VULNERABILITY AND RESILIENCE OF URBAN COMMUNITIES …siteresources.worldbank.org/INTURBANDEVELOPMENT/... · 2010-03-11 · concept of vulnerability and resilience to coastal communities

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VULNERABILITY AND RESILIENCE OF URBAN COMMUNITIES UNDER COASTAL HAZARD CONDITIONS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Vilas Nitivattananon, Tran Thanh Tu, Amornrat Rattanapan and Jack Asavanant

Assistant Professor1 School of Environment, Resources and

Development1 Asian Institute of Technology1

[email protected]

Summary: Coastal cities in most regions including Southeast Asia have been facing complex inter-related problems associated with greater intensity and frequency of climate extremes. The adaptation strategies are required which comprise comprehensive efforts on vulnerability assessment and implementation actions. The main objective of this paper is thus to apply the concept of vulnerability and resilience to coastal communities under climate hazards. Southern Vietnam and Thailand are chosen as representatives to support this study. The results show that flood risk has several consequences in different urbanization levels under the climate variability. The factors influencing vulnerabilities of selected coastal communities are related to economic aspects, institutional capacity, and level of and accessibility to knowledge in local community-based organizations. In addition to a direct contribution to Cluster 2 of the symposium, this paper can also be expected to link with other clusters.

Key Words: Adaptation, Built environment, Climate change and disaster risk, Housing, Southeast Asia

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For first author

Vulnerability and Resilience of Urban Communities under Coastal Hazard Conditions in Southeast Asia Fifth Urban Research Symposium 2009

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VULNERABILITY AND RESILIENCE OF URBAN COMMUNITIES UNDER COASTAL HAZARD CONDITIONS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

I. INTRODUCTION Some of the key specific research-related priorities in Asia related to climate change are: impacts of extreme weather events such as disasters from flood, storm surges, sea-level rise; identification of social vulnerability to multiple stressors due to climate change and environmental change; and adaption of researches concerning agro-technology, water resources management, integrated coastal zone management (Cruz, et al., 2007). All cities face risks from a range of natural and human-induced disasters, including disasters arising from extreme weather events, fires and industrial accidents. There can also be very large differences in the capacity of city authorities and of city-based households and organizations to take measures to limit an increase in risk and to ensure rapid and effective responses when flooding or some other disasters occur. Coastal hazards can be most disruptive to settlements on coastal and estuarine areas and this is where a considerable proportion of the world’s population lives. One estimate suggested that 60 percent of the world’s population live within 60 kilometers of the seacoast (Scott, et al, 1996, cited in Hardoy, et al, 2001). Ports and other settlements on the coast or estuaries are also most at risk from any increase in the severity and frequency of floods and storms induced by global warming. Recent experience with natural disaster in the region including the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, though not directly related to climate change, demonstrate that developing nations have limited capacities to independently marshal aid to recover from disaster and significant external assistance was required to augment national resilience to put affected nations on the, sometimes lengthy, path to recover. Coastal cities in Southeast Asia (SEA) potentially face complex inter-related problems associated with greater intensity and frequency of climate extremes. Impacts occur on both urban and rural settlements along the coast which can directly affect housing, infrastructure and economic facilities. Some countries may have a substantial impact on people due to the extreme events of sea level rise – particularly areas south of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) in Vietnam would face serious inundation. In addition, coastal cities whose economies benefit from tourism, such as Phuket and nearby in Southern Thailand, may have considerable difficulties protecting tourist attractions and economy-based under hazard conditions. Table 1 illustrates impacts from several types of major disasters in the region during 2000s. According to ADB (2009), SEA countries have made significant efforts to build adaptive capacity. There is still a need for adopting a more holistic approach to building the adaptive capacity of vulnerable groups and localities and their resilience to shocks. Without further mitigation or adaptation, the four countries – Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam – are projected to suffer a mean loss of 2.2% of GDP by 2100 on an annual basis, well above the world’s 0.6%. The main objective of this paper is to apply the concept of vulnerability and resilience to coastal urban communities under climate change hazards in SEA. Southern Vietnam and Southern


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Thailand are chosen as representatives of the region to support this study with main concerns on urban vulnerability to specific disasters including floods and tsunami.

