The Disaster Risk Management Handbook

The provincial and local governments in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa committed to institutionalise
the disaster risk management process in their
respective jurisdictions following the catastrophic
earthquake of 2005. To supplement these
efforts, the Government of Pakistan with the
support of multilateral and bilateral international
development agencies extended full support and
cooperation.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was
signed between the Government of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa (then North West Frontier Province)
and German International Cooperation (former
German Technical Cooperation - GTZ), in 2007
for piloting a disaster risk management system in
Mansehra under its Disaster Preparedness and
Management Project (DPMP).
GIZ had already been operating in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa since 2006 on behalf of the German
Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and
Development (BMZ), across a project to support
disaster preventive reconstruction. Thereafter,
DPMP focused on supporting the institutional
development of disaster management authorities
at provincial and district levels to improve and
strengthen disaster risk management and disaster
response mechanisms.
Mansehra experience has demonstrated that
disaster management remains a significant and
important focus for local governments. The
ability of District Disaster Management Units
(DDMUs) to develop and maintain the capacities
for disaster management planning and operation
are key factors in helping to ensure the safety,
resilience and sustainability of communities.
This handbook is intended as a learning tool
to supplement the significant work done by
DDMU Mansehra in preparing communities
to manage and mitigate the effects of disasters.
It is another step towards supporting linkages
between the strategic and operational disaster
management plans of the district administration
in making district administration responsive and
the communities resilient to disasters.
Incorporating disaster management into local
governments’ development planning was
made possible under the concept of disaster
management alliance in collaboration with
line departments, local government agencies,
emergency services and technical specialists. An
enabling environment was thus created where
everyone could feel responsible for individual and
collective actions.
Working relationships based on mutual trust and
confidence were built among all partners including
local government elected representatives,
appointed officials at the local governance
tiers, representatives of the government line
departments, law enforcement agencies, scientific
research institutions, international development
partners, national non-government organisations
and the communities of District Mansehra.
The handbook attempts to explain the processes,
approaches, methodologies and tools that
were developed, used and tested by DDMU
Mansehra. Knowledge management based on
documentation of empirical knowledge, best
practices and technical experience illustrate GIZ’s
ongoing commitment in promotion and adoption
of disaster risk management mechanisms for
replication of DRM Model Mansehra across other
geographic settings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.