Do community based disaster risk management (CBDRM) initiatives reduce the social and economic cost of disasters?

Author(s): Zwi, A.; Spurway, K.; Ranmuthugala, G.; Marincowitz, R.; Thompson, L.; Hobday, K.
Number of pages: 49 p.

This review aims to examine peer-reviewed and other published reports and studies to answer the question: do community based disaster risk management (CBDRM) initiatives impact on the social and economic costs of disasters? If so, how, why, when and in what way(s)? A key aspect of this review is to examine, analyse and synthesise existing evidence on what CBDRM initiatives work, in what contexts, and whether and how CBDRM interventions contribute to reducing the social and economic impact of disasters on communities. It uses a realist review to understand how, why and when CBDRM interventions work, and through what range of mechanisms, these operate to reduce the social and economic impact of disasters, in low and middle-income countries.