Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation

Climate change is a daily challenge for many of the communities that Habitat supports. As a shelter and
settlements focused organization, HFH witnesses the negative impacts of climate change on the health,
livelihood and property of these communities. Diagram below shows how Disaster Risk and Climate
Change converge and differ:

Climate Change Disaster Risk

Typhoons
Earthquakes
Floods

Rise in sea-level
Air temperature Droughts Landslides Volcanic
increase eruptions
Increased frequency
and intensity of Risk management of
Long term adjustment to climate related geo-physical and
changing climate hazards man-made hazards
conditions

Action: Habitat believes that safe, decent shelter and settlements provide the platform upon which
climate resilience is built. We respond to climate change with a broad range of interventions
contextualized to the risk profile of each vulnerable community:

Preparedness: Forming coalitions with other nongovernmental organizations and

agencies working with the same goal. We are training our own teams, partner
organizations and vulnerable communities to prepare for emergencies.

Capacity Building: Through the participation of vulnerable groups in the

identification, assessment and monitoring of exposure to climate change through
community-based risk assessment and risk reduction planning tools.

Mitigation: This includes training families and local craftspeople, promoting climate
sensitive materials and reforestation. We lower energy use by replacing timber with
bamboo as a construction material, supporting communities to go off grid.
 Volunteer mobilization: Working with volunteers from the private sector staff, in
support of mitigation activities, in the collection of local data, in the realization of
advocacy activities, in awareness raising and in fundraising initiatives.

Financial mechanism: We are currently working with international and national

insurance companies to develop and pilot insurance products appropriate for
vulnerable communities.

Advocacy: Working in alliance with a broad network of organizations, we focus in

particular on advocacy to increase tenure security, allowing families to upgrade
their homes.

Target and Prioritization

Nepal: 29 million
The strategy will be
implemented at the wider
Bangladesh: 164 million
Asia-Pacific regional level
and the country level. The
country level interventions Vietnam: 95 million
will target areas of
recurrent disasters and
high risks in the following
priority countries: Philippines: 103 million
Bangladesh, India,
Indonesia, Nepal,
Philippines and Vietnam.
Increased regional capacity India: 1,336 million
will allow more rapid and
robust responses to
disasters, ultimately Indonesia: 262 million
serving more than 20,000
families in need.

* http://www.worldometers.info
February 2017 Population