Inception Report - CDEMA

Although the Programme is being described as ‘model’ it should be noted, and will be emphasised in all the
materials, that the approach that is taken to implementing the Programme in a community must be tailored to
the governance systems and specific circumstances of that community and to the capacity of the persons
taking part at any given stage. Similarly, although CDEMA has requested that the Programme “should allow
for any person doing community-based climate change disaster management in the Caribbean to follow it”, it
should be noted that effective implementation of the Programme will require certain skills and expertise (e.g.
community animation, community mobilisation, facilitation of workshops and participatory processes), so the
materials such as the Trainer’s Handbook and Training of Trainers workshop assume some prior experience
of this kind. Moreover, since only a few of the elements of the Programme are being specifically designed
under this sub-project, CANARI cannot guarantee the user-friendliness of all the other reference materials to
which the Programme will point. For example, as noted in Appendix 2, the majority of materials contain both
good practices and some disadvantages in terms of their appropriateness for delivery in a community.
3.4.4. Development of the Climate Change Adaptation Module
3.4.4.1 Overview and building on best practices
The Climate Change Adaptation Module is intended to form part of CDEMA’s revised version of its Community
Disaster Preparedness Training Manual and also to complement the IFRC’s series of handbooks on
conducting community vulnerability and capacity assessments. It will also draw on other relevant best
practices, as identified in Section 3.2. Since no guidelines currently exist for the structure of the revised version
of CDEMA’s manual, the Module will be designed and presented in the format that CANARI deems most
appropriate for community audiences and useful for the trainers who will be expected to facilitate it. The
Module will be designed to be delivered as a two-day workshop, with suggestions for additional activities that
could be included in a longer workshop. (These additional activities will therefore also form part of the
MCCCDRR Programme.)
In addition to building on the best practices identified in Section 3.2.2 above, the Module will draw on
CANARI’s recent experience of developing toolkits designed to build the capacity of communities to respond to
climate change (Addressing Climate Change in the Caribbean; A toolkit for Communities and Communicating
Climate Change; A Toolbox for Local Organisations in the Caribbean), including the experience of facilitating
workshops with community representatives in Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica. These products have
been well received by community-based organisations and those who support them, with particular praise for
the simplicity of language in explaining complex subjects and the wide use of regional examples.
The CDEMA CCA Module and accompanying Handbooks will include many of the same features, including:
a) use of scientifically sound fundamental concepts, derived from scientific/research institutions, including
University of the West Indies and the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre.
b) use of a wide range of interactive tools and methods, to appeal to different learning styles;
c) building on participants’ existing skills and knowledge;
d) simple language;
e) use of clear, easily reproducible illustrations;
f) use of relevant examples, both of impacts and responses, drawn as far as possible from the region;
g) inclusion of the opportunities presented by climate change as well as the challenges;
h) provision of templates and checklists, where appropriate; and
i) lists of other relevant resources that participants can access.
3.4.4.2 Target audience
The Module is designed primarily for use by community facilitators and animators who are working with
community groups to develop and implement disaster risk reduction plans. It can also be used as a
complement to a community development planning process to ensure that the plans are climate proofed. The
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