Table 1: Major disasters in SEA during 2000s Year Country

Disaster

type Population affected

Number of deaths

Houses destroyed

Estimated losses (million USD)

References

2000 Cambodia Flood 750,618

(families)

347 (80%

children)

150 ADPC (2003)

2000 Vietnam Flood 1,044 1.6 million

(affected)

300 ISDR (2005)

2000 Philippines (Manila) Trash slide 224 ADPC (2003)

2001 Vietnam All natural

disasters

629 10,503 169 ISDR (2005)

2001 Philippines 317

disasters

190 ADPC (2003)

2002 Vietnam Flash flood 200 53 60,463 ISDR (2005)

2003 Vietnam All natural

disasters

186 4,487 80 ISDR (2005)

2003 Philippines Typhoon 1,000 www.scaruffi.com/politi

cs/disaster.html

2004 Indonesia, Thailand,

Myanmar, Malaysia

Earthquake,

Tsunami

11,299k 174,592 157,393 7,904 UNESCAP (2008)

2005 Indonesia Earthquake 1,500 14,640 400 www.scaruffi.com/politi

cs/disaster.html

2006 Philippines Mud slides 1,800 www.scaruffi.com/politi

cs/disaster.html

2006 Indonesia Earthquake 3,090k 7,432 205,057 3,314 UNESCAP (2008)

2007 Thailand Flood 183,000 53 2 UNESCAP (2008)

2008 Myanmar Cyclone

(Nagis)

2,400k 133,655 UNESCAP (2008)

2008 Lao, PDR, Thailand,

Cambodia, Vietnam

Food

(Mekong

river)

184 193 UNESCAP (2008)


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II. METHODOLOGY In this paper, overview of coastal areas in Southeast Asian region with a focus on urban development and its hazard conditions is carried our based on the review of part studies and available reports from both national governments and international agencies. In of the case of Southern Vietnam, particularly HCMC, the vulnerability assessment to urban flood risk is conducted for two selected districts with different level of urbanization located close to the Saigon River that are affected directly from river tides, climate change related risks, and rapid urbanization. Environmental Assessment and Management tool is then used for determining appropriate adaptation strategies to flood risks in the context of integrated water resources management. The second case presented in this paper involves the coastal communities in Southern Thailand. Following the Tsunami 2004, the housing and infrastructure conditions in two selected communities have been severely damaged including serious effects on tourism, fishery and socio-economic development. This case study on vulnerability assessment aims to adopting appropriate tools and parameters for the local coastal communities, focusing on built environment, as a part of disaster risk to be considered for the coastal region. Multi criteria method is also used in the analysis of vulnerability results for built environment components.

III. REVIEW OF VULNERBILITY AND RESILEICE CONCEPTS Impact assessment methodology and reduction responses can be generally divided into measures for vulnerability reduction and resilience enhancement, as also given by Kay and Hay (1993). The term “vulnerability” is used in the methodology to describe the attributes of a system which will react adversely to the occurrence of external or internal stresses. The term “resilience” is used in the opposite sense to vulnerability - resilient attributes of a system will typically reduce the impact of internal and external stresses. According to Dolan and Walker (2003), adaptive capacity is reflective of resiliency, such that a resilient system has the capacity to prepare for, avoid, moderate and recover from climate-related risks and/or change. Communities that are structurally organized to minimize the effects of hazards, whilst being able to recover quickly by restoring socio-economic vitality are thus, resistant and resilient. Resilience is determined by two measures of peoples’ livelihoods: 1) the assets they possess; and 2) the services provided by external infrastructure and institutions. Strategies to strengthen the resilience of communities should be based on the most effective combination of the two measures determined by local needs and capabilities (Prasad, et al., 2009). According to CSIRO (2006), adaptation is a risk-reduction strategy for ameliorating the adverse effects of climate change on human and ecological communities and for capitalizing upon potential opportunities. Specifically, adaptation refers to actions, policies, and measures that increase the coping capacity and resilience of systems to climate variability and climate change. Two types of approaches to “no regrets” adaptation include actions that reduce existing vulnerability and mainstreaming climate change and disaster into existing activities. Specific strategies for coastal communities include: identify vulnerable areas, communities, and infrastructure; channel future development around “high” “moderate” and low growth areas; develop coastal zone management plans; construct new, or modify existing, coastal defences;


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design infrastructure to accommodate sea-level rise; and manage progressive retreat from the coastline. In addition, World Bank (2007) suggests that major interventions to address coastal urban adaptation include the following: information systems, improved structures, energy efficiency, building standards, and planned development.

IV. OVERVIEW OF COASTAL HAZARD CONDITIONS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

1. SEA Development Context According to Dick and Rimmer (2003), SEA has historically been the sea rather than the land. The Pacific, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea, each recognized sphere of trade and cultural interchange. Its large area of land provides an immense length of coastline that enabled scattered populations to enjoy excellent accessibility with pre-modern marine technology. SEA is possibly one of the most vulnerable areas in the global-climate-change scenarios now being put forward by scientists. Many of the region's estimated 500 million people live in either low-lying river deltas or far-flung islands that will be inundated if waters rise significantly. The most salient feature of the economic aspects of SEA has been enormous increase in population. By 2020, almost 56 percent of SEA’s population is predicted to be urbanized (UN, 2001). In 1995, the GDP of SEA was USD$ 633 billion, compared with 698 and 349 in China and Australia, respectively. SEA will have twelve urban agglomerations with populations over two million by 2015 (Dick and Rimmer, 2003). Among the total population of 1.7 billion residing in the coastal areas of East Asia and the Pacific as reported by World Bank (2007), 4 out of 6 countries with most population in low elevation coastal zones are in SEA. The urban populations in Vietnam has the highest percent of population in Low Elevation Coastal Zone (LECZ), also known as vulnerable to the risks of climate, in particular rising sea level, other countries in SEA including Indonesia (with highest population in LECZ), Thailand (with second highest percent of population), and Philippines. Other SEA countries including Malaysia, Singapore, and Cambodia also have significant populations in LECZ.

