Natural Disaster Preparedness

and Education for Sustainable Development

UNESCO Bangkok
The Asia-Pacific Programme of Educational
Innovation for Development
Education for Sustainable Development Nikolaos Vasilikoudis a.k.a Lucretious
Anticipating, educating and
informing are the keys to
reducing the deadly effect
of such natural disasters.
Unfortunately such activities
have not been given priority.
UNESCO Director-General Kochiro Matsuura, 3 January 2005Natural Disaster
Preparedness and
Education for Sustainable
DevelopmentNatural Disaster Preparedness and Education for Sustainable
Development. Bangkok:
UNESCO Bangkok, 2007.
viii + 67 pp.
1. Natural Disasters. 2. Disaster preparedness. 3. Education. 4. Sustainable
development. 5. Country reports.
ISBN 92-9223-103-0
Photographs and images provided by:
Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO
Syed Zakir Hossain
Alia Lesmana
Lubna Moosa (Insight Consultancy Service)
UNDP Bangladesh
UNESCO Bangkok

UNESCO Jakarta
UNESCO New Delhi
Nikolaos Vasilikoudis a.k.a Lucretious
This publication can be downloaded from:
www.unescobkk.org/index.php?id=e-publications
UNESCO 2007
Published by the
UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education
920 Sukhumvit Rd., Prakanong
Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Front cover photo: Nikolaos Vasilikoudis a.k.a Lucretious
Printed in Thailand
The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the
publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of
UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its
authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries.
APE/ESD/07/OP/006-2000
C OAcknowledgements i
Foreword ii
Asian Disaster Preparedness Center iv
Introduction vi
Country Reports 1
Maldives Country Report 3
Introduction 4
Activities 5
Lessons Learned 6
Project Beneficiaries 7
The Way Forward 7

Annex: Photographic Summary of Existing School

Disaster Risk 8
Thailand Country Report 13
Introduction 14
Activities 15
Lessons Learned 15
The Way Forward 16
Indonesia Country Report 19
Introduction 20
Activities 20
Lessons Learned 25
Conclusion 25
India Country Report 27
Introduction 28
Project: Community Based Disaster Preparedness
Study 28
Consultation with the Community 28
Outcomes of the Project 30
Challenges 32
The Way Forward 32
Conclusions 33
Bangladesh Red Crescent Society 35
Introduction 36
Activities 36
Conclusion 38
Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO
(ACCU) 41
Background 42

Lessons Learned 47
Conclusion 48
Summary: Lessons Learned 51
Introduction 52
Lessons Learned By The Country Teams 52
The Future of Education for Natural Disaster
Preparedness in Asia-Pacific in the Context of
Education for Sustainable Development 54
Regional Workshop on Educational
Materials for Education for Natural Disaster
Preparedness in Asia-Pacific in the Context
of Education for Sustainable Development
(ESD) 57
Introduction 58
Workshop Overview 58
Information Sharing 58
Work Groups 59
Conclusions 61
Bibliography: References on Natural
Disaster Preparedness 63
References Cited 64
Further Reading 64
Toolkits 66
Websites 66
Natural Disaster Resources 66
Disaster Specific Resources 66
NTENTS UNESCO / S. Chaiyasook 5i
Acknowledgements

UNESCO Bangkok would first like to thank the many contributors to this
publication
who dedicated their expertise as well as their time: Hamid Sodique, Maldives
National
Commission for UNESCO; Care Society and Insight Consultancy Service; Ampai
Harakunarak, Thailand Environment Institute; Hendrawan Soetanto, University
of Brawijaya, Indonesia; D. Jayalakshmi and T.R. Gopalakrishnan, University of
Madras, India; Tamami Zaha, Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU); and
Md. Nasir Ullah and Md. Ruhul Amin Sikder, Bangladesh Red Crescent Society.
Earl
Kessler, James Bennett and Roopa Rakshit from our major partner, the Asian
Disaster
Preparedness Center (ADPC), did the invaluable work of collating and editing the
material that came to be this final publication for which we express our sincere
gratitude.
Thanks must go to Sheldon Shaeffer, Director of UNESCOs Asia and Pacific
Regional
Bureau for Education, for his direction and for the initiation of this project.
Special
gratitude is expressed to Tracey Mackay, Motoko Uda and Naoko Kimura, Project
Assistants for ESD at the UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education,
for
their indispensable efforts of overseeing the projects day-to-day coordination.
We
would also like to thank our colleagues Badaoui Rouhban from UNESCO Paris
(Chief,
Section for Disaster Reduction, Natural Sciences Sector); Jati Sugianto and
Alisher
Umarov from the UNESCO Office, Jakarta; and Ahmed Fahmi, Jocelyne Josiah,
Ashok
Sharma and Akemi Yonemura from the UNESCO New Delhi Office for their
ongoing
support and enthusiasm thus ensuring the regional coverage and local inputs of
this

project.
The generous sponsorship of the Japanese Funds-in-Trust of the Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Government of Japan
made the project possible. Their continued support for furthering the efforts of
ESD has offered the opportunity for many projects to be launched and
successfully
completed under the coordination of UNESCO Bangkok. We also thank the Swiss
contributors to the April 2005 campaign Education for Natural Disaster
Preparedness
launched in agreement with the Swiss National Commission for UNESCO.ii
Foreword
The earthquake and subsequent tsunami on 26 December 2004 devastated
communities in coastal regions, primarily in Indonesia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka,
India
and Thailand. Nineteen months later, Indonesia experienced a second tsunami
which
destroyed villages and livelihoods. The governments of disaster affected
countries
have called for strengthened disaster preparedness to prevent such debilitating
outcomes in the future.
In the wake of the 2004 tsunami, numerous assessment teams began gathering
information on its impact on communities and the environment. The focus of
activity in Thailand and other countries directly after the disaster was naturally
on
relief. However, the implementation of many activities was undertaken only with
short-term needs in mind while problems of longer-term social, environmental
and
economic unsustainability were already becoming evident. The Hyogo
Framework
for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to
Disasters

(adopted at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction, 18-22 January 2005,

Kobe,
Hyogo, Japan) identifies education, coupled with sustainable management and
planning, as the only effective long-term solution to prepare for, and alleviate,
future
tsunamis and other natural disasters.
Significantly, the disaster has served to highlight the importance of local and
traditional
knowledge in the region. There are accounts in Thailand, for example, of sea
gypsy
communities that escaped the tsunami based on such knowledge (Rungmanee &
Cruz, 2005). These and other traditional approaches should be seriously
considered
and utilized in future education initiatives for disaster preparedness.
Sustainable development is undermined by the occurrence or threat of disasters.
The Director General of UNESCO, Mr. Kochiro Matsuura, highlighted the
significant
role of education in improving the capacity of individuals and communities to
reduce the risk of disasters: anticipating, educating and informing are the keys
to
reducing the deadly effect of such natural disasters (3 January 2005, UNESCO
Press
Release).
Furthermore, UNESCO has identified education for natural disaster preparedness
as a core issue to be addressed under the Decade of Education for Sustainable
Development (DESD). ESD is a most appropriate framework for natural disaster
preparedness in three important ways:
ESD is interdisciplinary and holistic. Therefore, important consideration is given
to
the impacts on, and relationship between, society, the environment, economy
and
culture;

ESD promotes critical thinking and problem solving that is essential to the
empowerment of stakeholder groups threatened or affected by natural disasters;
and
ESD seeks to be locally relevant, acknowledging that languages and cultures say
and understand things differently, and addresses both local as well as global
issues.
This publication draws together the work completed under the Educational
Materials
for Education for Natural Disaster Preparedness in Asia-Pacific in the Context of
Education for Sustainable Development project. Natural Disaster Preparedness
and

iii
Education for Sustainable Development was produced by the UNESCO Asia and
Pacific
Regional Bureau for Education and financed by the Japanese Funds-in-Trust of the
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT),
Government
of Japan as well as the public donations raised by the citizens of Switzerland and
contributed to UNESO Bangkok by the Swiss National Commission for UNESCO.
Natural Disaster Preparedness and Education for Sustainable Development
provides
details of the development of culturally appropriate and locally relevant
educational
material for natural disaster preparedness that targets key stakeholder groups
and
integrates Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) principles and
strategies.
It is expected to develop and strengthen a regional network to implement and
further ESD initiatives throughout the region by promoting education for natural

disaster preparedness as well as ESD. This will underpin an identified key area of
the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations
and
Communities to Disasters.
Suitable indicators for measuring the long-term impact of the project must be
identified and may be distinctive to particular stakeholder groups targeted in
the project. The impact of this project will be evident from the extent to which
disaster prevention, recognition and preparedness within the framework of ESD
are
integrated into the policies and practices of targeted stakeholder groups.
Guidelines
and recommendations for the evaluation of ESD projects are contained within
UNESCOs International Implementation Scheme (IIS) for the Decade, which will
be
used to inform the long-term evaluation of this project.
The publication articulates the lessons learned by the four in-country project
teams
(i.e., the Maldives, Thailand, Indonesia and India) and two collaborating
organizations
(i.e., Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO and Bangladesh Red Crescent
Society)
in developing materials in collaboration with community groups in the AsiaPacific
region. It provides insights into effective techniques to develop locally relevant
educational materials, and highlights some of the challenges in that field.
Ideally, this undertaking will assist in setting a strategic agenda in the AsiaPacific
region to ensure education for natural disaster preparedness is firmly entrenched
in all educational contexts in the long-term. It is with great anticipation that we
hope
this publication will serve to inform, guide and inspire natural disaster
preparedness
and mitigation initiatives throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Sheldon Shaeffer
Director
UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for
Education, Bangkok, Thailandiv
Asian Disaster Preparedness Center
The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), established in 1986, is a
regional,
inter-governmental, non-profit organization based in Bangkok, Thailand. Its
mandate
is to promote safer communities and sustainable development through the
reduction
of the impact of disasters in response to the needs of countries and communities
in Asia and the Pacific. It does this by raising awareness, helping to establish and
strengthen sustainable institutional mechanisms, enhancing knowledge and
skills,
and facilitating the exchange of information, experience and expertise.
ADPC develops and implements disaster risk management programmes and
projects
by providing technical and professional services in formulating national disaster
management policies. It facilitates the development of institutional mechanisms
to support disaster risk reduction, capacity building of disaster management
institutions, programme design for comprehensive disaster risk management,
post-disaster assessment, public health and emergency management, land-use
planning, disaster-resistant construction, and the planning of immediate relief
response and subsequent rehabilitation activities.
It is time that disaster experts and practitioners take a more proactive approach
to
disaster management. In its twenty years, ADPC has responded dynamically to
the
paradigm shift in disaster management, readily and actively adjusting its
operational

strengths to address evolving developments, and structuring its technical focus

on
disaster risk management.
This vigorous and comprehensive approach is further reinforced by ensuring a
more
prepared and aware community through education and awareness-raising
initiatives
with schools and colleges. This is complemented by ADPCs significant
contribution
to education sectors in countries of the region, to name a few:
The School Earthquake Safety Programme in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal
Creating Earthquake Preparedness in Schools in Indonesia
Towards Technological Hazard Risk Reduction in Ahmedabad, India
Mine Risk Education Program in Thailand
Curriculum Development in Lao PDR
Capacity-building in Asia using Information Technology Applications (CASITA)
Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management into Development (MDRD) in Asia
Flood Emergency Management Strengthening in Lower Mekong Basin Countries
Programme for Hydro-Meteorological Disaster Mitigation in Secondary Cities in
Asia
ADPC through this current partnership with UNESCO strives to promote a culture
of preparedness and prevention by promoting and supporting the mainstreaming
of education of disaster risk reduction. Cultural approaches and paradigms
must be taught early to have real success. This project has shared innovative
and
stimulating educational materials and programmes for schools by linking risk
reduction curricula to public awareness programmes. Several other initiatives
such
as educational presentations, displays and bulletin boards, print and electronic
media, radio and television, and any other medium in which disaster safety is
communicated to educate and raise awareness about specific hazards can be

opportunities for new partnerships and projects that encourage and educate

v
children to be a proactive force in reducing risk in their communities. An ideal
vision
is that education be made an integral part of long-term development strategy in
disaster risk management.
ADPC is appreciative and pledges its commitment to UNESCOs challenge to
communicate, disseminate information for education, and collate the production
of relevant educational materials in disaster prevention and preparedness that
integrate important principles of ESD. Let us work together towards a common
goal
of a more educated and prepared community in disaster risk reduction.
Bhichit Rattakul
Executive Director
Asian Disaster Preparedness Centervi
Introduction
The Educational Materials for Education for Natural Disaster Preparedness in
Asia-Pacific in the Context of Education for Sustainable Development project has
brought together in-country teams, collaborating organizations, UNESCO and the
Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) to develop natural disaster
preparedness

educational materials for the Asia-Pacific region.

This regional project focused on gathering, developing and disseminating
information from key stakeholders in the Asia-Pacific countries most affected by
the Indian Ocean tsunami. This included briefings in Bangkok, Thailand, Jakarta,
Indonesia and New Delhi, India with staff from UNESCO and UN partner agencies
as
well as key stakeholders in Indonesia, India, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and
Thailand.
The goal of this project was to develop the preparedness of local marginalized
stakeholder groups towards natural disaster prevention, recognition and
preparedness. UNESCO Bangkok aimed to employ ESD as a framework to engage
new partners in order to facilitate holistic and critical thinking as well as
problemsolving in local communities threatened or affected by natural disasters.
The project
focused on improving planning for relief and recovery using a bottom-up
approach
that highlights the importance of coordination and communication among
stakeholder groups at all levels.
The principle objectives of this initiative were:
Communication and dissemination of information to inform education and policy
formulation for natural disaster prevention, recognition and preparedness; and
Production of locally relevant educational materials in natural disaster
prevention,
recognition and preparedness that integrate important principles of ESD and are
adaptable to different sectors and stakeholders.
The research methodology used to conduct the analysis of existing materials
included consultation both with Ministries of Education and with carefully
selected
key environmental organizations with knowledge and expertise in education for
sustainable development in Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, the Maldives, Sri
Lanka,

and Thailand as well as in other natural disaster prone countries of the region
such as Japan. Organizations and individuals who contributed to the project were
already involved in disaster reduction education, post-tsunami management and
assessment at the local level, and were in a position to identify which potential
natural disasters could occur (e.g., floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, fires,
typhoons,
etc.), what effect they have and how damage can be minimized.
In developing their projects, the teams learned that:
Collaboration and Consultation are essential to correctly identify needs and
gaps,
learn about a communitys preferred learning styles and develop ongoing
support
for their projects.
Affected Communities are Keen to Help natural disaster affected communities
want to be involved in projects that will lessen the impact of future natural
disasters.
They must be viewed as a valuable resource rather than passive recipients of
donor
aid.
1.
2.

vii
Language Barriers it is important to use local languages effectively in order
to deliver natural disaster preparedness messages. However in doing so, the
universality of the project may be lost. A lack of natural disaster preparedness
terminology in local languages inhibits effective natural disaster preparedness
communication.
Culture and Religion require sensitivity in order to develop innovative
approaches
that can build upon local culture and religion and promote communication and

understanding where certain cultural beliefs and practices may present obstacles
to natural disaster preparedness.
Government/Programmatic Support is important to develop sustainable,
ongoing commitment to local stakeholder initiatives. This can be at the national
or
local government levels and can include policy, financial or coordination efforts.
The project used a three tier-collaborative model to develop activities. The
international community provided funding, coordination and expertise to
incountry national teams who collaborated with local communities to identify
needs
and develop appropriate approaches to fill those gaps. The teams developed a
wide range of products, from a board game to policy documents, in response to
the
context specific issues that they identified through country workshops. This
variety
is indicative of the teams abilities to identify the needs of their target
community
and to develop creative educational innovation for natural disaster preparedness.
The teams came together to discuss their completed projects with regional
agencies
at a workshop on 1 June 2006 in Bangkok, Thailand. Through presentation
sessions
and group discussions, they were able to share their experiences with disaster
and
education practitioners in the region. The key conclusions drawn regarded the
role
of collaboration in identifying needs, various community learning preferences,
and
engendering support within the community to build commitment for long-term
educational support.
Derek Elias
Programme Specialist
Education for Sustainable Development

Technical and Vocational Education and Training

UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for
Education, Bangkok, Thailand

Country Reports
The following six reports outline the experiences of the four in-country ESD
development teams (implementers of the Education for Natural Disaster
Preparedness
in Asia-Pacific in the Context of Education for Sustainable Development project)
and
two collaborating organizations working in the field of ESD in natural disaster
preparedness.
The in-country teams were:
Maldives Maldives National Commission for UNESCO, Ministry of Education
School Disaster Risk Management Policy
Thailand Thailand Environment Institute (TEI), Nonthaburi, Thailand Landslide
Education Video
Indonesia Institute for Educational Studies And Development, Brawijaya
University Disaster Master: Natural Disaster Preparedness Game, and Folding
Pictures Kit
India University of Madras Community Based Disaster Preparedness Study
The two collaborating organizations were:
Bangladesh Red Crescent Society Cyclone Preparedness Programme
Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU) PLANET 4 Educational Material
on
Natural Disasters
The reports below provide information on the activities undertaken by the teams,
lessons that they have learned, beneficiaries of their activities, and the way
forward

for ESD in natural disaster preparedness. A summary of the lessons learned and
conclusions drawn from this project is included later in this publication.

