The Role of University Networks in Disaster Risk Reduction: Perspective from Coastal Bangladesh

Abstract

Natural disasters are projected to increase in many regions of the world due to the growing exposure of human activities, combined with increased vulnerability and the projected increase in frequency and intensity, and the effects of climate change and global warming. To combat disasters, university network is gaining importance as it plays a proactive role in disaster risk reduction. University has the capacity to educate, research and bring stakeholders together to share experiences, increase the knowledge base and facilitate improved decision-making for policy and practice since the university is the center of ex- cellence with regard to research and in disseminating research outputs to end users. This desktop re- search identifies the role of networking in various risk reduction approaches carried out by university and other stakeholders. It illustrates the example of disaster resilient habitat and rainwater harvesting where the university provided key interventions to reduce disaster impacts. In conclusion, this paper formulates and provides a model for strengthening of networking of universities to build disaster re- silient coastal communities.

Full text

The role of university networks in disaster risk reduction: Perspective
from coastal Bangladesh
Md. Anwarul Abedin
a,
n
, Rajib Shaw
b
a
Department of Soil Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh
b
Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Yoshida Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
article info
Article history:
Received 5 May 2015
Received in revised form
3 August 2015
Accepted 4 August 2015
Available online 8 August 2015
Keywords:
Network
University
Disaster risk reduction
Coastal community
Bangladesh
abstract
Natural disasters are projected to increase in many regions of the world due to the growing exposure of
human activities, combined with increased vulnerability and the projected increase in frequency and
intensity, and the effects of climate change and global warming. To combat disasters, university network
is gaining importance as it plays a proactive role in disaster risk reduction. University has the capacity to
educate, research and bring stakeholders together to share experiences, increase the knowledge base and
facilitate improved decision-making for policy and practice since the university is the center of ex-
cellence with regard to research and in disseminating research outputs to end users. This desktop re-
search identifies the role of networking in various risk reduction approaches carried out by university
and other stakeholders. It illustrates the example of disaster resilient habitat and rainwater harvesting
where the university provided key interventions to reduce disaster impacts. In conclusion, this paper
formulates and provides a model for strengthening of networking of universities to build disaster re-
silient coastal communities.
&2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Bangladesh is a disaster prone country [24] geographically lo-
cated in an exceedingly flat, low lying, alluvial plain covered by
over 230 rivers and rivulets with approximately 710 km of ex-
posed coastline along the Bay of Bengal [11]. Within the country,
coastal Bangladesh is the hub of different types of hydro-meteor-
ological disasters such as cyclones, tidal surges, floods, drought,
saline water intrusion, waterlogging, and land subsidence [28].
Every year, therefore, huge damage incurs on the resources and
the coastal community suffers enormously by these natural cala-
mities. It is argued that the death toll of the Sidr Cyclone in 2007 in
Bangladesh was lower than expected because of the improvement
of the early warning systems during the last three decades.
However, the number of people killed by the cyclone was still very
high. Apart from this slight improvement, the country experiences
huge amount of losses (both monetary and lives of people and
cattle) caused by several disasters, because of lack of proper pre-
paredness and disaster management measures [26]. Nevertheless,
some of the structural and non-structural measures such as fore-
casting, warning, local action plans etc. are taken up in a
short scale in order to modify or reduce some effects of these
disasters [25].
The development and implementation of more effective and
efficient risk reduction approaches and policies; close collabora-
tion, coordination and knowledge exchange among decision ma-
kers, scientific community, private sector, civil society and front-
line victims; and networking, among others, are thus imperative.
In practice, however, knowledge on disaster risk reduction is often
fragmented within and among different stakeholders, and thus, is
not adequately incorporated into the decision-making process and
the implementation of appropriate disaster risk reduction and
adaptation measures. For this reason, networking has been iden-
tified as one of the mobilizing agent that significantly raises
knowledge on natural disasters and contributes to diminishing of
disaster losses.
The informal and formal networks to share the educational
products, experiences and actual implementation can strengthen
this synergy [30]. Therefore, it is now urgently needed to go be-
yond the traditional educational institutions and start working
with communities, local NGOs, local government, and interna-
tional organizations. It is also essential to customize education
material and the dissemination process to the level and needs of
the target audience. In this connection, university networks will
likely take on an increasingly significant and proactive role for
disaster risk reduction because of their research excellence, in-
novation and capacity can bring stakeholders together, thus ex-
periences can be exchanged, knowledge base can be improved, all
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijdrr
International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2015.08.001
2212-4209/&2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
n
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: masumagriculture@yahoo.com (Md.A. Abedin).
