Paper details

Paper authors	Jerome Galagade, Nishant Das
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 / Online

Abstract

This study explores how integrated humanitarian interventions can strengthen resilience in contexts where climate disasters intersect with protracted conflict, drawing on lessons from the Somalia Resilience Program (SomReP, 2019–2024). In Somalia, a context marked by recurrent droughts, floods, and escalating violence (32% of households cited conflict as their primary shock by 2024), SomReP’s multisectoral approach addressed compound risks by design. The program embedded conflict sensitivity into disaster response, training community-based Resource Infrastructure and Resilience Committees (RIRCs) to mediate disputes over scarce resources like water and grazing land, which were major drivers of violence during climate shocks. These committees, initially formed to manage shared infrastructure, became platforms for inclusive decision-making, reducing clan tensions and demonstrating how resilience programs can be scaled through existing local governance structures. Drawn from a mixed-methods impact evaluation across intervention and comparison sites, findings show that integrating these strategies with multi-hazard Early Warning Systems, delivered via community alerts, SMS, and radio, reached nearly two-thirds of households (64%), with most (85%) taking preventive action. This was enabled by risk communication and preparedness training for Early Warning Committees, RIRCs and local leaders. Together with livelihood diversification and conflict-sensitive resource management, these interventions improved household recovery and strengthened long-term resilience compared to non-intervention areas. However, improvements in short-term coping mechanisms were more limited, underscoring the trade-offs in protracted crises. The study highlights three actionable insights: (1) coordinating disaster and conflict responses through hybrid governance mechanisms such as decentralized early warning systems; (2) designing interventions to address dual risks, for example, pairing infrastructure development with resource-sharing protocols; and (3) prioritizing long-term adaptive capacity over short-term relief. By leveraging local institutions like RIRCs, SomReP offers a replicable model for operationalizing resilience in fragile settings, challenging conventional humanitarian silos and advocating for anticipatory, governance-linked approaches at the disaster–conflict nexus.

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