2. Coastal Hazard Conditions and Urban Vulnerability Based on IPCC (2007), more specific information is now available across the regions of the world concerning the nature of future impacts, including for some places not covered in previous assessments. Coastal areas, especially heavily-populated megadelta regions in South, East and South-East Asia, will be at greatest risk due to increased flooding from the sea and, in some megadeltas, flooding from the rivers. Climate change is projected to impinge on the sustainable development of most developing countries of Asia, as it compounds the pressures on natural resources and the environment associated with rapid urbanisation, industrialisation, and economic development. A comparative analysis by Dasgupta, et al (2007) found that, among more than 10 developing countries in East Asia, the three countries with most impacted urban extent from 1 meter of sea level rise are in SEA, i.e., Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, approximately 11, 2 and 2 percent of the countries, respectively.


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SEA is one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to the impact of climate change because of its unique economic and social characteristics, pong coastlines, and mostly tropical climate. At the same time, the region’s urbanization is among the fastest in the world and mostly in coastal areas – with about 80% of the population living within 100 km of the coast – leading to an over-concentration of economic activity and livelihoods in coastal mega cities (ADB, 2009). Figure 1 presents the overall climate hazard map in SEA with the combination of climate-related hazards (tropical cyclones, floods, landslides, droughts, and sea level rise) and the hotspots. The latter includes the north-western and Mekong region of Vietnam, the coastal regions of Vietnam facing the South China Sea, Bangkok and its surrounding areas in Thailand, practically all the regions of the Philippines, and the western and eastern parts of Java Island, Indonesia (Yusuf and Francisco, 2009). Most of hazard hotspots are along coastal areas including a large population as mentioned earlier. Some idea of the damage that climate change could cause over time was witnessed in the tsunami that inundated and destroyed coastal settlements on Indonesia's Sumatra Island in December 2004. While the tsunami was a sudden shock that came without warning, it gave a geographic perspective to what could be anticipated under model scenarios of a more gradual increase in sea and river-delta water levels caused by climate change. According to New Zealand Ministry of Environment (2008), the geological causes of tsunamis will not be directly affected by climate change. However, the coastal effects of tsunamis will be altered somewhat by some climate change impacts including sea-level rise, trough increasing the risk of coastal inundation. Estuaries and harbors may also become more vulnerable to tsunamis as entrance channels deepen in response to greater tidal water volumes.

Figure 1: Multiple climate hazard map in SEA

Source: Yusuf and Francisco (2009)

Based on ADPC (2003), floods from the Mekong River and its tributaries are the predominant hazard in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam during the monsoon season. The floods of 2000 cost about US$ 400 million in damages in these countries, including Thailand. Risk is increased by siltation, deterioration of drainage and irrigation systems, and deforestation. Typhoons severely


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affect the Philippines and, to a lesser extent, Vietnam as they move westward. La Niña increases the frequency of typhoons and the floods associated with it. The El Niño 1997-98 induced the drought cycle in Indonesia, causing widespread forest fires and, coupled with a protracted economic crisis, adversely affected food security. Indonesia and the Philippines, located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, suffer from earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. For countries like Indonesia and Vietnam, economic loss due to disasters can set back a decade of economic development. For Cambodia and Lao PDR, the effect is even worse, as scarce resources that could have been used for social and economic development are lost or spent on recovery efforts.

V. CASE OF HOCHI MINH CITY IN SOUTHERN VIETNAM

1. Background and Hazard Conditions

More than 30% of population in Vietnam are urban inhabitants put pressure on the natural environment, urban infrastructure and services. According to Dasgupta et al (2007), Vietnam is one of the most vulnerable countries to sea level rise - approximately 10.8% of total population will be vulnerable to 1metre of rising sea level. Located in southern Vietnam, near the Mekong Delta River basin, HCMC is the largest and most developing city in Vietnam facing impacts of climate variability since the temperature will increase up to 3oC and 50 cm increase of sea level in year 2070 (ISDR, 2005). HCMC is bathed by many rivers, arroyos and canals, from which the city is affected by tidal process from East Sea to Saigon and Nha Be Rivers. HCMC is vulnerable to flood risks due to its natural conditions in flatten low land topography and increasing magnitude of sea/river tides and rains under the impact of climate change. Moreover, the urbanization process in HCMC is increasing rapidly, putting pressure on infrastructure and services that lead to increasing vulnerability of society, environment, and economy to flood risks.

