Capacity Building for Disaster Risk Management in a Megacity Context: the Case of Manila, Philippines

Megacities are complex urban areas with high population density, nested administrative units, heterogenous communities with varying hazardscapes. Based on the action research experience of the authors in Manila, Philippines over a one-year period, the process of building capacity is discussed. The methodology is premised on sustaining a partnership among scientists and engineers from research institutions and NGOs with local authorities. The crosscutting approach utilized in this study shapes the incremental process as stakeholders are involved through the identification of sound practices and participatory workshops. Through an electronic work panel, areas of cooperation are identified: legal framework, training needs assessment, risk communication technologies, risk reduction involving land use planning, multi-stakeholder mechanisms. Emerging issues are analyzed in the context of generating a generic approach for disaster risk management in megacities.