The five-year “Community-Based Disaster Risk Management Programme” was designed to guide PDMA Punjab in establishing local disaster management committees and equipping them to serve as a trained workforce for local governments and district administrations. Developed by PDMA Punjab with financial backing from the World Bank and technical support from the Network of Disaster Management Practitioners (NDMP), this initiative was part of the “Disaster and Climate Resilient Program” implemented during 2021–2022.
The document outlines a comprehensive framework for enhancing disaster resilience in Punjab through a Community-Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) approach. It begins by emphasizing the need for a paradigm shift in the province’s disaster management system, citing vulnerabilities such as population density, squatter settlements, and weak infrastructure that exacerbate the impact of hydro-meteorological disasters. While existing provincial mechanisms and volunteer networks, such as Rescue 1122 and Civil Defence, are in place, they focus primarily on emergency response rather than community preparedness. To address this gap, the PDMA Punjab has adopted the National CBDRM guidelines and aligned its efforts with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030). The CBDRM approach emphasizes community involvement in disaster management, encompassing capacity building, risk assessment, and planning. Drawing on case studies from South Asia and other provinces of Pakistan, the framework identifies gaps and opportunities for sustainable CBDRM practices in Punjab. Through extensive consultations with stakeholders at the national, provincial, and district levels, a structured CBDRM program has been designed, comprising four phases: village-level implementation, union council-level scaling, institutionalization, and resilience building. The program promotes a mix of bottom-up and top-down approaches, integrating community-driven initiatives with government policies. To ensure sustainability, recommendations include institutionalizing disaster management committees, fostering volunteerism, linking CBDRM with broader frameworks, and advocating multi-sectoral approaches. The proposed implementation committee and action plan for 2019–2023 aim to operationalize this program with support from government bodies, NGOs, and international agencies, ultimately building resilient communities in Punjab.