2. Vulnerability to Flood Risk

2.1 Data collection and analysis Two communities in District 2 and Binh Thanh District were selected to represent different vulnerabilities to flood risks under the impacts of climate change and levels of urbanization, as key characteristics given in Table 2. The two districts are located close to the Saigon River affected directly from river tides and other natural changes.

Table 2: Key characteristics of the two study districts in HCMC Characteristics Unit District 2 Binh Thanh District

Population Persons 145,136 446,397 Population density Persons/sq.km 2,917 21,674 Household size Persons 6 4 Annual household income USD 100 250 Education (highest) - High school University Occupation - Commercial activities,

small business Commercial and industrial

activities, industrial business Total number of ward Wards 11 20 Total Area km2 49.74 20.8 Total number of road Roads 120 290 Number of flooded road Roads 30 116 Total number of houses Houses 30,000 110,000 Number of flooded houses Houses 6,000 33,000

Source: Field survey in December 2008


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Rapid Vulnerability Assessment (RVA) was conducted to collect data for analyzing the direct vulnerability of society (including human health and movement, housing and road, and communication and transportation) and environment (including water resource quality and quantity, sanitation). Moreover, the RVA also provided information in assessing the residents’ perception about impacts of flood to their livelihoods, their awareness on the vulnerability to flood risks, as well as their adaptation capacity to cope with impacts of flood and polluted water.

Secondary data collected by document review and individual unstructured questionnaire interviews together with primary data collected by focus group structured interview to residents in study areas through RVA to understand their awareness on regular and recent unexpected floods, their vulnerability and adaptation capacity to floods, and determine what changes have been taken place in terms of urban environmental management within their communities recent years. Male and female residents were interviewed to ensure gender equity in getting information for the research. The fieldwork data collection had been carried out within 5 days for 40 households in two communities of District 2 (Thao Dien Ward) and Binh Thanh District (Nguyen Huu Canh Street, Ward 22). The data collecting time was mostly from 3pm to 6pm on Friday and Saturday so that each household had representatives responding to the interview.

2.2 Comparative assessment results

The results from RVA show that study areas in Binh Thanh District and District 2 have the same flood characteristics in terms of meteorological factors. However, Binh Thanh District has less natural surface infiltration capacity and more channel network than District 2 that make it more vulnerable to flood and pollution than District 2.

In terms of human factors aggravating natural flood hazard, both communities have changed in land use, with the sealing surface due to urbanization and deforestation, and increase in the run-off ability and sedimentation. While District 2 has changed from agricultural to domestic use, Binh Thanh District has used land for industrial and commercial activities together with domestic use. Most of the floodplain areas in these two districts have been occupied by informal houses and construction sites. Figure 2 presents the difference of vulnerability to flood in terms of natural surface infiltration rate, land-use change (from agriculture to urban), and the occupation of the floodplain. The results show that Binh Thanh District is more vulnerable to flood than District 2 for these aspects.

Figure 2: Factors affecting the vulnerability to flood in the two communities

Vulnerability to flood

30

60

35

15

80

50

0102030405060708090

Natural surface infiltration rate Land-use change Occupation of the floodplain

%

District 2 Binh Thanh District

Source: Field survey in December 2008


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Results from RVA show that, among 100 existing flood points in HCMC, more than 25 points are in Binh Thanh District, with 30% population affected in 9 wards out of 20. This is because most people in the district are middle class and poor - historically, they are living along canals and river bank. When the economy grows, the district has been urbanized into one of important industrial zones. As a result, more people migrate to the district, deforestation occurs, and land is concretized reducing natural infiltration capacity. Day by day, under the impacts of urbanization and climate change, they are more and more vulnerable to pollution and floodwater. In District 2, 20% population is affected in 7 out of 11 wards, and 10% of flood points in HCMC are in this district. There are two different groups in District 2: poor people who have lived for a long time and rich people from other places who have just bought land to build resorts and high buildings. Urbanization has occurred in this district, reducing the natural condition and environment, and has caused inequity in terms of facilities and services among residents. Poor people with worse living conditions become more vulnerable to flood risks.

The impacts of flood on infrastructure can also be observed. The number of road/land that are concretized, number of households having sewerage system, and number of area having drainage system are some indicators to assess the vulnerability. According to results from RVA, as also given in Figure 3, Binh Thanh District is more vulnerable to flood than District 2 in terms of road, housing, and drainage system. Binh Thanh District has more flooded road below and over 0.3 m – the water level at which human transport and movement are obstructed while people are more vulnerable to polluted floodwater in terms of their properties, health, and also risk from electrocution. Although Binh Thanh District has more households with sewerage and drainage system, records show that more houses are flooded in the district rather than District 2.

