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Final Evaluation of Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction Project 5 January 2012

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Final Evaluation of Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction Project Disaster Risk Reduction and Integrated Climate Change Adaptation

– A national model for a community context in Fujian Province in China

CONTENTS

Executive summary

1. Introduction

2. Key findings

2.1. Relevance 2.2. Effectiveness 2.3. Impact prospects 2.4. Sustainability prospects

3. Conclusions

4. Recommendations

Glossary

Annexes 1. Persons interviewed 2. List of Documents 3. Terms of Reference


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) implemented a project with the title Disaster Risk Reduction and

Integrated Climate Change Adaptation - A national model for a community context in China in Fujian Province, Zhangpu County, in the typhoon prone south eastern coast from April 2010 to September 2011. The project was the first externally funded project for the Provincial, Prefecture and County Red Cross. It was also the first time disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) related activities were implemented in the province. The RCSC received technical support for the implementation from the IFRC Regional Office for East Asia, the Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre (RCCC) and the Finnish Red Cross (FRC). The Provincial Red Cross reported to the RCSC Program Management Office (PMO) who was in charge of the overall management of the project. The specific objectives of the project were to: (1) Improve the ability of RCSC at all levels to predict and plan for disasters, to improve their disaster response and preparedness network while also strengthening the capacity of provincial staff at all levels through developing a framework for climate change adaptation in

disaster preparedness/disaster risk reduction (DP/DRR); and (2) Improve the self-reliance and resilience of rural communities through enhanced capacity to plan for disasters, mitigate their impact and effectively cope with their consequences. The total budget was EUR 190 000. The project was evaluated internally by Finnish Red Cross to assess the relevance and effectiveness of the project; to identify best practices, key lessons learnt and any unplanned or unintended changes that the project brought; to monitor the sustainability of local level activities; and to assess the project management structures. The FRC expected that the results of the evaluation would be useful in ongoing and future collaboration with the RCSC and overall in its disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation work. The evaluation was conducted in China in 21-30 November 2011. It included a visit to Zhangpu County and all four target villages, stakeholder meeting with 12 county level government offices and meetings with

county and township leadership. In Beijing, the RCSC and IFRC Regional Office representatives were met. When considering the evaluation findings, the following limitations must be taken into account. In Fujian, all interviews and discussions were done with interpretation. The short duration of the project, 18 months, limited the possibilities to draw conclusions on impact and sustainability. Highlights of key findings and recommendations include the following: The project was exceptional in many ways. It managed to change mindsets: Instead of focussing on disaster response and recovery, the stakeholders learnt that a lot can be done before disasters.

The evaluation showed that the original objective of the project was well justified. Zhangpu County was highly vulnerable to climate related disasters and weather extremes. Before the project people were not aware of the disaster risk reduction concept and lacked knowledge of DRR and CCA measures.

The original overall objective to pilot integrated national model for DRR and CCA was too ambitious given the short timeframe of the project and the fact that the target area was not experienced in DRR or in managing external programme funds. Climate change was not addressed as strongly as originally planned in the activities.

The action was relevant and implemented effectively with adequate technical support from all levels within the RCSC and from IFRC, FRC and RCCC.

Due to high disaster risk and damages suffered at the villages in previous emergencies, people were motivated to improve their resilience. The project improved capacity to respond, decreased vulnerabilities in the communities, mobilised resources to reduce disaster risks and raised awareness on

climate change. The chosen activities suited well to the situation in the villages. The selected disaster prone villages had relatively high population of elderly people as well as other

groups that needed special attention in preparing for disasters. The project seemed to reach the most vulnerable community members.

The project improved risk knowledge, dissemination and response capabilities related to early warning, but did not address the early warning system as such.

The understanding of the purpose of measuring impact would have needed more capacity building. First ever provincial level stakeholder workshop was very successful in increasing overall understanding

of the climate change effects and promoting collaboration between Red Cross and local authorities. The project promoted collaboration between the RCSC and the villages with local government.

Government bureaus were engaged in various ways in the activities and with increased knowledge of the Red Cross role and capacities, local government could see potential for future collaboration.

The project improved disaster preparedness at the village level by inspiring villages to take action and work together. People felt that they lived in safer and more resilient communities and were able to mobilise themselves

to address problems identified in the VCA (vulnerability and capacity assessment) or emerging in the future. Evacuation paths brought multiple benefits to villages. Also the provision of voluntary services for the elderly increased.


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Schools were actively involved in the project and students had increased knowledge on hazards and how to act in disaster situations. However, there was room for more ambitious work with the students.

Although local authorities were actively involved in the project, they would need more support to be able to translate DRR and CCA into concrete measures and systematically reduce disaster risks.

The project built capacities of the RCSC at all levels with highest impact at county level. The County Red Cross was highly committed to develop, build its capacities and reputation through the

project. Established grassroots organisations in the project villages, townships and target schools made Red

Cross visible and influential in new areas. Overall the RCSC had an improved capacity to disseminate DRR and climate change through IEC

(information, education and communication) materials and facilitators. The RCSC had achieved an enhanced profile in DRR and CCA at provincial and lower levels.

The project increased resilience towards natural hazards and at the same time made significant contributions to the overall resilience of the villages. The project contributed towards several key characteristics which make a community resilient. The evaluation showed that although a ‘culture of safety’ did not exist in the villages yet, there was good progress and immediate potential for improved capacity to act and to develop and implement long-term solutions and interventions among stakeholders. Several areas of high future potential for local level progress were identified under thematic areas of governance, risk assessment, knowledge and education, risk management and vulnerability reduction, and disaster preparedness and response. The overall prospects for sustainability were high due to exceptional commitment by the RCSC and stakeholders.

Institutional sustainability was ensured by engaging target communities, villagers, local government, and Red Cross at all levels into the project implementation.

All VDCs had remained active and had good prospects to continue operational even with limited support from the County RC.

Women had equal opportunities to volunteer as VDC members and they were encouraged to play active roles.

People contributed with funding and labour for the small scale mitigation work to guarantee the sustainability of the investment.

Environmental sustainability was addressed by considering environmental impacts of mitigation work, by improving waste management, drainage and environmental hygiene, and promoting village clean-up.

The establishment of Red Cross grassroots units created new opportunities for people‟s participation. The villages were offered ways to organise themselves in order to respond to the identified needs and influence local government.

The project involved capacity building in the area of project management, to guarantee continuity after the ending of external technical assistance. A specific exit strategy was, however, not developed for the project.

Increased multisectoral collaboration provided many opportunities for sustainability in particular at county and provincial level. County RC had several new partner government bureaus as a result of the project.

The stakeholder workshop which gathered the government agencies at the provincial level for the first time around DRR and CCA in Fuzhou in 2010 was followed by a wrap-up meeting in early November 2011. The good results suggest that provincial and county level stakeholder workshops have the

highest potential for success. New RC presence in the villages provided County RC with good potential to increase RC reach and

activities in the area. It would be interesting to return to the villages in 1-2 years to assess the situation.

General and DRR specific recommendations: 1. Red Cross is in a good position to create new platforms for collaboration. Provincial and county

level stakeholder workshops are good ways to engage relevant government authorities and other stakeholders and ensure coordination. The platform may also facilitate potential future collaboration in other areas. Other opportunities for stakeholder collaboration, advocacy and promotion of RC work must be actively sought and utilised.

2. VCA process and methods can serve as an eye opener in the villages for enhanced capacity to

understand and deal with disasters. It is recommended to present VCA findings to local government and to repeat the VCA exercise in 1-2 years to monitor changes and refocus activities if needed.

3. Red Cross can empower people to find solutions by themselves. By engaging different village

groups into the project activities makes people to understand the potential in mobilising the community to work together.


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4. Red Cross can make the existing emergency response plans/system more effective in countries where

government has prioritised having emergency response plans in place. RC can add value to the plan by strong advocacy and ensuring that the plan takes into account the most vulnerable people, is rehearsed and updated regularly.

5. Having a model for local level DRR (for the RCSC the CBDRR model) makes it easier for all

stakeholders to understand, support and get engaged in the work. It can also help RC in profiling its DRR work.

6. The development of disaster response tools such as the emergency response team (ERT) at

national and provincial levels provides a good basis for RC to respond to future disasters more effectively. It is recommended to link them with local level for an efficient system covering all levels.

7. Exchange visits are very useful to share experiences and lessons. A development of knowledge management system could assist in systematic collection of lessons learnt and good practices at national level.

8. The targeting needs careful consideration to ensure that activities can be conducted and monitored

effectively. For efficiency and effectiveness reasons the four target villages could have located closer to each other.

9. It would be important to create an official feedback mechanism for the villagers to monitor social

accountability.

Recommendations for integrating climate change / climate change adaptation into DRR: 10. The strengthening of capacities to better handle known risks and worsening of current

hazards is a good starting point for integration CCA into DRR. The first steps to manage new and uncertain climate risks are recommended to include the following action: Improve access to climate data and early warning information: Consider what can be done

to ensure that National Society (NS) has regular access to seasonal forecasts, NS understands the forecasts, and can use them to make informed decisions.

Increase awareness of new/changed risks and their impact: Are the plans informed by past

levels of risk only, or do they include projections for future risk? Are the plans continuously reviewed and updated to reflect the most up to date knowledge on changing risks? Is Red Cross utilising its access to people to analyse potential new groups of vulnerable people?

Prioritise the action according to the situation and analyse what kind of additional elements may

be needed for the programmes to reflect predicted changes. Set realistic goals, allow enough time to reflect and ask for technical assistance when needed.

Recommendations for Finnish Red Cross consideration: 1. Develop exit strategy for all projects as a standard procedure to address organisational development

matters of Red Cross and include a sustainable local level plan of action for target villages, VDCs and County RC role.

2. Take advantage of pilot projects to pilot and actively seek opportunities to test new activities, approaches and ways of working to learn important lessons to inform future programming.

3. Ensure that implementing partner has necessary skills for the implementation of the project. The

skills, e.g on PMER, baseline survey and financial management, can be tested beforehand to determine training needs.

4. Agree on the translation of project documentation into English in a non-English speaking country. Specify which documents produced by the project and in what detail need to be translated.

5. FRC needs to consider carefully the placing of a delegate to any project. FRC must analyse what

are the actual needs and how to best answer to those needs, e.g. using existing in-country or regional resources.

The findings are presented in full in chapter 2. The conclusions and recommendations are given in chapters 3 and 4.