International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 13 (2015) 381–389

of which facilitate the decision-making process of stakeholders in
policy and practice.
This paper attempts to bring together representatives of var-
ious networks from the disaster risk reduction community in or-
der to identify different disaster events in coastal Bangladesh and
determine university networking and collaboration on various
disaster risk reduction approaches. Based on the findings, this
paper provides a model of disaster resilient coastal community
through the university network where university plays a proactive
role.
2. Disaster occurrences in coastal Bangladesh
The unique natural setting (i.e. funnel shaped coast), geo-
graphical location of Bangladesh and its tropical monsoon and
climate variations regulate climatic conditions making the country
highly vulnerable to cyclones and storm surges [17,21,23]. Popu-
lations in the coastal region are repeatedly confronted by natural
and man-made catastrophes such as cyclones, storm surges,
floods, drought, salinity intrusion, and waterlogging. This section
discusses the most prevalent hazards in coastal areas and the ef-
fects frequently experienced at the local scale.
2.1. Salinity
Salinity intrusion in the coastal area of Bangladesh is seasonal
in nature. The coastal area covers about 20% of the country of
which about 53% is affected by different degrees of salinity [10].
Both water and soil salinity have increased in an alarming rate in
the last couple of decades. In terms of soil salinity, about 1.2 mil-
lion hectares of arable land are affected by soil salinity in varying
degrees out of the 2.85 million hectares of the coastal land. For
instance, in the southwestern part of the coastal area, approxi-
mately 203,000 ha are affected very slightly, 492,000 ha slightly,
461,000 ha moderately, and 492,000 ha strongly [12]. Both cli-
matic and anthropogenic factors are responsible for the salinity in
the coastal region of Bangladesh, however, climate-induced factors
such as sea level rise are the most significant causes. As a con-
sequence, it not only has substantial impacts on lives and liveli-
hoods of the people, but also has various impacts in the locality
through drinking water, soils, agriculture, fisheries, ecosystems,
and livelihoods of communities and households.
2.2. Cyclones and storm surge
Tropical cyclones accompanied by storm surges from the Bay of
Bengal are one of the major disasters in Bangladesh, which reg-
ularly take place in the coastal area. The number and severity of
cyclones in Bangladesh and the associated mortalities have varied
greatly. Table 1 shows the major cyclones that occurred in the last
43 years in Bangladesh with loss of lives and properties. On
average, 12–13 depressions are formed annually and at least one
powerful cyclone strikes Bangladesh each year [15,21,22,9]. They
generally occur in early summer during April–May or late rainy
season during October–November.
In coastal regions, the damage is mainly due to cyclone induced
storm surges, particularly at the low elevation coastal margins.
This is the reason why the coastal zone of Bangladesh is called a
geographical “Death Trap”due to its extreme vulnerability to cy-
clones and storm surges [27].
The 1991 cyclone hit Bangladesh on the night of April 29–30
causing severe widespread damage and killing 138,882 people
[35]. In 2007, Bangladesh witnessed the cyclone Sidr on November
15, an unusually powerful storm accompanied by 223 km/h of
devastating winds and storm surge up to 6 m killing and injuring
over 3363 and 55,282 people, respectively. It is also reported that
563,877 houses were totally destroyed and 955,065 houses were
partially damaged as well as 186,883 ha of crop areas were fully
and 498,645-ha areas partly damaged by Sidr [20]. Again, on 25
May 2009 cyclone Aila hit the coastal areas of Bangladesh with
wind speeds of up to 56 miles per hour. Heavy rains, combined
with high tides, resulted in storm surges, which breached em-
bankments, flooded villages, and affected nearly 5 million people.
According to the Government of Bangladesh (GoB), this cyclone
killed 190 people, injured more than 7000 and damaged or de-
stroyed more than 500,000 houses. Cyclone Aila also caused ex-
tensive damage to infrastructure, including more than 1400 km of
embankments, an estimated 8800 km of roads, and approximately
350,000 acres of cropland. The cyclone Aila also caused damage in
11 districts in southern Bangladesh, including the most-affected
districts of Satkhira, Khulna, Bagherhat, Barguna, Barisal, Bhola,
Pirojpur and Patuakhali.