Figure 3: Impacts of flood on infrastructure

Impacts of flood on Infrastructure

65

1015

50

10 10

60

85

20 20

80

15 15

90

0102030405060708090

100

Below 0.3m Above 0,3m Below 0.3m Above 0,3m

Concreted road Flooded road Houses havingseweragesystem

Flooded house Area havingdrainage system

Road Housing Drainage system

%

District 2 Binh Thanh District Source: Field survey in December 2008

From interviewing people in chosen communities in both districts, there are different perspectives about the impacts of flood to water quality and their health. Rich people use pure water from piped water supply system, and discharge wastewater into sewerage system, through drainage system and to the river. Poor people mostly use water from wells (either protected or unprotected) and river, and discharge wastewater directly into canals and river. Therefore, poor people are more vulnerable to floodwater and pollution when flood occurs. However, in some cases, the vulnerabilities of rich people are also increased due to pollution caused by poor people. Since inundation in HCMC is due to urban flood rather than flash flood, there is no need


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for residents in these two communities to move to another place before flood comes. However, people are not aware that they are more vulnerable to flood in terms of water pollution and impacts on health. The results from interviewing 40 households in the two communities, about their vulnerabilities and impacts of flood to water sanitation and their health, are quite different among the two communities.

Their perceptions on water quality and risk related to health are still lower than in the monitoring reports because they are not really aware that polluted floodwater may damage their health. They just observe that the water color is black or gray, having smell or not; rather than detail and specific information on the pollution within their living areas. The results show that both communities are vulnerable to water pollution because they have to face regular flood bringing polluted water closer to their lives, and lack of health facilities as well as access to existing facilities. 3. Adaptation Strategies

3.1 Current adpatation capacity and approach

Residents in focused communities are aware that flood is regular phenomena they have to face. They also observe that blocked drainage system makes the flood situation more serious, and the intensity and magnitude of flood have been increased. However, their current concerns when flood occurs are their properties, access to services, and transportation rather than health impacts. Therefore, their basic adaptation solutions are to prevent and reduce floodwater flowing into their houses by sand bags or concrete walls, rather than protecting water resources. In general, individuals in focused communities have limited adaptation capacity because of low awareness in considering flood and polluted water as serious problems. Their vulnerability characteristics or, in other words, factors affecting their adaptation capacity, are physical, social, motivational and attitudinal issues. These factors have interrelationship that influencing each other and may increase the vulnerability of people to flood risk and water pollution. Table 3 presents the factors affecting adaptation capacity and the actual capacity of focused communities in the two districts, as well as demonstrates clearly their vulnerabilities. The major factors are occupation, traditional living culture, physical ability (gender, age), and their poverty (income).

3.2 Proposed adaptation strategies

In terms of adaptation to flood, there is a need to consider and take into account the integrated water resource management; not only at city or district levels, but also need to develop the adaptation plan at other incuding community level. Moreover, the adaptation must vary from short-term to long-term strategies.

Based on the vulnerability of HCMC and residents to flood risks and water pollution, together with determining the adaptation capacity, a number of adaptation measures are chosen and assessed by Tool for Environmental Assessment and Management (TEAM) (Julius and Scheraga, 1999) in order to develop effective and appropriate adaptation measures. The use of TEAM employs the multi-criteria approach in evaluating actions to adapt impacts of flood on water resources with the importance of considering more than one factor when accessing the merits and drawbacks of each policy or strategy. The criteria used were effectiveness, expense, environmental impact, consistency, feasibility, urgency, and robust/flexibility. The following adaptation measures have been prioritized for the study area following the assessment:


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Table 3: Community-based adaptation capacity in the study areas Factors Community in District 2 Community in Binh Thanh District

1. Physical/Material factors

1.1 Location Both are located at low land area nearby the riverbank (the Saigon River)

1.2 Structure of buildings/houses

Simple structure of houses with concrete and 1 or 2 floors

Concreted houses with up to 3 floors with higher design standard

1.3 Extent and quality of infrastructure and basic services

Roads are concreted with few drainage systems and drinking water supply

Roads are concreted with enough but old water supply and drainage systems

1.4 Human capital Low-income level with less than USD 100 per month (of main labor force)

Higher level of income with about USD 200 per month (of main labor force)

1.5 Environmental factors

Water in the canal is black, stinky, with oil layers on the surface. Lack of proper wastewater and solid waste management

Water in canal is also black and stinky. Even there are solid waste collection facilities, garbage still flow into canals

2. Social factors

2.1 Family or kinship structures (weak/strong)

Women and children are most vulnerable because of their roles in the family, they are at home most of the time and they have to handle problem of inundation and pollution in longer time

2.2 Gender and age Women, the elderly and children have lower capacity to adapt due to physical power

3. Motivational/attitudinal factors

3.1 Attitude towards change

Most of them are aware that flood is natural phenomena. However, they do not pay much attention on the change in flood’s magnitude as well as rainfall and water level.

