Project Document Template

II.Strategy

Theory of Change

To address the development challenge identified for the Caribbean region, the project aims to improve disaster warning and thus lower loss of life and disease, minimize displacement and poverty, and improve family wellbeing; at the national level, the project will contribute to the protection of natural resources, minimizing post-disaster economic and social losses and support community resilience.

The desired change that the project expects to achieve is to improve disaster warning and preparedness in target countries in the Caribbean. A key solution to achieve this change is strengthening integrated Early Warning Systems, addressing EWS communications gaps at national/community level, increasing monitoring/forecasting capacities, enhancing coordination for efficient dissemination of warnings, and fostering community based preparedness and response capacities, as appropriate to the country context. This project will make EWS tools available and accessible at regional and national level, to address existing gaps and support the integration of the 4 pillars of the EWS for better efficiency and end-users/community preparedness. It includes the implementation of priority concrete actions and the promotion of sustainability, at both regional and national levels.

Solution Pathway Diagram

Theory of Change for Preparedness and EWS in the Caribbean











Proposed Approach

The project provides a process to maximize existing tools, and extend their reach; it draws on successful experiences in integrated EWS in the region through a mechanism of south-south cooperation; it deliberately seeks to include the community component, and actors, in national EWS; it will identify and implement priority measures; and, it focuses on the question of sustainability and national investment.

The project uses established networks of IFRC, CDEMA and UNDP building on complementarity on competences and responsibilities to strengthen EWS in the Caribbean. The engagement of these three relevant actors in DRR in the region will be an added value for the project implementation, with IFRC providing their expertise in Community EWS and ensuring the community component of the project; CDEMA promoting regional collaboration and providing leadership on national level roadmap and sustainability dialogues; and, UNDP taking the lead of the project coordination, leveraging its experience in EWS, and facilitating South-South Cooperation (SSC) in relation to the Cuban experience. This project is an opportunity to capitalize on the respective strengths of UNDP, CDEMA and IFRC and strengthen this partnership in the region, which has great potential.

One component of the project strategy is to strengthen integrated EWS at a national level, in five targeted countries through access to tools (R1) and transfer knowledge through horizontal sharing of knowledge (R2). Given that Cuba has a comparative advantage in integrated EWS in the region, the project looks at their expertise and tools as a reference of good practices for other Caribbean countries (R2). The project will provide a process (R2 and R3) for strengthening EWS that includes the following steps:

1. 
   Validation of EWS gaps identified at each country level (R2);
   
2. 
   Provision of mechanisms to share best practices and tools in EWS. Best practices and tools will be validated, tested, shared and adapted, complemented by targeted technical assistance, to build capacity to achieve an integrated EWS (R2);
   
3. 
   Technical support of Cuban and /or IFRC experts in developing a solutions package addressing the EWS gaps identified. The solutions packages and a roadmap to support more effective EWS will be tailored to the specific gaps validated in each country level (R2);
   
4. 
   Development of a roadmap process for ensuring commitment and sustainability. Each national solutions roadmap process will consolidate the solutions package and both advocate for and give visibility to an integrated EWS approach, involving community and national actors (R2);
   
5. 
   Concrete solutions at a national and/or community level to address EWS gaps. The concrete actions will be implemented at each country level, after the validation of the gaps and the prioritization of actions. Finally, national meeting for sustainability will be conducted (R3).
   

UNDP and IFRC will provide technical assistance and support for horizontal transfer of tools and knowledge in EWS and implementation of concrete actions. CDEMA will lead national meeting on EWS sustainability, costing solutions, and cooperation agreements.

Another component of the strategy is to strengthen access across the region to tools. An existing online toolkit will be expanded, increasing the number of the uploaded documents; the IFRC community based toolkit will be updated and tools will be translated into the languages of the region. A EWS checklist will be developed and a community assessment tool improved, with the input of IFRC and Cuban experts, as a standard tool for rapid validation of gaps and barriers to integrated EWS available to CDEMA and other actors in the region.

At a regional level, the project will work in close coordination with Oxfam that is implementing a complementary DIPECHO project in the Caribbean¹⁴. This project will share and disseminate its finding thru important regional events such as the Comprehensive Disaster Management conference that will take place in December 2017 in Bahamas, that will be a mid-point meeting for programming project activities and planning for effective handover. UNDP will coordinate efforts with Oxfam and regional partners in organizing the final High-level ministerial meeting for handover that will include the donor community.