Insight Consultancy Service / Lubna MoosaMaldives Country Report

Maldives National Commission for UNESCO, Ministry of Education4
Introduction
The Maldives is an archipelago of 1,200 islands of which
200 are inhabited. In the past, the Maldives had been
exposed to moderate levels of natural disasters and had
an ad hoc emergency response system until the tsunami
of 2004.
The Indian Ocean Tsunami of 26 December 2004, the worst
natural disaster in the history of the Maldives, affected
the entire country. All but nine islands were flooded and
13 islands were totally evacuated. The disaster claimed
82 lives, left 26 people missing and displaced over 15,000
people (about 5.5 per cent of the population). The tragedy
shattered the livelihoods of a third of the population
causing widespread trauma and distress.
This tragedy awakened the country to the need
for national level strategies for disaster prevention,
recognition and preparedness. It re-emphasized the
inherent vulnerability of the country to environmental
disasters and created new urgencies in setting up

stronger mitigation measures.

In 2005, the Cabinet recommended that a formal
structure for disaster management be established for
the first time and consequently the National Disaster
Management Centre (NDMC) was made a permanent
organ of the Government. Since then, the Government
has formulated a Draft National Disaster Management
Policy, and it envisages that every ministry, department
and public corporation must prepare its own disaster
management plan.
In line with the national disaster preparedness policies,
the Ministry of Education of Maldives aims to establish a
disaster preparedness policy for island schools.
The current project, funded by the Japanese Fundsin-Trust through UNESCO
Bangkok and the ADPC,
availed the services of local consultantsfor the Maldives
to prepare a preliminary document that covers the
necessary background material required to formulate a
comprehensive disaster preparedness policy for island
schools.
Insight Consultancy Service / Lubna Moosa
The observed modes of transportation to schools were walking, bicycles or
privately operated buses.5
Activities
Schools as Gateways for Education for
Natural Disaster Preparedness
The Maldives has a young population; close to 45 per
cent of the population is under 18 years old with a great
majority enrolled in schools. According to the 2005 official

statistics, there were 102,073 students enrolled in 334

schools across the Maldives and 5,616 teachers teaching
students in those schools. Thus, more than 40 per cent of
the total population (270,101) is directly engaged in the
schools on any given school day.
In addition, schools have a strong bond with the
community through the active engagement of the
Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) in school affairs.
Photo Captions:
1-2:The tsunami of 2004 passing through an island.
3: A school just 10 metres from shore destroyed by the
tsunami.
4: High tide flooding a school near the shore.
12
34
Moreover, with the very limited public infrastructure on
the islands, schools are not only a place for the students:
they also serve as the islands multi-purpose convention
centres where community activities, meetings and public
events are held.
The Maldives, being a country with a population of
less than 300,000 living on some 200 tiny islands, is
characterizedby closely-knit island communities. Schools
are an important cornerstone of their daily life.
Thus, because of the strong link between schools and
the wider community, schools can be an ideal starting
point for the formulation and implementation of
disaster preparedness policies, dissemination of disaster

preparedness information and establishing emergency

procedures.
Insight Consultancy Service / Lubna Moosa6
Identifying Priorities
Initial consultative meetings were held with the officials
of the Ministry of Education. It was decided that the first
step towards disaster preparedness education through
schools would be to formulate a disaster preparedness
policy for schools.
It was also decided that UNESCOs assistance be used
to recruit two local consultants to conduct a school
vulnerability assessment and produce a preliminary
report which would serve as a basis for developing a
policy framework for disaster preparedness. UNESCOs
assistance was used to develop a policy guideline for the
Ministry of Education of Maldives with the help of Care
Society (a local NGO) and Insight Consultancy Service
(ICS; a local consultancy firm).
Development Process
The project team did commendable work through
consultation and feedback from the relevant stakeholders
including the Ministry of Education, National Disaster
Management Centre, international NGOs, and parents,
teachers, school administrators and students from
selected schools.
The archipelagic nature of the country makes inter-island
transportation and logistics difficult and expensive.
Therefore, the project team was able to visit only a

handful of schools within the available time and budget

and was unable to conduct a thorough assessment of the
vulnerability of each school across all of the inhabited
atolls. However it did manage to gain a good impression
of many of the potential risks facing schools in the
Maldives.
Following the tsunami of 2004, disaster preparedness is
on everyones priority agenda and thus, the team received
full cooperation from all stakeholders.
Lessons Learned
A low probability of hazard occurrence yet high
vulnerability due to the geographical, topographical
and socio-economic factors of the islands exposes
the Maldives to a moderate level of risk overall. Hence,
it is critical that specific policies and measures are
implemented to reduce the level of vulnerability in order
to avoid a disproportionate scale of losses and damage.
The most important lesson learned from the consultations and feedback for
material development was
that education for disaster preparedness is an endless
process that requires a constant collaborative effort from
all parties concerned. The project team had discussions
with officials from the government sector, NGOs, island
chiefs, school administrators and teachers. Meetings at
the islands were conducted in a relaxed environment at a
time and a place convenient to the respondents.
Following the 2004 tsunami that shocked the entire
country, people are eager to learn about the potential
for disasters and how to prepare themselves for such

occurrences. The term Disaster Preparedness (DP)

itself was new to Maldivians who only started hearing
such terms as mitigation, risk reduction and disaster
preparedness after the tsunami. When the project team
was carrying out their work in the islands, there were
requests for DP workshops. After the tsunami, DP was
incorporated into every possible project carried out by the
Government, NGOs and community-based organizations
(CBOs). The Government has established a permanent
National Disaster Management Centre and the United
Nations has established the International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction (ISDR) to build on partnerships and
take a global approach to disaster reduction.
Overcoming the language barrier posed a difficult
challenge as most of the DP terminologies did not have
equivalent terms in the local Divehi language. As a result
the team members had to go into long explanations to
communicate their messages. As DP involves scientific
and specific terminologies, this is a challenge for any party
who wishes to produce local materials. Standard local
terms may have to be developed and used by all parties
involved in disaster preparedness to minimize message
confusion and facilitate effective communication with
the public.
Maldivians have strong religious faith. This may be the
reason why some respondents argued that a natural
disaster is an act of God and however much we try, we
cannot prepare for it. It was difficult to convince them that

in preparing for disasters, people may be acting with the

will of God rather than against it. Others are still in denial
of disasters and believe that a large-scale disaster such
as the tsunami will not happen again. Thus, educational
initiatives should address not only how people should
prepare for natural disasters but also why they should be
prepared for them.7
Project Beneficiaries
The directive for a policy framework produced through
the project serves as an important reference for anyone
who wishes to produce disaster preparedness and
education materials in the Maldivian context. The
report, Formulating a Disaster Preparedness Policy for
Schools in Maldives: Reduce, Ready, Respond and Recoverr,
points out the risks and inherent vulnerabilities of
the country by first conducting a situational analysis
through examining hazards, situations in schools, the
organizational framework for disaster management
at the national level, and expected outcomes/outputs
from ongoing complementary projects/programmes
by intergovernmental organizations and NGOs. Key
recommendations are then given for each of the basic
components identified for a policy framework which
are based on the need to: 1) make disaster reduction a
priority; 2) know the risks andbe prepared to take action;
3) reduce the risk; 4) be ready to act; 5) be responsive;
and 6) plan for recovery. Two cross-cutting components,
stakeholder engagement and capacity-building, link

the six basic components. The roles and responsibilities

of stakeholders; training, education and awareness
needs; as well as recommendations on how to raise the
understanding of risks, reducing risks, preparedness,
response and recovery through formal and informal
education are elaborated upon.
The document highlights the current situation at schools
pointing to the fact that children are very vulnerable to
disasters. By making schools a safer environment, island
communities can substantially reduce risk and loss arising
from disasters.
The project has produced an important guideline and
reference for the Ministry of Education. The Ministry is
currently in the process of drafting an Education Act,
and the project has highlighted the importance of
reflecting school safety issues in the Act. It also gives
impetus and direction for incorporating education for
disaster preparedness into the school curriculum and cocurricular activities.
The Way Forward
The policy document is currently being circulated
through the relevant departments of the Ministry of
Education (Policy Planning, School Supervision, School
Administration, Physical Facilities Development, and
Curriculum Department) for their consideration and
feedback. Thedocument will then beusedasthebasis for
developing a disaster preparedness policy for schools.
Based on the policy document, individual schools will
be asked to develop school-specific safety policies and

procedures.
The Ministry of Education will follow up to explore how the
suggestions made in the ICS report can be incorporated
into school curriculum and student activities, and
consider the safety measures that should be incorporated
into physical planning and infrastructure of schools.
The National Disaster Management Centre, Island Offices
and CBOs will need to be consulted to decide and agree
on the specific role of schools in disaster management
and community education for disaster preparedness.
In order to realize the next steps, it will be imperative that
funding follows from the regular government budget and
donor agencies for the implementation of the planned
programmes and activities.8
Annex: Photographic Summary of Existing School
Disaster Risk
The Vision Statement of Haa Dhaal Atoll Education Centre,
HDh.Kulhudhuffushi
To promote a safe, nurturing environment that emphasizes respect, responsibility
and selfdiscipline by promoting individual self esteem and fostering positive
behaviour and attitudes.
Every individual in the school is considered a unique person of value, with the
collaboration of
the community in the Islamic culture in accordance with the challenging world.
34
12
Photo Captions:
1: Ameer Ameen Pre-School, HDh.Kulhudhuffushi has high walls and one exit for
the children.
2: Ameer Ameen Pre-School, HDh.Kulhudhuffushi Playground

3-4: Haa Dhaal Atoll Education Centre, HDh.Kulhudhuffushi High voltage

substation located within school premises.
Insight Consultancy Service / Lubna Moosa9
Photo Captions:
2: Nolhivaranfaru School, HDh.Nolhivaranfaru Public announcement system and
fire extinguishers placed outside the
office.
3-4: Haa Dhaal Atoll Education Centre (left) and Laam Atholhu Madhrasa,
L.Maabaidhoo (right) have two and three storey
classrooms with only a single staircase on one side to exit.
5-6: Laamu Atholhu Madhrasa, Maabaidhoo Children studying in pre-school
classrooms. These rooms get flooded during
rainfall as the ground level of the school is lower than that of the surrounding
area.
12
34
56
Insight Consultancy Service / Lubna Moosa10
Photo Captions:
1: This new pre-school being built in L.Fonadhoo is slightly below ground level.
2: Classrooms separated by standing wooden partitions Mathimaradhoo School,
L.Gan.
3: Classrooms separated by standing wooden partitions reported to have fallen
down on the children during high winds
Mukurimagu School, L.Gan.
4: Mukurimagu School, L.Gan is located about 15m from the shoreline. Boundary
walls of the school collapsed due to the
impact of the tsunami. The children are fully exposed to the coast.
5: The toilets of Mukurimagu School, L.Gan were damaged during the tsunami
and cannot be used now.
6: New classrooms being built at Mukurimagu School, L.Gan.
12

34
56
Insight Consultancy Service / Lubna Moosa11
Photo Captions:
1-2: Generally two types of classrooms are found in schools. Type 1 (Nolhivaram
School, HGh.Nolhivaram) has a single
exit door, glass windows and is closed off with less ventilation. The children are
more protected from strong winds and
rain. Type 2 classrooms are open usually with two exit doors and low walls for
easy evacuation in case of an emergency.
However, the children are exposed to winds and rainfall.
3: Laamu Atholhu Madhrasa, L.Maabaidhoo electric bell and manual bell
outside staff room.
4: Elevated dias for assembly Haa Dhaal Atoll Education Centre,
HDh.Kulhudhuffushi.
5-6: Fire extinguishers were seen in all schools placed in two or three locations.
In some cases, instructions were placed
near the extinguishers. However, all schools reported that the school staff are
not trained to use them.
2
4
6
1
3
5
Insight Consultancy Service / Lubna Moosa UNESCO / T. AramvitThailand
Country Report
Thailand Environment Institute (TEI), Nonthaburi, Thailand14
Introduction
A Consultative Meeting on Education for Natural
Disaster Preparedness in Thailand in the Context of

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) was

held at UNESCO Bangkok in October 2005. Twenty four
representatives of Thai public agencies and civil society
organizations attended the meeting. Attendees included
the Meteorological Department; the Department
of Labour, Protection and Welfare; the Department
of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation; the Ministry
of Education (Office of the Permanent Secretary for
Education, Office of Basic Education Commission, Office
of the Higher Education Commission, Office of the
Vocational Education Commission, and Office of NonFormal Education
Commission); the Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environment (Department of Mineral
Resources, Department of Marine and Coastal Resources,
and Department of Environmental Promotion); Mahidol
University; and representatives from Chiang Dao District.
Key recommendations from the meeting included
the need for adequate access to localized disaster
preparedness educational materials for local leaders and
communities to use in disaster risk training in disaster
prone areas. It was concluded that a major seasonal
disaster facing Thai citizens in specific areas is landslides.
Landslides or mudslides are serious geological hazards
that occur in 15 northern provinces as well as in an
additional 36 provinces around the country.
Supported by the Japanese Funds-in-Trust through
UNESCO Bangkok, the Education for Natural Disaster
Preparedness in Asia-Pacific in the Context of ESD project
employed ESD as a framework to facilitate the production

of Thailand-specific educational materials for local

communities threatened or affected by landslides. It was
designed to cater more effectively for the delivery of
awareness and action messages, tailored to the needs and
learning styles of the local people. The project focused
on the northern region of Thailand that is particularly
vulnerable to landslides. Based on local culture and
communitylearning styles, video was selected as the best
communication option to deliver landslide awareness
messages to enhance disaster education in the target
area as it is a medium readily available to the local people
and one that can reach many people with different
educationalbackgrounds.1
Video production focused on the following key points:
Awareness Messages Action Messages
Why talk about
landslides?
What are landslides?
What causesthem
(with specific reference
to the northern
geological setting)?
How do landslides
affect you?
How can I protect
myself, my family, and
my community from
landslides?

What isthebestsource
of information in a
landslide situation?
Who is the person in
charge of landslide
preparedness in my
community?

Be prepared for a landslide

What to do during
severe storms and heavy
rainfall which can trigger
landslides?
What to do if I suspect
imminent landslide
danger?
What to do during a
landslide?
Whatto do after a
landslide?

In Thailand, landslides usually occur in mountainous areas

and are triggered by heavy rains. The northern region
of the country is a mountainous region and generally
susceptible to landslides and mud/debris flows. Chiang
Dao District, located about 67 kilometres to the north of
Chiang Mai Province, is prone to landslides. In fact, the
district experienced a major landslide in 1978, when it
was hit by a storm that caused heavy rainfall. The 1978
landslide was the worst in living memory for the people
of Mae Na sub-district. The video tells their story and
presents some lessons learned by the local people about
landslide hazards and how to prepare for them as well as
reduce their risk.
1 The institute would like to express its sincere gratitude to many contributors to
the production of the video. They include Promma Kengkla,
Khamnan Tambon (Head of Sub-district) Mae Na, Chiang Dao District and the
people of the Mae Na Sub-district; Somjai Yen Sa-bye, Department
of Mineral Resources; Songwat Asawanon; Thanes Nunman; and Chitraporn
Suthikunchon.15
Activities
Scripting Process
The project was designed to produce an informational
video to achieve the above-mentioned objectives for
people living in landslide-prone areas in the northern
region of Thailand. A video script was drafted aiming to
tell the story of landslide hazards and preparedness in
Chiang Dao District in particular. The structure included

an introduction, facts and features, testimonials, call-toaction and conclusion. It

was expected that in the closing
stage, viewers would remember two key points: always
stay alert and be aware of exposure to landslide risks.
The production team developed the script content,
concept and terminology by conducting an online
landslide research investigation. They also gained
additional knowledge and technical information from a
series of consultations with an expert (Somjai Yen Sa-bye)
from the Public Participation and Networking Section,
Environmental Geology Division, Department of Mineral
Resources. The time spent developing the draft readyto-shoot script was
approximately one month (January
2006). The final script was reviewed and edited during
the following two months by UNESCO Bangkok and the
Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC).
Video Production
In February 2006, a series of discussions and consultation,
hosted by Khamnan Promma Kengkla (Head of the Mae
Na Sub-district of Chiang Dao District), were conducted
with key leaders and experts in the local area to prepare
and agree on the video production details. The people
of Chiang Dao District contributed substantially to the
production of video material which was edited down to
27 minutes. The video was launchedby UNESCO Bangkok
and the Thailand Environment Institute on 27 October
2006 with addresses delivered by Sheldon Shaeffer, the
Director of UNESCO Bangkok; Jun Yamada, Economic
Affairs Minister of the Embassy of Japan in Thailand; Vilas

Rujiwattanathong, Vice Governor of Chiang Mai Province;