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1. INTRODUCTION

In March 2010, the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) started implementing a short term (18 months) community based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) project with the funding of the Finnish Red Cross. The coastal Fujian province, subject to recurrent hydro-meteorological disasters, such as typhoons, was identified as the project target area. The specific objectives of the project were to: (1) Improve the ability of RCSC at all levels to predict and plan for disasters, to improve their disaster response and preparedness network while also strengthening the capacity of provincial staff at all levels through developing a framework for climate change adaptation in DP/DRR; and (2) Improve the self-reliance and resilience of rural communities through enhanced capacity

to plan for disasters, mitigate their impact and effectively cope with their consequences. The Finnish Red Cross allocated EUR 190 000 for the project implementation from its funding earmarked for China. The largest items of expenditure were the mitigation activities (51% of the total budget), stakeholder workshop (6%), village and school training (5%), and Project Coordinator salaries (5%). The Provincial and County Red Cross had previously not had any projects funded by other Red Cross Societies (called participating national societies, PNS). In addition to being the first externally funded project for the Red Cross in Fujian, the thematic was also new to them. This was the first time disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) related activities were implemented in Fujian. The RCSC received technical support for the implementation of the project mainly from the IFRC East Asia Regional Delegation. The Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre (RCCC) and the Finnish Red Cross also provided technical support, in particular in the beginning of the project. The Provincial RC reported to the RCSC Program

Management Office (PMO) which was in charge of the overall management of the project. The Finnish Red Cross conducted an evaluation of the project Disaster Risk Reduction and Integrated Climate Change Adaptation - A national model for a community context implemented by Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) in Beijing and in Fujian Province, Zhangpu County in 21-30 November 2011. The project was evaluated internally by Finnish Red Cross Programme Coordinator, who had not been involved in the project planning or implementation, to assess the relevance and effectiveness of climate change adaptation focused programming; to identify best practices and key lessons learnt from the pilot project; to identify any unplanned or unintended changes that the project brought; to monitor the sustainability of community level activities; and to assess the project management structures (see Annex 3 for ToR). The FRC expected that the results of the evaluation would be useful in ongoing and future collaboration with the RCSC and

overall in its disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation work. The evaluation included a visit to Zhangpu County and all four target villages, stakeholder meeting with 12 county level government offices and meetings with county and township leadership. In each village, two separate semi-structured interviews were made: One with the village disaster committee (VDC) and one with village representatives. The four sites for mitigation work were also visited, as well as one school. The evaluator was accompanied by one representative from the RCSC HQ, who was also in charge of interpretation, two RCSC representatives from provincial level, two from prefecture level and three from county level. In-depth wrap-up session was held with the RCSC representatives at the end of the field visit in Zhangpu. In Beijing, the RCSC and IFRC Regional Office representatives were met. However, RCSC leadership was not available for interview. Discussions with the management of the DM department and PMO, in particular, would have been necessary for full understanding of the strategic directions and future

plans of the RCSC. When considering the evaluation findings, the following limitations must be taken into account. In Fujian, and partly also in Beijing, all interviews and discussions were done with interpretation. In the villages, parts of discussions were also interpreted to local dialect. Due to the pilot nature of the project the effectiveness could not be assessed using the same arguments than for standard programmes. The short duration of the project, 18 months, limited the possibilities to draw conclusions on impact and sustainability. Therefore, only the prospects for impact and sustainability have been assessed in this report. A draft evaluation report was shared with the RCSC PMO, the IFRC Regional Office for East Asia and Finnish Red Cross representatives involved in the project planning and monitoring for factual check before finalisation. An internal lessons learnt session was planned for the Finnish Red Cross HQ to share the

findings of the evaluation. For RCSC internal lessons learnt purposes, parts of the evaluation report were planned to be translated into Chinese. All findings and recommendations presented in the report represent the view of the evaluator solely.

2. KEY FINDINGS Key findings are based on the discussions with the representatives of the Red Cross Society of China at all levels from HQ to provincial, prefecture, county, and grassroots level, government leadership and representatives at county level and village representatives met during the visit to target villages. IFRC East Asia Regional Office, Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre and Finnish Red Cross representatives were also interviewed. Project documentation and other relevant documentation related to RCSC and DRR and


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climate change adaptation work in China was studied. (See Annex 1-2 for people interviewed and list of documents)

The implementation of the Fujian project was considered in the context of the CBDRR model developed by the RCSC and the Asia specific and global guidance and tools provided by the IFRC.

2.1. Relevance Country context The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC), founded in 1904, is the biggest humanitarian organisation in China with the largest network of volunteers. It is particularly known for its emergency response capacity. General public made a significant donation to the Sichuan earthquake response operation in 2008. In 2011, the good public image of RCSC was challenged by a blog writer who had claimed to be the CEO of a so-called China Red Cross Humanitarian Company. The RCSC is in the process of building its disaster response capacities. It had three core teams at the HQ level: psychosocial support, first aid and search and rescue. It also developed national standards for seven thematic core teams including these three kinds, in line with which the provinces are promoted and guided to develop their own according to the local context and need. The development of disaster response tools such as the emergency response team is considered as good basis for RCSC to respond to future disasters

more effectively. According to the RCSC emergency response system, the Red Cross activities at the local level should include awareness raising on disaster risk reduction, establishment of volunteer teams and organisation of drills to practice the emergency response plan. In the past years, in line with discussions within RCRC globally, the RCSC had developed its capacities in integrated programming combining first aid, health, disaster management and most recently livelihoods. The RCSC was considering how to develop integrated programme as a brand. In order to get professional support for building this brand programme, the RCSC was preparing to form an expert committee / think tank which would comprise experts in all the fields covered by the programme, e.g. DRR, health, OD, livelihood. The function of the previously set up but inactive CBDRR working group will be integrated into the expert committee. The working mechanism would be built to guarantee its effective function.

In 2010, the RCSC revised its existing CBDP model into a CBDRR model. The model changed in such a way that the new model was broader, gave more focus to the software components and more consideration to the development of community based programming. At the same time, a CBDRR working group was established to follow up on CBDRR model updating, training manual writing and training planning and organization. However, for many reasons the group had remained inactive since the completion of the model. In the Fujian project, the national CBDRR model was followed with some minor modifications to respond to the county context. In 2007, the government of China issued a National 11th Five-year Plan on Comprehensive Disaster Reduction, which presented medium-long-term objectives for comprehensive disaster reduction strategy (National progress report on implementation of HFA). The identified major tasks included the following: 1)

strengthen the capacity building of risk and information management; 2) strengthen the capacity-building of monitoring, forecasting and early-warning; 3) strengthen the integrated prevention and precaution capacity-building; 4) strengthen the capacity-building of emergency rescue; 5) strengthen the flood prevention system building; 6) strengthen the capacity-building to deal with the catastrophic disasters; 7) strengthen the community capacity-building; 8) strengthen the capacity of application of science and technology in disaster reduction; 9) strengthen the advocacy and education. The central government also required all local governments to include disaster reduction into local social-economic development plans. All regions, all departments, all sectors should enhance the effort for constructing structural and non-structural projects of disaster reduction to visibly raise the capacity for disaster prevention and to depress the losses inflicted. The governments of all levels needed to make the progress in the following areas: 1) disaster management systems and mechanisms, and legislation; 2)

disaster monitoring, early-warning and forecasting systems; 3) disaster reduction projects; 4) disaster emergency system 5) education and advocacy and international cooperation. The government was expecting Red Cross to promote and disseminate information on DP/DRR, organise communities to prepare to disasters in Fujian province. The government usually provided funding for the communication of the emergency plans, supplied alarm machines, drums and training. County government was expecting RC to do more in support of the most vulnerable. The RCSC had not yet been able to conduct all of these roles in other than project areas, but was planning to expand the coverage. The Fujian RC was known for water rescues service. Their main work consisted of blood donation, organ and tissue donation, relief and first aid, social assistance, RC youth and promotion of RC work. As Fujian is close to Taiwan it has a close relationship with Taiwan. The County RC was focussing on first aid training, information

dissemination and was planning to work more with schools. The project had built the capacities of Fujian RC in DRR and in general on project management. It also contributed to the development of advocacy and humanitarian diplomacy skills, which was an area that had not been focused by the RC work.


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The RCSC has active relations with the government at all levels in particular in areas where it is

implementing programmes. National Committee of Disaster Reduction is the key government committee in DRR. Deputy Director of Relief and Health is a member of the Committee. RCSC receives emergency funding from government directly and also from lottery funds for emergency and organizational disaster preparedness. The RCSC has six disaster preparedness centres consisting of a warehouse with standard relief items, training activities and office space. Target area and main activities The four target villages were identified during a field visit to proposed project sites in March 2010. The FRC Programme Officer, Regional Representative, IFRC Senior DM Officer and representatives from Fujian Provincial RC and PMO assessed the proposed villages. The following targeting criteria applied according to the RCSC CBDRR model: 1) Community has been frequently affected by severe disasters in recent years or potential disaster risk exists; 2) The community average income level is lower than the provincial average;

3) Capacity of the RC county-level branches; 4) RC volunteers/villagers primarily showing interest and participation, 5) Villages which are poor, remotely located and have minority groups are preferred. Zhangpu County is one of the most typhoon affected areas with 267 km of coastline. The project villages were vulnerable to typhoons and heavy rains causing problems with lacking or malfunctioning drainage and poor level of environmental hygiene and sanitation. Rainstorms also created flashflood and landslide risk and made unpaved roads muddy and nearly impassable. Other common natural hazards included drought and frost. In addition, agriculture suffered from plant diseases and pest. Due to mountainous landscape and poor infrastructure the floods or landslides had potential for serious consequences in Tuta, Chunguang and Longqiao. Xilin was highly prone to typhoons, storms and spring tides which affected livestock breeding and farmlands.

Tuta Village, Chiling Township, was poorest of the targeted villages. Nearly all villagers belong to She minority. In the VCA, community members agreed on the following priority order for disaster reduction measures: 1) Build an evacuation path from one natural village with poor road conditions; 2) Build a health clinic, which can be used as an emergency shelter; 3) Improve environmental sanitation by building waste dumps; 4) Build river courses and canals to direct rain/flood waters away from the farmland; 4) Build protective structures at the land erosion site to prevent landslides.

Village committee made the building of the evacuation path a top priority for the year. Health bureau of the local government provided funding for the village clinic.

Chunguang Village, Changqiao Township, had more diverse livelihoods that Tuta and a large number of

community members were migrant workers. Community members agreed on the following priority order for disaster reduction measures: 1) Build evacuation path to Xialiao Natural Village; 2) Improve the quality of drinking water by constructing more wells; 3) Repair village hall to be used for meetings and as safe shelter. Currently the village was using the township central school for evacuation; 4) Build an activity centre for the senior members of the village left increasingly alone due to migrant labour; 5) Build a village clinic and an educational site for health care.

While drinking water was a high priority for villagers, they decided that evacuation path should be constructed. The path connected one of the more distant four natural villages to the township. The village managed to raise additional resources which helped them to double the initial length of the path. In addition, villagers had built and financed an erosion protection wall to protect the path from erosion.

The village was planning to find other resources for the village hall, senior centre and a clinic in 2012.

Xilin Village, Gulei Township, was a coastal fishing village located in peninsula and highly prone to typhoons and strong winds. The village had several agricultural products with irrigation systems and aquaculture at the seaside. Initially the village representatives proposed a seawall construction as a mitigation measure. However, as a result of the VCA, the community members agreed on the following priorities: 1) Build an evacuation path; 2) Improve the quality of drinking water by connecting village to the water system instead of utilising polluted water from the wells (due to industries); 3) Build public toilets in the village since some households had no toilets; 4) Improving drainage by building drainage ditches along the roads which got currently easily flooded; 5) Improve environmental sanitation and home cleaning.

