World Humanitarian Day: Where we stand as an organization

Over the years, Pragya has worked to provide immediate relief in the form of material assistance and initiated long-term rehabilitation during the floods in Leh, India in 2010, the floods in North India in 2013, the floods in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir in 2014, and the devastating earthquake that struck Nepal on 2015. As a development organization that carries out humanitarian work among marginalized communities in remote regions, we find ourselves privy to a unique perspective. Pragya is currently working in tribal and border regions in 8 states across India. Floods occurring in two of these states – Assam and Bihar – has led to the displacement of 4.2 million people. Our long and deep engagement with people in these remote communities has enabled us to understand the many ways in which disaster further affects the socially marginalized  groups in many of these regions.

In Kishanganj district of Bihar, which saw the worst floods in 30 years, members of the Scheduled Tribes were the worst-affected, the little possessions they had destroyed, and in some instances, these communities found themselves sidelined from relief efforts. The response by humanitarian agencies cannot afford to ignore the social challenges like these: exclusion, discrimination and inability to access basic services - that these communities present.

Increasing incidence of natural disasters present a unique challenge to developing countries in the global south: limited access to resources and the high density of population in rural areas  resulting in the displacement of a large populace. Increasingly, the effects of these disasters are felt across borders. The Brahmaputra, responsible for seasonal floods in Assam, is a transnational river that crosses the border of three countries before emptying into the Bay of Bengal; the Koshi river, which originates in the Tibetan Autonomous region, drains the Himalayas in Nepal before crossing into the plains in Bihar, India. A change in the ecological system – deforestation, construction of hydel power stations –  in the upper reaches cause excessive depositing of sediments downstream leading to widespread flooding. Hence the need to reduce the risk from these disasters at the grassroots level, and enhance cooperation across political borders to ensure exchange of information and resources is vital.

The UN secretary General Ban Ki-moon has listed five core agendas in the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016. As an organization working in the Global South, straddling the development and humanitarian sectors, the Core Responsibility #4 “Working differently to end Need” with the motto “Reinforce, Anticipate and Transcend” resonates the most with us. In 2016, Pragya began piloting a citizen-based early-warning system, “DRRIS”, that works with local communities, and government organizations to provide early warning and effective post disaster response. The innovation was showcased at the World Humanitarian Summit held in Turkey, Istanbul in May this year. In accordance with the stipulations of Responsibility #4, “DRRIS” does not seek to replace the national disaster-response system that is in place, and it does not wait for crises to occur. We have been engaging with diverse state and non-state actors to pool resources, exchange information, and enable better response in the case of disasters.

Our experience has taught us that the divide between the humanitarian and development sectors needs to be bridged. Organizations working in both the sectors have to respond to the social reality of working with communities in developing countries and the challenges presented by recurring disasters and climate change. Pragya is working to make this a reality through the various projects it implements. 

  

Addressing the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN)

In the year 2000, Ms Gargi Banerji was awarded the Whitley Gold Award for her efforts, as the Director of Pragya, toward the conservation and cultivation of medicinal plants in the Indian Himalayan region. The award brought us international recognition, allowing us to expand the scope of the project, which received continued funding in 2003 and 2005. We collaborated with the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) in a landmark five-year ‘Water Access and Wasteland Development project’ that was completed in 2011.

Ms Banerji visited the Whitley Fund for Nature in London this June, 16 years after being conferred the Whitley Gold, to deliver a talk on the work that Pragya is doing; the interleaving years have seen Pragya increase the ambit of its work to integrate livelihood & social development, rights & welfare, and critical technical interventions in the management of natural resources into its projects. Our growth has been mirrored in the long list of individuals and conservation projects associated with the WFN today - a testament to its influence.

Pragya has long been involved in the Himalayan region of the subcontinent, and when the region was struck by a series of disasters - the Uttarakhand floods of 2013, the J&K floods of 2014, the Nepal Earthquake of 2015 - we immediately moved to mobilize resources to provide rescue and relief. Our experience of work to provide relief in the aftermath of each of these events deeply impressed upon us the need for a comprehensive, grassroots plan to mitigate the effect of disasters, an aspect that was highlighted in the framework adopted at the World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) held in Sendai, Japan in 2015.