Churairat Sanboonnum, Deputy Secretary General of the
Thailand National Commission for UNESCO, and Sanit
Aksornkoae, President of the Thailand Environment
Institute.
Lessons Learned
Effective Background Preparation
The video production had two central goals: 1. to
inform, 2. to persuade or motivate. For these reasons, it
was important to identify precisely what was to be said
and how it was to be communicated. An informative
video requires extensive pre-production arrangements,
planning and knowledge including online research or
expert consultation. A carefully prepared script will result
in a smooth running production with few, if any, wasted
resources or effort.
Production Planning
The most important step of the video production
was to clearly define the goals and purposes of the
production. Other steps include identification of the
target audience, reviewing other productions to avoid
repetition, the scripting process, bringing on board the
production team, selection of specific sites and locations
for shooting, scheduling field surveys and interviews, and
making arrangements for shooting. Notwithstanding
changes occurring along the way that may cause the
production team to miss a critical deadline, carefully
planned steps guide the team in developing an effective

video presentation.
Effective Communication
Emphasizing continuous contact and information
sharing with the actors and potential audience, as well
as providing and asking for feedback on the material,
is of paramount importance because it adds structural
and creative input to ensure the product meets its target
audiences needs. Whereas a disaster education video
is potentially a powerful tool for improving safety by
showing people the proper way to undertake activities,
establishing contact or communication with the target
audience can effectively deliver a clear vision as to the
purpose and use of the material. The use of local dialect
and contacts builds relationships with the community
and has proved invaluable in the success of the project.16
Partnerships
It was observed that the local people in disaster affected
areas were very enthusiastic to get involved in the
production of the video. The production team also
benefited greatly from seeking the right partners at both
national and local levels to ensure effective production.
Being a member of the target community was found
to aid in forming relationships and understanding the
communitys needs.
Learning Opportunity for the Production
Team
Having individual or freelance film directors/narrators/
production personnel involved with the project can be

very rewarding. During the production process, they

gained unique experience in community engagement
and natural disaster awareness work that would
otherwise be closed to them. Participants can make a
great contribution to the material and can understand
how to facilitate the further distribution of both the
knowledge and the video material.
Community Meetings
Community meetings, at which the video is planned
to be shown in the future, were arranged in the north
of Thailand to disseminate the videos message to
community leaders and disaster practitioners. It was
learned that the messages from the video can be
incorporated into community activities to reduce
villagers vulnerability to landslides. Copies of the video
will be made on VCD for distribution in affected areas.
The Way Forward
Community Feedback- Recommendations
After watching the finished product, Khamnan Promma
Kengkla (Head of the Mae Na Sub-district, Chiang
Dao District) compiled the following feedback and
suggestions:
Community radio is still the most effective way
to send both emergency warnings and disaster
education information to rural residents as it is readily
available in almost every household. A disadvantage
is that it provides no visual cues. A videotape (or VCD,
DVD) conveys visual information and is easy to access

 transmission media is available both in individual

households and in public places or social gatherings
such as religious or wedding ceremonies. However,
visual material can be used only at designated times
or on specific occasions, thus they may be too slow in
delivering emergency messages.
The material can be used in all northern provinces
where some local dialect is spoken. Duplication and
distribution of the video material to people living in
landslide-prone areas is highly recommended. All
local authorities and communities should have a
copy. A launch of the video is recommended at both
local and provincial levels.
Of note is that the local administrative organizations
(LAOs, i.e., municipality, Provincial Administrative
Organization, Tambon (sub-district) Administrative
Organization) are interested in providing further
support to similar projects. Budgets can be requested
through the development and submission of
proposals to LAOs as appropriate. The most crucial
point is that they have a clear understanding of the
material and what it is supposed to accomplish.
1.
2.
3.17
UNESCO / T. Aramvit UNESCO / JakartaIndonesia Country Report
Institute for Educational Studies and Development, Brawijaya University20
Introduction

The devastating earthquake and tsunami

which occurred on the 26th of December,
2004 in Aceh robbed the rights for Acehnese
children to have an appropriate education
(Hendrawan Soetanto)
One and a half years ago, we had a gigantic
earthquake in Aceh, but we lost another 6,234
people when the earthquake happened on 27
May 2006 in Yogyakarta. Did we learn from
such disasters?... (Department of Social Affairs,
Republic of Indonesia, 1 June 2006)
Indonesia is very susceptible to natural disasters such
as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, floods
and hurricanes. About 13 per cent of the worlds active
volcanoes lie along the Indonesian archipelago with
the potential to generate multiple hazards of different
magnitudes and intensity.
The devastating earthquake and tsunami that occurred
in the Indian Ocean in 2004 causing massive loss of life
in North Sumatra and Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD)
provinces, clearly highlighted that there is an urgent
need to educate people to prepare sufficiently for natural
disaster events. Unfortunately, no clear effort has been
undertaken to include natural disaster preparedness as
a core subject into the school curriculum in Indonesia.
It is therefore not surprising that educational materials
related to natural disaster preparedness are also scarce.
Following the earthquake and tsunami in NAD province,

many regions in Indonesia were struck by floods,

landslides and hurricanes. More recently, one of the most
active volcanoes in the world, Mount Merapi in central
Java, erupted several times. Nevertheless, thousands
of people are still living within the danger zone despite
the government announcing an evacuation. Thus, more
effort in community education appropriately sensitized
to local circumstances and beliefs in the context of natural
disaster preparedness is still required.
Activities
The Products: Rationale
No one could possibly argue that education for natural
disaster preparedness is not important. Natural disasters
have a tremendous impact on everyone including
children and teenagers. Indonesian secondary school
students were identified as the target focus group for
the Indonesian project following a thorough discussion
between the team and UNESCOs personnel. The team
chose to address the most prevalent natural disasters
that occur in Indonesia which cause significant numbers
of fatalities and adverse economic impacts. Based on
this consideration, the following six most devastating
and common hazards were chosen to be targeted:
earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, landslides, volcanic
eruptions and hurricanes.
The team developed two products: a folding picture kit
and the Disaster Masterr a simulation game of natural
disasters as ways and media to deliver information about

natural disaster preparedness. The decision to choose

these two media was based on needs and the situational
analysis in the context of ESD implementation. As the
target groups are junior and high school-aged students
and teachers, it was decided that the materials should
stimulate discussion leading to improved cognitive
understanding. In addition, the materials were designed
to reflect the principles of qualitative and joyful learning.
Consultation played a valuable role in the development
of the tools by providing ideas, feedback and validation
of the products. The materials were presented to 16
educational experts at the Indonesian Ministry of
National Education, Jakarta, and to 40 senior high school
teachers in Malang as well as undergoing additional
cyber-consultation.
The teams analysis revealed:
ENDP materials have not been well introduced to
school students in Indonesia.
It is not easy to find ENDP materials in Indonesia.
Due to the 2004 tsunami, Indonesian curriculum
designers and educators now understand the
importance of introducing ENDP material to school
students.
The interest of Indonesian teenagers in reading is
generally low. Teenagers, from the ages of 12-17,
would prefer to read comics rather than books.
Junior and senior high school students in Indonesia
prefer to learn in a cooperative and collaborative way.

Junior and secondary school students prefer to get

information from media that is colourful and full of
pictures.
The two products developed are amongst the most
innovative in this field.
The participants of the ESD workshop held in February
2006 at the Indonesian National Commission for UNESCO
endorsed the two types of materials. The participants
were representatives of curriculum centres, different
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)21
directorates in the Ministry of National Education,
delegations from the Ministry of Environment and
representatives of the Indonesian National Commission
for UNESCO.
Folding Pictures Kit
The Folding Pictures Kit is one of the media developed
to give information to teenagers, especially junior high
students aged 12-15, on what they have to do when
certain natural disasters occur. It consists of two sets of
materials: folding pictures and booklets both describing
four different natural disasters that commonly occur in
Indonesia earthquakes, floods, landslides and volcanic

eruptions.
The Folding Pictures Kit provides 12 different pictures
describing what should be done before, during and after
a natural disaster. There are also four spaces containing
additional information about natural disasters.
Teachers will also benefit from this Folding Pictures Kit
as they can use it as a teaching aid in the classroom to
promote collaborative learning. The teacher can divide
the class into four groups with each group addressing a
Alia Lesmana
EARTHQUAKE FLOOD
LANDSLIDE
Figure 122
An earthquake is the sudden motion of earth because of the
breaking and shifting of rock under the earths surface.
Actually, earthquakes happen every day but most of them are very
weak and cannot be felt by humans. Earthquakes are a natural
phenomenon with almost 450 occurring in Indonesia every year.
The movement of the ground during an earthquake can be
measuredby a seismograph.
Know your work and house
area.
Where the emergency
stairs are
Where the safest place to
take cover is
Practise routine
preparedness in your office

and house.
Nail or tie furniture (fridge,
cabinet, etc.) to the wall
Always turn off water, gas
and electricity if you are not
using them.
Learn how to apply first aid
and to put out fires.
Note the emergency phone
numbers to prepare for when
an earthquake happens.
1.

2.

3.
4.
Inspect yourself for cuts,
wounds or fractures and
apply first aid.
Check your surroundings for
fire, electricity shortcuts, etc.
Monitor the situation from
radio or television.
Help others.
If you need to evacuate,

prioritize children, the elderly,

pregnant women and people
with disabilities. An open area is
the safest place to evacuate to.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Inside:
Hide under a table or other
strong structures.
If there is no table, cover
your head with a pillow,
bag, or anything that offers
protection from falling
objects.
Stay away from cabinets
and windows.
Use stairs, dont use
elevators and escalators.
Outside:
Stay away from buildings,
walls, billboards, trees, etc.
Find an open area and
cover your head.
Driving your car
Pull over, turn off the
engine, and get out of the

car.
1.
2.
3.
4.
1.
2.
1.
Before During After
Figure 3: Earthquake23
different kind of natural disaster. Every group can then
share information imparted from the folding pictures.
This kind of activity can promote the development of
oral communication skills as well as cooperative learning.
Cooperative learning is important as it enables students
to learn from their peers, rather than a teacher-centred
learning process. Moreover, cooperative learning
provides an effective context for the development of
new understanding. Students will feel that they have
worked together for their mutual benefit as they can
share information that they learn with other students.
Other activities involving this media are discussion,
writing stories based on the pictures or even learning
new English vocabulary. A sample of the playing cards is
provided in Figures 1 and 2.
Disaster Master Natural Disaster
Preparedness Game
The Disaster Master is an educational board game that

conveys messages through answer cards to help students

understand what natural disasters are and what actions
they can take to reduce the impact of disasters. The
game covers six kinds of natural disasters: earthquakes,
tsunamis, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions and
hurricanes.
Characteristics
Target audience: Indonesian senior secondary school
students.
Educational methodologies: motivational, instructional,
participatory and follow-up oriented.
Figure 3: Educational Material Disaster Master consisting of a game board,
36 playing cards, two question cubes and one reference booklet.24
Design concepts: A student can improve his or her
chance of surviving a natural disaster if they understand
the concepts, are able to recognize warning signs,
understand underlying factors, know what to do to
reduce the impact before disaster strikes and also how
to react during and after the disaster. These concepts are
conveyed to students through qualitative learning.
Learning strategy: The game facilitates an understanding
of natural disasters which enablesstudentstotakeaction
when disasters occur. Understanding mitigation activities
will reduce disaster risks, and being prepared will reduce
loss of life and property when disasters strike. If this can
be achieved, it will improve sustainability.
Devices: The Disaster Master comprises a game board
with instructions printed on it; one outer web-shaped

wheel, one inner web-shaped wheel, and one circle of

gunungan wayang (mountain of the puppet) picture
with the tip pointing upward. The gunungan wayang is
chosen as an alternative to an arrow as it symbolizes the
macro-cosmos of the harmonized world represented by
the intimate relationship between human beings and the
ecosystems ensuring sustainable development. Other
important playing materials are 36 answer cards and two
cubes with natural disasters or key questions embedded
on each side of the cubes. To stimulate discussion, the
game is also equipped with a Reference Booklet.
Learning Evaluation: After playing the game, the players
can be evaluated to ensure they have understood the
disaster risk concepts taught by the game. The scores are
ratedasfollows:
<50 = Not yet prepared. You need to practise again.
50-75 = Average. You are advised to practise frequently.
>75 = Congratulations! You are a Disaster Master!

Figure 4: Evaluation Survey of Disaster Master as

an Educational Material for Natural Disaster Preparedness
Parameter Interpretation
75% of the respondents considered the Disaster Master to be reasonably
attractive.
Substance 90% of the respondents considered the substance to be satisfactorily
relevant.

Quality The majority of respondents considered the quality of the material to be

appropriate
for senior high school students. Only a minor number of respondents considered
the
quality of the material less comprehensive because it only emphasized a
cognitive
domain.
Difficulty The players prior knowledge on natural disasters and their English
proficiency seemed
to determine how difficult they perceived the game to be. About 16% responded
that
the game is easy to understand provided the players have prior knowledge on
the
respective natural disaster. 41% felt the game to be easy to understand when
the players
are comfortable using English. It will be necessary to translate the game into
vernacular
languages if the material is to be introduced to non-English speaking regions.
Other applications The majority of respondents indicated that theDisaster
Masteris likely to be
implemented for learning objectives other than solely natural disaster
preparedness
education such as English teaching. The game material can be considered
generic
educational material.
Academic background More than half of the respondents are from a non-science
academic background.
Prior knowledge on
natural disaster
12% of the respondents had prior knowledge of natural disasters having
witnessed
them directly while the majority of them acquired awareness from reading books
and

from stories told by others. Thus the respondents were considered to have
sufficient
prior knowledge on natural disasters and were competent to comment on the
materials
under evaluation.25
Feedback survey
Evaluation of the Disaster Master as an educational
material for natural disaster preparedness was conducted
following the workshop in SMA 10, Malang City attended
by 40 school teachers, 32 of whom provided substantive
feedback from themselves and students. The result
of the survey reveals that the Disaster Master can be
considered sufficiently appropriate as a learning tool on
natural disaster preparedness for Indonesian secondary
students. The major obstacle for the implementation of
the Disaster Master in non-English speaking countries is
the use of English in the game. It is therefore necessary
to translate the materials into local languages to obtain
optimal outcomes. The details of the data survey are
presented in Figure 4.
Lessons Learned
During the project development and production
process, the team was exposed to diverse information
on natural disaster preparedness and made contact with
many people from different disciplines. Importantly, the
team learned that collaboration and networking plays
a significant role in developing quality materials as it
provides space for constructive criticism and revision.
In the development of further products in this field, it is

important that teams have: sufficient prior knowledge

on natural disasters; sufficient access to information
on natural disasters either from libraries, experts or the
internet; ensure intensive communication between the
team and other relevant institutions and organizations;
and adopt an open-minded attitude to collaboration.
The teams research discovered that the integration
of natural disaster preparedness material into school
activities has been neglected in Indonesia. Most
educators now realize the importance of introducing
such materials for students after the devastating tsunami
in Aceh. For this reason, it is reasonable to say that more
effort is needed to disseminate such materials to target
groups all over the Indonesian archipelago.
There is growing demand in Indonesia, as indicated by
public interest and debate highlighted by articles from
national newspapers and live discussion on national
television, that natural disaster preparedness and
mitigation must be included in the school curriculum
from elementary to tertiary education. For this reason, a
training of trainers on natural disaster preparedness and
mitigation for school teachers may be recommended as
many instructors lack knowledge in this area.
Conclusion
Despite being prone to natural hazards, awareness on
suchdisasters is remarkably low in Indonesia as indicated
by the scarcity of educational materials on natural disaster
preparedness and mitigation available to the community.

At present, no special attention has been given to this

topic in the school curriculum.
The production of educational materials for natural
disaster preparedness and mitigation will therefore play
an essential part in the implementation of the UN Decade
of Education for Sustainable Development in Indonesia.
The beneficiaries are high school students, teachers,
teenagers and internally displaced persons (IDPs) who
stay in temporary tents or barracks at post-disaster
sites. The target group will benefit from these products
through improved knowledge of natural disasters and
will hopefully stimulate preparedness and mitigation
activities to reduce the risks of natural disasters.
Translation into Indonesian language and programmatic
dissemination will help to reach a wider target group in
Indonesia.
UNESCO / Jakarta UNESCO / Jakarta UNESCO / New DelhiIndia Country
Report
University of Madras28
Introduction
The burden of natural disasters falls most heavily upon
developing nations where over 95% of disaster related
deaths occur (IFRC, 2001).
In India, 60% of the land is prone to earthquakes, 12% is
susceptible to floods and 8% is vulnerable to cyclones.
Twenty-two states are categorized as multi-hazardous and
the 8,000 kilometre long coastline is exposed to tropical
cyclones, storms and floods (CBSE, 2004). The vulnerability
of the country is compounded by indiscriminate and

short-sighted economic development, environmental

degradation and the resultant changing topography. The
immeasurable loss of human life and damage to property
not only drains the resources of the state and damages
the economy but also affects the social fabric of society.
In order to address the complexities of natural hazards,
India needs to develop a vigilant, quick and disciplined
response. It is the community that has to respond
immediately to any disaster, and hence, a culture of
preparedness needs to be inculcated in the minds of
citizens. Thus, a community based disaster preparedness
(CBDP) education programme is a priority.
As the geomorphology, topography, socio-economic
conditions, ethnicity and cultural traditions vary from
region to region and from one village to another
within each region, it is important to develop as locally
relevant a model as possible within a standardized set of
guidelines.
Project: Community
Based Disaster
Preparedness Study
To better understand the current disaster vulnerabilities,
risks and capacities and to increase the involvement of
the people of the state of Tamil Nadu in CBDP, a study was
undertaken to:
develop a model to implement a community based
disaster preparedness education programme for the
coastal communities in Tamil Nadu.

promote the culture of disaster preparedness at the

community level.
encourage community participation in preparation of
the village level disaster management plan.

