Together We Stand

[ 158 ] Reducing flood-related food security challenges Since 2000, flooding had become a common occurrence in the Kuala Nerang area of Padang Terap district, Kedah, Malaysia. Recognizing the need to address the vulnerabil- ity and adaptation of communities and relevant agencies, a project based on DRM-SD was carried out by CGSS. Education for sustainable development was stressed for non-formal education in the communities and schools in the district, enabling people to acquire the knowledge, skills, perspectives, attitudes and values necessary to prepare them- selves towards building disaster-resilient communities. 6 The stakeholders involved in this project consisted of experts from USM, residents, local officials and selected schools in the district. The Kuala Nerang project identi- fied that the communities of Padang Terap needed trauma counselling for victims, training in handling and maintain- ing flood-related equipment, accredited flood rescue training, and the establishment of a formal community flood disaster committee consisting of village leaders and local authorities. Several measures were thus identified to strengthen capacity within the local community and Padang Terap’s local author- ity. For example, for the Bahaya Ayaq Bah (The Dangers of Flooding) awareness campaign, the 3S concept (Sebelum, Semasa, Selepas) was coined from the local terminology for ‘before’, ‘during’ and ‘after’ flood occurrence, and toolkit prep- aration was included. Eight fibreglass boats with outboard engines were also provided to the communities to help rescue those trapped during floods. The success of this project was the close cooperation between academia, local officials and the local communities. 7 For sustainable development, therefore, we need more than mathematics; a risk-averse mindset that helps us move progressively from event-based responses to process-based interventions, connecting DRM to national SD efforts, and defining risk more inclusively to cover both ‘rapid onset-high impact’ events such as floods and tsunamis and ‘slow onset-high impact’ events. Recognizing that capac- ity-building is the best option to empower communities towards disaster resilience through DRM-SD, continual innovation and improvement of the approach should be mainstreamed at all levels, especially by public and private sustainability-related institutions. Capacity-building is one of the best ways to enhance community resilience. Through capacity-building, we are able to help alter the mindset of communities to be more disaster conscious and progressively reduce risk increases in the name of devel- opment. Unless urgent mitigation and community-based adaptation measures at all levels are undertaken to reduce adverse impacts, very hostile impacts cannot be avoided. When people are enabled through knowledge transfer and indigenous knowledge-based best practices, it is possible to reduce disaster risk considerably. T ogether W e S tand Images: CGSS Stakeholder discussion during the Kuala Nerang project