2.3. Coastal flooding
Coastal flooding mostly occurs along the coastal areas of Ban-
gladesh, which has a coastline of about 710 km along the northern
part of Bay of Bengal. The continental shelf in this part of the Bay is
Table 1
Damages due to severe cyclones in Bangladesh after independence.Source: MoWCA [16]
Year No of affected Crops da-
maged
fully (acre)
Crops da-
maged
partially
(acre)
No of
house da-
maged
fully
No of
house da-
maged
partially
No of
dead
people
No of
dead
livestock
No of da-
maged in-
stitution
(fully)
Road da-
maged
fully (km)
No of da-
maged
bridge/
culvert
Embankment
damaged (km)
District People
1970 5 1,100,000 –3,350,000 3,350,000 –250,000 470,000 ––––
1985 9 167,500 39,500 86,590 10,095 7135 10 2020 –32 11 10
1986 7 238,600 17,800 84,837 1116 3446 12 1050 2 132 1
1988 21 1,006,536 2,316,042 1,597,780 788,715 863,837 9590 386,766 2442 515 39 18
1989 33 346,087 38,712 38,629 12,173 20,008 573 2065 74 –––
1990 39 1,015,866 171,099 242,897 75,085 63,562 132 5326 233 –––
1991 33 121,229 11,760 8725 34,791 20,274 76 25 62 –– –
1991 19 13,798,275 133,272 791,621 819,608 882,750 138,882 1,061,029 3865 –496 707
1994 2 422,020 23,986 57,912 52,057 17,476 134 1296 96 169 83 97
1995 28 305,953 2593 42,644 22,395 44,664 91 1838 127 –––
1996 2 81,162 –2431 15,868 15,976 545 4933 85 –– –
1997 10 3,784,916 254,755 59,788 290,320 452,886 127 7960 1824 174 527 122
1997 12 2,015,669 16,537 72,662 51,435 163,352 78 3196 2500 218 85 280
2007 30 8,923,259 743,322 1,730,317 564,967 957,110 3363 1,778,507 4231 1714 1687 1875
2009 11 3,028,238 77,486 245,968 243,191 370,587 190 150,131 445 2233 157 1742
Md.A. Abedin, R. Shaw / International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 13 (2015) 381–389382

shallow and extends to about 20–50 km. In comparison, the
coastline in the eastern portion is conical in shape. Because of
these two factors, storm surges generated by cyclones is com-
paratively high compared to the same kind of storm in other parts
of the world. Moreover, sea level rise will directly result in in-
creased coastal flooding, which will increase in the event of storm
surges. In case of super cyclones hitting coast of Bangladesh, the
maximum height of the surges was found to be 10–15 m, which
causes flooding in the entire coastal belt. The worst flooding oc-
curred on 10 November 1970 and 30 April 1991 that caused losses
of human lives totaling 300,000 and 130,000, respectively.
2.4. Coastal erosion
The natural funnel shape of the Bangladesh coastal and marine
areas is controlled by dynamic processes such as tides, wave
actions, strong winds and sea level variations. In the last two
centuries, huge changes have taken place due to continuous land
erosion and accretion along the coastline. This process is most
severe along wider channels such as the Meghna estuary [19].
Most of the erosion of the Bay of Bengal front is due to storm
surges and continuous wave actions [2]. Sandwip Island (Upazila,
Chittagong District), for example, was 1080 km
2
in 1780 but has
been reduced to only 238 km
2
losing 180 km
2
in the last 100 years.
Hatiya (Upazila, Noakhali district), where erosion is taking place at
the rate of 400 m/year [2], has been reduced from 1000 km
2
to
only 21 km
2
in over 350 years. Kutubdia (Upazila, Cox's Bazar
district) has been reduced from 250 km
2
to only 60 km
2
during the
period 1880–1980 due to strong tidal actions and cyclonic effects.
Bhola (District) Island has been squeezed from 6400 km
2
to
3400 km
2
since 1960. Every year, the GMB river system carries
6 million cusecs of water with 2179 million metric tons of
Table 2
Disaster management courses in various universities.Source: Adopted from Islam (undated)
Sl no Name of the university Name of the department/discipline/
institute
Course curricula at various levels
1 University of Dhaka, Dhaka
!
Department of Sociology
!
Department of Geography and
Environment
!
Centre for Vulnerability and Disaster
Studies
!
Institute of Social Welfare and Research
(ISWR)
–To carry out research, professional certificate course,
–Diploma course and Masters in Disaster Management to incorporate
risk reduction issues in other degree program curricula
2 Jahangir Nagar University, Dhaka
!
Department of Environmental Science
!