For the successful implementation of a CBDP education programme, cooperation

of the panchayat (village
community) leaders, community leaders and the facilitating groups are very
important. In view of this, three
categories of stakeholders have been involved for the
project, i.e., village communities, village functionaries
and the facilitators.
As the CBDP programme aims at wider personal and
community participation in disaster preparedness, it
was necessary for different representative social groups
across community sectors to be involved in developing
the project. People belonging to different castes and
different classes were included. Care was taken to
ensure the participation of the socially marginalized and
underprivileged groups in the project, such as women
and youth. Community leaders and panchayat leaders,
whose cooperation was necessary for rapport building
and to implement the programme, were involved in the
project.
Village functionaries such as school teachers, anganwadi
(primary health centre) workers and extension workers
who are familiar with the social context and have wide

social networks within the community were found to be

helpful in understanding social dynamics. They can also
act as conduits for disseminating messages to community.
Hence, the village functionaries were involved in the
consultation process.
The last but the most important category of stakeholders
was NGOs and community-based organizations (CBOs)
who are the main catalysts of the CBDP programme. The
NGOs and CBOs generally have a good understanding of
community needs. Local NGOs and CBOs such as youth
forums, womens organizations and self-help groups
were included in the study.
Consultation with the
Community
Participatory Risk Assessment (PRA) exercises were
undertaken with the village community. They were taught
to make their own appraisals of the local disasters, impacts,
local resources, safety route maps, etc. They were also
encouraged to evolve their own risk reducing measures,
taking into consideration their village structure.
Separate focus group discussions were organized in all
of the selected villages for men, women, and adolescent
boys and girls to understand their level of awareness of
CBDP, their willingness to participate in the programme 29
and their suggestions for implementing the programme.
In the beginning, general awareness amongst all the
groups concerning CBDP was very low and they did not
perceive it as a necessary programme. Gradually, with

constant persuasion, the community became enthusiastic

and made valuable suggestions towards evolving a
structure for the CBDP programme and implementation
strategy.
Personal interviews were conducted with panchayat
leaders and community leaders who were willing to take
the initiative and extend their cooperation to the study.
Consultations were held with them on the needtoevolve
an institutional framework for the implementation of
the CBDP programme and on the methodology for
developing a disaster risk management plan in their
communities. Their inputs were immensely useful in
evolving the model and implementation strategy.
Consultations were held with NGOs and CBOs on the
institutional framework and implementation strategy.
The consultations were helpful in understanding the
social dynamics of the communities and in developing
a socially acceptable village disaster risk management
training (VDRMT) model with an effective implementation
strategy. After preparing the conceptual model, it was
field-tested through workshops organized with the
community and NGOs.
Selection of target group:
The Governmentof India has initiatedaseriesof measures
in developing policy and administrative reforms to
implement disaster preparedness programmes. However,
community based disaster preparedness has been
underutilized thus far. Considering the regular occurrence

offlood-related hazards in the coastal regions, educating

the community on disaster preparedness becomes
the only sustainable long-term strategy for disaster
mitigation. Even NGOs and government agencies pay
more attention to rehabilitation and reconstruction work
than on disaster preparedness. In India, the culture of
preparedness in the community is totally absent. Hence,
community level groups were selected as the target
audience of this project.
The study was planned in three phases as follows:
Phase I: The undertaking of a situational
analysis
Hazard mapping was done to identify the hazardprone areas in Tamil Nadu.
A vulnerability analysis was done to identify the
target audience.
1.
2.
Vulnerability
Analysis
Needs
Assessment
Survey
Capacitybuilding
strategy
VDRMT
Model
Phase I
Situational

analysis
Hazard
Mapping
Resource
Mapping
Phase III
Field-testing
of module
and manuals
Phase II
Conceptual
framework
Resource mapping was done to identify the
educational resource material for CBDP education.
A needs assessment survey was done to assess both
the peoples awareness of CBDP and the training
needs of the community.
3.
4.30
Phase II: Preparation of a conceptual model
of Village Disaster Risk Management Training
(VDRMT) and capacity-building strategy for a
CBDP education programme
A conceptual model of VDRMT was developed.
A set of training modules/manuals was prepared for
the various functional groups of VDRMT.
Phase III: Organization of a workshop to test the
models, modules and manuals

The feasibility of the modules was tested through

workshops.
Modules and manuals weretested for local relevance
in the workshops.
Guidelines were prepared for the implementation of
the CBDP education programme.
Outcomes of the Project
Based on the feedback received from the workshops
organized for field-testing of the conceptual model, the
following have been developed:
processual model of the CBDP education programme.
VDRMT model.
capacity-building strategy.
guidelines.
Processual model: The steps involved in developing
a CBDP programme are partnership development,
identification of stakeholders, formation of a core
committee and formation of VDRMT.
Partnership development: The success of the CBDP
education programme depends upon the cooperation of
thepanchayat leaders and community leaders. Entry into
the village community is possible only with the consent
of these leaders. The panchayat has an important role in
preparing village level disaster risk management plans
and has the authority to mobilize village level functionaries.
Community leaders in the village can be of immense
value in mobilizing village communities and CBOs.
Hence, any NGO aiming to initiate VDRM programmes

should develop a partnership with panchayat leaders

and community leaders of the village.
Identification of stakeholders: Implementation of
CBDP education requires the participation of different
categories of people, functionaries and social
organizations. As disaster preparedness is aimed at
the wider community, people representing all socio1.
2.
1.
2.
3.

economic groups and vulnerable sections should be

included in the VDRMT. The village level functionaries
who have a familiarity with the community dynamics,
wider social contact and easy access to social groups
should be included. CBOs with their built-in credibility,
understanding of community needs, awareness and
familiarity with vulnerable populations and power of
persuasion can play a significant role in developing
disaster resistant communities.
Formation of Core Committee: In getting the VDRMT
organized and CBDP process started, a core committee
isto be constituted. The core committee shall consist of

two highly responsible and committed persons from the

village community, village functionaries or CBOs. The
panchayat leader may even be the chairperson of the
committee.
Formation of VDRMT: This committee is responsible for
the constitution of action groups and task forces. The
VDRMT shall have a four-tier structure consisting of a core
committee, action groups, task forces and volunteers.
The core committee is responsible for the formation of
VDRMT. It shall constitute three action groups that will
handle preparedness for the pre-disaster, during disaster
and post-disaster phases. These three action groups are
responsible for the formation of specialized task forces to
handle the activities under the three phases of a disaster.
Each task force in turn shall develop volunteer forces
to implement the CBDP programme and handle the
emergency situation.
Village Disaster Risk Management
Training (VDRMT) Model
It was observed that the community, panchayat raj
(village self-governance) institutions and NGOs had a
very low degree of awareness of disaster preparedness.
Initiatives that have already been taken are fragmented
and sporadic. If a CBDP education programme is to be
sustainable, it needs to be linked with local governance
and development planning. This can be made possible
only by institutionalizing the programme in the existing
structure. Hence, the conceptual model of village level

disaster risk management teams encompassing the

partnership between village communities, panchayat
raj institutions and NGOs was evolved along with an
implementation strategy.
This conceptual model was developed using a
participatory approach. The inputs for the model were
received from the panchayat leaders and NGOs/CBOs
through PRA exercises, focus group discussions, in-depth
interviews and consultative processes. The conceptual
model thus developed was field tested through 31
VDRMT MODEL
Initiation
Local Institutions NGOs Community Leaders
Identification of Representation Members
Village Community Village Functionaries
Formation of VDRMT
Core Committee
Action Groups
Pre-disaster During disaster Post-disaster Action Group
Task force
Capacity-Building
Voluntary Force
Follow-up
Task force Task force
Community Based Organizations
Youth, college students
Active men and women
(representing all socioeconomic categories)

 Active senior citizens

Opinion leaders
Ex-servicemen
Retired persons from
police/fire service
Village leaders and representative staff
Health extension workers
Agriculture extension
workers
School teachers
PHC doctors/ Nurse/Staff
Youth organizations (boys
and girls)
Sports clubs
Local NGOs
Local voluntary organizations
Public awareness raising
and campaigns
Family disaster plan
Institutional level safety
and emergency preparedness
Village level disaster plan
Early warning and communication
Evacuation
Search and rescue
First aid and medical
assistance
Shelter management

 Relief and coordination

Relief and coordination
Water and sanitation
Body/carcass disposal
Patrolling
Damage assessment32
workshops organized with village communities, NGOs
and village leaders. Based on feedback received from
the workshops, the VDRM model and implementation
strategy were fine-tuned.
The current report explains the process, structure
and implementation strategy of the CBDP education
programme. The process explains how the VDRMT could
be organized. The structure of the VDRMT explains the
functionaries involved, their roles, role-relationships and
their responsibilities. The VDRMT model can be easily
adoptedby any agency willing to launch CBDP education
programmes in Tamil Nadu and adopted in other states
throughout India.
Capacity-Building
The roles and responsibilities of the functionaries in the
VDRMT are well defined. In order to implement the CBDP
education programme and to enable the functionaries
to perform their roles effectively, capacity-building of
VDRMT is essential. Each functionary needs to be trained
with appropriate skills to perform the roles assigned.
Also, all teams need to operate in perfect coordination
with all the functionaries. Taking this as a framework,

a core set of modules and manuals were developed

and field-tested in the workshop organized with the
community and NGO representatives for local relevance
and cultural appropriateness. Based on the feedback
given by the participants, the modules and manuals
were fine-tuned. The manuals developed for each task
force explain in detail the activities to be carried out in
promoting community based disaster preparedness.
With little modification to suit the local conditions, these
modules and manuals can be used in training the VDRMT.
The training should be organized for the entire VDRMT
at a time so that everyone is familiar with each others
functions and roles. The trained teams will be equipped
and qualified for the dissemination of preparedness
messages, training the volunteer forces, educating the
community and to carry out mitigation activities.
Guidelines
Based on the experiences gained in the process of
developing the project, guidelines were prepared
for facilitators reference. For every step involved in
organizing the VDRMT and implementing the CBDP
education programme, guidelines were developed. The
process and documentation prepared while developing
the project were used as the main resources in developing
the guidelines.
Lessons Learned Developing VDRMT
During this project the team identified skills and tools in:
developing a model to implement a CBDP education

programme.
identifying appropriate functionaries for VDRMT.
strategies for developing partnerships between the
community, panchayat raj institutions and NGOs.
a methodology to disseminate a CBDP education
programme.
a strategy to implement a CBDP education programme.
Challenges
Indian villages are characterized by hierarchic caste
structures, socialdominance, divergent power structures
and multiple leadership structures. The biggest challenge
remains in bringing people of different socio-economic
backgrounds together, and managing social dynamics
and multiple leaders. Mainstreaming underprivileged
sections and vulnerable categories into the project
requires special effort. Social factions in villages were
found to be barriers in bringing people and leaders
together as one. Most of the villages do not have well
founded CBOs, without which organizing VDRMT was
found to be difficult. The absence of a preparedness
culture and lack of self-reliance among people was also
another challenge to overcome in promoting the CBDP
programme. However, local NGOs enjoy high credibility
and active youth organizations of villages can play a
catalytic role in bringing them all together.
The Way Forward
To further develop the programmes outlined in this
report, the following steps need to be undertaken:

policy advocacy should be used to integrate CBDP

education programme into panchayat raj institutions.
panchayat leaders should be trained to incorporate
disaster preparedness in village level development
planning.
more visual aids can be developed in local languages
with live demonstrations and instructional videos in
Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.
dissemination workshops should be organized for
NGOs, facilitators and government agencies.

33
a series of training programmes for trainers can be
organized to improve the skills of stakeholder groups
such as NGOs.
This project needs to be extended to facilitate the
institutionalization of the CBDP within the panchayat raj
institution. Keeping this in view, it is proposed that the
first steps be:
to produce videos with live demonstrations for all the
manuals in major languages.

to organize seminars and workshops for panchayat

leaders and NGOs.
to demonstrate the VDRM model and implement a
CBDP education programme in selected villages as a
pilot project.
To achieve this aim, the following support will be
required:
institutional partnership with government agencies
and international organizations.
academic and administrative guidance.
financial support.

Sustainability
In the case of Tamil Nadu, a CBDP education programme
can be made sustainable by mainstreaming this project
with local governance and development programmes
in the coastal regions. VDRMT should be developed
in all the coastal villages through panchayat raj in
partnership with NGOs. All VDRMT should be networked
into a broader federation to develop broad-based skill
and information sharing. A village level disaster risk
management plan should be made an integral part of

development programmes and schemes in the villages.

All the development work by NGOs should have CBDP
education as an essential component. NGOs should be
trained in CBDP education continuously.
Conclusions
Recognizing the need for CBDP education at the
grass-roots level, an institutional framework has been
developed. This framework needs to be implemented
for its sustainability through policy development. The
model developed in this project can be used to inculcate
disaster preparedness culture within Tamil Nadu through
a constant effort.
UNESCO / A. Yonemura Syed Zakir Hossain Bangladesh Red Crescent
Society36
Introduction
Natural disasters are a common phenomenon in
Bangladesh but occur most often along the countrys
710 kilometre long coastal region. After the devastating
cyclone of 1970 in which half a million people perished,
the League of Red Cross, now the International Federation,
was requested by the UN General Assembly to undertake
a leading role in pre-disaster planning for the country.
The Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP) of the
Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) was initiated
in 1972. In June 1973, the Government of Bangladesh
approved the new CPP programme, undertook financial
responsibility for some of the recurring expenses and
set up a joint programme management mechanism
by creating a programme Policy Committee and a

programme Implementation Board.

Cyclones cause more devastation and death in
Bangladesh than any other disaster, so it is a top priority
hazard to address. The cyclones of 1965, 1970, 1985, and
1991 that hit the coast affected people in 32 regions,
defining a target group for immediate preparedness
training. The CPP programme was initiated to undertake
preparedness activities to benefit the 11 million people
residing in the coastal region.
Activities
Organizational Structure
TheCPP is a mechanism that relieson technical skills and
volunteers commitment for ensuring that all potential
victims of an approaching cyclone are given sufficient
warning, enabling 11 million coastal people to move to
safe sites including cyclone shelters and buildings. The
system starts with the collection of meteorological data
from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD),
which issues bulletins including the designated warning
signals for an approaching cyclone. The bulletins are
transmitted to the six zonal offices and the 31 upazila
(sub-district) level offices over high frequency (HF) radio.
The upazila office in turn, passes the information to
village level unions and lower levels through very high
frequency (VHF) radios. The union team leaders then
contact the unit team leaders immediately. The unit team
leaders and their volunteers spread out to the villages
and disseminate cyclone warning signals door-to-door

using megaphones, hand sirens and public address

systems. The programme has 34,140 trained and devoted
volunteers, including 5,690 females, who often risk their
lives in fulfilling their duties. During the 1990s, 23 CPP
volunteers died while they were on duty keeping their
communities informed of the cyclone and in particular
when delivering the evacuation order.
Educating coastal communities about cyclones and
preparations was adopted as the preparedness strategy
to manage the risk of cyclones. Demonstration was
adopted as a delivery technique, including arranging
an artificial cyclone, extrapolating consequences and
playing out actions to take. These demonstrations
were arranged by the CPP in the vulnerable coastal
regions of Bangladesh who need to address awareness,
preparedness and mitigation issues.
This process and strategy was developed in a calculated
and consultative way with the Government, CPP
volunteers, local community leaders, stakeholders
and partners. The programme is a unique example of
a voluntary based organization with volunteers as the
backbone of the CPP. Volunteers are helping to minimize
the loss of lives and properties in coastal communities. It
is the Red Crescent Societys belief that the procedures
and methods of the CPP can be followed by others who
want to serve humanity.
Telecommunication System
The CPP operates an extensive network of radio

communication facilities in coastal areas linked to the

communication centre at the head office in Dhaka. This
network is used exclusively for disaster management.
The network consists of a combination of HF/VHF radios
that cover most of the high-risk cyclone-prone areas.
The CPP is now operating a total of 151 HF/VHF radio
stations.
Volunteer Organizations and their Role
The CPP is organized in 31 upazilas (sub-district) and
274 unions (village level) divided into 2,845 units. Each
unit serves one or two villages with an approximate
population of 2,000-3,000. The ten male and two female
volunteers from each unit have the popular support of
the villagers.
In each unit the ten male volunteers are divided into
five groups, two in each, to discharge the following
responsibilities:
warning
shelter
rescue
first aid
food and clothing
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)37
The two female volunteers provide first post-cyclone aid

to distressed women in addition to their task of raising

awareness among the women folk during normal times.
The CPP volunteers are highly motivated by and
dedicated to the seven principles of the Red Cross and Red
Crescent movement - humanity, impartiality, neutrality,
independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.
On the basis of these principles, volunteers are rendering
their services and inspiring others to join the CPP. After
becoming a volunteer, they are very well respected in the
community as they are performing a noble job.
Inclusion of more Female Volunteers in
each Unit
Considering the gender issues involved with disasters
and the level of spontaneous female volunteerism in the
programme, it has been decided to recruit three more
female volunteers into each unit, strengthening the units
numbers to 15 (i.e. ten male and five female).
Training of Volunteers
To maintain a high level of efficiency, the volunteers
are given training by the Red Cross and Red Crescent
movement on cyclones and their behaviour, warning
signals and their dissemination, managing evacuations,
temporary shelter, search and rescue, first aid and
managing relief operations. The CPP officers give the
first-aid volunteers first-aid training. The implementation
of training for the 34,140 volunteers is always a big
challenge due mainly to an inadequate number
of trainers, time and funding constraints. In lieu of

traditional training methods, a new strategy of volunteer

training has been introduced using the philosophy that
volunteers need to be trained by the trained volunteers.
Training of trainers (TOT) courses were arranged for some
volunteers to create potential trainers in the community.
A total of 157 volunteers have successfully completed the
TOT course andbecome community trainers. Further, the
community trainers can contribute to conducting basic
and refresher training courses for volunteers if necessary
funding can be found.
Public Awareness
Public awareness is an integral part of the CCPs cyclone
preparedness activities. To successfully implement its
awareness programme, the CCP undertakes the following
public awareness activities in various ways in the cycloneprone coastal areas:
public awareness through volunteers
cyclone drills and demonstration
publicity campaign
radio and television
posters, leaflets and booklets
staging of plays
Public awareness activities are generally conducted at
the grass-roots level on a continuous basis through
cyclone drills and demonstrations, publicity campaigns
and rallies, folk songs, the staging of plays and
publications. Selected messages are delivered over
the radio and television, especially before the cyclone
season every year. Special awareness campaigns are also

organized for the fishing community. The volunteers

are given special responsibilities to undertake targetorientated commemorative
events on different days of
the year. The public awareness campaigns of the CPP are
recognized as effective and powerful tools for mitigating
the effects of cyclones. Most of the population in the
cyclone-prone areas has already been involved in some
educational activity.
It is considered a top priority to make a new video that
would be shown in the coastal villages and broadcast
through electronic and other media. Video is an effective
mechanism to deliver practical information about cyclone
preparedness to the people of the coastal community.
The community people would learn about preparedness
techniques and early warning dissemination systems that
will help save lives and property.
Social Welfare and Other Activities
In addition to their core responsibilities, the volunteers
are very much involved in performing social welfare
activities by integrating themselves with the local
government administration, NGOs, upazila disaster
management committees, educational institutions,
religious institutions, social clubs and other agencies in
the event of road accidents, fires, boat accidents, river
erosion, epidemics and so on. On those occasions, the
volunteers stand beside the affected people with sincerity
and offer wholehearted cooperation.
Regional Award
The effective role and dedication of the volunteers in

cyclonic disasters has been acclaimed nationally and

regionally. This programme received the Smith Tumsaroch
Award in 1998 from Thailand for an outstanding effort in
reducing the impact of tropical cyclones that has saved
many thousands of lives in Bangladesh.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)38
Conclusion
The CPP is an effective, grass roots oriented, disciplined
and tightly knit organization that is dedicated to
the task of protecting the population along with
undertaking community capacity building activities. Its
34,140 volunteers are respected and are increasingly
integrated with, and influential in, their community
and local government agencies. They exhibit a high
level of commitment to their programme and a
readiness to meet the community requirements for
better disaster preparedness. Since the inception of the
cyclone preparedness programme in 1972, a total of
173 depressions have formed in the Bay of Bengal out
of which 18 intensified into severe cyclonic storms. The
programme faced each occasion with determination
and courage and gradually achieved greater success
in moving people to shelters and saving the lives and

property of coastal populations.