Safe drinking water was a high priority for villagers, but its costs would have been too high for the project. Therefore, the village agreed to build the evacuation path. Village seniors‟ union monitored the construction work.

Longqiao Village, Nanpu Township, was seriously affected by disasters in 2005-2006 and also affected by typhoon Megi in 2010. Despite of disaster history the awareness of disaster prevention and preparedness was low. The community members agreed on the following priority order for disaster reduction measures: 1) Harden road surface to make it an evacuation path; 2) Build drainage ditch and waste dump; 3) Provide


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training on disaster prevention and preparedness; 4) Build public toilets; 5) Rebuild some of the adobe houses which were not resilient to typhoon or rainstorms.

The village decided to change their original mitigation work after Megi. This was the only village

which decided to build a protecting embankment instead of evacuation path. The existing embankment was seriously damaged in floods. The village was in the process of raising funds to build the evacuation path.

The selected disaster prone villages and the chosen mitigation measures were relevant to the project. The targeted villages differed from each other, which was useful for a pilot project, although the three of them chose the same mitigation measure. Due to high disaster risk and damages suffered in the villages during previous emergencies, such as destroyed houses and fruit trees, injured people, decreased income and flooded agricultural land, people were motivated to improve their resilience. The chosen activities suited well to the situation in the villages.

The original objective of the project was justified. Zhangpu County was highly vulnerable to climate related disasters and weather extremes. At the same time there was very limited knowledge on climate change and in particular on climate change adaptation and concrete measures to adapt to the climate at all levels, in particular at village level. Villages had relatively high population of elderly people as well as other groups that needed special attention in preparing for disasters. Many of the most vulnerable people lived in natural villages outside village centre and in vulnerable houses. The project seemed to reach the most vulnerable community members. The most vulnerable groups were taken care of in the disaster preparedness drills and training. The evacuation paths provided quicker and safer access for the elderly, kids and disabled, also during their daily lives, and allowed timely warning of people living in dangerous houses.

The local government leadership had three main concerns at the village level: to improve the economic development in the poor villages; to keep stability due to ethnic minorities; and to develop infrastructure and basic services, such as roads, bridges and clinics. The local government expressed their satisfaction with the Red Cross work, which had contributed into all key priorities of the local government. Previously, the role of the RC and the cooperation potential was not as clear to them as it was now and they could see areas of future collaboration. There were no other organisations working in the field of disaster risk reduction or climate change adaptation in the target villages. Therefore, the overlapping of activities was not a concern. Close relations with local government ensured that the RC addressed the gaps. Awareness was raised and capacities were built through training, information dissemination and risk

reduction activities. VCA was done in the beginning of the project. A variety of IEC materials were developed in colour for local level information dissemination. The materials included a pen with a pull-out message, brochure, booklet, different banners, tapes and CDs. The materials were adjusted to the local context and were mostly easy to understand. The materials were placed in several visible locations in each village, such as billboards and distributed at schools. Promotion activities included door-to-door visits at least twice per month and they were combined with relief and holiday activities. Three villages (excluding Tuta) had loudspeakers that were utilised to play tapes on how to prepare for frequent disasters, such as typhoons and fires, how to prevent the most common diseases, and the project activities. Two tapes were produced by the project, one in Chinese and one in local dialect. The villagers reported that the knowledge related to typhoons and prevention of common diseases was most useful. When asked from randomly chosen villagers whether they listened to the messages, an elderly lady said

that she listened but could not understand it all. A man working at the construction site very close to one of the loudspeakers had heard the messages repeatedly, and claimed to remember some content. Training included in the project was a combination of Red Cross information dissemination, DRR knowledge and first aid. In addition, the RCSC provided agricultural training for the villagers because people were very keen to improve their livelihoods and gain new agricultural skills. This increased the motivation of villagers to participate in the project. People expressed their interest to receive even more agricultural training for improved harvests and pest control. Although considered as additional component in the project, agricultural training could be justified as DRR measure due to the fact that more diversified sources of income and livelihoods improve the resilience of population to disasters. VDC members and villagers appreciated highly the training received. Training seemed to be relevant and adequate for the implementation of the activities. The Ministry of Agriculture provided training on post-disaster skills, on

what to do after a typhoon/storm. First aid skills were appreciated in the villages although only few villagers had since the training been in a situation where the skills had been needed. Training was done in cooperation with the village or township clinic and the village doctor participated in the training, as well as in the drill carried out at later stage. School children at the middle school level also received training from a teacher trained by the Red Cross.

The project addressed an important need realised during the implementation. There was limited knowledge of a village level emergency response plan among people. The Red Cross ensured that people became


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aware of the local plan and its content. The role of the VDC and the Red Cross was added to the plan. Emergency response plan was tested in a drill organised by the project.

Small scale mitigation efforts are typically part of a Red Cross funded DRR project although the measures are considered primarily a government responsibility. In this project, as a result of VCA and comparative analysis, three villages decided to go for evacuation road and one for embankment. The investments were useful to reduce disaster risks, and in particular regarding the evacuation roads to improve response preparedness. Whether they were the most critical investments in terms of what would have reduced the disaster risk the most would have needed more time to be thoroughly analysed during village visits. It was difficult to say how much the decisions reflected the development plans of the local government. Efforts were made by the RC to ensure open and transparent process. Even if that had not fully succeeded the voices of people were heard and they could participate in the process. VCA was very useful not only to guide the actual implementation and the agreement on concrete DRR

measures to be taken, but also to engage villagers and ensure their commitment and ownership to the action. In two villages the VCA was mentioned as one of the highlights by the village representatives. During the evaluation visit, two villages wanted to show their VCA products. The RC concluded that among the five VCA exercises the villages implemented the major issue list was the most useful tool for the villages. Seasonal calendar and livelihoods table were also considered very useful. In addition, a village map and a history record and analysis were made. A stakeholder analysis and a transect diagram are among the other most popular tools utilised in VCA. The above mentioned five tools were prioritised in the project. Provincial RC has a disaster emergency fund at the provincial level and some capacity to send needs assessment team to disaster site. The assessment team reports to the emergency response management team at the provincial RC. Disaster preparedness centres store several basic relief items such as family kits. The project did not aim at developing disaster emergency funds or needs assessment capacity at the county

or grassroots levels. It could have been useful to develop village level emergency funds. Also the development of local needs assessment capacities to link with provincial and national emergency response teams could be useful in the future. According to China Red Cross Background Document on Climate Change, typhoons affect south China typically during the summer months of July and September. El Niño events have a tendency to bring wetter-than-normal conditions, and La Niña events have a tendency to bring drier-than-normal conditions to southeastern parts of China. However, these wet/dry tendencies usually take place during the winter and spring, rather than during the rainy summer months when the impact of unusual rainfall conditions can often be greater. El Niño and La Niña events impact the strength, formation location, and movement of typhoons in ways that are important for southeast China:

During El Niño events, typhoons are generally stronger and longer-lasting, but the risk of landfall is less because they form farther away from mainland Asia.

During La Niña events, the typhoons are smaller and shorter lived - but they form closer to Asia and are more likely to make landfall. These La Niña typhoons generally come from northeast of the Philippines and affect China and Japan, with the China coast between Taiwan and Japan experiencing the largest increase in typhoon landfall.

However, regardless of the state of El Niño and La Niña, constant preparedness is important as even one typhoon in an otherwise calm year can have a huge impact.

In November 2007, the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent made a strong commitment to address humanitarian consequences of environmental degradation and climate change. In the declaration “Together for humanity” the Movement committed to:

Raise awareness on climate change Provide humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable, especially in affected developing countries and

decrease their vulnerability Improve disaster preparedness and response Decrease vulnerability of communities most strongly affected Integrate adaptation to climate change into disaster risk reduction and disaster management policies

and plans Mobilise resources for priority actions for the most vulnerable people Complement and provide input to the UNFCCC The IFRC Strategy 2020 states the following on environmental degradation and climate change:

A major driver of disaster risk is extreme weather events and environmental degradation,

both of which have been linked to climate change. Recognizing that our understanding of the extent and impact of climate change will continue to evolve, we contribute to measures for adaptation – actions to reduce the vulnerability of communities to modified environments – and mitigation – environment-friendly behaviours that also reduce the extent of global warming which causes climate change. Our climate change adaptation work is through scaling up disaster risk reduction measures and strengthening traditional methods of coping with disasters that are relevant in particular environmental contexts. We also contribute to mitigating the progression of


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climate change through advocacy and social mobilization to promote sustainable community development that optimizes communities’ carbon footprints. This means using energy more

efficiently to reduce the impact of the way we live on the environment in terms of the production of greenhouse gases. We exemplify this through the way we conduct our own business throughout the International Federation.

The project raised awareness of climate change, improved capacity to respond, decreased vulnerabilities in the communities, and mobilised resources to reduce disaster risks, in line with the Movement declaration and IFRC S2020. Although intended initially, the integration of climate change adaptation (related to climate risk management) into policies and plans was not achieved. During discussions, the villages described their observations on changed weather patterns and were convinced that climate was changing. Villages had faced more typhoons and strong winds in the past years. While having some awareness of climate change, they had limited knowledge of what action could be taken

to address this. Before the project people were not aware of the disaster risk reduction concept and lacked knowledge of DRR measures. The knowledge level at schools was very limited. Climate change had not been addressed as strongly in the project as originally planned. IEC materials included information about disasters, including extreme weather, but climate change was not an area of particular focus. The following timescales for early warning and early action give examples of signs to be followed and measures to be taken in flash flood, typhoon and drought scenario. The timescales were discussed in the stakeholder workshop in Fuzhou. At the village level, the project raised awareness of some of the early warning signs without going into detailed analysis. The project covered most of the early action measures during VDC training, VCA process and drill. However, the measures were not linked to the timescales or to climate related disasters. The below information is modified from World Disasters Report 2009: Focus on Early Warning, Early Action: EARLY WARNING signs Early Action measures

Years

Increasing risk of extreme weather events (rainfall, intense cyclones, drought) due to climate change Deforestation on hillsides increasing risk of flash floods Increasing population in slums in areas at high flood risk More people moving to areas vulnerable to typhoons Increasing population in fragile areas, land degradation

Continually update risk maps Identify changing vulnerable groups Recruit additional volunteers Reduce risk through concrete community-level activities such as reforestation, reinforcement of houses, etc. Share successful techniques for adapting Establish early warning communication system, evacuation routes and shelters

Months (seasonal)

Forecast of strongly above-average rainfall or above-average typhoon activity for the coming season

Revisit contingency plans, replenish stocks, inform communities about enhanced risk and what to do if the risk materializes, e.g., clear drains

Weeks High ground saturation leading to high probability of flash floods during next high rainfall event Forecast of likely development of typhoons in a particular stretch of ocean

Alert volunteers and communities, meet with other response agencies to enable better coordination, Closely monitor rainfall forecasts and pay attention to potential storm warnings

Days Forecast of heavy rainfall that may result in flash flood Forecast of a typhoon that is likely to hit a stretch of coast (landfall not yet known)

Prepare evacuation, mobilize volunteers, get warnings and instructions out to communities at risk Clear trees from around houses, sock batteries, torch, food supplies, radio, etc

Hours Very heavy rainfall almost surely leading to flood Typhoon warning: Typhoon is about to hit your location

Evacuate to shelters

2.2. Effectiveness According to the work plan, the project had three main results. The activities listed in the boxes under each result were presented in the project work plan. Overall, there was good understanding of the project, its objectives and immediate results among the RCSC. The Provincial RC described the objectives in their own words in the following way: Most important objective had been the capacity building of the RC and the improvement of its capacity in project management. Secondly, the Provincial RC had wanted to gain experiences in CBDRR programming and about the provincial disaster emergency system. Thirdly, they had wished to use the project to develop and strengthen their organisational development and advocacy skills and thus increase the influence of RC to the lives of the most vulnerable people. The Provincial, Prefecture and County RC considered all the objectives met by the project.


