Paper details
| Paper authors | Laura E. R. Peters, Erin Coughlan de Perez, Jamon Van Den Hoek, Nirajan Dhakal |
| In panel on | Disaster Risk Reduction in Fragile, Conflict-Affected, and Vulnerable (FCV) Contexts: Strategies for Protracted Crises |
| Paper presenter(s) will be presenting |
In-Person / |
Abstract
The humanitarian sector is underprepared for the increasing pace of disasters. Even before recent changes and uncertainties for global humanitarian funding, the UN High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) regularly received only about a third of its global budget request, leading to cuts in essential services for people displaced by armed conflict, violence, and persecution. Humanitarian organizations like UNHCR train their staff for disasters using scenario exercises that are based on historical information, but in a changing climate and with dynamic vulnerabilities, past experience is not a good predictor for what could happen today or in the future. The new Foresight project brings together an interdisciplinary academic team in partnership with UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations to improve disaster risk management by providing scenarios of new and compound risk in UNHCR-managed refugee camps. This codeveloped research builds on a local systems approach to engage the multiple, interconnected, and networked mutual support systems people depend on before, during, and after disasters. We evaluate opportunities for UNHCR to make decisions in ways that optimize coordination opportunities and strengthen coping capacities, while also taking stock of the extreme challenges they face to even meet everyday needs. Rather than highlight the root causes of vulnerabilities that require systemic transformation, this presentation brings into focus how humanitarian organizations may inadvertently contribute to the creation of chronic and dynamic vulnerabilities, and explores actionable strategies for how humanitarian organizations can short circuit these cycles of risk. Included in the presentation are reflections on the challenges and opportunities to incorporate insights into scenario planning with and for our partners.
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