emer-gency rescue of non-swimmers with motorboats incase of a flood was simulated. Subsequently, theGRC committee and the village population acted outthe procedures that they had been trained to followif a red alert announces a tropical cyclone that willhit the community: ensuring the communication andinformation flow, hoisting the red flag, evacuatingthe population at risk to safe places, registering them

in emergency accommodation, distributing food andorganising first-aid measures.

During the emergency simulation, an instructionalfilm was shot which documents how DRM worksand the activities in an emergency; this is now usedin the project as a further instrument of sensitisation.It has already been presented at international eventsand also used for training purposes at the Universityof Cape Town.

Fortunately, there has so far been no further floodingin the Búzi area. But when threatened by cyclones,the responsible persons and committees went ontofull alert and prepared the necessary actions for anemergency situation.

Early warning system on floods: SIDPABBAn early warning system cannot prevent extremenatural events, but it can save lives, minimise dam-age and thus at least keep the disaster within limitswhen a well-prepared population receives preciseand reliable warning information in time.

Disaster preparedness simulationon the Rio Búzi

Model of the SIDPABBsystem with its threecomponents

In the case of floods, early warning is more feasiblethan with suddenly occurring disasters such as earth-quakes. The geographical and hydrological conditionsof the Búzi district (described in Section 1.1) permita sufficiently long period of time, since the floodscaused by extreme rainfall in the ranges of the head-water only arrive at the lower reaches approximatelytwo to three days later.

As GTZ has already acquired considerable experi-ence in people-oriented early warning systems inCentral America, a South-South knowledge transferwas initiated, with the aim of installing a “people-oriented inter-district early warning system for thecatchment area of the Rio Búzi” (Sistema Inter-Distritalde Pré-Aviso pela Bacia do Rio Búzi – SIDPABB).

A consultant from Honduras, who normally works asa farmer but has also taken over a coordination rolein the local early warning system in his home districton a voluntary basis, was contracted for a four-weekperiod of employment in Mozambique. Several pre-sentations were held in village communities in coop-eration with members of INAM and ARA. Their aimwas to sensitise the directly concerned vulnerablepopulation to the tasks and the chances of such aparticipatory early warning system. In addition, partof the knowledge transfer included the advancedtraining of the members of INAM, ARA and localemployees of GTZ/PRODER from Búzi, including forexample the construction of simple scales, or theorganisation and management of an early warningsystem. A final workshop was held in Beira to presentthe concept at province level as well as to sensitisethe district administrations and civilian representa-tives.

The SIDPABB early warning system consists of threecomponents and is based on the continuouscooperation of persons on a voluntary basis, sincefinancial resources are neither available for theemployment of special personnel nor for the installa-tion of expensive automatic measuring instruments.

The first component consists of the operation of sev-eral weather observation stations to measure relevantclimatic data such as precipitation and temperature,as well as scales to monitor river levels. The oncevery good network of INAM’s weather observation

22

Scale in Búzi

Measuring precipitation

23

stations in the country is very poor nowadays andtherefore does not permit reliable and specificregional forecasts and warnings. It was destroyed byfloods and the civil war after independence in 1975and thereafter neglected, so that today for examplein Sofala, instead of formerly eight stations, onlythree still exist, two of them repaired with GTZ support, and a new one installed in Nhamacamba(Manica). In future the data will be gathered regularlyby volunteers and transmitted on a specially installedSIDPABB radio frequency to an analysis and forecastcentre in Búzi. Some of the private farmers fromSouth Africa and Zimbabwe who possess vast landedproperty in the catchment areas of the Rios Búzi,Lucite and Revue have also been sensitised to thetopic and have agreed to transmit their precipitationmeasuring data by radio to this centre.

The second component is the above-mentioned cen-tre, which is to be set up in Búzi. Here the climaticand river level data of all observation stations will bereceived via the radio and will then be analysed by agroup of well-trained volunteers. On the basis ofthese analyses, a specific forecast for the district willthen be generated, providing information about theexpected arrival and estimated severity of a possibleflood. In case of an approaching disaster, the districtadministrator, being the responsible person in such acase, can issue a precise alert via public radio, there-by informing the third component – the GRC com-mittees in the endangered communities – and givingthem enough time to conduct the necessary prepara-tion and evacuation measures.

The implementation of all necessary preparationmeasures for the three components is at presentbeing executed, and an initial test run in the form ofa simulation is planned to take place at the end ofthe year, before the beginning of the rainy season.