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CBDRR Project Agreement

CBDRR Area Identification

RC Staff Training

Baseline Survey

VCA (incl. an introduction/prioritizing/ Village conference

Establishment of VDC

Training VDC members (volunteers)

Develop a 3-year Village DRR Plan Update and practice it

Develop Proposal for Structural Mitigation Measure (Hardware)

Develop Village Training Plans (Software) Develop more plans for villagers’ training and/or other DRR software activities

The overall objective, as presented in the title of the project, was to pilot integrated national model for DRR and CCA. This turned out to be an overly ambitious objective given the short timeframe of the project and

the fact that the target area was not experienced in managing external programme funds or in DRR. The Provincial RC was not aware of this overall aim which seemed to be driven by the RCSC HQ, together with the Finnish Red Cross and Climate Centre. Instead of developing a national model for DRR and CCA integration, the project certainly contributed towards its future development. The project was successful in modifying the RCSC CBDRR model to Fujian context and piloting it. The model (copied below) includes many of the critical elements for DRR implementation at the local level. The following main observations were made by the evaluation for the RCSC consideration:

If VDC is established at an early stage, it can play a major role in sensitizing villages, and during VCA and baseline, which are critical for the success of the project.

Baseline survey should take place after the VCA has been completed and when the plan of action has been made. Then the baseline would serve in measuring the impact of the actual activities to

be implemented by the project. Endline survey should be conducted after all activities have been completed. The survey needs to

be repeated exactly at the same time than the baseline to be able to compare the results reliably. The RCSC CBDRR Project Model - Key Activities and Workflow:

Phase 1 (Majority of the fund invested in) Phase 2 (Small fund needs to support)

Result 1: Improve the ability of Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) at all levels - HQ, provincial, prefecture, and county levels - to implement and manage program, and to predict, plan for and response to disasters. Develop criteria to identify potential partners and avoid overlapping activities. Produce/revise training material and IEC material on program management, DRR.

Conduct training to Provincial, Prefecture and County RC branch staffs in project management&monitoring, and DRR with focus on CCA.

Conduct domestic study tour in the place where have a successful CBDP program. M&E. Annual review and planning meeting attended by RCSC HQ and the two province project management

teams.

Before 2005, the RCSC external relations department was in charge of PNSs funded projects. At that time, it was realised that monitoring was not satisfactory and therefore a Program Management Office (PMO) was established. At the time of evaluation, the PMO had 7 members, 1 in overall charge and 6 Programme

Construct Structural Mitigation Measure

Conduct Training for Villagers Conduct Trainings etc.

Baseline Survey

Turn over the management of Structural Mitigation Measure to the community & Share Village Plan with the local authorities Share Village Plan with the local authorities


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Coordinators, who each managed on average about four projects/programmes and acted as the liaison between provincial RC and the donor. PMO prepared summary reports for the FRC and translated the most

essential documents. Much more information was available, than was possible to be translated into English. The Programme Coordinator in charge of the project had been in the position for four years and had good capacities to effectively manage the project. The RCSC staff from provincial level downwards had no prior experience in working with external funding or DRR programming. Therefore, they received training for both the technical knowledge as well as on project management and the tools to be used in the implementation. They learnt quickly the necessary project management skills and were successful in delivering results within short timeframe. The staff felt that received all the training that was needed. There is a relatively new CBDRR implementation manual (in Chinese) which provides many useful tables and tools for the programme implementation. Provincial RC developed their model based on the HQ model and their experiences from the study trip to Hunan province. During the visit, the group consisting of 15 members from project staff and township and village representatives learnt about operational provisions

and project management. They also visited one project site and got an improved understanding of DRR. They reported that as a result of the visit they felt more confident to implement a similar project. IEC and training materials were produced utilising the existing materials from other provinces as much as relevant and adding some new elements. The existing reference materials did not include CCA information to a large extent, and that was considered as one reason why climate change was not as much covered as it could have been. All in all, the implementation seemed to have received adequate support from all levels and partners. Although the communication line was long due to many RCSC levels, it had worked smoothly. No unnecessary delays or other challenges were reported. The project received priority treatment and special attention was given to quick responses and clearances as needed. In rare cases, the county and provincial

levels were in direct contact with each other, while ensuring that prefecture level was kept informed. The RCSC was dedicated for the implementation at all levels. Specific capacities of the IFRC were included into the implementation of the project; Senior DM Officer participated to field assessments, facilitated workshops, conducted monitoring mission and provided technical support. Project was supported also by the FRC and the RCCC, and other experienced provinces which shared their experiences with Fujian RC. In comparison to some other PNS funded projects in China, it was reported that the commitment shown by the FRC e.g. in terms of a number of planning and monitoring missions or coaching provided in the reporting was very high. The FRC was considered as a good partner treating colleagues with respect and aiming at mutual collaboration.

Despite of the good quality programme management, there were two areas for which more training would have been needed. One was technical training on climate change and climate change adaptation in all levels of the RCSC. The need of technical assistance in climate change adaptation and how to integrate CCA into RCSC programming seemed to had been underestimated. Another training need was on conduction of the baseline survey and the overall concept of measuring impact (see more under impact). Three day training for the VCA seemed tight for the mixed audience as the topic was new and complex. The FRC had considered if it had made any difference for the project had there been a Finnish Red Cross delegate based either in county, province or HQ level. Delegate could have facilitated training and provided technical skills and built capacities in larger extent than what was possible with the available human resources. Considering the high motivation of the RCSC and the level of success in the implementation with the support that was provided to them, it is unlikely that a delegate could have provided such an added

value which had justified its relatively high cost. Although outside the scope of this evaluation, a proper financial management was reported as one priority for Provincial and County RC. It was mentioned that standard procedures were followed with the management of the programme funds and their utilisation was very strictly followed. A specific sub-account was established and the funds transferred according to the expenditure without any delays. Financial reports were submitted in time to the HQ. County RC invited finance department from the HQ for monitoring mission to ensure that financial management procedures were properly followed. An annual review was organised in August 2011. IFRC Senior DM Officer and PMO Program Coordinator visited Fujian in a monitoring mission to support RC in putting up necessary follow up plans on unfinished tasks and prepare for the final wrap up. Several follow up action points were agreed with the Provincial,

Prefecture and County RC. Most of the points had been implemented by November 2011.

Result 2: Reduce community vulnerabilities to climate change and floods and typhoon risk reduction in Fujian, and to enhance community capacity to plan for disasters, mitigate their impact and respond to effectively cope with their consequences.

Develop criteria with the consideration of experienced disasters, economy, ethnic minority group, etc. to identify target villages.

Develop rapid assessment tool and randomly select 30% household from each community to conduct rapid assessment/baseline survey.


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Select 15 red cross volunteers of which 50% are woman to form community village disaster committee

(VDC) Train VDC members and volunteers on CCA, DRR, Health & Hygiene. Conduct community awareness raising by door-to-door visit and distribution of IEC material on CC,

DRR, Health & Hygiene. Conduct primary school training to school teachers and senior students on CC, DRR, Health & Hygiene

by distribution of IEC material and DRR training manual. Establish early warning system and organize primary school teachers and students to conduct disaster

preparedness drills. Mitigation and construction measures - dam, evacuation path, and sea wall, reinforcement projects - to

reduce the community vulnerability will be conducted in each community to meet the needs with all groups - woman, man, the old, the child, and the disabled etc.

Village selection was dominated by different hazard profile and demographics. For cost efficiency and

effectiveness reasons the target villages could have located closer to each other. Closer geographical distance had made monitoring easier and given more potential for joint activities, such as training. However, the distance was still manageable as the target villages were in the same county. Considering the large size of the country, it is understandable that any project may wish to reach vulnerable areas in several counties. There are other projects which target areas locate in different provinces. Baseline was included into the workplan and implemented by the RCSC. However, as mentioned earlier, the RCSC would have needed more capacity building on measuring impact and conducting baselines. It would have been more useful to conduct the baseline after the VCA exercise, so that the questions could have been formulated to correspond with the chosen action plan. VDCs were established in the villages by selecting 15 volunteers of which 50% were intended to be women. All villages were able to recruit women as 47-50% of VDC members. During the evaluation visit, a majority of VDC members available for a

meeting were men. After recruitment, the VDC members received training. Community awareness raising was conducted through door-to-door visits and distribution of IEC materials. VDC members agreed that the most effective way to raise awareness was through home visits and face to face discussion. Education folder and materials with easy to use language and many pictures were the most useful. Each VDC member was responsible for 20 or 40 houses. Normally it took 3-4 days (during lunch time and evening hours) to cover the households they were responsible for. Although not specified in the workplan, the vulnerability and capacity assessment was critical to the success of the project. VCA provided a completely new way to engage and participate in discussions of importance at the villages. Normally the meetings would be led by village leaders with a top-down approach. Based on feedback received and photographic evidence, the villagers participated actively into the VCA process.

According to IFRC‟s 12-step guide, effective VCA process consists of specific steps. The process followed in the project is described in the below table in comparison with the 12-step guide. The process was in line with the IFRC guide. Level 1: National Society SUPPORT

1. Understanding why VCA is being proposed. 2. Sensitizing (NS leadership, branches, and partners). 3. Setting up a management structure for the VCA. 4. Setting the VCA objectives.

The project started with sensitizing the stakeholders, village leaders and community members. There was a good understanding of the VCA as a process and its expected outcomes. Facilitators, village representatives and VDC members were trained in VCA and the most important tools to be used were chosen.

Level 2: From ASSESSMENT to PLANNING

5. Planning the VCA (who will do what, how and when). 6. Preparation phase. 7. Using the investigation tools with the community. 8. Systematizing, analysing and interpreting the data. 9. Returning information to the community and deciding

priorities and actions for transformation.

People were divided into groups (seniors, children, women, men) for the VCA. All groups completed 1-2 VCA tools. The VCA results were analysed in group discussion. Based on the VCA, the village made decisions on action to be taken by voting for the order of importance. After that the VDC prepared a report to County RC on VCA results and suggested measures.