The 710 kilometre long coastline of Bangladesh, with
numerous offshore islands, is inhabited by 11 million
people who are direct beneficiaries of the programme
and who depend on the CPP. These extraordinary
volunteer teams need to be supported for the wellbeing
of the coastal people of Bangladesh.
UNDP Bangladesh 39
UNDP Bangladesh ACCUAsia/Pacific Cultural
Centre for UNESCO
(ACCU)42
Background
ACCU is a non-profit organization that works in line with
the principles of UNESCO for the promotion of mutual
understanding and cultural cooperation among UNESCO
Member States in the Asia-Pacific region.
ACCU was established in 1971 in Tokyo, Japan, through
the joint efforts of both the Japanese public and private
sectors. ACCU has since been implementing various
Asia-Pacific regional cooperative programmes in the
field of culture, education and personnel exchange in
close collaboration with UNESCOand its Member States.
In retrospect, almost all the activities of ACCU since its
foundation have been geared towards the realization of a
sustainable future through contribution to such areas as
the mutual understanding of different cultures, meeting
the needs for materials development and capacity
building for education, especially for the marginalized.

In the field of educational cooperation, special focus has

been placed on literacy, non-formal education (NFE) and
environmental education, contributing to Education for
All (EFA).
As one of the activities of its Education Division, ACCU
has been producing a multi-media teaching-learning
materials series called PLANET. PLANET stands for
Package Learning mAterials oN EnvironmenT. It was
designed and launched in 1997 by ACCU in collaboration
with specialists in NFE, environment and animation in the
Asia-Pacific region, and UNESCO.
Figure 1: Previous Series of PLANET
Overview of the PLANET Scheme
The purpose of the PLANET series is to develop
environmental education materials for learners in nonformal and formal
education to generate motivation
for improving current environmental conditions. It aims
at raising environmental awareness and generating a
sense of togetherness between nature and humankind
throughout the world, thereby contributing to the
promotion of Education for Sustainable Development
(ESD). Its main characters are Mina and her family, who
live in a fictional village in Southeast Asia. The characters
encounter various environmental problems in their
village and work together to solve them.
Three titles of PLANET packages have already been
produced on the following environmental issues:
Water Pollution (PLANET 1)
Forest Conservation (PLANET 2)

Waste Management (PLANET 3)

The overall PLANET scheme has three stages: 1) production
of an English prototype version; 2) production of local
versions, or adaptation (Phase I); and 3) dissemination
and utilization of local versions (Phase II).
To begin with, ACCU in cooperation with experts in Asia
and the Pacific produces prototype English language
versions of each component as shown in Figure 1 below
after a series of production meetings and workshops.

43
These regional prototype materials, full of local resources,
knowledge and experience brought together by experts
in the region, serve as references for local material
developers to produce their own teaching-learning
materials through the process shown in Figure 2 below.
However, being regional prototypes, the English versions
do not always depict country-specific contexts well.
Therefore, the prototype materials are to be modified to
suit respective local contexts. Adaptation of prototypes
into local versionsdoes not mean the mere translation of
the languages. Materials format, presentation, illustration
and contents are also modified to meetthe needs ofthe
local people, culture and environment. The Adaptation
process is referred to as Phase I of the Production and
Utilization Scheme of PLANET.
Production of local versions is conducted by ACCUs incountry partner
organizations in Asia and the Pacific. Each

partner organization is encouraged to collect baseline

data to identify needs and to organize workshops with
experts in the relevant fields so that the materials can
reflect the actual situation and address the needs of
learners.
In this way, local versions of the PLANET series are
produced which are then delivered to and enjoyed by
target learners under Phase II of the Scheme. Delivery
and utilization strategies differ from country to country.
The uniqueness of PLANET lies in that not only the
adapted local versions but also prototype versions
themselves can be utilized to explain common
environmental issues worldwide, for example, during
global education sessions. In some cases, teachers
at secondary or tertiary levels of education use the
prototype English versions during their environmental
education lessons. The prototypes themselves have
attracted the attention of many like-minded organizations
even beyond the region. For example, a university in
Panama adapted PLANET 1 with its own funds to use
the package in a workshop on community involvement
in a river basin. At the same time, ACCU helps produce
locally-relevant adapted versions of PLANET materials by
supporting partner organizations both technically and
financially.
Figure 2: Overview of the PLANET Scheme
ACCU44
Planet 4 Natural Disasters

As the fourth title of the series, ACCU is now developing

packaged materials on Natural Disaster Preparedness
(PLANET 4). Table 1 below shows the ground design of
PLANET 4. The focus is on helping learners learn what
can be done at the individual and community levels to
be well prepared for disasters they may encounter in the
future.
Table 1: Ground Design of PLANET 4
Natural Disaster Preparedness
Theme (Natural/Community) Disaster Preparedness
Target
learners
Adult learners in non-formal education
programmes
School-attending and out-of-school
children
Individuals involved in disaster
preparedness education, etc.

Language
level
Middle & self-learning Level
Objectives To increase peoples understandings of
why disasters happen and the nature of
disasters
To raise awareness about the importance

of the communitys role in disaster

preparedness and management
To encourage people to protect
themselves in case of disasters
To build capacity of people in planning
and preparing to minimize the impact of
disasters
To encourage communities to become
more self-reliant

Format Poster,booklet, animated cartoon video,

facilitators guide, fact sheets, (stickers),
introduction sheet for PL4 including
adaptation guidelines
Content Definition of various types of disasters
Causes and effects of disasters
Possible actions
Preparedness
Reduction
Response
Recovery
Reconstruction


Others Moving from awareness to action and
empowerment
Role of youths
Moving from individual action to
collective action

Target Audience of PLANET 4 and the

Utility of PLANET 4
The main target groups of the PLANET series have been:
1) neo-literates; 2) school children; and 3) learners in
environmental education programmes in Asia and the
Pacific. In addition to these groups, ACCU also envisages
any learners in natural disaster preparedness education
programmes utilizing the package. Each component of
the package is designed to be attractive, informative,
useful and comprehensive to the target audience,
taking the neo-literate population into consideration in
particular. Based on this principle, partner organizations
of ACCU identify target groups based upon the needs
assessment they conduct.

Experiences gained from the previous PLANET activities

indicate that the utility of the PLANET series is beyond
the scope of non-formal education, though the main
target beneficiaries of PLANET 4 are the neo-literate
populations in the Asia-Pacific region. Some countries
used the packaged materials in primary and secondary
schools, saying that the animated stories, booklets and
posters were easy for the school children to understand.
Other countries introduced the materials to community
leaders, advocating the importance of environmental
issues dealt with in the PLANET series. Leaders have
shown a willingness to disseminate the information
they obtained from the package to all the community
members. In some countries, the animated cartoon
videos of the previous titles have been broadcast via state
channels conveying the messages of each title to a wider
proportion of the population than expected, irrespective
of age or educational background.
Mina and the unique characters in the cartoon series
are thus already familiar to some people, having been
around for almost a decade. PLANET 4 on natural disaster
preparedness will introduce another Mina story. As a
result PLANET 4 is more likely to be accepted widely
as part of formal education, community development
programmes, environmental education programmes,
disaster risk education programmes and so forth, in the
same way as the previous titles.
Moreover, the commencement of the United Nations

Decade of Education for Sustainable Development

(UNDESD), which places high importance on natural
disaster preparedness, will provide additional momentum
to the utility of PLANET 4. It is hoped that production of
PLANET 4 and related activities will be a good reference
to ESD-concerned organizations and researchers.45
Components of the PLANET 4 package
PLANET 4s major components are:
An animation video/VCD;
A set of three posters;
A booklet; and
A facilitators guide.
These components, except the facilitators guide, have
been the basic materials of the PLANET package since
its inception. The guide was added to the package from
PLANET 3 to help facilitators conduct activities effectively.
Additional components may be included in PLANET 4,
such as fact sheets on major disasters, toolkits on disaster
response, etc., which were suggested at the production
meeting on PLANET 4.
Such components were chosen to complement one
another using a variety of formats as packaged
educational materials. An animated cartoon video/VCD
serves as an eye-catcher, with a view to motivating
learners, for instance, at the beginning of the session.
Alternatively, the booklet may be used for instructional
and self-learning purposes as it contains basic and
important information on disaster preparedness and

response. In groups, a set of three posters can be used to

facilitate discussions among learners for the purpose of
participatory learning.
Furthermore, the facilitators guide is designed to help
plan and organize a programme using PLANET materials
by providing instructions, information and ideas to
facilitate practical activities and/or projects with learners.
In addition, some issues on disaster management from
broader perspectives are to be dealt with in the guide
to provide facilitators with broader knowledge in order
to supplement the limited information provided in the
booklet due to the relatively simple language used for
the target learners.
Among those components, a set of three posters has
already been produced, details of which are as follows.
Poster A: Be Aware of Natural Disasters!
This poster focuses on five types of natural disasters:
typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes, forest fires and
landslides.
The aim is to raise public awareness of natural disasters
so that learners and/or the public know the dangers and
what kind of natural disasters they might experience.

Poster A: Be Aware of Natural Disasters!

Poster B: Natural Disaster, When it Occurs, What to do?
Poster C: Lets Protect Our Village against
Natural Disasters!
ACCU46
However, ACCUs partner organizations, who will modify
the materials in the next stage, are encouraged to add
and/or omit disasters depending on their context.
Production of PLANET 4 Materials:
Interactive and Consultative
The production of PLANET 4 materials as well as
the previous titles has been a truly interactive and
consultative process. First of all, to meet the urgent
needs of people, ACCU has produced a set of three
posters. Their rough sketches were based upon a series
of discussions among experts on disaster and nonformal education in the AsiaPacific region. Then, the
draft posters were again widely circulated for comment
among experts in relevant fields living in the region.
These posters were developed and produced by these
means, going through several revisions by a well-known
artist, Mr. Lat, from Malaysia.
After the production of the posters, ACCU organized
a production meeting on PLANET 4 Natural Disaster
Preparedness. The contents, sequence and design
of each component as well as the ground design of
the package were thoroughly discussed during the
meeting with the participation of experts in community
disaster management, disaster preparedness education,

disaster nursing, community mobilization, materials

development, non-formal education and animation from
India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Japan.
The involvement of learners is made possible using a
two tiered approach. First, most of the contributors to
the PLANET production have worked with the materials
target learners, both adults and children. Their first hand
experience contributed to the production of regional
prototype materials through workshops, meetings and
Poster B: Natural Disaster, When it
Occurs, What to do?
This poster indicates how people should act in case of
natural disasters, especially earthquakes.
Although this page seems to focus on earthquakes, the
message can be applied to any other natural disaster:
protecting yourself and your family first when disaster
hits, evacuating from dangerous places to shelters,
helping each other at the aid station, temporary
schooling and recovery from natural disasters.
It aims at letting learners become knowledgable about
how to act when a natural disaster occurs.
Poster C: Lets Protect Our Village against
Natural Disasters!
This poster shows four types of disaster management
activities for community empowerment, including
identification of natural disaster-prone areas,
reinforcement of buildings, necessary storage for
emergencies and disaster drills.

It aims at building communities and families capacities

to be disaster-prepared and to protect peoples lives
from the huge damage caused by natural disasters.
The rest of the components are under development as of
January 2007. The final draft of the scenario upon which
the cartoon animation willbe basedhas been developed
and using this scenario, the production of the animated
cartoon film will begin shortly. To ensure consistency
of content among the various components, the draft
illustrations and written explanations which have been
prepared for the booklet will be finalized in conjunction
with the development and completion of the animation
scenario.
Priority Hazards
The main types of disasters dealt with in PLANET 4 are:
typhoons
tsunamis
earthquakes
forest fires
landslides
Disaster experts in the region have identified these five
disasters as the most common in the Asia-Pacific region
during the planning and editorial meetings organized
by ACCU in 2005. It was decided to avoid focusing on a
specific disaster in PLANET 4 in order to produce quality
prototype materials that can be used widely in the region.

ACCU
Production Meeting on PLANET 447
online consultation. Secondly, partner organizations
of ACCU are expected to involve learners during the
adaptation process to be explained later on. In many
cases, they organize adaptation workshops and conduct
field tests with a view to reflecting learners voices in
the production of local versions. In this way, ACCU tries
to involve target learners as well as experts during the
production process.
Lessons Learned
Attaining Universality and Cultural
Context
One of the biggest challenges during the production
process of PLANET 4 was attaining universality for the
prototype materials in the Asia-Pacific region as there is
a great variety in the disaster experiences of countries in
the region. For example, some countries are frequently
hit by cyclones whereas landslides are the most
common disaster in other countries. On the other

hand, being regional prototypes, the package should

not focus on a specific disaster. As a consequence, the
five major disasters mentioned earlier were identified
and prioritized.
Similarly, another challenge lies in the varied response
activities required to meet different disasters and in
different cultural contexts. Different responses are
required for different disasters and the cultures that
underlie societies and peoples lifestyles influence
these responses. For example, buildings can be made
of stone, wood or mud-bricks, etc. in different cultures
or different places which directly affects what has to be
done in time of disaster. While the materialsshould not
mislead learners, again, PLANET 4 materials cannot cover
all the details. In response to these challenges, ACCU is
considering producing a set of separate fact sheets so
that people can obtain additional information on the
disasters of particular relevance to their region. The
adaptation process is designed to overcome differences
in cultures and lifestyles as each partner organization
reviews and modifies the prototype to suit the local
context.
Logistics and Distribution
In terms of challenges in logistical support, a great
investment of time is required to compile comments and
suggestions from experts spread widely through Asia
and the Pacific, although this is vitally important to
produce high quality regional prototypes. Only a limited

number of production workshops/meetings could

be organized due to the physical distance and costs
involved.
The materials development phase on disaster
preparedness is just the beginning of disaster
preparedness education. Lessons learned by ACCU
during the production process so far reflect more on
the materials distribution and utilization. It was pointed
out during the production meeting that distribution
strategies, based on needs and impact assessment,
should be plotted before delivering the materials due
to their limited number. Similarly, as ACCU has
produced three PLANET titles before PLANET 4, it could
have helped its production if ACCU had obtained more
feedback from the target audience on what information
and impression they obtained from the previous
materials.
Sharing Knowledge
The PLANET package itself has been designed to build the
capacity of materials developers in Asia and the Pacific.
First of all, ACCU involves materials developers and experts
in the process of the prototype materials production
through workshops and meetings. This consultative and
interactive process, from needs identification to decisionmaking on the contents,
sequence and design of the
materials, is itself a learning process for the participants
regarding how to develop teaching-learning materials.
Secondly, the prototype materials will be a good
reference for material developers when they produce

their own, especially if they are less experienced and

knowledgeable in the production of learner-friendly
materials. The prototype materials, together with the
Handbook for Adult Learning Materials Development at
Community Level published by ACCU and UNESCO in
2001, provide food for thought to material developers
throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Handbook: Adult
Learning Materials
Development at
Community Level48
Finally, ACCU willingly exchanges its experience gained
and lessons learned from the adaptation, dissemination
and utilization of PLANET materials including the PLANET
4 prototype products when completed. Activities
during baseline data collection, adaptation workshops,
facilitators training, and actual lessons using the
PLANET materials, are shared among ACCUs partner
organizations online. In addition, ACCU plans to organize
a sharing and review meeting of PLANET so that the
partner organizations can share their experience, lessons
and feedback on PLANET with each other.
In this manner, through the process of collective materials
development, adaptation of the prototype into local
versions, and sharing of lessons and experience, PLANET
materials contribute to the capacity-building of other
materials developers.
Conclusion