3.3 Disaster Risk Management as a Contribution to Poverty Eradication

For the rural population in Mozambique, naturaldisasters do not represent the greatest concern intheir daily life. The most serious problem is surelypoverty in its different dimensions, i.e. the economicdimension, although this also has ecological, socialand political dimensions. Against poverty, concretemeasures can be adopted in terms of food securityand supply, promotion of economic development,infrastructure improvement, sustainable use ofresources, health care, education and good gover-nance, as well as in many other areas. Combatingpoverty is a complex task that has to be fought resolutely and simultaneously on several battlefieldsif poverty is one day to be eradicated.

In countries and regions at risk of natural disasters,DRM is a crucial component in this fight, although ithas not received adequate recognition in the past.Newly erected schools and hospitals are of little useif a cyclone destroys them again the following yearor if doctors and teachers drown in the floods.Natural disasters can destroy the achievements ofyears of development efforts in an instant, setting inmotion a fatal vicious circle: it is the poor who areespecially vulnerable to the effects of disasters dueto their lack of information and knowledge and lackof alternatives. At the same time, they are also theones with the least developed coping strategies.

In Mozambique precisely these preconditions can befound: large parts of the country are disaster-pronein terms of cyclone, flood and drought risk, whilepoverty – especially in the rural areas – is a commonproblem, resulting in a high degree of vulnerabilityof the population, and minimal recovery anddevelopment perspectives after a disaster. The floodsin 2000 confirmed this again very clearly: overcom-ing poverty and achieving sustainable developmentprogress in the long term is not possible in such regions without the integration of DRM measuresinto development planning. PRODER will thereforestrengthen its support for the integration of DRMstrategies into PARPA, the Mozambican PRSP.

24

The importance of DRM has been recognised at allinternational conferences and summits in recentyears, and is confirmed in the international discus-sion on the role and relevance of DRM.

Thus the German government’s scientific AdvisoryCouncil on Global Change (WBGU) explicitly recom-mends the “consideration of disaster risk in PovertyReduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) and the integra-tion of disaster risk management into the conversionof the Millennium Development Goals.” It even statesthat “disaster prevention should become a new mainfocus sector in development cooperation”.

PRODER’s DRM component is already meeting theconcerns caused by the adverse circumstances inMozambique. In the Búzi district DRM has beenexemplarily integrated into the concept as an essen-tial component of sustainable rural developmentfollowing the approach described in this study.

The so-called Búzi Approach therefore explicitlyrecognises the interrelation, expressed in the sec-ond point of the Hyogo Declaration at the WorldConference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) from 18-22 January 2005 in Kobe, Japan: “[...] the intrinsicrelationship between disaster reduction, sustainabledevelopment and poverty eradication, among oth-ers, and the importance of involving all stakehold-

ers, including governments, regional and interna-tional organisations and financial institutions, civilsociety, including non-governmental organisationsand volunteers, the private sector and the scientificcommunity.”8 A core statement of the WCDR wasthat disaster reduction is a necessary condition forreaching the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs). Five of the eight MDGs show close con-nections with the need to reduce the impact of natural disasters.

Furthermore, the approach fulfils the demands for-mulated at the Second International Conference onEarly Warning (EWC II) in Bonn, Germany, whichcalled for the “integration of early warning systemsinto the policy of the governments of countries con-cerned by natural disasters and the spreading of therelevant guidelines that were suggested on the con-ference on all authority levels.”9 The approach alsoorients itself according to UN-ISDR’s “GuidingPrinciples for Effective Early Warning”, which wereset up during the International Decade for NaturalDisaster Reduction (IDNDR, 1990-1999).

In the context of these two conferences, the districtadministrator of Búzi presented his experiences. Inthis way the experiences and recommendations re-garding DRM in Mozambique were made accessibleto a broad international specialised public.

4. Búzi in the Context of the International Discussionon Disaster Risk Management

8 Hyogo Declaration – Extract from the final report of the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (A/CONF.206/6), 2005.

9 Conference Statement, The Second International Conference on Early Warning (EWC-II) in Bonn, 2003.

Poverty eradication bymeans of cyclone-resistantconstruction measures

25

If DRM measures are to be successful on a long-termbasis, it is essential to ensure sustainable sensitisationand motivation, thorough training of all actors at thelocal level, a quick and efficient flow of informationbetween institutions on the basis of reliable data,and a clear distribution of tasks and competences atthe different political levels. This requires the success-ful integration of DRM into district developmentplans and national DRM structures.

This integration process is a long-term goal; however,much progress has nevertheless been made in theBúzi district owing to PRODER’s intensive support.

