Mercy Corps is demonstrating a new approach to sustainable Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) by economically incentivizing climate-informed DRR measures in Nepal and Timor Leste. This case study highlights lessons learned from the program and offers insights for the consideration of other global climate-informed DRR programs.
Problem
Most traditional DRR programs in low-income communities are effective at saving lives, but are far less effective at mitigating the economic losses suffered by poor communities. Apart from protecting lives and property, they are rarely tied to strategies that build economic security and increase incomes. Additionally, community-level DRR depends on the diligent efforts of local volunteers, whose enthusiasm diminishes with the high opportunity cost of time.
Despite their differences in climate and geography, both nations are food insecure and disaster prone. Nepal’s annual monsoon season brings flooding and landslides—with evidence that climate change is adding to the severity and frequency of these events. Through the pressures of land and resource scarcity, Nepal’s poor populations find themselves living in inherently vulnerable locations. In Timor Leste, higher temperatures and greater intensity of extreme rainfall and droughts have increased the frequency and severity of disasters. Local topography and climate make it particularly susceptible to slow onset disasters related to soil erosion, deforestation, and declining soil fertility. Timor Leste today is one of the most food insecure countries in the world with more than 80% of its population relying on agriculture for both food and income. Nepal and Timor Leste both demonstrate the shortcomings of traditional DRR approaches.
Despite the scale of the problem, many communities in Nepal and Timor Leste remain unprepared, with many DRR activities to date focusing on early response alone. In both nations, past DRR projects have benefited disaster prone communities and subdistricts. However, the sustainability of these efforts is often limited by a lack of economic incentives, links to government support and capacity across scales, and proper analysis of the root causes of vulnerability.