Building Capacity for Disaster Risk Management

Описание: Capacity (or the lack of it) is central to reducing disaster risk and therefore critical to meeting development objectives. In this context, capacity building for Disaster Risk Management (DRM) is a crucial process that aims to enhance the competencies and skills of individuals, organizations, and communities to effectively manage and reduce disaster risks.

What is capacity building for disaster risk management?
Capacity refers to the strengths, attributes and resources available within a community, organization or society that enable them to effectively manage disaster risks and build resilience. Rather than viewing capacity as merely the opposite of vulnerability, it is important to recognize that even disadvantaged groups have inherent capabilities to draw upon.

Capacity may include infrastructure, institutions, human knowledge and skills, and collective attributes such as social relationships, leadership and management. Common threads across definitions of capacity include:

Capacity centers on abilities and competencies to achieve a given objective or objectives.
Capacity operates at different levels – individual, organizational, institutional and societal.
Capacity is a broad concept which touches not just on technical abilities but resources, context and relationships.
Capacity development is the process by which individuals, organizations and societies obtain, strengthen and maintain the capabilities to set and achieve their own development objectives over time. It involves learning and training, as well as continuous efforts to develop institutions, awareness, financial resources, technology, and an enabling environment. Though some delineate between capacity building and capacity development, here the terms are synonymous.

In disaster risk management (DRM), capacity building means to the efforts to strengthen the competencies and skills of a target organization, group or community to enable them to drive disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts, or in a broader sense development, in a sustainable way in the future. DRM capacity refers to the capability to both reduce disaster risk and manage the impacts.