Abstract
Natural hazards and their related impacts can have powerful implications for humanity, particularly communities with deep reliance on natural resources. The development of effective early warning systems (EWS) can contribute to reducing natural hazard impacts on communities by improving risk reduction strategies and activities. However, current shortcomings in the conception and applications of EWS undermine risk reduction at the grassroots level. This article explores various pathways to involve local communities in EWS from top-down to more participatory approaches. Based on a literature review and three case studies that outline various levels of participation in EWS in Kenya, Hawai'i, and Sri Lanka, the article suggests a need to review the way EWS are designed and applied, promoting a shift from the traditional expert-driven approach to one that is embedded at the grassroots level and driven by the vulnerable communities. Such a community-centric approach also raises multiple challenges linked to a necessary shift of conception of EWS and highlights the need for more research on pathways for sustainable community engagement.
Highlights
For several decades, international organizations, together with developed and developing nations, have sought ways to reduce hazard impacts on society, developing risk reduction and management plans, designing and implementing early warning systems, and/or raising risk awareness from the local to international levels
A country assessment of climate hazards led by the Kenyan Disaster Risk Reduction Initiative Activities (DARA 2012) shows high vulnerability to drought and moderate vulnerability to floods in Kenya
We reflect on the limits of early warning systems (EWS) and discuss opportunities for more inclusive design of EWS, defining them not as risk detection and warning tools but as societal processes
Summary
International organizations, together with developed and developing nations, have sought ways to reduce hazard impacts on society, developing risk reduction and management plans, designing and implementing early warning systems, and/or raising risk awareness from the local to international levels. This is reflected in the adoption of the 1994 Yokohama Strategy (UN 1994) and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 adopted in 2015 (UNISDR 2015). Wealthier households are at risk, especially in areas vulnerable to hazards because of their location, including coastal zones and small islands like Hawai’i (IPCC 2013).
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