Department of Geography and
Environment
–To carry out research, professional certificate course in Disaster Man-
agement and to incorporate risk reduction issues in other degree pro-
gram curricula
–Courses and in course contents.
3 Bangladesh University of Engineering
and Technology (BUET), Dhaka
!
Department of Urban and Regional
Planning
–Disaster management courses at both Bachelors and Masters Degree
programs
4 Khulna University,Khulna
!
Environmental Science discipline
!
Urban and Rural Planning Discipline
!
Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering
Discipline
–To carry out research, professional certificate course,
–Diploma course and Masters in Disaster Management to incorporate
risk reduction issues in other degree program curricula,
–Courses and in course contents.
5 Bangladesh Agricultural University
(BAU), Mymensingh
!
Department of Environmental Science
!
Graduate Training Institute (GTI)
!
Department of Agricultural Extension
Education (DAEE)
–To carry out research, professional certificate course in Disaster
Management
–To incorporate risk reduction issues in other degree program curricula,
–Courses and in course contents.
6 Shahjalal University of Science and
Technology (SUST), Shylhet
!
Department of Environmental Engineering
(DEE)
–To carry out research, professional certificate course,
–To incorporate risk reduction issues in other degree program curricula,
–Courses and in course contents.
7 Patukhali Science and Technology Uni-
versity (PSTU), Patukhali
!
Department of Environmental Science and
Disaster Management (DESDM)
–To carry out research, professional certificate course,
–Bachelor of Science in Disaster Management
–Masters in Disaster Management
–To incorporate risk reduction issues in other degree program curricula,
courses and in course contents
8 Chittagong University of Engineering
and Technology (CUET), Chittagong
!
Department of Civil Engineering (DCE) –To carry out research, professional certificate course,
–To incorporate risk reduction issues in Diploma Engineering and Ba-
chelor degree (Engineering) program curricula
–Courses and in course contents.
9 Mawlana Bhashani Science and Tech-
nology University (MBSTU),Tangail
!
Department of Environmental Science and
Resource Management (ESRM)
–To carry out research, professional certificate course,
–To incorporate risk reduction issues in other degree program curricula
–Courses and in course contents.
11 University of Rajshahi (RU),Rajshahi
!
Institute of Environmental Science (IES) –To carry out research, professional certificate course, diploma course
and Masters in Disaster Management
–To incorporate risk reduction issues in other degree program curricula
–Courses and in course contents.
12 National University
!
Geography and Environmental Science –Disaster Studies and Management
13 BRAC University (BRAC-U), Dhaka
!
Post-Graduate Programs in Disaster
Management
–To carry out research and Masters in Disaster Management,
–To incorporate risk reduction issues in other degree program curricula,
–Courses and in course contents
14 Independent University Bangladesh
(IUB), Dhaka
!
Department of Environmental Science
(DES)
–To carry out research, and
–Post-Graduate Certificate course in leadership and Management, and
–To incorporate risk reduction issues in other degree program curricula,
–Courses and in course contents
15 North South University (NSU) Dhaka
!
Department of Environmental Science and
Management
–Environmental Studies at the under graduate
–Masters program on “Resource and Environmental Management”
Md.A. Abedin, R. Shaw / International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 13 (2015) 381–389 383

sediment that causes water logging and flooding in the monsoon
period exacerbating the accretion process in the area [27].
2.5. Drought
Drought is a recurrent phenomenon in coastal Bangladesh.
Moderate drought risk prevails in the coastal zone with varying
intensities and magnitudes over the dry season. Southwestern
coastal districts except Sunderban are in risk of moderate drought
during the dry season. All other coastal districts are susceptible to
slight drought. Bagherhat, Khulna and Pirojpur are susceptible to
severe drought during the kharif season, while Satkhira is sus-
ceptible to very severe drought during that time.
