Chapter 13
Capacity-Building Strategy for Creating
Disaster- and Climate-Risk-Sensitive
Development Plans—A Case Study
of Multi-Stakeholder Engagement in
Sri Lanka
A. M. Aslam Saja, S. M. Lafir Sahid, and M. Sutharshanan
Abstract The emphasis on disaster management sector had been on standalone
disaster risk reduction or response preparedness plans for the past decades. There
was a lack of an integrated approach to disaster risk reduction and development interventions at all levels. In the context of disaster-development nexus, two standalone
approaches had evolved in the past: Community-Based Disaster Risk Management
(CBDRM) without proper integration mechanisms within development projects and
community development through Village Development Plans (VDP) without due
consideration of risk reduction aspects. Both isolated approaches have reduced not
only the aid effectiveness, but proven to be not enhancing the resilience of communities. In this context, this chapter discusses a new risk-sensitive approach to development planning piloted by DIPECHO (Disaster Preparedness project of European
Commission Humanitarian Office) partners in Sri Lanka by drawing from lessons
from past experiences in implementing standalone CBDRM projects and community development projects. Whilst this project addressed four priority actions of
the Sendai Framework for disaster risk reduction, the links were made to the local
development approach at the community level to build resilient communities. The
Sri Lanka Community Resilience Framework (CRF) has been the driving concept
behind the risk-sensitive approach in development planning. The state officials at the
sub-national (district) levels were trained as trainers on CRF and risk-sensitive development planning process. The community-level state staff officials and local government officers were then trained by district state officials through cascade training
programs. This chapter details the capacity-building strategy, process, and tools
for creating risk-sensitive development plans as a locally led sustainable approach.
One of the key lessons from the risk-sensitive development approach identified the
A. M. A. Saja (B)
South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Oluvil, Sri Lanka
e-mail: saja.aslam@seu.ac.lk
S. M. L. Sahid
DIPECHO Consortium Project, Plan International, Yangoon, Myanmar
M. Sutharshanan
ACTED, Colombo, Sri Lanka
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
R. Djalante et al. (eds.), Integrated Research on Disaster Risks, Disaster Risk Reduction,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55563-4_13
231
Capacity-Building Strategy for Creating
Disaster- and Climate-Risk-Sensitive
Development Plans—A Case Study
of Multi-Stakeholder Engagement in
Sri Lanka
A. M. Aslam Saja, S. M. Lafir Sahid, and M. Sutharshanan
Abstract The emphasis on disaster management sector had been on standalone
disaster risk reduction or response preparedness plans for the past decades. There
was a lack of an integrated approach to disaster risk reduction and development interventions at all levels. In the context of disaster-development nexus, two standalone
approaches had evolved in the past: Community-Based Disaster Risk Management
(CBDRM) without proper integration mechanisms within development projects and
community development through Village Development Plans (VDP) without due
consideration of risk reduction aspects. Both isolated approaches have reduced not
only the aid effectiveness, but proven to be not enhancing the resilience of communities. In this context, this chapter discusses a new risk-sensitive approach to development planning piloted by DIPECHO (Disaster Preparedness project of European
Commission Humanitarian Office) partners in Sri Lanka by drawing from lessons
from past experiences in implementing standalone CBDRM projects and community development projects. Whilst this project addressed four priority actions of
the Sendai Framework for disaster risk reduction, the links were made to the local
development approach at the community level to build resilient communities. The
Sri Lanka Community Resilience Framework (CRF) has been the driving concept
behind the risk-sensitive approach in development planning. The state officials at the
sub-national (district) levels were trained as trainers on CRF and risk-sensitive development planning process. The community-level state staff officials and local government officers were then trained by district state officials through cascade training
programs. This chapter details the capacity-building strategy, process, and tools
for creating risk-sensitive development plans as a locally led sustainable approach.
One of the key lessons from the risk-sensitive development approach identified the
A. M. A. Saja (B)
South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Oluvil, Sri Lanka
e-mail: saja.aslam@seu.ac.lk
S. M. L. Sahid
DIPECHO Consortium Project, Plan International, Yangoon, Myanmar
M. Sutharshanan
ACTED, Colombo, Sri Lanka
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
R. Djalante et al. (eds.), Integrated Research on Disaster Risks, Disaster Risk Reduction,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55563-4_13
231