Stakeholder participation and capacity development as key elements for Disaster Risk Reduction in Bolivia: A framework for early warning based on forecasting requirements

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Communities play a crucial role in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). However, many Early Warning Systems (EWS) focus on the hazard, which often implies that their focus is the model without a clear understanding of how the information provided fits with the information required by each group of stakeholders. The understanding of the local context and particularly local needs is a prerequisite for an effective and sustainable EWS. The authors propose a grassroots approach which analyses how local governments implement DRR actions and the link to national initiatives. It focuses on the understanding of local needs in terms of forecasting requirements and people’s potential for responding to warnings, and from there develops the institutional and technical structure of the EWS. The conceptual framework for early warning presented in this paper is useful for identifying lead times and the accuracy needs of different stakeholders and subsequently establishing forecast needs based on these requirements. This paper also shows that developing sustainable DRR capacities at national and local level by means of knowledge sharing and institutional development is crucial for building disaster resilience. Apart from literature reviews, information was collected through about 100 interviews and focus group discussions with DRR organizations and stakeholders. While this paper focuses on Bolivia; this conceptual framework, as well as, the other findings are relevant to other countries with similar geographical and socio-economic conditions.

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