Level 3: From PLANNING to ACTION

10. Turning vulnerabilities into capacities through practical

actions. 11. Recommendations and report writing for local

authorities, donors and partners. 12. Programme implementation: risk reduction projects with

the community.

County RC received green light for the chosen measures from the HQ (and FRC). Priority DRR measures were implemented and documented. Additional support was requested from local government for other priorities and resources mobilised from within the villages.

In the targeted four middle schools, the school teachers and students were trained in first aid and educated on CC, DRR, health and hygiene. IEC materials and DRR training manual (booklet) were utilised to disseminate information in the schools and villages. Altogether 920 students were reached with information


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dissemination. The teacher interviewed said that the developed booklet was most suitable for students 15-16 years old which limited its effective use. In addition, IEC materials were published in different

newspapers. Another good opportunity for publicity would be to utilise 12 of May, a government designated National Day for disaster reduction and prevention, for intensified awareness raising activities. First aid skills were taught and practiced at school and the skills were developing accordingly. During the evaluation visit it seemed that the basic knowledge of climate change had not reached the students. It was reported that students were more concerned about their grades than disaster reduction or climate change. The schools had conducted disaster preparedness drills which had provided students with some relevant knowledge. The students could act as a link between school/Red Cross and homes, and educate their families and act actively in their villages to reduce disaster risk and improve preparedness. This aspect was not included into the project. An early warning system requires knowledge of the risk, monitoring of hazard, sound forecasts, generation of accurate, timely and understandable warnings which reach local level and preparedness to react to

warnings. These four elements: 1) risk knowledge, 2) monitoring, 3) warning services, dissemination and communication, and 4) response capabilities are interlinked and require commitment from authorities as well as communities. The project aimed at developing an early warning system. The conducted activities were related to critical elements of an early warning system, but not implemented in a way that would have strengthened them as a system. In particular, the project improved risk knowledge, dissemination and response capabilities. Zhangpu County had a functioning early warning system due to its exposure to frequent storms and typhoons. Provincial RC used to receive warnings to prepare for relief distributions, not to ensure that warnings reach people at risk. This is something where RC could play a bigger role in terms of ensuring that the early warning information reaches villages and in particular the most vulnerable people. Three evacuation paths and one embankment were constructed in the villages as a joint effort with the Red Cross, villages and local government. In Tuta, an evacuation path with the length of 2.775 km was

constructed to replace the previous 2.6 km long and 2 metre wide path. In Chunguang, an evacuation path with the length of 1.542 km and width 4.5 metre was constructed. In Xilin, a new evacuation path was constructed to replace existing 1.175 km long and 2 m wide path. In Longqiao, an embankment of 80 meters long and 4 metres high was reconstructed with reinforcements.

Result 3: To increase local government’s understanding of Disaster Risk Reduction concepts with

focus on Climate Change Adaptation in order to improve inter-agency coordination resulting in a cohesive DP approach and planning. Organize sensitization workshop/Train local government staffs in CC and DRR with particular focus on

DRR and CCA knowledge and techniques in a global context.

Fuzhou stakeholder workshop called Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Seminar brought together over 20 provincial and local authorities and community representatives in July 2010. Facilitated by the IFRC and the Climate Centre, the workshop increased overall understanding of the climate change effects and promoted collaboration between Red Cross and local authorities to make communities more resilient. The workshop consisted of presentations, groupwork and it engaged government representatives from different levels. The participatory approach in the workshop was new to some participants who were not used to being asked for opinions and think proactively. The workshop could be considered as a good practice. In addition to strengthening the role of RC as auxiliary to the government, the RC needed to network with other stakeholders to get access to critical disaster and climate information and e.g. maps useful in informing decision-making. One of the tools presented during the workshop was a template called Early Warning Early Action. The tool

was utilised in discussing actions that can be taken across different timescales using climate information that is available. It had helped to understand different timescales, what the stakeholders were already doing, and what needed to be done more of, better or differently to reduce climate risk. The tool was showcased in a spotlight article produced for ASEAN ministerial meeting by the Climate Centre to promote stakeholder collaboration and inform governments on Red Cross action to reduce disaster and climate risks. The County RC and the villages had developed new relations and collaboration with the local government as a result of the project. The key government bureaus which were also present in the stakeholder meeting organised during the evaluation in Zhangpu included County Government, Civil Affairs Bureau, Transportation Bureau, Water Resources Bureau, Development and Reform Bureau, Land Resources Bureau, Meteorological Bureau, Education Bureau, Agriculture Bureau, Earthquake Office, Health Bureau and Finance Bureau. Several bureaus provided technical assistance, quality assurance, allocated funding for the

mitigation work, participated into the monitoring and evaluation activities and provided relief supplies to be distributed to the most vulnerable community members by the RC. The project applied the approach developed by the Climate Centre for Preparedness for Climate Change Programme at provincial level, including;

Provincial workshop on climate change adaptation (with concrete objectives) Climate change risk assessment with stakeholders (table top exercise) Development of IEC material (on climate change, identified risks etc.) Streamlining IEC, risk assessment etc. in community actions (integrating VCA, trainings etc.)


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The project managed well in the first two points. Some challenges were encountered in the development of IEC materials and streamlining CCA into community actions proved to be too demanding.

2.3. Impact prospects The project had two specific objectives: 1) Improve the ability of RCSC at all levels to predict and plan for disasters, to improve their disaster response and preparedness network while also strengthening their capacity of provincial staff at all levels through developing a framework for climate change adaptation in DP/DRR; 2) Improve the self-reliance and resilience of rural communities through enhanced capacity to plan for disasters, mitigate their impact and respond to effectively cope with their consequences. The intended benefits of the project were defined in the project document. The below table assesses the extent of the achievement based on the evaluation findings.

Target Group Intended benefit from the project Extent of achievement Remarks

Community members

Living in safer and more resilient communities

Achieved In addition: Created a spirit of working

together and helping each other, in particular elderly people;

Improved hygiene; Women’s role strengthened in

the villages; Elderly people and children

benefitted from the evacuation paths;

Helped to start other necessary development works.

Many additional positive benefits and changes. It was difficult to verify the usefulness of the IEC materials.

School-going children

Knowledge on the volatile, environmental related hazards and on how to act in disaster situations and to prevent disasters

Partly achieved In addition: First aid skills improved.

Disaster risk knowledge improved at general level. Focus on evacuation drills, fires and safety at home, not on environmental hazards or DRR. The produced material most suitable for a specific age group limiting the potential for use.

Red Cross staff and volunteers

Increased awareness on climate change and further specialized training in disaster preparedness, management and response enabling better response preparedness

Achieved In addition: Project management skills

developed;

RCSC Improved capacity to disseminate concept of DRR and climate change through IEC materials and facilitators, and an enhanced profile in DRR and CCA with its own national CC/DRR framework

Achieved at provincial and lower levels In addition: Enhanced overall profile, not

limited to DRR or CCA

RCSC HQ focussed on DM, while recognising the need to address DRR and CCA. National CC/DRR framework not yet existing.

Local authorities Enhanced understanding of concepts of DRR and climate change and how to take these into account in disaster preparedness and longer-term development planning

Partly achieved Awareness increased; Translation of DRR and CCA into concrete measures still to be developed.

A great deal of thinking has gone into what makes a community resilient. Disaster resiliency means according to UNISDR terminology that

Villages exposed to hazards are able to resist, absorb, accommodate to and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner, including through the preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and functions. The resilience of a community in respect to potential hazard events is determined by the degree to which the community has the necessary resources and is capable of organizing itself both prior to and during times of need.

IFRC Asia Pacific zone has developed an organisational development strategy and framework for National Society development which includes characteristics of resilient communities. A guidance note on

characteristics of a disaster-resilient community has been developed for DFID. The following characteristics, modified from the above sources, can be considered important for resilient communities and for local branches whose work contributes to resilient communities. The contributions made by the project to increase community resilience have been detailed below. While the project aimed at increasing resilience towards natural hazards, it also contributed to the overall resilience of the villages.


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The characteristics of resilient communities: Resilient communities are able to: Contributions by the project:

Be aware of their own risks, vulnerabilities and capacities and are able to act on these

Establishment of VDC, representative of the village and dedicated to DRR; VCA process completed (findings shared, discussed, understood and agreed); Safer behaviour as a result of awareness raising in villages and schools; VDC is able to act on EW messages and mobilise community for action; EW reaches the whole community, with a combination of various methods (loudspeaker, TV, radio, mobile phone SMS, VDC members’ HH visit); Community trusts in EW; Due to improved awareness understand better the importance of DRR, incl. timely evacuation, are more alert and motivated to be evacuated when needed.

Have a shared vision of a prepared and resilient community

VCA process and improved understanding of DRR translated into a consensus on necessary measures to be taken to reduce the risk.

Initiate, plan for and implement initiatives relevant to them

Knowledge of emergency plans improved and practiced; Responsibilities, resources defined in emergency plans; Structural mitigation measures in place to protect against major hazards and to ensure resilient transport infrastructure and connections, access to critical facilities in emergency situation (health centre, safe shelter); Built using local labour, skills, materials and appropriate technologies; Hardware approach is accompanied by software: education, skills, training; VCA priorities completed by the villagers ’ own initiative.

Have equality of access to required services Construction of evacuation paths facilitated access to services.

Have safe and diverse sources of livelihood Agricultural training; understanding of risks related to hazards (e.g. typhoons or flooding) and how these can be reduced by ensuring the functioning of drainage; Construction of evacuation paths improved access to markets.

Adapt to, withstand and recover from external and internal shocks that make them vulnerable

All activities contributed to this characteristic. One village could demonstrate reduced impact of a storm due to the project activities.

Have what they need to be first responders in an emergency

First aid skills, evacuation of the most vulnerable community members, elderly people and children, functioning EWS, response exercised in a drill

Have a safety net for the most vulnerable members of that community when they need it

In-kind assistance to the most vulnerable community members; advocacy towards government; Community-managed fund (disaster fund/contingency fund) not developed in the project.

Have a voice and influence decisions that affect them; Value and uphold positive social values important to the community

Inclusion of the most vulnerable groups in the community decision making; Encouragement of freedom of thought and expression, stimulation of inquiry and debate; Created a humanitarian spirit of working together and helping each other;

Have leaders who are committed, effective and accountable for DRR, and who accept and welcome diversity, and who encourage positive change

Village visions were understood by their leadership and government counterparts. Project promoted down-top approach and positive change.

Access information that helps to improve their own health and wellbeing

Agricultural training, first aid skills and health and hygiene information provided.

Communicate beyond their community with others, and are not socially isolated

Defined and agreed coordination and collaboration with neighbouring communities and organisations was not focused in the project.

Sustain a health and education status that meets the standards agreed by that community and is on track to meet national and international standards

Indirect contributions.

Be secure, free from conflict, and free from fear Indirect contributions.

The characteristics of a local branch whose work contributes to resilient communities: A local branch should be: Contributions by the project:

Representative of its communities (governance and volunteers) with diverse ethnicity, gender, age, etc

Ensured that volunteers reflected the villages.