3.2 Awareness about hazards and consequences

They are not aware of the consequences and impacts of increasing magnitude of rainfall, inundation and pollution in their communities. Therefore, they prioritize their properties possibly damaged rather than health and sanitation as well as water supply.

Source: Interview and focus group discussion (in December 2008)

• Enhancing water efficiency and conservation/protection programs - to increase the efficient use of water and reduce the water pollution.

• Creating and improving floodwater and rainwater storage facilities - to reduce the water overflow and reuse rainwater for irrigation and other utility purposes.

• Improving water treatment – to update and enhance the wastewater treatment facilities together with treatment regulation for industrial zones, buildings, and households before discharge wastewater into canals/river.

• Urban planning and infrastructure development – to consider flood risk in land use planning and the design of new projects; improve the infrastructure (mainly road and drainage systems) to increase the infiltration capacity and decrease the water overflow in the urban landscape.

4. Findings

Under similar natural conditions that are affected by changing climate, residents in District 2 is vulnerable to floodwater differently from people who are living in Binh Thanh District because these two districts have different level of urbanization and infrastructure conditions as well as


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economic activities. Not only having difference in vulnerability of residents to flood between the two districts, there is also different vulnerabilities among people in each of the districts depended on their gender and age, attitude and motivation, occupation and income, their living locations and conditions. Supported by simple assessment tools, the adaptation process with three man phases of determining and assessing vulnerability factors, identifying adaptation options, and assessing adaptation strategies could be developed and used in this case study.

VI. CASE OF PHUKET AND PHNAGNGA PROVINCES IN SOUTHERN THAILAND

1. Background and Hazard Conditions

This case involves vulnerability assessment for disaster at community level - the earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 2004, in Southern Thailand. The loss and devastation caused by this disaster brought suffering to millions of people around the Indian Ocean. Physical infrastructure and utility systems were destroyed or damaged. In the six affected provinces of Thailand, electricity, water supply, transport and communication systems were estimated to have damages of USD 25.9 million, and revenue losses of USD 20.9 million (UNEP, 2005b). The high lost value was caused by the problem that the areas never have proper disaster management plan. The vulnerability assessment is necessary to ensure the communities are sufficiently adapted for the future disaster occurrence. In this study, two coastal communities seriously affected were selected for detailed investigation representing typical fishery and tourism based economies in Southern Thailand, with a focus on assessment of housing and built environment. Figure 4 provides the map showing affected areas in Thailand and location of the two communities, while the major characteristics of the two communities are also given in Table 4.

Figure 4: Affected areas in Thailand by tsunami 2004 and location of the selected communities

Source: UNEP, 2005a

The first community, Ban Namkhem, is a fishery-based community. The conditions involve insecure critical infrastructures such as pier, school and public open space, as well as vulnerable houses. Based on review of secondary data, key informant interview and focus group


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discussions, the vulnerable elements include: fishery port, school, public open space, housing, road network, and areas not covered by warning sound of two emergency warning towers. Another, Kamala, community has been rapidly developed and also took relatively short time for recovery from the tsunami, due to the tourism growth in the province. Several hotels, houses, and service buildings have been developed along the beach. The vulnerable housings and infrastructures are: large buildings (including residential, villas and hotel), small and medium buildings (including guesthouses, apartments, beach bars, tailor shops, small shops and restaurants), governmental office buildings (including police station, and medical clinic), school, and areas not covered by warning sound from one emergency warming tower.

Table 4: Key characteristics of the two study communities Characteristics, unit Ban Namkhem Kamala

Population 5,060 5,003

Total number of households 1,048 3,269

Affected population by the Tsunami 4,200 2,500

Household size 4 4

Total area, sq.km 62 (for whole TAO) 18.9

Annual household income, USD 330 515

Major religion Buddhism Islam

Major education Primary school Secondary school

Economic base Fishery, small business Tourism, small business Source: Field survey in December 2008

2. Vulnerability Assessment Results

2.1 Data collection and analysis

Data collection was carried out in December 2008 to January 2009 for both primary and secondary data. The primary data were obtained through the following:

• Unstructured interview. Initial basic information on the communities was collected.

• Structured interview. These involved the villagers, community leaders and community network group members, NGOs representatives, government officers, and local authorities.

• Survey questionnaire. This was random sampling of households in the specific areas.

• Field observation and photograph. This method collected information about physical conditions of existing buildings, critical infrastructure, and environment management.

• Focused group discussion. Four groups - two in each community were formed for discussions. Open-ended questions were used to activate the discussions allowing them to correct each other, therefore gathering the right information while saving time.

