Systematizing Community-Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM): Case of urban flood-prone community in Thailand upstream area

Flooding risk in Thailand has been exacerbated by rapid urbanization, deforestation in the uplands and poor disaster management system. Important lessons learned from the long history and experiences of flood disasters point to the need for better solutions to reduce damage to property and life. However, progress in organizing community disaster management is slow and reveals limitations in disaster risk reduction by the community and government in general. Nevertheless, in this limited case study of three flood prone communities, some of them were found to have developed the coping ability to organize and manage the situation to ensure their safety. They innovated their own solutions to reduce the risk posed by floods instead of waiting for and wholly depending on support from the government. The study has found evidence of spontaneous Community Disaster Risk Management Organization (CDRMO) formation in the case study of Thai communities. This important finding leads to the main question raised in this study: 'how is a system of Community-Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) and CDRMO formed in Thai communities?' This research is based on an empirical study using field interviews, surveys, participatory observation, focus group discussions and questionnaires to describe how community solutions that can be defined as an organic system of CBDRM and CDRMO in Thailand were achieved. This research discusses possibilities to promote CDRMO in other Thai communities using the lessons learned from the innovations made in some communities and incorporating them in policy design in order to promote a CBDRM system in Thailand.