Working on the production of materials for natural disaster

preparedness education has enabled ACCU to expand
its work in the field of natural disaster preparedness
beyond PLANET activities. For example, ACCU and the
Wakayama Prefectural Education Board co-organized the
Asian Junior Forum for Disaster Reduction Education
held in November 2006 in Japan, where secondary
school students from Asian countries were invited to
exchange ideas and learn together how to protect their
own communities against potential disasters. Such
expansion of networks and activities in relation to disaster
preparedness will surelybe an asset to ACCU.
The overview of the PLANET scheme, the development
of PLANET 4 on natural disaster preparedness, target
populations, priority hazards, the process of materials
development, and expected impact on them have
been outlined above. Many learners in the Asia-Pacific
region have already become familiar with Mina, the
main character of the series. Therefore, it is hoped that
Minas story on natural disaster preparedness will be
accepted favourably once again. This time, Minas family
and her neighbours experience a big storm which
serves as the catalyst for cooperative disaster response
and preparedness at the community level. Recognizing
the fact that those with little access to education are
among the most vulnerable, ACCU hopes that through
PLANET 4, the neo-literate population will become
properly informed of potential natural disasters, the

importance of preparation, and the actions to be taken

in time of disaster to protect themselves, their family
and neighbours. Needless to say, the impact of PLANET
4 materials is not confined to neo-literate populations.
The package is designed to promote community based
education as a whole and thereby will contribute to
the promotion of ESD through the empowerment of
community members. UNESCO / D. EliasSummary: Lessons Learned52
Introduction
The Education for Natural Disaster Preparedness in
Asia-Pacific in the Context of Education for Sustainable
Development (ENDP-ESD)project has developed a number
of varied products to help meet some of the needs in
the region for educational material on natural disaster
preparedness. The teams focused on working with target
communities in a collaborative manner developing a wide
variety of products which reflects the projects success at
identifying the differing needs of each community.
The project used a three tier-collaborative model to
develop activities. The international community provides
funding, coordination and expertise to in-country
national teams who collaborate with local communities
to identify needs and appropriate options to meet those
gaps. Information, support and final products were fed
back up the line.
The target communities were given the opportunity to
tell the teams and the international community what they
needed in a series of workshops and ongoing discussions.

The country teams then developed products with

support from international agencies to create disaster
education materials that met the needs identified by the
target communities. This structural arrangement allowed
the teams and international agencies to understand the
needs of the community groups, and the community
groups to access the skills and resources of the other
partners tailored to their requirements.
The results are community-adapted disaster preparedness
training materials that are ready to help build the capacity
of targeted communities to manage disaster risk.
International Community
Information;
Projects
Expertise;
Funding;
Coordination
Country Teams
Needs
Analysis;
Information;
Support Target Community
Products;
Coordination;
Expertise
Lessons Learned By The
Country Teams
A number of key lessons can be drawn from the

experiences of the country teams. In most cases,

several teams observed similar challenges or developed
successful techniques for working in this field or in their
community.
Collaboration and Consultation
All teams have identified the key importance of
collaboration in the development of their projects. The
Maldives team reported that:
The most important lesson learned from the
consultations and feedback during the development
process was that disaster preparedness and education is
an endless process that requires a constant collaborative
effort from all parties concerned.
The formation of community meetings and workshops
to discuss community needs and to test ideas allowed
the country teams access to information that had not
been gathered before, or is difficult to access through
other sources. For example, the Maldives team was able
to acquire specific information about the risks facing
schools in the Maldives.
The variety of products developed reflects the teams
ability to identify different needs in their countries the
Thai team identified a need to educate at the community
level, whereas the Maldives team identified a lack of
national policy. The robust identification of needs53
through consultation with the community groups was
the cornerstone of developing relevant, useful products
in this project.

The media chosen for delivery was also heavily reliant

upon information provided in the consultation process.
For example, the Indonesian products were designed
to focus on collaborative learning techniques based on
consultation with teachers who informed the team that
Indonesian teenagers preferred learning in a collaborative
manner rather than through individual reading.
Collaboration also helped to engender community
support for the projects developed. The involvement of
the local community and its leaders in the development
of the Thailand landslide video has led to the community
leaders scheduling a series of information sessions for the
affected communities. That outcome is being achieved
after the original project has been completed, possibly
involving local resources and coordination so that the
information effectively reaches its target audience.
Without the involvement of community leaders from the
beginning, this tangible achievement may not have been
possible.
Indigenous knowledge has also been acquired in some
instances through grass-roots level consultation. The
Thailand team discovered that community groups in
the North of Thailand predict the heaviness of the rainy
season based on the height of bees nests in the trees.
Additionally, it has been reported that sea gypsy
communities in Thailand were able to escape the tsunami
of 2004 based on traditional knowledge. The Moken of
the Surin Islands in southern Thailand recognized the

receding tide as a sign of an approaching tsunami

this knowledge being owed to tales passed on from
one generation to the next (Rungmanee & Cruz, 2005).
Indigenous knowledge should be taken seriously in
education for natural disaster preparedness. Appropriate
means in which to extract and document such
knowledge needs to be considered. A top-down project
implementation approach would never unearth such
information as it does not allow a voice to the community
groups.
Affected Communities Are Keen to Help
The Thailand and Maldives teams found community
groups very keen to provide input and support to their
projects as they recognize the potential immediate
benefit to their lives. The Bangladesh Red Crescent
Society reported similarly of their experience as well.
In working at the community level, the teams were able
to access a resource and support base that is not utilized
as often as it could be in natural disaster preparedness
activities. Instead of viewing the vulnerable community
groups as potential victims in need of help, the teams
were able to tap into an active partner who was
able to contribute information, understanding and
programmatic support. This in turn has led to committed
uptake of those projects and their potential integration
into mainstream natural disaster preparedness.
Language Barriers
The role of language in natural disaster education material

has been highlighted as a crucial issue.

The Indonesian team has produced a product that its
audience considers extremely innovative and useful.
However, they are unable to apply it as widely as possible
without a local language translation due to the low level
of English use amongst the target audience. This is an
issue ACCU in Japan is attempting to overcome in its
PLANET series by producing a centralized English version
of its outputs prior to translation into local languages.
While this will reach the target audiences more effectively,
it entails significant costs and increases development
time.
This issue is exacerbated when it is necessary to consider
various local dialects. The Thailand video has been
produced in the northern dialect with English and
where necessary central-Thai subtitles, in an attempt to
produce a locally specific project that can be transferred
to other contexts if required. While this is useful in this
case, it is not as effective for non-Northern audiences as
a complete translation, and is not possible when there is
no compatibility between the languages/dialects under
consideration.
Both the Maldives and Thailand teams have also
discovered a difficulty in translating the natural disaster
preparedness terminology into the local languages
due to an absence of directly replicable wording. This
issue has been more pronounced in the Maldives than
Thailand, perhaps due to the longer history of natural

disaster preparedness in Thailand.

The Maldives team had to spend significant time
explaining concepts to audiences that are covered in one
phrase in English, prompting them to contemplate that:
Perhaps standard local terms have to be
developed and used by all the different
parties involved in disaster preparedness
so as to minimize message confusion and
facilitate effective communication to the
public.54
This is an unexpected difficulty experienced by the
teams, and one that has not yet been overcome. While
a degree of indigenous terminology can be expected to
evolve along with ongoing natural disaster preparedness
activities, a proactive effort to develop terminology in
languages with no existing translations will aid natural
disaster preparedness in those countries.
Culture and Religion
The Maldives and Indonesia teams discovered that
the religious and cultural aspects of their targeted
communities needed to be considered, as they can
be a significant source of resistance to natural disaster
preparedness.
The Maldivesteam stated that:
Maldivians have strong religious faith,
and this may be the reason that some
respondents argued that a natural disaster
is an act of God, and however much we try

we cannot prepare for it. It was difficult to

convince them that in preparing for disasters
we are acting with the will of God rather than
against it.
Further, the Indonesian team observed that:
A large number of people lining the danger
zone near Merapi Mountain in central Java
refused to evacuate despite the signs of an
imminent volcanic eruption. They were more
trusting of supernatural explanations than
scientific information suggesting that more
effort is needed in the context of education
for natural disaster preparedness.
Naturaldisaster preparedness material that does not take
into consideration the communities prevalent beliefs will
not be accepted and will fail to have its desired effect. By
participating in community consultation programmes,
the teams were able to identify these issues and factor
them into their work.
Government/Programmatic Support
The teams that have accessed governmental support
including financial, programmatic and administrative
support have found success in developing an ongoing
programme that is able to have a long term impact.
In Bangladesh, the Bangladesh government finances
the Cyclone Warning Programme. The Maldives policy
document is being considered for integration into
the nations Education Act. In Thailand, the provincial

leadership is organizing community meetings to view

the video and discuss landslide risks. Talk is ongoing of
the integration of the training games into the Indonesian
academic curriculum.
The involvement of government allows the projects to grow
beyond the initial pilot stage that the ENDP-ESD project
was able to initiate. It creates an ongoing programme of
education to reduce natural disaster preparedness. This is
especially effective where government policy is changed
and budget line support is given to the projects. Having
developed those relationships during the development
stages should allow the ENDP-ESD projects to contribute
to the reduction of disaster risk in the long term.
The Future of Education
for Natural Disaster
Preparedness in AsiaPacific in the Context of
Education for Sustainable
Development
Natural disaster preparedness materials, adapted to
meet local needs, is an ongoing need that these projects
only begin to meet. More materials can be generated
by either adapting existing materials to other target
communities or developing new materials when nonexistent. However, in both
cases, consultation with the
community will be needed to correctly identify risks
and appropriate training materials as well as generate
support for the projects in a holistic and comprehensive
manner across allsectors and stakeholders as advocated
by the UN Decade of ESD.

The interest in the projects developed by the country

teams at the community, governmental and regional
levels demonstrates that they meet an ongoing need
in the region for more educational materials in natural
disaster preparedness. The quality of the products is a
direct result of the processes undertaken by the teams
to consult with targeted communities about their risks,
needs and the tools that will be effective in engaging
the community to learn more about their disaster risk.
There has been ongoing support for these ideas at
governmental levels which is an encouraging start for
what is collectively acknowledged as an ambitious
project with far reaching consequences.
In response to the Hyogo Framework for Action and the
key role of education for disaster risk reduction identified 55
therein, UNESCO Bangkok is furthering its undertakings
by partnering with UNICEF and the UN International
Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) to make
Education for Natural Disaster Preparedness (ENDP)
an educational priority within the Asia-Pacific region.
Planning is underway to organize a regional workshop
in 2007, convening practitioners and policy makers to
galvanize stronger commitment towards long-term
integration of ENDP into school curricula at the national
level.
Introduced within this publication are various strategies
and means in which naturaldisaster preparedness can be
approached and information conveyed to communities,

children both in and out of school as well as policy makers.

In order to act upon the emerging need for greater
awareness of natural hazards and preparedness, political
commitment will be essential, hence the intended
engagement with policy makers and key stakeholders.
However, the true catalysts for the transformation of
knowledge into action are those directly affected by
natural disasters themselves for whom the means of
imparting knowledge and the content must be tailored.
Continued effort will need to be made for dialogue at
the community level in order to implement successfully
culturally sensitive and contextually appropriate
initiatives.Regional Workshop on Educational Materials for
Education for Natural Disaster
Preparedness in Asia-Pacific
in the Context of Education for
Sustainable Development (ESD)
1 June 2006: Bangkok, Thailand58
Introduction
UNESCO Bangkok and the Asian Disaster Preparedness
Center (ADPC) co-hosted a regional workshop for the
project: Education for Natural Disaster Preparedness in
Asia-Pacific in the Context of Education for Sustainable
Development (ESD) on 1 June 2006. The workshop
presented illustrative examples of useful educational
materials developed during the project. The workshops
key objective was to present, promote and disseminate
the ideas, lessons and training products to the workshop

participants and to discuss and stimulate new initiatives

to develop educational materials concerning disaster
preparedness in the Asia Pacific region.
Workshop Overview
During the workshop, an overview of the project was
presented by UNESCO Bangkok. In addition, the country
teams, representing seven countries, presented their
experiences in developing the products they have
created; lessons they learned; how nationally specific
considerations shaped their work; and what they plan to
do next to put into practice the work they have done.
Following this first session, participants contributed to
the project in two discussion sessions.
The sessions focused on the following key questions for
the materials:
Group Discussion 1: Lessons Learned
What activity (factor) did you undertake that contributed
most to a successful outcome?
What were the biggest challenges?
How did you overcome those challenges?
What can others learn from your experience?
Group Discussion 2: The Way Forward
How is disaster education applicable to your work?
How could you use these products in your work?
How could these products be scaled up for wider use?
Does your organization need to develop further disaster
education material?
Who do you see as your potential partners?

Information Sharing
The one day workshop presented the educational
materials and discussed their potential application in
the Asia-Pacific region. It focused on the lessons learned
during the development process and on the next steps
to scale up the products and ideas created during this
project.
The teams shared their experiences in developing the
education materials:
Thailand: Understanding Landslide Hazards and
Preparedness in Northern Thailand
The Thailand team shared its experience developing a
landslide risk reduction video. Key points to accomplishing
this task were detailed pre-planning, collaboration with
the target community and choosing effective partners.
Indonesia:Disaster Master Simulation Game of Natural
Disaster Preparedness and Information Kit
Indonesia presented the board game and information
foldouts on natural disasters. The teams collaboration

and testing with school teachers in Indonesia led to the

development of an interactive, shared learning product to
meet the preferred learning style of teenage Indonesian
students.
India: Community Based Disaster Preparedness
Education - Strategies for Localization of Disaster
Preparedness Educational Resources
The development of a top-to-bottom disaster risk
management regime in India was presented by this
team. It highlighted the importance of both an organized
system and community involvement in disaster risk
management. Engendering government support for
this project was identified as a crucial issue to ensure
sustainability and implementation.
Maldives: School Based Disaster Preparedness
Education
The Maldives team presented the school disaster
management policy they developed to provide input
into the Maldives developing disaster policy. The report
is currently being considered by the Maldives Ministry
of Education. The policy was developed in collaboration
with partner schools andhighlights the risks many school
face due to structural design and layout.59
ACCU: PLANET 4. ACCU presented their work in
developing educational material for PLANET 4. The English
version of the educational disaster posters and other
resources are nearing completion, and will then be
available for other nations to translate and adapt to meet

local needs.
Bangladesh Red Crescent Society: Mock Demonstration
on Cyclone & Community Based Programme
Bangladesh Red Crescent Society presented information
about their community based Cyclone Warning
Programme, which uses its 34,140 trained volunteers
to warn communities in the cyclones path about the
pending disaster. The Society also presented a video of
an evacuation training drill they conducted.
Sri Lanka: Inclusion of Disaster Management for Project
Work in Schools
From Sri Lanka, GTZ (German Technical Cooperation)
GmbH presented the work programme they are
undertaking to establish disaster management project
work in Sri Lankan schools.
ADPC: Disaster Risk Management and Education.
ADPC presented a session highlighting the crucial role
played by education in the pre-disaster period, the
impact of and possible integration of disaster education
into the post-disaster response, and the many options
and new technologies available to educate people
about disaster risk management. Through education,
community groups and disaster managers can learn to
reduce disaster risk and mitigate the impact of disasters by
living in an ecologically sustainable manner, undertaking
programmes to prevent and mitigate disaster risk, and
preparing to manage the impact of disasters.
Work Groups

The afternoon consisted of two group-work sessions to

discuss the Lessons Learned from the programme and
develop the Way Forward for the ENDP-ESD project and
the educational materials developed.
Lessons Learned
The groups explored four questions under the heading of
Lessons Learned, reaching the following conclusions:
What activity (factor) did you undertake
that contributed most to a successful
outcome?
Participation, consultation and effective networking
and partnerships were identified as the key components
of a successful project. By working with a local partner,
the groups were able to identify local needs, integrate
local learning styles into their product and gain support
from the target audience for their project. The variety of
products created highlights the different needs that each
group found in their respective target audiences.
Good planning was also identified as being important.
What were the biggest challenges?
The lack of awareness amongst community groups
of the risks facing them proved an initial hurdle in
gaining support for their projects. Similar difficulties
were experienced in negotiating with governments and
councils.
The absence of a central library/online resource facility
made it difficult for the teams to identify any relevant
resources that they could draw on. The lack of resources

in local languages was particularly pronounced.