The assessment results of infrastructure and services including integrated preparedness plan found that the two communities have some similar vulnerable conditions in preparedness activities and plan for communities and organizations, while some are different. The following briefly describes the results in more detail of some major facilities.


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School preparedness. The results for the schools in both communities are similar. They have developed tsunami and disaster curriculum for use in some teaching subjects. Its building standards are high with strong structure - which should also be used as efficient community shelters, with stock of food and some required services, in case of emergency.

Water supply service. There are different sources of water in the two communities. Namkhem gets the service from PWA (Provincial Waterworks Authority) while Kamala from TAO (Tambon or Sub-district Authority Organization). Therefore the quality and capacity are incomparable. Fortunately due to high income in Kamala community and the water source in the TAO is located away from flood zone, water quality and service could be easily improved.

Road network/evacuation route. In Namkhem, there is a good plan and preparedness activities involving community. Although crowded in some areas, the community organization has an agreement with the villagers in dividing people for each evacuation route to avoid the traffic jam and slow evacuation. However, they face problems in some areas for lack of quality route and land for shelters. By contrast in Kamala, evacuation routes are in good quality of materials and efficient capacity. An issue here is that people do not much follow the preparedness pattern and planned evaluation, since the villagers normally find their own shortest evacuation way.

Figure 5: Vulnerability map of the two communities

For the assessment of building vulnerability (BV), the data were analyzed with the weight factors describing the significant factors related to the vulnerability of buildings - including building material and design, sea defense in front of buildings, roads surrounding, number of stories, characteristics of ground floor. The assessment results of the vulnerability of individual buildings within the inundation zone, based on multi-criteria evaluation method with weighting of each building in the inundation zone (Papathoma and Dominey-Howes, 2003), are as follows: Namkhem. The buildings in Namkhem community are mainly residential mostly situated along and near the waterfront, because of their daily activities related to fishery and the easy accessibility from the shore and fishing pier. Since this study was focused on critical areas, all buildings investigated are located in high inundation zone as presented in Figure 5. The large percentage of high BV was found (45 buildings out of 94, or 47.87%) followed by medium BV.


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Kamala. A number of buildings constructed before and after the Tsunami 2004 are located along and near the shoreline responding to the need of tourists. High BV includes 29 buildings out of 113 buildings (or 25.66%), less than both medium and low BVs. The low BV category contains new buildings built and served for tourism as hotels and guesthouses which have followed the building regulations.

2.2 Comparative assessment results

It was found from the assessment results that significant vulnerable elements of both communities are buildings and road network/evacuation routes, with some comparative differences and influencing factors as follows:

Table 5: Road network vulnerability (RV) assessment results

Namkhem High Inundation Zone Medium Inundation Zone Low Inundation Zone Total RV

High RV 16.67% 33.33% 0 50.00%

Medium RV 0 16.67% 16.67% 33.33%

Low RV 0 16.67% 0 16.67%

Total 16.67% 66.67% 16.67% 100.00%

Kamala High Inundation Zone Medium Inundation Zone Low Inundation Zone Total RV

High RV 20.00% 0 0 20.00%

Medium RV 0 20.00% 0 20.00%

Low RV 0 40.00% 20.00% 60.00%

Total 20.00% 60.00% 20.00% 100.00%

Source: Calculated from results of field survey (in December 2008)

Buildings. A large proportion and number of buildings are categorized as high BV in Namkhem community. Most of them have only 1 storey together with low standard of construction. Compared with Kamala community, much less number and proportion of buildings are classified as high BV. Most of them are commercial buildings including hotels and guest houses. The causes of different vulnerabilities are from the community’s base where most people in Namkhem have low income and lack of financial resources to improve their buildings after received from donors. In contrast, Kamala community has higher income and the community’s base is the tourism, while majority of buildings include high quality materials and in a high standard of structural design/construction.

Road network/evacuation routes. In Namkhem community, there is high utilization of road network, road materials, and high number of users in case emergency for case specific area like Lam Son area. The road network vulnerability (RV) assessment (based on multi-criteria method involving route location, embankment height, design and construction standards, number of users and functional importance) has resulted in different levels of vulnerabilities: 50% and 20% are in high RN for Namkhem and Kamala communities, respectively (as detailed in Table 5). The


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influencing factors are lack of resources to develop evacuation routes more efficiently and also improved community land use plan with required facilities.

3. Adaptation Strategies

Based on the vulnerability assessment results, major influencing factors can be identified and used as part of identifying required adaptation strategies in order to enhance the resilience.

3.1 Current adaptation strategies Based on data collected from interview and focus group discussions including the principles of vulnerability reduction, existing strategies and measures were identified as given in Table 6.