3. Involvement of various universities into disaster risk
reduction
Over the last few years, higher education in disaster manage-
ment became a popular discipline for students at the University
level. Table 2 describes the program on disaster management at
undergraduate, masters and postgraduate levels in various uni-
versities in Bangladesh. Some of the public universities offer one
course or short courses on this topic. For instance, the Department
of Geography and Environmental Science of the University of
Dhaka offers a course on disaster management. Likewise, the De-
partment of Urban and Regional Planning of Jahangir Nagar Uni-
versity carries out a course on disaster management in the third
year.In addition, some of the technical universities such as the
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) offer
disaster management courses at both bachelors and masters de-
grees through the Department of Urban and Regional Planning
under the Faculty of Architecture and Planning. Moreover, the
Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Mawlana Bhashani Sci-
ence and Technology University (MBSTU), Shahjalal University of
Science and Technology (SUST), Chittagong University of En-
gineering and Technology (CUET), Patukhali Science and Tech-
nology University (PSTU) conduct research and offer professional
certificate courses in disaster management. Even PSTU com-
menced Bachelor of Science and Masters in DM and incorporates
risk reduction issues in other courses and program curricula
through the Department of Environmental Science and Disaster
Management (DESDM). Lastly, the National University carries one
course on disaster studies and management under “Geography
and Environmental Science”throughout the entire country and
integrates disaster management in the course on “Sociology of
Environment”at the Degree and Honors levels.
4. Stakeholders' role towards disaster risk reduction
Each stakeholder at different levels has a significant role in
implementing disaster risk reduction. The initial aim of disaster
management is to use the opportunity for strengthening resilience
in community and society, its citizens, its critical facilities, its li-
velihoods, and its natural environment. Thus, to establish an ef-
fective and efficient disaster risk reduction approach, key institu-
tional actors and stakeholders will need to work together and be
aware of their respective roles and responsibilities [32]. These
include the central government, local governments, academia/
universities, relevant national and international agencies, and
communities.
4.1. Government
To combat different disasters, government organizations at the
national and local level are responsible in assessing disaster risks
and taking appropriate initiatives. Pro-active planning and actions
on preparedness and mitigation are the best approaches to mini-
mizing disaster risks and reducing future losses. To address and
tackle disaster risk reduction, government has to take the lead
through the following:
!
Identify, assess and monitor the risk and enhance early warning;
!
Provide national relief organizations with adequate human re-
sources support;
!
Relocation of settlements at high risk;
!
Define the role and functions of the main agencies such as
health, public works and security services in disaster emergency
response management and establish a system for regular review
of their procedures;
!
Establish and equip a suitable emergency operations center
(EOC) capable of handling emergency telecommunications and
coordinating emergency responses involving many services;
!
Review and rationalize legal arrangements for disaster mitiga-
tion and emergency action;
!
Develop and implement a comprehensive disaster public
awareness, information and education program involving media
outlets, schools, voluntary agencies and other institutions in
order to ensure public participation in the disaster management
system;
!
Develop and implement appropriate training programs for
persons involved in the disaster management system; and
!
Strengthen policies and institutions.
4.2. Civil society
In reality, resilience in the context of coastal areas is not only
limited to response and preparedness but also to coastal sustain-
ability. Rapid urbanization and economic expansion as well as
climate change risks increase disaster. Building resilience from
coastal disasters requires political will and the active involvement
of local government, civil societies, development organization and
communities. Disaster risk reduction approach or resilience prac-
tice needs to be multidimensional rather a top down government
action. For example, civil society organizations (CSOs) throughout
the world at the regional and local levels bring attention to de-
velopment planning. These CSOs include non-governmental or-
ganizations (NGOs), faith-based/organizations, indigenous foun-
dations and many others at the local level ensure quality of life for
the poor and vulnerable communities. Therefore, civil society is an
essential partner for sustainable disaster risk reduction through
their interventions on the following:
!
Establishing planning and development committees dedicated
to disaster risk reduction;
!
Designing and planning for hazard-resistant infrastructure or
improving existing facilities;
!
Establishing education/awareness/training programs; and
!
Organizing multi-stakeholder dialogues.
4.3. University
As an educational and research institution, the university is by
necessity involved in all the phases of disaster cycle [5]. The uni-
versity plays a particular essential role during the impact, emer-
gency phase, risk reduction strategies, preparedness and mitiga-
tion. Furthermore, the roles of university in disaster management
include disaster education, relief and support to the affected
community, and understanding of the situation from a research
perspective. The university also has a role in educating, developing
scenarios, and providing basic and advance training to volunteers.
Md.A. Abedin, R. Shaw / International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 13 (2015) 381–389384

By establishing coalitions, it becomes more possible for the uni-
versity to do research suited to the needs of a particular commu-
nity. The university can offer assistance through research and
education on disasters, policy proposals, involvement in re-
construction phase as a member of the local community, carrying
out a public role as an established NGO, and dispatching of longer
term volunteers and other aids.
