Public Participation in Disaster Management

Themenfeld: Policy Dialogue

Policy Dialogue

Human Rights & Civ. Soc.

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Co-financing

problem & solution

Marsabit County faced perennial disasters in form of alternating droughts and floods, but lacked relevant policies and legislative frameworks for disaster management. Public participation in policy formulation was limited due to resource constraints and inefficiencies in government processes.

Community members were not aware of their constitutional rights, hence unable to hold the government accountable.

The solution was that MIO-NET supported the processes of developing a Disaster Risk Management Policy and Disaster Risk Management Bill for the county: public participation in these policies was achieved through dialogues at village, semi-nomadic and nomadic settlement levels.

the experience

Before the initiative, issues affecting the community were discussed on local level but did not reach policy makers. Furthermore pastoralist lifestyle was seen as a contributing factor to the community’s unawareness of their rights, as, being nomads, pastoralists often lack a sense of rootedness in local political discourses, participation and decision making processes.
The dialogues raised awareness of issues regarding governance, resource management and constitutional rights and provided an opportunity for community members to give their views on issues that directly affect their livelihoods.
Communities started implementing disaster risk management measures mentioned in the bill, such as reduction of livestock population or rainwater harvesting, even before it was passed.

Challenges

Elections caused political staff turn over and influenced the dialogue dynamics
Loss of institutional memory in relation to former discussion processes with the communities

Impact

Awareness of governance, resource MGMT and constitutional rights
Passing of Policy with community participation
Implementation of disaster risk MGMT measures by communities
Introduction of disaster response fund and disaster MGMT trainings

Lessons Learned

Establishing communication links between local government and communities supports the cause
Community participation is key
Coordination of disaster response leads to less duplication of efforts