Table 6: Existing strategies in the study areas

Community adaptation Namkhem Kamala Institutional framework - Integrate disaster plan into sustainable

eco-tourism plan - Adapt some measures such as land use zoning, and building control

Access to training and education

- Develop disaster management curriculum in Namkhem school - Provide training program for vulnerable groups

- Develop the curriculum for school children - Provide training by Kamala TAO for Disaster Relief Volunteer members

Public awareness enhancement

- Develop disaster practice program for community members

- Develop preparedness program involving community members

Access to technology - Use of radio communication system in Disaster Relief Volunteers Foundation - Apply community radio broadcast for daily news and special activities

- Use of radio communication system in Kamala school - Use of mobile-speaker on vehicles by TAO

Infrastructure adaptation -Attempt to change sea beach to be public park, although the actual condition seems to be not working

- Develop structural landscape involving architects and engineers during the planning, design and construction phases

Source: Interviews and focus group discussions (in December 2008)

3.2 Proposed adaptation strategies

The proposed plan for adaptation strategies for enhancing the resilience of the communities, based on the vulnerable factors and existing strategies discussed earlier, are the following:

Strengthening/implementation regulations. In the context of land-use control for avoiding or mitigating natural hazards such as in Namkem community where housings are under standard even situated in hazard zone, it is fundamental for the authorities to ensure that sufficient structures consistent with disaster environmental policy and rules are developed.

Formulation of coastal zone management plan. Due to the hazards in coastal zone, understanding possible impacts is critical to effective coastal zone management - which can significantly reduce the detrimental impacts of climate change. This could be adapted into both


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communities where coastal environmental resources have been degraded, in order to avoid unwanted impacts - such as landslide, flooding, and other hazards.

Public awareness and education. A good public knowledge and understanding of local hazards and vulnerabilities is important to raise public awareness for mitigation and/or adaptation measures which could be applied, and to gain public participation in the community preparedness program. These should be integrated into both communities, in order to improve social factors of vulnerability as knowledge can also lead to reducing physical vulnerability.

Provision of practical incentives. Incentives such as government grants and subsidies may help villagers improving their buildings and/or reconstruction activities. Insurance could also provide useful incentives - for instance, insurance companies may persuade to offer reduced premiums for residential buildings in Kamala. Similarly, it might be useful for Namkhem community where government may provide the incentives/financial support for building construction.

4. Findings

The two case studies investigated show different vulnerabilities related to housing and infrastructure services, subject to coastal hazard conditions. Major factors influencing the vulnerabilities are related to community’s economic base, financing ability for improved construction, support from local governments and community-based organizations, and level of accessibility to knowledge for improved disaster management. Based on the vulnerability results and required capacity, four types of strategies for adaptation and mitigation were then recommended, including - strengthening/implementation regulations, formulation of coastal zone management plan, public awareness and education, and provision of practical incentives.

VII. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The impacts of climate change are unavoidable and there is a need to consider adaptation to adjust to climate change related risks, along with mitigation strategies to reduce those adverse impacts. In order to apply the concept of vulnerability and resilience to coastal urban communities under climate change hazards in SEA, Southern Vietnam and Southern Thailand are chosen as representatives to support this study with main concerns on urban vulnerability to water-related disasters including floods and tsunami. Simple assessment tools following multi-criteria method were used to support for finding the vulnerabilities and adaptation strategies. This study takes into account the vulnerability assessment and adaptation process for enhanced resilience of coastal communities to fulfill the knowledge gaps in understanding the physical, societal and environmental vulnerabilities subject to climate variability and assessing the adaptation strategies to support policy makers in integrative decision making process which may be used in different sectors - especially in disaster/risk management plans, water resource management, health, sustainable livelihoods, institutional structures, project design and implementation, etc. The assessment process developed in this study could be supported by effective tools such as multiple vulnerability assessment tool and benefit-cost-effectiveness.


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In addition to a direct contribution to Cluster 2 (of this 5th Urban Research Symposium) for efficient and effective planning to increase the resilience of cities, this paper can also be expected to link with other clusters as follows: Cluster 1 for hazard modeling subject to climate change conditions potentially integrated with the methods and results of vulnerability assessment in this paper; Cluster 3 for building capacity and adaptation, based on the results of this study, from institutional and urban planning aspects; Cluster 4 for justifications from economic and financial aspects in implementing risk reduction strategies based on the assessment results of prioritized adaptation strategies in this study; and Cluster 5 for social vulnerability following and related to vulnerability assessment focusing on built environment in this paper.

VIII. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to acknowledge the support, leading to this paper, of the following: Franco-Thai Cooperation Program under Thai Commission on Higher Education, Canadian International Development Agency, Netherlands Ministry for Development Cooperation, Royal Thai Government, and School of Environment, Resources and Development (of Asian Institute of Technology). The appreciation also goes to a number of national and local agencies and personnel related to the four study communities for generous support in data collection.

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