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of the SINAGER Law and strengthened disaster struc-
tures at all levels in Honduras. It provided step-by-step
awareness-raising, organizational training, community
involvement and advocacy support over a sustained
period, allowing sufficient time for the law to be devel-
oped, revised and ratified.
Challenges
The work was not without its challenges: political
crises suspended parliamentary activities while the law
was being finalized. But during 2008/9, Honduras was
affected by one tropical cyclone (Alma); one general
flood in the Colón, Comayagua and Copán area, an
earthquake in the Roatán, Guanaja and Puerto Cortes
areas that affected more than 50,000 people, and a
severe drought spell affecting 250,000 people, which
helped to raise the profile of disasters and, subse-
quently, advocacy efforts.
The SINAGER Law was finally passed in August 2009
and implemented in October 2010. The objectives set
out in ASONOG’s original advocacy plan were achieved,
as follows:
• All government institutions are required to consider
DRR in their plans and projects
• Local governments must designate a budget for DRR
in their constituencies
• The Ministry of Education must incorporate DRR
into educational plans
• COPECO must focus on disaster prevention
(preparedness and risk reduction) as well as
emergency response
• The regional and national civil society roundtables
are part of the SINAGER executive committee and
they decide how the law will be implemented
• Greater coordination between government bodies
responsible for emergency response and COPECO
has been seen during recent emergencies.
seven countries across Asia, Central America and Africa. It set out
to build relationships between communities, civil society and local
government, to improve the level of social protection and increase
participation in the preparation of local and national development and
disaster plans. Governments and civil society must work together to
improve national and local disaster policies and laws. This article will
share case studies from the Philippines and Honduras, which illustrate
the importance of changing the laws to support effective DRR.
Examples from Honduras and the Philippines show the vital
importance of strong collaborative relationships between govern-
ment and civil society to create the laws needed for effective DRR.
Honduras
In Honduras, the legal framework for ensuring DRR and a coordinated
response in case of emergencies was still weak and incomplete ten
years after the country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
The existing National Contingencies Law (1991) and the 1999 reforms
focused too narrowly on humanitarian response after the event, rather
than addressing prevention and risk management. An institutional
basis for DRR already existed in Honduras, but this was not function-
ing well. There was little support for education on DRR or for civil
society organizations (CSOs) to implement community-centred DRR
and response. There was a clear need for the law to be strengthened.
In 2006, Christian Aid’s partner, the Honduran Association of
Non-governmental Organizations (ASONOG), started to advocate
for improvements in the disaster law. It worked with the regional
roundtables and agreed a three-year plan.
During this time representatives of the regional roundtables,
partners and communities were all trained in DRR and advocacy strat-
egies. The regional roundtables were used for ‘downward’ advocacy to
build awareness and strengthen links between civil society and local
government. Members of the regional roundtables worked directly
with communities, providing DRR education and taking issues from
the communities – such as riverbank erosion due to unregulated
extraction of sand and stone – to the roundtable discussions.
During year one, ASONOG worked to show that the existing laws
did not sufficiently address community needs or address DRR or
climate change adaptation, and that a revised law was needed. The
regional roundtables met with the national roundtable to define
their political position, national advocacy plan and activities. These
discussions led to the proposal of a new law.
During year two, two regional roundtables started drafting what
became known as the SINAGER Law and advocating directly with
government. The western regional roundtable lobbied the national
roundtable to take SINAGER on board and present it to congress.
The BDRC project provided additional support and momentum.
Christian Aid partners ASONOG and Mennonite Social Action
Commission produced training materials and trained 11 partners
and four regional roundtables on how to carry out effective advo-
cacy. They then helped the groups organize and plan their advocacy
work. ASONOG and BDRC partners participated in five consultation
meetings to discuss and analyse draft versions of the SINAGER law
and they reviewed and commented on at least ten drafts of the law
before it was passed in 2009.
The national roundtable took the SINAGER draft to congress and,
together with ASONOG, accompanied its discussion and modifica-
tions in 2007 and 2008. The other BDRC partners worked with
the regional roundtables to maintain pressure. The BDRC project
and Christian Aid partners significantly contributed to the passing
“You cannot talk about development
processes without talking of disaster
risk and vulnerability reduction. If you
don’t factor this in, development gains
are lost… you need to tackle tactical and
structural issues at the same time. Civil
society can help communities with the
tactical and practical things they can do
to reduce risks, but if the government
does not take care of the technical and
structural factors, DRR is not effective,
as the particular community gains are
lost. Local and national level progress
are equally important.”
Ramiro Lara, Manager, ASONOG