Knowing, understanding, and being responsive and supportive to the community

VDC committees established for local disaster preparedness and response; Roles practiced in drills; RC overall ability to mobilise volunteers increased. Capacity building to recruit, train, support and motivate community volunteers for DRR.

Advocating for the inclusion of vulnerable community groups in service and programme discussions

Strong contributions.

Independent and have capacity to mobilise financial resources from local donations

Increased advocacy and resource mobilisation skills.

Able to use the Red Cross/Red Crescent brand and profile for the benefit of vulnerable communities

Increased advocacy and resource mobilisation skills.

Able to facilitate networks, communication and access between the community and the wider world; Actively involved with other civil society organisations

Increased advocacy and local stakeholders committed to genuine partnership.

Able to nurture community leadership at all levels Indirect contributions.

Able to challenge discrimination, social exclusion, taboos and damaging practices

Capacities built for increased humanitarian advocacy role.

Receiving appreciative feedback and support from the community which values and supports its branch

Target villages provided direct positive feedback to the Red Cross.


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The components of resilience have also been grouped under five thematic areas corresponding to the Hyogo Framework for Action (Twigg 2009). The progress made in the target villages is reviewed in the below table

using a five-level scale designed to mark the state of resilience. Some of the areas where immediate future potential exists for progress are also highlighted. Level 1: Little awareness of the issue(s) or motivation to address them. Actions limited to crisis response. Level 2: Awareness of the issue(s) and willingness to address them. Capacity to act (knowledge and skills,

human, material and other resources) remains limited. Interventions tend to be one-off, piecemeal and short-term.

Level 3: Development and implementation of solutions. Capacity to act is improved and substantial. Interventions are more numerous and long-term.

Level 4: Coherence and integration. Interventions are extensive, covering all main aspects of the problem, and they are linked within a coherent long-term strategy.

Level 5: A „culture of safety‟ exists among all stakeholders, where DRR is embedded in all relevant policy, planning, practice, attitudes and behaviour.

Thematic areas Components of resilience Local level progress made:

Governance DRR policy, planning, priorities and political commitment Legal and regulatory systems Integration with development policies and planning Integration with emergency response and recovery Institutional mechanisms, capacities and structures; allocation of responsibilities Partnerships among local stakeholders Accountability and community participation

Before the project: Level 2 After the project: Level 3 Immediate future potential: Level 4

Local government policies and plans with understanding of village vision, DRR inclusion into development plans, multisectoral institutional platforms and defined responsibilities

Risk Assessment Hazards/risk data and assessment Vulnerability/capacity and impact data and assessment Scientific and technical capacities and innovation

Before the project: Level 1 After the project: Level 2/3 Immediate future potential: Level 4

Systematically: repeated assessments, high-risk areas identified, hazard and risk data incl. impact data and loss information made available and new knowledge shared, all stakeholders participating, VCA mandated, repeated, used for programming

Knowledge and Education

Public awareness, knowledge and skills Information management and sharing Education and training Cultures, attitudes, motivation Learning and research

Before the project: Level 1 After the project: Level 2/3 Immediate future potential: Level 3/4

High potential for public awareness, communication and dialogue with the villages. DRR inclusion into school curricula, education material and teacher training.

Risk Management and Vulnerability Reduction

Environmental and natural resource management Health and well being Sustainable livelihoods Social protection Financial instruments (diverse assets, costs and risks shared) Physical protection; structural and technical measures Planning regimes (village plans feed into local government plans)

Before the project: Level 2 After the project: Level 3 Immediate future potential: Level 4

Sustainable ecosystems and environmental management, local government technical support to villages, health education to include knowledge relevant in emergencies (e.g. first aid, water treatment, hygiene), action to reduce poverty and diversify livelihoods, social safety nets for mutual assistance and for most vulnerable people, hazard-resilient construction and use of protective measures, protection of critical public infrastructure, structural mitigation measures, access to health services and emergency shelter, combine hardware with software (education, training), local disaster fund.

Disaster Preparedness and Response

Organizational capacities and coordination Early warning systems Preparedness and contingency planning Emergency resources and infrastructure Emergency response and recovery Participation, voluntarism, accountability

Before the project: Level 2 After the project: Level 3 Immediate future potential: Level 3/4

Defined and agreed structures, roles and mandates for government and non-government actors, based on coordination. Training and drills to test plans. Local DP plan is community managed and representative of it. EWS community –based, people-centred and involves all levels of government and civil society, linked to DP and response and backed by public awareness raising.


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Based on the available documentation, interviews and observations made the impact prospects were good. Target communities had improved their resilience towards disasters. They had increased awareness of their

vulnerabilities and past disasters, enhanced capacity to plan for disasters, mitigate their impact and respond effectively. One village had activated their emergency response plan in a recent storm situation and reported that it had worked very well. In September/October 2010 Zhangpu was hit by two severe typhoon. Village VDCs had played active roles and as a result there were no casualties or injured people. The results of the baseline study could not be utilised in assessing impact prospects. The RCSC conducted the baseline and endline, but its purpose was not made entirely clear to the RCSC staff in the training. Overall, the length of training courses needs to be carefully considered to allow enough time for essential topics, group work and discussions. The questions were good and useful in collecting general information about the village. They were also useful in determining the focus of the Red Cross activities and the content of messaging. However, the questions did not provide an actual baseline data. The RCSC conducted an endline survey in September 2011. With right kind of benchmark data, the baseline analysis would have

been important in assessing change and measuring the impact of the project. Out of 20 questions included into the baseline, two were formulated in a way that was useful for a baseline survey. The high percentages to the question on emergency plan are not in line with the findings of the evaluation. This indicates that there might have been some inconsistencies in the way the question was asked. Does your village has emergency plan when disaster happens?

This question has potential to show an increase in the number of people who know that emergency plan exists as a result of awareness raising activities. The endline results showed an increase in the knowledge level:

Tuta: 97% → 99% of people said they were aware of the emergency plan

Chunguang: 84% 100% Xilin: 72% 99,5% Longqiao: 62% 99%

Do you know how to conduct first aid after drowning?

This question has potential to show an increase in the number of people who know how to conduct first aid as a result of first aid training provided. The endline results showed a clear increase in the knowledge level:

Tuta: 38% → 96% said that they knew how to give first aid for drowning

Chunguang: 72% 84%

Xilin: 39% 100% Longqiao: 41% 100%

One of the major impacts of the project was improved disaster preparedness at the village level. The project made the existing emergency response plan/system more effective. Increased awareness of the plan and drills for its testing and updating made the system stronger and as a result people felt safer. Education and capacity building activities at the villages made people realise that they could mobilise the village to find more resources for the necessary work. As a result of the project, people were more able to address problems identified in the VCA or emerging in the future. Increased networking and collaboration with local government empowered villages to actively contact it for

priority needs. Local government had already decided to provide specific support to the villages to address several needs, such as a seniors‟ home and a health clinic. Stakeholder workshop and wrap-up meeting at the county and provincial level created a platform for increased collaboration in the future. From the three evacuation paths the one in Tuta was considered as most needed by the RCSC. The soil type was clay and the previous path was nearly impassable during rainy season by a vehicle. The soil in Xilin, as a comparison, was sandy and in that sense its condition was usually better during rains. Xilin on the other hand was highly exposed to typhoons and storms being surrounded by sea from three directions on a flat landscape, and quick access to safe shelter was needed. In Longqiao, the river embankment was seriously damaged in previous floods. Its reconstruction and reinforcement increased safety in the village and gave protection to an important road next to the river thus facilitating the continuation of daily lives and

transportation during flooding. Representatives of local government bureaus reported that they were impressed by the results of the mitigation work and how the village members had collaborated. They expressed their interest promoting similar developments in other villages as well. The chosen small-scale mitigation measures had added benefits in addition to allowing the organisation of quick evacuation to safe places and ensuring access of vehicles in emergencies. The path made the transportation of agricultural products and cash crops easier, thus increasing the income and livelihood opportunities. The multiple purposes included improved mobility and access to services, schools and livelihoods. During the visit to the villages, it was dry season and the condition of an unpaved road in rainy season could not be verified. Nevertheless, it was evident that the roads were appreciated by the villages. Although all villages reported their satisfaction with the project, there was no official feedback mechanism for the beneficiaries.


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The project influenced the role of women in the villages. The project empowered women to play a more active role in the communities and in responding to disasters. VDCs were requested to be consisted of 50%

women, and women had equal opportunity to training. Women were in charge of most of the information dissemination and awareness raising activities. The capacities of the RCSC were built mostly at provincial, prefecture and county levels. The RCSC staff reported that Red Cross as an organisation and themselves were strengthened in coordination with different stakeholders as well as in working with different levels of RCSC. The procedures and the full project management cycle became clear to the staff. They highlighted the new skills they had learnt related to planning, monitoring, organisation, communication, information dissemination and public bidding. It was realised that many of the new skills and tools would be useful for other projects as well. The Provincial, Prefecture and County RC became familiar with the whole concept of community based disaster risk reduction and understood the action that can be taken before a disaster.

Capacity building efforts had greatest impact at county level. The project provided an important opportunity for the County RC to develop, build its capacities and reputation. The County RC took the opportunity with outstanding commitment. Due to the project, County RC was provided with a proper office space and more independent status from the government (Health bureau). It was also able to have two additional staff members. The establishment of altogether 12 grassroots organisations in the project villages, townships and target schools made Red Cross visible and influential in new geographical areas as well as in new thematic areas. In addition to project related activities, the provincial and prefecture RC had distributed relief materials after a typhoon and donated books to target school libraries. The Provincial RC planned to replicate similar activities in other counties in the future.

2.4. Sustainability prospects

Sustainability prospects are considered from four perspectives: institutional, socio-cultural, economic, and environmental sustainability. Two months after the ending of the project, the overall prospects for sustainability were high.

Institutional sustainability was ensured by engaging target communities, villagers, local government, and Provincial, Prefecture and County Red Cross into the project implementation. The RCSC from provincial level to lower levels was highly committed to learning from the project. The staff was willing to acquire necessary skills for continuing activities in the target villages and expanding into new areas. The key for local level sustainability laid in the ownership of the village. People were given an opportunity to participate in all phases of the project. They were also willing to participate in all activities from the VCA to drills and contribute to the small scale mitigation efforts with funding and labour. The commitment of the village committee and leaders was also essential. The village leaders took time to support the activities. Each of the four leaders demonstrated full understanding of the project and its objectives. They were knowledgeable about the common measures to reduce disaster risk and prepare for disasters during the evaluation visit. The project was a priority for the village committees from which many representatives were

also members of the established village disaster committee. The members of the VDC implemented the activities as Red Cross volunteers. VDC was a grassroots unit for the Red Cross. They also engaged in additional voluntary activities in their villages, such as visiting and assisting elderly people. All VDCs had remained active and had good prospects to continue operational even if the County Red Cross could not support them in the future. In Tuta, the VDC was planning to organise a refresher drill in the future. In Chunguang, the VDC had met after the closure of the project and decided on a new cycle of home visits. Recently the village had suffered from heavy rains and VDC members had visited the most vulnerable houses. In Xilin, the VDC had gathered in early November to discuss preparatory work to clean drainage for an incoming storm. The VDC informed the village through loudspeakers about the storm and visited people living in unsafe houses. These preparedness efforts helped the village to avoid damages in heavy rains that lasted for three days. In Longqiao, the VDC was planning to meet shortly to discuss the prevention of

potential frost damages. The project contributed to the overall development of civil society in China. The establishment of Red Cross grassroots units created new opportunities for people‟s participation. The villages were offered ways to organise themselves in order to respond to the identified social needs and concerns and influence policy-making process. Social and cultural sustainability was considered by promoting gender equality. Women had equal opportunity to volunteer as VDC member, be trained and empowered to have a role in previously more male dominated area of disaster management and response. Other community groups, minorities, elderly people etc. were also involved which contributed into sustainability of action. As the project was managed by the

RCSC and the planning of activities involved local level stakeholders, the activities were culturally appropriate without any problems of cultural insensitivity.