Nations that contain multiple languages and dialects
made producing a widely applicable product difficult for
some teams.
Evaluating the success of their products and developing
sustainability in training and programme development
have been identified as future challenges.
How did you overcome those challenges?
Working with communities at the grass-roots level is seen
as the key methodology to overcome the challenges
above. In doing so, the teams were able to build capacity
and awareness within their target groups and deliver
creative materials for disaster risk management. Adapting
their products to local needs through consultation helped
develop relationships at the community level.
Developing good relationships with government and
important stakeholders has helped teams to develop
their projects.60
What can others learn from your
experience?
The participatory approach is an essential component
of a successful project. By consulting with community
groups, the campaigns, training, videos or other products
meet the needs of the community and hence are more
likely to be supported.
It is important to have information about the community
group, available resources and key factors in planning
prior to commencement. Field testing and ongoing

evaluation throughout the development process allows

the product to be recalibrated to community needs as it
is developed.
The Way Forward
The groups discussed five questions under the heading of
The Way Forward to discuss the future of their projects
and possible collaborations:
How is disaster education applicable to
your work?
The ongoing mainstreaming of disaster risk management
in environmental management, other social science
disciplines, information communication technology
(ICT), geographic information system (GIS) applications
into all industries means that it is a part of all roles. Thus,
participants identified the importance of themselves and
others to being trained in disaster risk management.
It is also important to identify and promote indigenous
knowledge relevant to disaster risk management.
How could you use these products in
your work?
The products are very good for the communities they
have been developed for, and hence can be used for
public awareness raising and education programmes.
The possible adaptation to other contexts (e.g., via
translation) may be possible for some products.
How could these products be scaled up
for wider use?
Workshops and training to disseminate information about

the products or using them for disaster management

training could play an import role in scaling up their
use. Programmatic support is required for the further
dissemination of the projects.
Governments, NGOs and the international community
could use the products as part of sustained public
awareness or training campaigns. This may include
integration into professional and government training
programmes.
Policy advocacy to promote disaster risk management
(including information communication technology,
geographic information systems and community media
centres) will be important to gain support for future
programmes, which could use the products for capacity
building. They could also be adapted to meet other
communities needs in a wide scale programme.
The development of a regional resource database,
including top-down conventional knowledge, bottomup indigenous knowledge,
glossary of technical terms,
an online information sharing e-forum and a log of
training products will aid the disaster risk management
community in identifying relevant information and useful
products for their work.
Does your organization need to develop
further disaster education material?
Further material should be developed if there is an existing
gap and the materials need to be adapted to local needs.
If an appropriate product exists, then it should be used to
avoid duplication and waste.

The use of indigenous knowledge could be further

developed and it is important that local language be
considered for future educational materials.
Who do you see as your potential
partners?
Possible partners in the development and delivery of
disaster educational material and programmes are:
national governments
donor agencies
UN agencies
communities
international NGOs
local NGOs
schools
private sector
academics and academic institutions
disaster management professionals and agencies

Conclusions
The role of community consultation and participation was

at the heart of the projects ability to develop disaster risk

management educational material that met the needs
of the targeted community groups. It was able to draw
on local knowledge to identify risks, obtain information
about the community group and develop products that
met the needs of the community group.
The workshop provided an opportunity for the teams
to present their projects and experiences and enabled
the participants to discuss future collaboration and the
development of the ideas and products created. The
combination of new ideas and practical discussion with
people in positions to make changes within organizations
mandated to work in the field, and also with donor
organizations to support further activities, could lead to
the introduction of innovative ideas into the activities of
those organizations. If organizational commitment can
be obtained, it can lead to a sustainable uptake of the
disaster education material within the region. Ongoing
costs of the programme would then become a budget
line item in national/organizational funding or in a cost
sharing arrangement with international bodies or donor
organizations.
61Bibliography:
References on Natural
Disaster Preparedness64
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Twigg, J. 2004. Disaster Risk Reduction: Mitigation and

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UN/ISDR and UNICEF. 2004. Riskland Game and Educational
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Websites (Accessed 17
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Databases and Libraries
Asian Disaster Reduction Center. 2007. www.adrc.or.jp/
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activities/publications.htm

University of Colorado at Boulder. 2006. Natural Hazards Center

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Disaster Specific Resources

Avalanche
Canadian Avalanche Center. 2006. www.avalanche.ca/
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California Geological Survey. 2006. Earthquakes. www.consrv.
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Earthquake Visualizations. http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWork
shops/visualization/collections/earthquakes.html67
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Resistant Houses.www.devalt.org/newsletter/may01/of_10.htm
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Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research
(MCEER). 2006. http://mceer.buffalo.edu/education/default.asp
Victoria University of Wellington. 2006. Earthquake Hazard
Centre (EHC). www.vuw.ac.nz/architecture/research/ehc/
Flood
Carleton College, Science Education Resource Center. 2006.
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visualization/collections/flood.html
Hurricane
Carleton College, Science Education Resource Center. 2006.
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shops/visualization/collections/hurricanes.html
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nasa/earth/hurricane/intro.html
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 1999. Hurricanes:

Online Meteorology Guide.http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/

guides/mtr/hurr/home.rxml
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Mass Wasting/Landslide Animations. http://serc.carleton.edu/
NAGTWorkshops/visualization/collections/mass_wasting.html
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www.ideers.bris.ac.uk/resistant/resist_home.html Nikolaos Vasilikoudis a.k.a
LucretiousUNESCO Bangkok
The Asia-Pacific Programme of Educational
Innovation for Development
Education for Sustainable Development
920 Sukhumvit Road
Prakanong, Bangkok 10110 Thailand
E-mail: bangkok@unescobkk.org
Website: www.unescobkk.org
Tel: +66-2-3910577 Fax: +66-2-3910866

General[edit]
The total cultivable area in India is 1,945,355 km (56.78% of its total land area), which is
shrinking due to population pressures and rapid urbanisation. India has a total water surface
area of 360,400 km[1] and receives an average annual rainfall of 1,100 mm. Irrigation accounts
for 92% of the water utilisation, comprising an area of 380 km in 1974. It is expected to rise to
1,050 km by 2025, with the balance accounted for by industrial and domestic consumers. India's
inland water resources include rivers, canals, ponds and lakes, coupled with the east and west
coasts of the Indian ocean and other gulfs and fisheries sector. In 2008, India had the world's
third largest fishing industry.[2]
India produces 4 fuels, 11 metallic, 52 non-metallic and 22 minor minerals. [3] India's
major mineral resources include Coal (4th largest reserves in the world), Iron ore,Manganese ore
(7th largest reserve in the world as in 2013),[4] Mica, Bauxite (5th largest reserve in the world as
in 2013),[5] Chromite, Natural gas, Diamonds,Limestone and Thorium (world's largest along coast
of Kerala[6] shores). India's oil reserves, found in Bombay High off the coast
of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthanand in eastern Assam meet 25% of the country's demand.[7][8]

A national level agency National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS) was
established in 1983 for integrated natural resources management in the country. It is supported
by Planning Commission (India) and Department of Space.[9]

Biotic resources[edit]
Biotic resources are obtained from the living and organic material. These include forest products,
wildlife, crops and other living organisms. Most of these resources are renewable because they
can regenerate themselves. Fossil fuels are considered as biotic because they are formed from
decayed organic matter. Fossil fuels are non-renewable.[10]

Forestry[edit]

Forest in Western ghats section, Karnataka

India's land area includes regions with high rainfall to dry deserts, Coast line to Alpine regions.
Around 21 percent of the total geographical area consists of Forests. Due to variations in climatic
conditions and differences in altitude, different types of Forest are present in India including
Tropical, Swamps, Mangrove and Alpine. Variety of forest vegetation is large. Forests are the
main source of Fire woods, Paper, Spices, Drugs, Herbs, Gums and more. Forests contribute
significant amount to nation's GDP.[11]
Main article: Forestry in India

Fish[edit]
India has a long history in fishing and aquaculture. India has rich marine and inland water
resources. It has an 8129 km long coastline. Inland fishery is carried out in Rivers, Reservoirs
and Lakes. In Indian rivers more than 400 species of fish are found and many species are
economically important. Shrimps, Sardines, Mackerels, Carangid, Croakers and other varieties
are available. Major Fish species available are Carp, Catfish, Murrel and Weed fish.[12] India is
one of the major marine fish producer. In 2012-2013, 9 Lakh tonnes of Marine products was
exported.[13]
Main article: Fishing in India

Coal[edit]
Main article: Coal mining in India

Coal mine in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand state

Coal mining in India started in 1774 through East India Company in the Raniganj Coalfield along
the Western bank ofDamodar River in the Indian State of West Bengal . Growth of the Indian
coal mining started when steam locomotives were introduced in 1853. Production increased to
Million tonnes. Production reached 30 million tonnes in 1946. After Independence, National Coal
Development Corporation was set up and colleries were owned by Railways. India consumes
coal mainly for Power sector. Other industries like cement, fertilizer, chemical and paper rely coal
for energy requirements.[14]

Oil[edit]
India had about 125 Million metric tonne of proven oil reserves as April 2010 or 5.62 billion
barrels as per EIA estimate for 2009,[15] which is the second-largest amount in the Asia-Pacific
region behind China.[16] Most of India's crude oil reserves are located in the western coast
(Mumbai High) and in the northeastern parts of the country, although considerable undeveloped
reserves are also located in the offshore Bay of Bengal and in the state of Rajasthan. The
combination of rising oil consumption and fairly unwavering production levels leaves India highly
dependent on imports to meet the consumption needs. In 2010, India produced an average of
about 33.69 million metric tonne of crude oil as on April 2010[17] or 877 thousand barrels per day
as per EIA estimate of 2009.[15] During 2006, India consumed an estimated 2.63 Mbbl/d
(418,000 m3/d) of oil.[18] The EIA estimates that India registered oil demand growth of
100,000 bbl/d (16,000 m3/d) during 2006. As of 2013 India Produces 30% of India's resources
mostly in Rajasthan.[18]
Indias oil sector is dominated by state-owned enterprises, although the government has taken
steps in past recent years to deregulate the hydrocarbons industry and support greater foreign
involvement. Indias state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation is the largest oil company.
ONGC is the leading player in Indias upstream sector, accounting for roughly 75% of the
countrys oil output during 2006, as per Indian government estimates. [16] As a net importer of all
oil, the Indian Government has introduced policies aimed at growing domestic oil production and
oil exploration activities. As part of the effort, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas crafted
the New Exploration License Policy (NELP) in 2000, which permits foreign companies to hold
100% equity possession in oil and natural gas projects.[16]However, to date, only a handful of oil
fields are controlled by foreign firms. Indias downstream sector is also dominated by stateowned entities, though private companies have enlarged their market share in past recent years.

Natural gas[edit]

Oil and Gas processing platform atBombay High

As per the Ministry of petroleum, Government of India, India has 1,437 billion cubic metres
(50.71012 cu ft) of confirmed natural gas reserves as of April 2010. A huge mass of
Indias natural gas production comes from the western offshore regions, particularly the Mumbai
High complex. The onshore fields in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujaratstates are also major
producers of natural gas. As per EIA data, India produced 996 billion cubic feet (2.821010 m3) of
natural gas in 2004.[19] India imports small amounts of natural gas. In 2004, India consumed about
1,089109 cu ft (3.081010 m3) of natural gas, the first year in which the country showed net
natural gas imports. During 2004, India imported 93109 cu ft (2.6109 m3) of liquefied natural
gas (LNG) from Qatar.[19]
As in the oil sector, Indias state-owned companies account for the bulk of natural gas production.
ONGC and Oil India Ltd. (OIL) are the leading companies with respect to production volume,
while some foreign companies take part in upstream developments in joint-ventures and
production sharing contracts. Reliance Industries, a privately owned Indian company, will also
have a bigger role in the natural gas sector as a result of a large natural gas find in 2002 in
theKrishna Godavari basin.[19] The Gas Authority of India Ltd. (GAIL) holds an effective control on
natural gas transmission and allocation activities. In December 2006, the Minister of Petroleum
and Natural Gas issued a new policy that allows foreign investors, private domestic companies,
and Government oil companies to hold up to 100% equity stakes in pipeline projects. While
GAILs domination in natural gas transmission and allocation is not ensured by statute, it will
continue to be the leading player in the sector because of its existing natural gas infrastructure. [19]

Abiotic resources[edit]
Abiotic resources are obtained from the non-living and non-organic material. Some of the
resources like Water and Air are Renewable. Other resources like Minerals are Non-renewable
and exhaustible because they cannot be regenerated.[10] Minerals can be categorized as
Metallic, Non-Metallic and Minor minerals.

Metallic minerals[edit]
Metallic minerals are the minerals which contain one or more metallic elements. They occur in
rare, naturally formed concentrations known as mineral deposits. Metallic minerals available from
India are Zinc, Iron ore, Manganese ore, Gold, Bauxite, Silver, Lead, Tin, Copper and Chromite.
[20]

Copper[edit]

1st Century B.C. Copper coin signifies usage of Copper in India since ancient times

Copper has been used since ancient times. Details of Copper mining and metallurgy are
available in ancient works likeArthashastra. Copper is mainly used in Industrial applications,
Electrical/Electronic equipments and Consumer products such as utensils. Major resources of
Copper are available at Rajasthan, Madhya pradesh and Jharkhand. As on 2010, India had 1.56
billion tonnes of Copper ore.[21] India is one of the 20 major Copper producers. In 2008, India
produced 7,10,000 tonnes of copper.[22] Hindustan Copper Limited, a public sector company is the
only producer of primary refined copper. Post-pillar method and Blast hole stoping method are
used for Mining. Some of the domestic demand is met through scrap recycling. In India, Copper
scrap is recycled through Direct melting, which is a hazardous process. [21]
Zinc[edit]
Zinc is a bluish-white, lustrous, diamagnetic metal. It is also a fair conductor of electricity.
References to medicinal uses of zinc are present in the Charaka Samhita. Ancient Zinc
smelting technique was found at a zinc production site in Zawar, Rajasthan. Zinc is recovered
from a number of different zinc ores. The types of zinc ores include sulfide, carbonate, silicate
and oxide.[23] It is used in corrosive resistant coating for Iron and Steel. Also used in Automotive,
Electrical and Machinery industries. India is the World's fourth largest Zinc reserve as in 2013.
[24]

Hindustan Zinc Limited is the main producer of Zinc in India. Most of the resources are

available in Rajasthan. Minor amount of resources are available in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra states.[23]
Iron ore[edit]
India is the World's third biggest exporter of Iron ore as in 2013. [5] As on 2010, India had 27 billion
tonnes or resource (including Hematite and Magnetite). Major amount of Hematite is found in
Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Goa. Minor amount of Hematite is found in
Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Rajasthan and Uttar
Pradesh. Major amount of Magnetite is found in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and
Tamil Nadu. Minor amount of Magnetite is found in Assam, Bihar, Goa, Jharkhand, Kerala,
Maharashtra, Meghalaya and Nagaland. Mining is done by opencast method. Iron ore is mainly
used for manufacturing of Pig iron, Sponge iron and Steel. It is also used in coal washeries,
cement and glass industries.[25] The public sector companies like National Mineral Development

Corporation and Steel Authority of India contribute to 25% of the total production. Private
companies including Tata Steel provides major contribution.[26]
Chromite[edit]
It is an oxide of Chromium and Iron. It is the only commercial source of Chromium. As on 2010,
India had 200 million tonnes of resource. Major amount of resources are available
from Orissa (Cuttack and Jajpur districts). Minor amount of resources are available
from Manipur, Nagaland, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
[27]

In 2009-2010, India produced 3.41 million tonnes and ranked second in world production. [28] It

is mostly mined by opencast method. Chromium provides additional strength to the alloys and it
is resistant to corrosion. So it is mainly used in Metallurgical applications. It can withstand
sudden temperature changes makes it use in Refractories. It is also used in Chemical
applications.[27]

Non-metallic minerals[edit]
Non-metallic minerals are those which do not yield new products on melting. They are generally
associated with sedimentary rocks. Non-Metallic minerals available from India
are Phosphorite, Dolomite,
Gypsum, Garnet, Wollastonite, Vermiculite, Ochre, Perlite, Bentonite, Asbestos, Cadmium, Felsp
ar, Soapstone, Kaolin,Sillimanite,
Limestone, Diatomite, Pyrophyllite, Fluorite, Vanadium, Dunite, Ilmenite, Gallium and Zircon[29]

Almandine (Garnet group) from Rajasthan

Garnet group[edit]
It is a group of complex silicate minerals and has similar chemical compositions. There are three
groups of garnet - Aluminum-garnet group, Chromium-garnet group, and Iron-garnet group. The
minerals in Aluminium-garnet group are Almandine,Grossularite, Pyrope, and Spessartine. The
mineral in Iron-garnet group is Andradite. The mineral in Chromium-garnet group isUvarovite.
Garnet group minerals occur in different rock types. [30] It is a hard substance. It is resistant to
chemical exposure. Used as an Semi-precious stone and also in Abrasives, Sand blasting, Water
filtration materials and Water jet cutting. Garnets are available in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand, Kerala, Orissa, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. It is also found in beach sands of Kerala,
Orissa and Tamil Nadu states.[31] In 2007-08, India produced 8,73,000 tonnes.[32]
Wollastonite[edit]

It is a meta-silicate of Calcium. It is mostly white in color and occurs as bladed or needle like
crystals. As on 2010, India had 16 million tonnes of resource. Most of the deposits are available
in Rajasthan (Dungarpur, Pali, Sirohi and Udaipur districts). Minor amount of deposits are found
in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.[33] It is mainly used in Ceramic industries and Metallurgical
applications. It is also used as a filler in Wall tiles, Paint, Rubber and Plastic. India is one of the
largest reserves. In 2010, India produced 1,45,000 tons.[34] It is mined by opencast method. It is
also used as a substitute for short-fibre asbestos in brake-linings. Central Building Research
Institute has found that Wollastonite can be used as substitute for chrysotile asbestos in cement
products.[33]
Sillimanite group[edit]