In the remote rural regions of the world, the rampant destruction of the environment is only heightening the effects of disaster. In a world where the frequent disasters due to climate change is a reality we all face, and not the myth it was taken to be a few decades back, preparing for the next big ‘event’ is not enough. At Pragya, our goal has remained the same: to work for the conservation of sensitive ecosystems and the development of the marginalized communities, who are most affected in the event of a disaster. Our preparations to meet the challenges of natural disaster have to integrate conservation efforts to mitigate, and reduce the risk from disaster.

Addressing the WFN, Ms Banerji spoke about Pragya’s work at the grassroots in this regard, working with members from the local community to reduce the vulnerability to disasters by piloting an ‘Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction Approach’ that uses conservation efforts to increase the health of local ecosystems in a bid to naturally reduce the effect of disasters.

A brief overview of the Disaster Management System in India

India is a disaster-prone country, unique in its disposition towards the elements: a prolonged drought and heat waves of record-breaking temperatures are followed, or even co-exist with floods due to heavy rainfall in parts of the country. The focus in India has been of relief and rescue after the fact of disaster; the legislation establishing government agencies were enacted after the occurrence of a major natural disaster.

A case in point: the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA) came into existence after the Earthquake of 2001, and it was only after the 2004 Tsunami that the DM Act of 2005 was passed, which paved the way for establishing the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Disaster Management Authorities at the national, state and district levels.

The UN Climate Change conference in Paris, France and the third world conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) held in Sendai, Japan in 2015 addressed the threat posed by climate-change and natural-disasters. The National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) released by the Prime Minister on 1 June 2016, which focuses on all the phases of disaster management - prevention, mitigation, response and recovery - is a step in a new direction.

The framework of the DM Plan of 2005 established a response-centric, bureaucratic system that relied heavily on national level response, with the local institutions inadequately prepared to immediately respond to the challenges of natural disasters. This was evident in the floods in Uttarakhand in 2013 and the Chennai floods of 2015, where the effects of the disaster was heightened by reckless development, lack of early-warning systems or risk mapping.

The NDMP, with its emphasis on reducing risk and mitigating disaster, means that India has voluntarily put the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction into action. Another key aspect of the NDMP is the integration of risk reduction at all levels of the government, and more importantly, an increased engagement with civil society and grassroots organizations working in the field of Disaster Management.

Pragya recently participated in a dialogue organized by the NDMA with members of civil society and other government organizations, where we presented the DMS-Himalaya, a disaster management manual based our experience in responding to floods in Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir in 2013 and 2014 respectively. The recommendations made in the manual, including a grassroots, citizen-based early warning systems are to be piloted in the districts of Uttarakhand in the coming year.

Pragya to participate in the first ever World Humanitarian Summit at Istanbul, Turkey

Pragya has been invited to participate in the World Humanitarian Summit to be held at Istanbul, as well as to showcase its innovation on Disaster Management at the Innovation Marketplace at the event.

The first-ever World Humanitarian Summit is a global call to action by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The Secretary-General has called for a global response to address the suffering of millions of women, men and children affected by humanitarian crisis. The first-ever World Humanitarian Summit is an opportunity to confront these global challenges head-on and generate greater global leadership and political will to end conflict, alleviate suffering and reduce risk. The Summit will take place on 23-24 May 2016 at the Istanbul Congress Center (ICC) and the Lutfi Kirdar Convention and Exhibition Center (LKCC) in Istanbul, Turkey.

The main Summit programme will include High-Level Leaders' Roundtables on priority action areas outlined in the Secretary-General’s Report; Special Sessions on specific thematic areas; and a Summit Announcement Plenary for Member States and other stakeholders to announce action commitments. A number of side events will be available to different stakeholders to organize briefings, seminars, workshops and panel discussions, in parallel to the World Humanitarian Summit main proceedings. 

The World Humanitarian Summit Exhibition Fair, held in the ICC, is dedicated to showcasing the work, products, and programmes of governments, organizations, agencies, companies, and other institutions in support of humanitarian action. The Innovation Marketplace will showcase the practical applications of innovations, new or improved products, tools, services and processes that contribute to effective humanitarian action. Special emphasis will be placed on small-scale innovations with high-impact from under-represented communities. 

For more information on the Summit:
https://consultations.worldhumanitariansummit.org/

For more information on Pragya:
http://www.pragya.org