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Economic sustainability was maximized by the decision to provide only partial funding for the small scale mitigation work. People contributed with funding and labour for the mitigation work. To guarantee the

sustainability of the mitigation investment and its maintenance, it was essential to engage people both in the actual construction work and to collect funding from them. After the ending of the project, there were possibilities to continue with some low cost activities in the villages even with limited funding, such as first aid training and awareness raising. Environmental sustainability was addressed by considering environmental impacts of mitigation work, by improving waste management, drainage and environmental hygiene, and promoting village clean-up. The negative effects of climate change were addressed in the project, although not as strongly as originally planned.

An exit strategy was not developed for the project. The FRC was looking at proper phase out and exit strategies in other projects it had been supporting for several years. The project involved capacity building in the area of project management, to guarantee continuity when external technical assistance ended. Capacity building was linked to the project activities and the organizational development needs were not strongly addressed by the project. There was no plan of action prepared for the villages or County RC to continue certain activities after the phase out of the project activities. The project did not include capital assets which ownership would have needed to be clarified. Increased stakeholder collaboration provided many opportunities for sustainability. Overall, the created multisectoral collaboration was excellent. County RC increased its cooperation with local government and had many new partners among government bureaus that had worked with them during the project. As a result of the project, RCSC was more confident to contact local government to ask for assistance or

resources for the villages and VDCs and facilitate the work of the RC. Representatives of local government bureaus reported that they would propose cooperation with the RC in the future. County RC planned to propose joint village level campaigns with the local government. The workshop organised in Fuzhou in 2010 was a success. It was the first time the stakeholders were gathered at the provincial level around DRR and CCA. The stakeholders‟ knowledge increased significantly of the RC activities and potential collaboration. This created a great foundation for the sustainability. The RCSC organised out of its own initiative a wrap-up meeting with the stakeholders in early November 2011. The meeting gathered Provincial Vice President, Secretary General, Prefectural and County RC, Deputy County Head and representatives from over ten relevant government bureaus. The meeting reviewed the implementation of the programme. It also consisted of presentations by two villages, a government

introduction to their involvement and a visit to two villages. It was reported that the participants were impressed by the level of detail and the amount of work that was done in the project. New RC presence in the villages provided County RC with good potential to increase RC reach and activities in the area. County RC would need to utilise the momentum created with the target villages to ensure that the villages continue activities even with little or no funding and in that way keep the RC representation in the village, and remain connected to County RC and other stakeholders. County RC would need to assist/support the villages in advocating for government support for the critical needs identified in the VCA or emerging later. This would result in additional added value of the project. The County RC would need to keep continuous contact with the established grassroots units and provide support and motivation to them. County RC explained that it would normally allocate certain tasks to all grassroots units every year to remind them of activities that they should implement. The County RC was planning to provide second

training in first aid training in the project villages, first aid training was low cost and could be covered from their own funds. The County RC planned to prioritise the four villages which had implemented activities in their future support.


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3. CONCLUSIONS

The project was exceptional in many ways. It managed to change mindsets: Instead of focussing on disaster response and recovery, the stakeholders learnt that a lot can be done before disasters.

The evaluation showed that the original objective of the project was well justified. Zhangpu County was highly vulnerable to climate related disasters and weather extremes. Before the project people were not aware of the disaster risk reduction concept and lacked knowledge of DRR and

CCA measures. The knowledge level at schools was very limited. The original overall objective to pilot integrated national model for DRR and CCA was too ambitious

given the short timeframe of the project and the fact that the target area was not experienced in DRR or in managing external programme funds. Climate change was not addressed as strongly as originally planned in the activities. However, the project was successful in utilising the CBDRR model.

The action was relevant and implemented effectively with adequate technical support from all levels within the RCSC and from IFRC, FRC and RCCC. Having a FRC delegate in-country to support the implementation would not have provided added value. Although the communication line was long due to many RCSC levels, it had worked well.

Due to high disaster risk and damages suffered at the villages in previous emergencies, people were motivated to improve their resilience. The project improved capacity to respond, decreased

vulnerabilities in the communities, mobilised resources to reduce disaster risks and raised awareness on climate change. The chosen activities suited well to the situation in the villages.

o Training seemed to be relevant and adequate for the implementation of the activities. Agricultural training was highly appreciated by the villagers who wanted to diversify their livelihoods.

o The RC increased awareness of the local emergency plan and organised drills to test and update the plan.

o Vulnerability and capacity assessment was critical to the success of the project. VCA engaged villagers and ensured their commitment and ownership to the action.

o The chosen mitigation measures were relevant to the project and well executed. o The development of easy to understand IEC materials in line with local context, and local

campaigning was considered as a success. Village selection was done based on different hazard profiles and demographics. The selected

disaster prone villages had relatively high population of elderly people as well as other groups that needed special attention in preparing for disasters. The project seemed to reach the most vulnerable community members. The evacuation paths provided quick and safer access for the elderly, kids and disabled and allowed timely warning to people living in unsafe houses.

Schools were actively involved in the project, but there was room for more ambitious work with the students. May 12th National Day could be utilised for DRR campaigning and students could act more as a link between school/Red Cross and homes.

The project improved risk knowledge, dissemination and response capabilities related to early warning, but did not address the early warning system as such. RC could play a role in ensuring that the early warning information reaches villages and the most vulnerable people and

people know how to respond to the warning. In addition to climate change adaptation and integration of CCA into programmes, more focus

would have been needed on the conduction of a baseline survey and the understanding of the overall concept of measuring impact.

First ever provincial level stakeholder workshop on DRR/CCA brought together over 20 provincial and local authorities and community representatives in July 2010. Workshop was very successful in increasing overall understanding of the climate change effects and promoting collaboration between Red Cross and local authorities to make communities more resilient.

The project promoted collaboration between RCSC and the villages with local government. Government bureaus provided technical assistance, quality assurance, allocated funding for the mitigation work, participated into the monitoring and evaluation activities and provided relief supplies to be distributed to the most vulnerable community members by the RC. With better

knowledge of the RC role and capacities, local government could see potential for future collaboration.

The project improved disaster preparedness at the village level by inspiring villages to take action and work together. The villages were proud to be better prepared than their neighbours. As a result of the activities, people felt that they lived in safer and more resilient communities and were

able to mobilise themselves to address problems identified in the VCA or emerging in the future. Evacuation paths brought multiple benefits to villages. In addition, VDC and other community members were providing voluntary services for the elderly.

Students had increased knowledge on hazards and how to act in disaster situations, but more could

have been achieved at schools, in particular related to climate change and disaster risk reduction in the future.


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Although local authorities were actively involved in the project, they would need more support to be able to translate DRR and CCA into concrete measures and systematically reduce disaster risks.

The project built capacities of the RCSC at all levels with highest impact at county level. The Provincial, Prefecture and County RC took initiatives and made progress without waiting donors to

tell them what to do. The County RC was exceptionally committed to develop, build its capacities and reputation through the project.

Established grassroots organisations in the project villages, townships and target schools made Red Cross visible and influential in new areas.

Overall the RCSC had an improved capacity to disseminate DRR and climate change through IEC materials and facilitators and increased awareness on disaster preparedness, emergency response plans and weather related disasters. Staff learnt also several new skills related to project cycle management which would be useful in the future.

The RCSC had achieved an enhanced profile in DRR and CCA at provincial and lower levels. National profile was focussed on disaster response and national CC/DRR framework was not yet existing.

The project increased resilience towards natural hazards and at the same time made significant contributions to the overall resilience of the villages. The characteristics of resilient communities mainly addressed by the project included the following:

Be aware of their own risks, vulnerabilities and capacities and are able to act on these Have a shared vision of a prepared and resilient community Initiate, plan for and implement initiatives relevant to them Have equality of access to required services Have safe and diverse sources of livelihood

Adapt to, withstand and recover from external and internal shocks that make them vulnerable Have what they need to be first responders in an emergency Have a safety net for the most vulnerable members of that community when they need it Have a voice and influence decisions that affect them; Value and uphold positive social values

important to the community. Have leaders who are committed, effective and accountable for DRR, and who accept and welcome

diversity, and who encourage positive change The evaluation showed that although a ‘culture of safety’ did not exist in the villages yet, there was immediate future potential for improved capacity to act and to develop and implement long-term solutions and interventions among stakeholders. The below examples represented high impact

potential: Governance: DRR to be included into local government policies and development plans; establishment

of multisectoral institutional platforms with defined responsibilities. Risk Assessment: Systematic risk assessments; identified high-risk areas; information made available to

stakeholders; VCA mandated, repeated and used for programming. Knowledge and Education: High potential for public awareness, communication and dialogue with the

villages; DRR inclusion into school curricula, education material and teacher training. Risk Management and Vulnerability Reduction: Sustainable ecosystems and environmental management;

health education to include knowledge relevant in emergencies; action to reduce poverty and diversify livelihoods; social safety nets; hazard-resilient construction and protection of critical public infrastructure; structural mitigation measures combined with software

activities; access to health services and emergency shelter; local disaster fund. Disaster Preparedness and Response: Defined and agreed structures, roles and mandates, based on

coordination; training and drills to test plans; local DP to be community managed and EWS community –based, people-centred and involving all levels of government and civil society, linked to DP and response and backed by public awareness raising.

The overall prospects for sustainability were high due to exceptional commitment by the RCSC and stakeholders.

Institutional sustainability was ensured by engaging target communities, villagers, local government, and Red Cross at all levels into the project implementation.

The RC was highly committed to learning from the project at PMO and from provincial level to

lower levels. Project ownership was high at the village level. People participated actively into activities and village committees and leaders were committed to

the project. All VDCs had remained active and had good prospects to continue operational even with limited support from the County RC.

Women had equal opportunities to volunteer as VDC members, receive training from RC, and they were encouraged to play active roles in the villages.

People were requested to contribute with funding and labour for the small scale mitigation work to guarantee the sustainability of the investment.