Sillimanite from Orissa

It is a group of metamorphic minerals - Sillimanite, Kyanite and Andalusite. These are

polymorphs of Alumino-Silicate. These are formed under high-pressure and high-temperature
conditions. The three minerals are calcined to form Mullite. Mainly used as refractory materials.
[35]

As on 2010, India had 66 million tonnes of Sillimanite, 100 million tonnes of Kyanite and 18

million tonnes of Andalusite as resource. Most of the resources are found in Tamil Nadu, Orissa,
Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala andAssam. Minor amount of resources are found
in Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Rajasthan and West
Bengal. Granular Sillimanite is available in beach sands of South India. Sillimanite refractory
bricks are used in Steel, Glass and Petrochemical industries. [36] In 2004, India produced 14,500
tonnes of Sillimanite and 6200 tonnes of Kyanite.[35]
Ilmenite[edit]
It is a compound of Iron and Titanium. It will be iron-black or Steel-gray in color. It is non-toxic
material and used in biomedical substances. Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology has
developed an Environment friendly technology for processing Ilmenite. [37] It is also used in
production of Titanium dioxide pigment. It is available in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Orissa. Mining is
done at locations Chavara, Chatrapur, Aluva and Manavalakurichi by Indian Rare Earths limited.
[38]

As on 2013, India has 21% of the world's reserves and constitutes 6% of the world's

production.[39]

Pyrophyllite[edit]
It is a hydrous Alumino-silicate. It is chemically inert, has high melting point and low electrical
conductivity. It is used in Refractories, Foundry dressings, Pesticides, Ceramics and Rubber. It is
available as Hydrothermal deposits.[40] Physical and Optical properties of Pyrophyllite is similar
to Talc. It is also used in Electrical insulators, Sanitary-ware and in Glass industry. As on 2010,
India had 56 million tonnes of resource. Most of the resources are found in Madhya pradesh
(Chhatarpur, Tikamgarh and Shivpuri districts). Remaining resources are found in Orissa, Uttar
pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. In 2010, India produced 1.5 million
tonnes.[41]

Minor minerals[edit]

Quartzite rocks in North Coastal Andhra Pradesh

White marble rocks in Madhya Pradesh

Minor minerals available are Building stone, Brick earth, Quartzite, Marble, Granite, Gravel, Clay
and Sand. These are mainly used in Building constructions.[20] Impact of mining these minerals
was significant over a period of time even the area was small. Impacts were Increasing water
scarcity, Damage to River beds and adverse effects on bio-diversity. So from 2012 onwards,
mining of these minerals are to be done after clearance from Ministry of Environment and
Forests (India). [42]
Marble[edit]
Marble is a metamorphosed limestone formed by re-crystallization. It is available in different
colours and textures. Marble deposits are available in many states of India. [43] It has been used in
India for a long time. It was used in construction of Temples, Tombs and Palaces. Now it is also
used for flooring in homes and offices. It is preferred for flooring because of its durability and
water resistance.[44] Marbles which are economically important are available in Rajasthan,
Gujarat, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. As on 2010, there was 1931 million

tonnes of resource, including all grades of marble. Based on the chemical composition, types of
Marble available are Calcite, Dolomitic, Siliceous Limestone, Serpentine and Travertine marbles.
Other than construction, it is used in Paint and Agricultural lime.[43]

Nuclear[edit]
India's proven Nuclear reserves include Uranium, Thorium.
Uranium[edit]
In Nalgonda District, the Rajiv Gandhi Tiger Reserve (the only tiger project in Andhra Pradesh)
has been forced to surrender over 3,000 sq. kilometres to uranium mining, following a directive
from the Central Ministry of Environment and Forests.[45]
In 2007, India was able to extract 229 tonnes of U3O8 from its soil.[46] On 19 July 2011, Indian
officials announced that the Tumalapalli mine in Andhra Pradesh state of India could provide
more than 170,000 tonnes of uranium, making it as the world's largest uranium mine. Production
of the ore is slated to begin in 2012.[47]
The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) recently discovered that the upcoming mine
in Tumalapalli has close to 49,000 tonne of uranium reserves. This could just be a shot in the
arm for India's nuclear power aspirations as it is three times the original estimate of the area's
deposits.[48]
Thorium[edit]
The IAEA's 2005 report estimates India's reasonably assured reserves of thorium at 319,000
tonnes, but mentions recent reports of India's reserves at 650,000 tonnes. [49] A government of
India estimate, shared in the country's Parliament in August 2011, puts the recoverable reserve
at 846,477 tonnes.[50] The Indian Minister of State V. Narayanasamy stated that as of May 2013,
the country's thorium reserves were 11.93 million tonnes (monazite, having 9-10% ThO 2[51]), with
a significant majority (8.59 Mt; 72%) found in the three eastern coastal states of Andhra Pradesh
(3.72 Mt; 31%), Tamil Nadu (2.46 Mt; 21%) and Odisha (2.41 Mt; 20%). [52] Both the IAEA and
OECD appear to conclude that India may possess the largest share of world's thorium deposits.

See also[edit]

Mining in India

Geological Survey of India

MOIL Limited

Geology of India

Agriculture in India

Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute

National Environmental Engineering Research Institute

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Wildlife of India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

India has the largest wild population of tigers in the world.

Adult male Indian lion at Gir Forest. Gir forest in India has the only surviving population of Asiatic lions in the
world.

The most endangered Indiantop predator of 2010, the dhole is on edge of extinction. Less than 2500 members of
the species remain in the world.

Snow leopard at Hemis National Park in Ladakh, India. Snow leopard is an endangered species found along the
Himalayas.

The wildlife in India comprises a mix of species of different types of organisms.[1] Apart from a
handful of the major farm animals such as cows, buffaloes, goats, poultry, and camels, India has
an amazingly wide variety of animals native to the country. It is home to Bengal tigers, Indian
lions, deer, pythons, wolves, foxes, bears, crocodiles, wild
dogs, monkeys, snakes,antelope species, varieties of bison and the Asian elephant. The region's

rich and diverse wildlife is preserved in 120+ national parks, 18 Bio-reserves and 500+ wildlife
sanctuaries across the country. India has some of the most biodiverse regions of the world and
hosts three of the worlds 35 biodiversity hotspots or treasure-houses that is the Western
Ghats, the Eastern Himalayas and Indo- Burma.[2] Since India is home to a number of rare and
threatened animal species, wildlife management in the country is essential to preserve these
species.[3] India is one of the seventeen megadiverse countries. According to one study, India
along with other 16 mega diverse countries is home to about 60-70% of the world's biodiversity.[4]
India, lying within the Indomalaya ecozone, is home to about 7.6% of all mammalian, 12.6%
of avian, 6.2% of reptilian, and 6.0% of flowering plant species.[5] Many ecoregions, such as
the shola forests, also exhibit extremely high rates of endemism; overall, 33% of Indian plant
species are endemic.[6][7] India's forest cover ranges from the tropical rainforest of the Andaman
Islands,Western Ghats, and Northeast India to the coniferous forest of the Himalaya. Between
these extremes lie the sal-dominatedmoist deciduous forest of eastern India; teak-dominated dry
deciduous forest of central and southern India; and the babul-dominated thorn forest of the
central Deccan and western Gangetic plain.[8] Important Indian trees include the medicinal neem,
widely used in rural Indian herbal remedies. The pipal fig tree, shown on the seals of Mohenjodaro, shaded the Gautama Buddha as he sought enlightenment.

A female Indian elephant inNagerhole National Park. India has the largest population of Indian elephants.

Many Indian species are descendants of taxa originating in Gondwana, to which India originally
belonged. Peninsular India's subsequent movement towards, and collision with,
the Laurasian landmass set off a mass exchange of species. However,volcanism and climatic
change 20 million years ago caused the extinction of many endemic Indian forms.[9] Soon
thereafter, mammals entered India from Asia through two zoogeographical passes on either side
of the emerging Himalaya.[8] As a result, among Indian species, only 12.6% of mammals and
4.5% of birds are endemic, contrasting with 45.8% of reptiles and 55.8% of amphibians. [5] Notable
endemics are the Nilgiri leaf monkey and the brown and carmine Beddome's toad of the Western
Ghats. India contains 172, or 2.9%, of IUCN-designated threatened species.[10] These include
the Asian elephant, the Asiatic lion, theBengal tiger, the Indian rhinoceros, the mugger crocodile,
and the Indian white-rumped vulture, which suffered a near-extinction from ingesting the carrion
of diclofenac-treated cattle.
In recent decades, human encroachment has posed a threat to India's wildlife; in response, the
system of national parks andprotected areas, first established in 1935, was substantially
expanded. In 1972, India enacted the Wildlife Protection Act andProject Tiger to safeguard
crucial habitat; further federal protections were promulgated in the 1980s. Along with over 515
wildlife sanctuaries, India now hosts 18 biosphere reserves, 9 of which are part of the World
Network of Biosphere Reserves; 26 wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention.

The varied and rich wildlife of India has had a profound impact on the region's popular culture.
The common name for wilderness in India is jungle, which was adopted into the English
language. The word has been also made famous in The Jungle Book byRudyard Kipling. India's
wildlife has been the subject of numerous other tales and fables such as the Panchatantra.
Contents
[hide]

1 Fauna

2 Conservation

3 Image gallery
3.1 Recent extinctions

4 Fungi of India

5 Flora of India

6 National symbols of India (animals)

7 Biosphere reserves

8 See also

9 References

10 External links

Fauna[edit]
Main article: Fauna of India

The Hanuman langur with newborn. At least seven species of grey langurs are found in India out of which five are
endemic.

The endangered black buck at the Guindy National Park within theChennai metropolis

One of the world's rarest monkeys,Gee's golden langur typifies the precarious survival of much of India'smega
fauna.

The Indian rhinoceros in theKaziranga National Park. Kaziranga in Assam, India is home to two-thirds of the onehorned rhinoceros population.

India is home to several well-known large mammals, including the Asian elephant, Bengal
tiger, Asiatic lion, leopard, sloth bearand Indian rhinoceros. Some other well-known large Indian
mammals are: ungulates such as the rare wild Asian water buffalo, common domestic Asian
water buffalo, gail, gaur, and several species of deer and antelope. Some members of the dog
family, such as the Indian wolf, Bengal fox and golden jackal, and the dhole or wild dogs are also
widely distributed. However, the dhole, also known as the whistling hunter, is the most
endangered top Indian carnivore, and the Himalayan wolf is now a critically endangered species
endemic to India.[citation needed] It is also home to the striped
hyena, macaques, langur and mongoosespecies.

Conservation[edit]

The Indian leopard is found across the Indian subcontinent. Poaching for its skin is a serious threat to the
leopard.

The need for conservation of wildlife in India is often questioned because of the apparently
incorrect priority in the face of direct poverty of the people. However, Article 48 of the Constitution
of India specifies that, "The state shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment and to
safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country" and Article 51-A states that "it shall be the duty
of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes,
rivers, and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures." [11]
Large and charismatic mammals are important for wildlife tourism in India, and several national
parks and wildlife sanctuaries cater to these needs. Project Tiger, started in 1972, is a major
effort to conserve the tiger and its habitats.[12] At the turn of the 20th century, one estimate of the
tiger population in India placed the figure at 40,000, yet an Indian tiger census conducted in 2008
revealed the existence of only 1,411 tigers. 2010 tiger census revealed that there are 1700 tigers
left in India.[13] As per the latest tiger census (2015), there are around 2226 tigers in India. By far,
there is an overall 30% increase in tiger population. [14] Various pressures in the later part of the
20th century led to the progressive decline of wilderness resulting in the disturbance of viable
tigerhabitats. At the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources (IUCN) General Assembly meeting in Delhi in 1969, serious concern was voiced
about the threat to several species of wildlife and the shrinkage of wilderness in India. In 1970, a
national ban on tiger hunting was imposed, and in 1972 the Wildlife Protection Act came into
force. The framework was then set up to formulate a project for tiger conservation with
an ecological approach. However, there is not much optimism about this framework's ability to
save the peacock, which is the national bird of India. George Schaller wrote about tiger
conservation:[15]

Image gallery[edit]

Royal Bengal tiger

Asiatic lions

Sloth bear

Snow leopard

Clouded leopard

Blackbuck

Indian elephant

Indian rhinoceros

Rhesus macaque

Indian wolf

Gray langur

Red panda

Indian crested porcupine

Sangai or Thamin

Sambar deer

Chital

Golden jackal

Indian wild dog (dhole)

Striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena)

A Nicobar pigeon.

Saltwater crocodile

Indian peacock, India's national bird

Brahminy kite

Brown fish-owl

Indian cobra

Lion-tailed macaque

Ring-necked parakeet

Shikra

Recent extinctions[edit]

Illustration of a Himalayan quailfrom A. O. Hume's work. Last seen in 1876

The exploitation of land and forest resources by humans along with hunting and trapping for food
and sport has led to the extinction of many species in India in recent times. These species
include mammals such as the Indian/Asiatic cheetah, wild zebu, Indian Javan rhinoceros,
and Northern Sumatran rhinoceros.[16] While some of these large mammal species are confirmed

extinct, there have been many smaller animal and plant species whose status is harder to
determine. Many species have not been seen since their description.
Some species of birds have gone extinct in recent times, including the pink-headed
duck (Rhodonessa caryophyllacea) and the Himalayan quail (Ophrysia superciliosa). A species
of warbler, Acrocephalus orinus, known earlier from a single specimen collected by Allan
Octavian Hume from near Rampur in Himachal Pradesh, was rediscovered after 139 years in
Thailand.[17][18]

Fungi of India[edit]
The diversity of fungi[19] and their natural beauty occupy a prime place in the biological world and
India has been a cradle for such organisms. Only a fraction of the total fungal wealth of India has
been subjected to scientific scrutiny and mycologists have to unravel this unexplored and hidden
wealth. One-third of fungal diversity of the globe exists in India. The country has an array of 10
diverse biomes including Trans-Himalayan zone, Himalaya, Desert, Semi-Arid zone, Western
Ghats, Deccan Peninsula, Gangetic Plain, North-Eastern India, Coasts and Islands where varied
dominating regimes manifest. This enables the survival of manifold fungal flora in these regions
which include hot spot areas like the Himalayan ranges, Western Ghats, hill stations, mangroves,
sea coasts, fresh water bodies etc. Many fungi have been recorded from these regions and from
the country in general comprising thermophiles, psychrophiles, mesophiles, aquatic forms,
marine forms, plant and animal pathogens, edible fungi and beneficial fungi and so on. The
number of fungi recorded in India exceeds 27,000 species, the largest biotic community after
insects. The true fungi belong to the Kingdom[20] Fungi which has four phyla, 103 orders, 484
families and 4979 genera. About 205 new genera have been described from India, of which 32%
were discovered by C. V. Subramanian of the University of Madras. [21][22] These features indicate a
ten-fold increase in the last 80 years.

Flora of India[edit]
Main article: Flora of India

The Valley of Flowers National Park in Uttarakhand, India.

There are about 17500 taxa of flowering plants from India. The Indian Forest Act, 1927 helped to
improve protection of the natural habitat.

National symbols of India (animals)[edit]

National animal: royal Bengal tiger

National heritage animal of India: Elephant

National mammal of India: Hanuman langur

National aquatic animal: Ganges river dolphin[23]

National bird: peacock

Biosphere reserves[edit]

The Sundarbans in Bengal, India

The Indian government has established eighteen biosphere reserves of India which protect
larger areas of natural habitat and often include one or more national parks and/or preserves,
along buffer zones that are open to some economic uses. Protection is granted not only to the
flora and fauna of the protected region, but also to the human communities who inhabit these
regions, and their ways of life.

Valley of flowers National Park,Uttrakhand, India is part of the Nanda Devi Bio-reserve.

The bio-reserves in India are:

Achanakmar-Amarkantak

Agasthyamalai

Dibru Saikhowa

Dihang Dibang

Great Nicobar

Gulf of Mannar

Kachchh

Kangchenjunga

Manas

Nanda Devi

The Nilgiris

Nokrek

Pachmarhi

Simlipal

Sundarbans

Cold Desert

Seshachalam hills

Panna

Gulf of Mannar fromRameshwaram, Tamil Nadu, India.

Nine of the eighteen biosphere reserves are a part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves,
based on the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) list.[24]

Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve

Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve

Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve

Nokrek National Park

Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve

Simlipal National Park

Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve

Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve

Nicobar Islands

See also[edit]

Birding in Chennai

Birdwatchers' Field Club of Bangalore

Endemic birds of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

India Nature Watch

Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education

Van Vigyan Kendra (VVK) Forest Science Centres

References[edit]
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SPECIES CHECKLIST: Species Diversity in India; ENVIS Centre: Wildlife & Protected
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Free EBOOK: Special Habitats and Threatened Plants of India; Wildlife Institute of
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ENVIS Centre on Conservation of Ecological Heritage and Sacred Sights of India;

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N. AHALYA2, T. SENGUPTA1, ALOK KUMAR1, A.K. TIWARI3, V.S. VIJAYAN1 & LALITHA
VIJAYAN1; 1Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore 641108,
2Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute Of Science, Bangalore 560012, 3Regional
Remote Sensing Service Centre, Dehradun, Uttaranchal 248001; Tropical Ecology 43(1):
173-186, 2002 ISSN 0564-3295; International Society for Tropical Ecology. PDF [5]

[6];Fungal biodiversity: Distribution, conservation

and prospecting of fungi from India. By: C. Manoharachary, K. Sridhar, Reena Singh, Alok
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[7];Fungi of India 1989-2001. By: Jamaluddin, M.G. Goswami and B.M. Ojha, Scientific
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