Community Based Early Warning Systems in South and South East Asia: Best Practice & Learning 2012

The last decade has seen an unprecendented growth in the incidence of natural disasters. At the same time the potential, for early warning systems (EWS) to limit their impacts has been acknowledged, with the development of national and regional EWS in Asia in particular. 

"Last mile" connectivity remains underdeveloped however, partly as a result of it being promoted as an "add-on" to national systems and partly due to a lack of understanding of commun ity's capacities and needs. 

This publications highlights initiatives which demonstrate the critical contribution users have made within systems, and as drivers of them. They show that where communities and the threats they face are taken as the starting point for system development that the last mile can be bridged, sustainably.