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Environmental sustainability was addressed by considering environmental impacts of mitigation work, by improving waste management, drainage and environmental hygiene, and promoting

village clean-up. The establishment of Red Cross grassroots units created new opportunities for people’s

participation. The villages were offered ways to organise themselves in order to respond to the identified needs and influence local government.

The project involved capacity building in the area of project management, to guarantee continuity after the ending of external technical assistance. A specific exit strategy was not, however, developed for the project.

Increased multisectoral collaboration provided many opportunities for sustainability in particular at county and provincial level. County RC had several new partner government bureaus as a result of the project. It was also more confident to negotiate with local government. Representatives of local government bureaus reported that they would welcome more cooperation with the RC in the future.

The stakeholder workshop which gathered the government agencies at the provincial level for the first time around DRR and CCA in Fuzhou in 2010 was unprecedented. The RCSC organised from its own initiative a wrap-up meeting with the stakeholders in early November 2011. The good results suggest that provincial and county level stakeholder workshops have the highest potential for success.

New RC presence in the villages provided County RC with good potential to increase RC reach and activities in the area. As the prospects for sustainability are high, it would be useful to return to the villages in 1-2 years to assess the situation.

4. RECOMMENDATIONS General and DRR specific recommendations: 1. Red Cross is in a good position to create new platforms for collaboration. Provincial and county

level stakeholder workshops are good ways to engage relevant government authorities and other stakeholders and ensure coordination during the project. New platform may also facilitate potential future collaboration not limited to DRR and CCA. It is recommended to set common goals for collaboration and plan a follow up, e.g. mid-term and/or wrap-up workshop, to make the most of the initial gathering. The workshop is recommended to consist of groupwork, use participatory methods to

fully engage representatives. Other opportunities for stakeholder collaboration, advocacy and promotion of RC work must be actively sought and utilised. The RCSC was offered a new opportunity to include Red Cross information into Meteorological newsletter produced twice a month by County Meteorological Bureau.

2. VCA process and methods can serve as an eye opener in the villages for enhanced capacity to understand and deal with disasters. VCA provides a platform for discussion and an opportunity to engage villagers and create a foundation for future activities. RC needs to be ready to support villages throughout the process which may be time consuming and complex. It is recommended to present VCA findings to local government and to repeat the VCA exercise in 1-2 years to monitor changes and refocus activities if needed (see recommendation 10).

While the organisation of mixed audience training is demanding for facilitators as participants have different levels of knowledge, it can reach good results. In the project, joint training for provincial, prefecture, county and village level Red Cross and village heads contributed to close collaboration and good understanding of the project and the VCA process.

3. Red Cross can empower people to find solutions by themselves. By engaging different village

groups into the project activities makes people to understand how they can help themselves and the community by mobilising the community to work together instead of waiting for outside intervention. This can contribute to an overall development of civil society.

The project demonstrated that by sharing the responsibilities and costs with regard to small scale mitigation work is an excellent way to empower villages and engage local government into the activities. Red Cross can have a strong role in the software part and support villages in advocating for their critical needs. It is recommended that, instead of one, two mitigation measures were conducted in each target village to reach higher impact in reducing disaster risk.

4. Red Cross can make the existing emergency response plans/system more effective in countries

where government has prioritised having emergency response plans in place. RC can provide potentially very high added value to the plan at all levels. In China, the RCSC could play a strong advocacy role. It could promote the RC role and at the same time ensure that the plan takes into account the most vulnerable people, is rehearsed and updated regularly.


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Related to the emergency plan, it is recommended for County RC to share the existing county level agreements with the township government, so that township would be fully aware of agreed roles and

responsibilities at county level.

5. Having a model for local level DRR (for the RCSC the CBDRR model) makes it easier for all stakeholders to understand, support and get engaged in the work. Once developed, RC must promote the model throughout the country organisational structures and towards the government, and ensure that all programmes follow it. The model needs to be a living document and reflect the changes in the operating environment. The RCSC could consider revitalising the working group with partners for continued development of the model.

Using a recognised model and having a systematic way of working could help in profiling RC DRR work and expertise. There is an excellent potential in China for the RCSC to position the organisation strongly in DRR as there are few organisations working in the field of disaster risk reduction at the local level.

6. The development of disaster response tools such as the emergency response team (ERT) at

national and provincial levels provides a good basis for RC to respond to future disasters more effectively. While developing the ERT system at the national and provincial levels, it might be useful to integrate some aspects into the VDC training and to the county/grassroots level. Eventually RC would have an efficient system covering all levels.

7. The RCSC has a good practice of arranging exchange visits that have led to sharing of experiences

and lessons. In this project, a study visit was made to Hunan.

A challenge is how to collect these lessons learnt and good practices systematically at national level and demonstrate the success stories. In any large county, it is difficult to keep track of activities taking

place in various provinces (In China 31 in 2010) and counties (2 872) without a knowledge management system. Such a system would contribute to the learning of RCSC from its many initiatives and programmes of various sizes.

8. The targeting needs careful consideration to ensure that activities can be conducted and monitored

effectively. Relatively close distance between target villages would allow exchange visits, joint activities, such as training and campaigning, and result in savings in expenditure, while having potentially higher impact. For efficiency and effectiveness reasons the four target villages could have located closer to each other. Geographical distance is, however, secondary to vulnerability and other selection criteria.

9. Although all villages had reported their satisfaction with the project and the atmosphere seemed open

for criticism, there was no official feedback mechanism for the beneficiaries / villagers. It would be important to create a feedback mechanism for the villagers, such as a report card, a feedback box, or utilise a social audit or similar instrument to monitor social accountability.

Recommendations for integrating climate change / climate change adaptation into DRR: 10. If DRR is new to the village or implementing parties, the strengthening of capacities to better

handle current and known risks is a good starting point for integration. However, the possible worsening of current hazards due to climate change should be taken into account from the beginning. The below recommendations are among the first steps towards integrating CCA into DRR to manage new and uncertain climate risks (modified from the RCCC China Red Cross Background Document on

Climate Change). Improve access to climate data and early warning information: Consider what can be done

to ensure that NS has regular access to seasonal forecasts which have been issued (for today, this week, this month, this rainy season), NS understands the forecasts, and can use them to make informed decisions.

Increase awareness of new/changed risks and their impact: In order to be able to adapt to

climate change, there needs to be awareness of new or changed risks, e.g. typhoons at an abnormal time, and how these changes influence people and their livelihoods. This knowledge is relevant in integrating CCA into NS programming and is important for all NS, also those that are disaster response oriented. Are the contingency (or preparedness) plans informed by past levels of

risk only, or do they include projections for future risk? Are the plans continuously reviewed and updated to reflect the most up to date knowledge on changing risks?

Red Cross can utilise its access to people to analyse which groups of people and geographical areas are already vulnerable and which are potential new groups of vulnerable people.

Red Cross needs to prioritise the action according to the situation and context and analyse what

kind of additional elements may be needed for the programmes. What kind of new education, awareness raising and advocacy messages are needed to reduce weather related


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hazards? In China, the CBDRR model needs to be refined to cover disasters linked to extreme weather/climate risks. Instead of basing action on current and historical evidence and risk

tolerance, the action, e.g. designing structural mitigation measures or safety standards, must base on predicted changes. Climate change makes a major difference to livelihoods. Therefore agriculture in particular needs to adapt to new weather conditions and survive in weather extremes. When planning the activities, it is important to set realistic goals, allow enough time to reflect and ask for technical assistance when needed. Familiar tools, such as seasonal calendar, can be used in new ways and different questions can be asked during VCA to address CC. It is recommended to repeat the VCA exercise after 1-2 years to assess the changes in the vulnerabilities and capabilities related to weather, climate and the environment.

In the project, people noticed changes related to temperature, rainfall, planting/harvest dates, severity of storms and coastal erosion. Taking note of these changes, identifying vulnerable groups and considering this information in the development of village action plans and awareness is a good practice to manage increasing risks associated with climate change. VCA results can also be utilised in dialogue with the local government.

Recommendations for Finnish Red Cross consideration: 1. Develop exit strategy for all projects as a standard procedure, including fixed term and pilot projects.

Exit strategy should address organisational development issues and institutional sustainability of local Red Cross to guarantee the sustainability of results and future functioning of the new structures.

The following action is recommended as a minimum: develop and follow a phase-out plan prior to the end of project funding together with the partner NS including a local level plan of action; clarify ownership and responsibilities in relation to capital assets; and inform beneficiaries timely about the end of project and what will be expected from them.

2. Take advantage of pilot projects to pilot and actively seek opportunities to test new activities, approaches and ways of working to learn important lessons to inform future programming. It would have been useful to implement different small scale mitigation measures, produce a variety of IEC materials and use various methods in the project. The mitigation works were an outcome of a VCA

process and therefore a different process would have been needed to end up piloting different mitigation measures.

3. Ensure that implementing partner has necessary skills for the implementation of the project. The

skills, e.g on PMER and financial management, can be tested beforehand to determine training needs. The conduction of a baseline study is one of the critically important tasks. With strategically chosen questions, the comparison of baseline and endline data can be used to help determine what difference the project has made towards its objectives. Baseline questions should be very simple to minimise any misunderstandings during the interview. It is recommended that verification and training round is done first to a sample households.

4. Agree on the translation of project documentation into English. In a non-English speaking country, it would be good to specify exactly which documents produced by the project and in what detail need to be translated as a minimum. Concerning supplementary documents, it would be good to request a partner NS to communicate the existence of all such documents as a standard procedure for information purposes and for possible future needs. There may be information showing impact and ownership which would be useful and needed by donors.

5. FRC needs to consider carefully the placing of a delegate to any project. FRC must analyse what

are the actual needs and how to best answer to those needs. A delegate could facilitate training and provide technical assistance and build capacities at all levels of the NS. However, the needed technical support could be provided in various ways through already existing in-country or regional resources which can be more efficient than a delegate.

In East Asia, a large portfolio of several programmes in 2-3 countries would be needed to consider placing a full-time delegate to support the National Societies in the near future.


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GLOSSARY

CBDRR Community based disaster risk reduction

CBDP Community based disaster preparedness

CC Climate change

CCA Climate change adaptation

DRR Disaster risk reduction

DP Disaster preparedness

El Niño Occasionally (every 2-7 years), unusually warm surface water occurs across much of the

near-equatorial eastern and central Pacific. “El Niño” refers to this large scale warming. This event has an impact on the wind, sea surface temperature, and precipitation patterns in the tropical Pacific, and has climatic effects in many other parts of the world. The Southern Oscillation refers to this warm phase (El Niño) as well as its opposite cold phase, La Niña, which also has many climatic impacts.

ERT Emergency response team

EWS Early warning system

FRC Finnish Red Cross

HH Household

IEC Information, education and communication

IFRC International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

NS National Society (Red Cross/Red Crescent Society)

OD Organisational development (of a National Society)

PMO Program Management Office (of the Red Cross Society of China)

PNS Participating National Society (Red Cross /Red Crescent Society providing/channelling funding for the project)

RC Red Cross (National Society, or in general)

RCSC Red Cross Society of China (also referred to as Red Cross)

VC Village Committee

VCA Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment

VDC Village Disaster Committee

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