The vulnerability of the population in the district tocyclones and floods has been reduced, and aware-ness has been created. This represents an importantcontribution to the sustainable rural development ofthe region. This finding was confirmed by an inde-pendent evaluation report in March 2005, whichexamined the results so far achieved in three of thecommunities at risk, and then compared them to anequally disaster-prone community in a neighbouringdistrict where no DRM measures had been imple-mented.

At the local level, the DRM component has made animportant contribution to the upgrading of theparticipating communities, especially with the foun-dation and training of the local GRC committees. The training of community members and their in-clusion in the development process enhanced theirstatus with the different authorities. Communitymembers are no longer perceived as mere helplessbeneficiaries, but rather as active partners with theirown knowledge who are able to contribute to reach-ing the goals within the scope of DRM and beyond.

At the district level, sensitisation measures regardingDRM and basic and advanced training of the actorswith their different backgrounds, interests and capac-ities have been successfully implemented. Thedistrict administrator, a key stakeholder, is firmlyconvinced of the importance of the topic of DRM,and has accepted his central role in the process,participating actively in the integration of DRM intothe district development plan.

Building codes for cyclone-resistant constructionwere adapted and have proven sufficient, and re-settlement measures contributed to decreasing therisk for particularly endangered families.

By cooperating on the subject of DRM with INAM,ARA, INGC, UCM, CVM, radio stations and otherinstitutions during the implementation of early warn-ing systems and the disaster preparedness exercise, itproved possible to conduct successful cross-linkingand network building beyond the district level.

At the international level, the Búzi approach meetsall relevant criteria within its financial budget andpersonnel resources, and can be regarded as anexemplary model for the integration of DRM inMozambique and elsewhere. However, the approachhas still not considered DRM measures to tackledroughts, which represent at least as large a problemfor many communities as floods and cyclones.

There is still a long way to go before the necessaryexpertise and motivation exists that would permit anindependent introduction of DRM in all disaster-prone districts of Mozambique. The national govern-ment also needs to be able to afford to provide thenecessary financial means; a clear legal framework islacking; and DRM needs to become an integralcomponent of district development planning in alldistricts. The example of Búzi, however, shows thatthe path already taken is the right one, and that it isnecessary – as well as possible – to pursue it to theend. So far the impact and success of the Rio Búziproject have led to DRM implementation in the dis-tricts of Caia and Chemba along the Zambezi Riveras well as in Govuro along the Rio Save. Many moreyears of mutual cooperation and work are still how-ever required.

5. Conclusion

26

ARA Administração Regional de Aguas / Regional Water Administration

BMZ German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

CCD Conselho Consultivo Distrital / District Consultancy Council

CCGC Conselho Coordenador de Gestão de Calamidades / Coordinating Council for Disaster Risk Management

CVM Cruz Vermelha de Moçambique / Red Cross Mozambique

DPCCN Departamento de Prevenção e Combate às Calamidades Naturais / Department for Natural Disaster Management

DRM Disaster risk management

EPAP Equipa Provincial de Apoio à Planificação Distrital / Provincial Support Team for District Planning

ETP Equipa Técnica de Planificação / Expert Team for Technical Planning

EWC-II Second International Conference on Early Warning

GRC Gestão de Risco de Calamidades / Disaster Risk Management

GTZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH / German Technical Cooperation

HDI Human Development Index

IDNDR International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction

INAM Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia / National Meteorological Institute

INGC Instituto Nacional de Gestão das Calamidades / National Institute for Disaster Management

InWEnt Internationale Weiterbildung und Entwicklung gGmbH / Capacity Building International

MADER Ministerio de Agricultura e Desenvolvimento Rural / Ministry for Agriculture and Rural Development

MDGs Millennium Development Goals

NGO Non-governmental organisation

ÖEZA Österreichische Entwicklungszusammenarbeit / Austrian Development Agency

PARPA National Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper of Mozambique

PRODER Programa de Desenvolvimento Rural, Sofala / Programme for Rural Development, Sofala

PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper

SIDPABB Sistema Inter-Distrital de Pré-Aviso pela Bacia do Rio Búzi / Inter-district Early Warning System for the River Búzi Delta

UCM Universidad Católica de Moçambique / Catholic University of Mozambique

UN-ISDR United Nations – International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

USAID US Agency for International Development

WBGU Wissenschafltlicher Beirat der Bundesregierung Globaler Umweltveränderungen / German Advisory Council on Global Change

WCDR World Conference on Disaster Reduction (in Kobe)

Abbreviations

27

Deutsche Gesellschaftfür Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH

Governance and Democracy DivisionPostfach 518065726 Eschborn, GermanyT +49 61 96 79-1621F +49 61 96 79-80 1621E disaster-reduction@gtz.deI www.gtz.de/disaster-reduction