International and Regional Frameworks

International and regional DRR frameworks will help guide this intervention, for more effective actions aligned to global and regional priorities.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 was adopted at the UN World Conference on DRR in March 2015. The framework aims to “prevent new and reduce existing disaster risk through the implementation of integrated and inclusive economic, structural, legal, social, health, cultural, educational, environmental, technological, political and institutional measures that prevent and reduce hazard exposure and vulnerability to disaster, increase preparedness for response and recovery, and thus strengthen resilience”. Priority areas for action include 1) Understanding disaster risk, 2) Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk, 3) Investing in Disaster Risk Reduction for resilience, 4) Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to “build back better” in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.

One of the 7 global targets of the framework, specifically refers to EWS aiming to “Substantially increase the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information and assessments to people by 2030” through adequate and sustainable support. Under Priority 1, the framework highlights the importance to “enhance the development and dissemination of science-based methodologies and tools to record and share disaster losses and relevant disaggregated data and statistics, as well as to strengthen disaster risk modelling, assessment, mapping, monitoring and multi-hazard early warning systems”. In addition, under Priority 4 the framework acknowledges that “the steady growth of disaster risk, including the increase of people and assets exposure, combined with the lessons learned from past disasters, indicates the need to further strengthen disaster preparedness for response, take action in anticipation of events, integrate disaster risk reduction in response preparedness and ensure that capacities are in place for effective response and recovery at all level”. It specifically highlights the importance to “invest in, develop, maintain and strengthen people-centred multi-hazard, multi-sectoral forecasting and early warning systems, disaster risk and emergency communications mechanisms, social technologies and hazard-monitoring telecommunications systems; develop such systems through a participatory process; tailor them to the needs of users, including social and cultural requirements, in particular gender; promote the application of simple and low-cost early warning equipment and facilities; and broaden release channels for natural disaster early warning information.”

At a regional level, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) spearheaded the adoption of a strategic Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Framework for 2014-2024, with an aim to integrate disaster management considerations into the development planning and decision making process of CDEMA's Participating States (PSs). The CDM Regional Goal is “Safer, more resilient and sustainable CDEMA Participating States through Comprehensive Disaster Management”, to be achieved through four Priority Areas: 1) Strengthen institutional arrangements for CDM; 2) Increased and sustained knowledge management and learning for CDM; 3) Improved integration of CDM at sectoral level; 4) Strengthened and sustained community resilience.

This project mainstreams the CDM Strategy through alignment with CDM Priorities 2 and 4. The project will “increase and sustain knowledge management and learning for CDM” through promotion of knowledge exchange and transfer as part of horizontal transfer. Early warning continues to be an integral aspect of the Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management approach. This is a priority strategically at the regional level (4.3 of the CDM Framework). The project further contributes to CDM priority 4, through strengthening community and national EWS integration (Regional Outcome 4.3), contributing to the establishment of a comprehensive understanding and approach to EWS in the region; this is to be measured by CDM Indicators 22 and 23 of RO 4.3: “the number of PS that completed a multi-hazard communication strategy at community level” (CDM Target: 18 PS by 2024) and “the number of PS with appropriate multi-hazard EWS” (CDM Target: 9 PS by 2024), two indicators to which this project will contribute.

Recognizing the vulnerability to disasters and the link between disaster management and sustainable development, the regional CDM framework advances measurable achievement towards DRR. Translating this framework into action means strengthening local, national and regional institutions to manage disasters and improving community resilience.

Gender Integration

The project will have a gender-sensitive approach, to ensure gender mainstreaming in all project activities. Women and men, at various ages, are affected in different ways from disasters, as they have distinct socially prescribed roles which influences daily activities. EWS needs to take this into account to ensure effective risk assessment, communication and response measures. Gender and other vulnerability factors will be included in the checklist and community assessment criteria¹⁵; needs of women and specific vulnerable groups will be taken into account during the revision and selection of tools proposed to enhance the integrated EWS, as well as in the improvement of the online and Community-based Early Warning toolkit oolkit and training. Information, institutional arrangements and warning communication systems should be tailored to meet the needs of vulnerable groups, such as people with disabilities and women at a community level. Gender is a critical factor to be considered in various activities, such as the identification of tools for the national inventory, the selection of tools proposed to enhance the integrated EWS. The gaps and barriers analysis and validation at each country level should include the gender perspective, to ensure that the, proposal of solutions packages, the roadmap process and the prioritization of concrete actions to be implemented address also their specific needs. Concrete solutions addressing EWS gaps should indeed have a gender analysis in order to propose specific solutions for women and vulnerable groups, as necessary. The project will take into account gender in the establishment of the baseline for measuring tool awareness and use. The project will also ensure that there will be a balanced number of women and men during the workshops, trainings and sharing knowledge events. The UNDP Gender Team will assist with the development of a gender strategy for the project.