Nature-Based Solutions (Dec 2022)
Assessing efficiency of disaster management institutions at local level in the coastal region of Bangladesh
Abstract
The present study builds the existing scenarios of the Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) through in-depth investigation for further exploration of policy instruments as well as amendment of Standing Orders on Disaster and scopes the disaster risk reduction of the NBS journal. The objectives were to investigate the efficiency and role of local institutions with three (pre, during and post) phases of disaster risk reduction, considering three pillars (social, economic and environmental) of sustainability and to investigate the satisfaction level of local communities over the activities of local institutions round the year. Considering the cyclone and storm surge vulnerabilities, three coastal villages from three different coastal districts of Bangladesh were selected purposively to collect primary data through household questionnaire survey and key informants’ interviews. Besides, secondary data were also collected from various government and non-governmental sources. Both descriptive and inferential statistics are used to analyze data. The findings of this study present diverse institutional efficiency of different study locations at different phases of disasters. At pre-disaster period, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) provide services more efficiently than Union Parisad (UP) and Red Crescent Society (RCS) in the study area. Cyclone Preparedness Program (CPP) volunteers disseminate early warning massages at pre-disaster period more efficiently than any other institutions but most of the people ignore the warning massages and hardly take the decision for seeking refugee to cyclone shelter during disaster. At post-disaster stage, UP and NGOs cannot play appropriate role due to bureaucratic complexities, corruption and nepotism of local government. However, the present study findings expected to provide useful guidelines to the concerned policy maker for ensuring sustainable disaster management in the coastal regions of Bangladesh.