4.4. Community
In every disaster, people at the community or village level
suffer the most from its adverse effects. The poor within the
communities most especially are the front line responders reacting
spontaneously pre- during, and postdisaster events [7].A“culture
of coping with crisis”and “culture of disaster risk reduction”exist
in all communities and thus, any risk assessment process should
engage the participation of people, incorporate their perceptions
of vulnerability and determine their capacity. The following are
examples on how the community deals with disaster risk
reduction:
!
The enthusiastic members/volunteers/advisors of the commu-
nity are the key driving forces of the disaster management
committee;
!
Community involvement and transparency are key in any
initiative;
!
Involve local level communities in developing solutions to
combat disaster;
!
Community based disaster mitigation approach is cost-effective
and sustainable.
5. Analysis of university networking from various disaster risk
reduction approaches
The concept of disaster risk reduction is rather new in Ban-
gladesh. Making development and humanitarian efforts disaster-
resilient and integrating risk reduction into the design of strate-
gies, programs and projects require: a) risk awareness; b) knowl-
edge of existing natural hazards and vulnerabilities; c) thematic
and technical competencies; and d) the delegation of responsi-
bilities to the local level (decentralization). For these reasons,
networking is imperative to make a disaster resilient and sus-
tainable society. In this process, university networking takes an
imperative role in inaugurating effective risk reduction ap-
proaches. Table 3 summarizes the potential capabilities of a uni-
versity to reduce the risk of environmental hazards.
In reality, being a highly disaster-affected country, several
universities in Bangladesh have been carrying out several pilot
projects aiming to reduce the disaster risk of coastal region. Ta-
ble 4 explains the key roles of university networking among var-
ious stakeholders towards disaster reduction that are already im-
plemented and practiced in coastal Bangladesh.
Furthermore, the following examples give an essence for the
improvement of disaster risk reduction approaches in coastal
Bangladesh through the university network.
5.1. Rainwater harvesting system
5.1.1. Problem
Safe drinking water is a major problem for the population,
particularly in the southwestern part of coastal Bangladesh. A large
number of people suffer from the salinisation of drinking water
resources. It is reported that about six million people are deprived
due to the lack of safe non-saline drinking water in the southwest
region [3]. This is because the surface water is not only saline but
also contains dirt and pathogens. Therefore, people cannot simply
use surface water sources for drinking. Occasional inundation of
water sources like ponds and artisan wells when the area is hit by
tidal surge or experiences embankment failure often turn water
saline. Moreover, the introduction of shrimp farming and the
consequent intrusion of brackish water far into the country made
the situation even worse.
5.1.2. Approach
“Rainwater harvesting system”refers to the collection and
storage of rainwater in situ or within the vicinity of rainfall (Fig. 1).
In Bangladesh, it is mainly used for drinking and cooking purposes.
It provides a viable option than other technologies as annual
rainfall of 2350 mm in Bangladesh is not uniformly distributed in
all areas of the country. For instance, the amount of annual rainfall
in the northeastern part is about 5500 mm, whereas in the
southwestern part, it is around 1700 mm. Again, most of the
rainfall occurs from July to October (only four months). For the rest
of the year, households depend on stored water. Depending on the
scarcity of drinking water, various types of rainwater harvesting
models are used at the household and community levels in this
area. Among them, cement/mortar jars, ferro-cement tanks, and R.
C.C. ring tanks are used at the household level and constructed
underground rainwater harvesting systems is used at the com-
munity level.
5.1.3. University intervention
Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) and Bangladesh
University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) both play key
roles in developing and establishing rainwater-harvesting systems
in coastal Bangladesh. It was first carried out at the community
level by BAU in Dacope upazila of Khulna districts in 1988.
5.2. Disaster resilient habitat
5.2.1. Problem
In the last three decades, statistics on cyclone disaster occur-
rences in Bangladesh show that casualties have declined as a result
of various interventions but human sufferings and economic loss
remain an issue. Cyclone shelter development has been one of the
milestones in cyclonic disaster management of coastal Bangladesh,
which only contributes to reducing the casualty, but does not
Table 3
University capabilities and their success factors with regard to disaster risk reduction.
University capabilities Key functional success factors
Institutional Having a clear structure, role, responsibilities, and relationship between all levels of government
Human resource Having sufficient personnel, proper task delegation, and division of labor
Policy for effective implementation Availability of appropriate policies, rules, and regulations for making decision, mobilizing resources and engaging relevant public/
private organizations
Technical Having effective logistic management system, sufficient technology information system, and communication network between
organizations, communities, and media representatives
Leadership building Local level leadership to make quick and appropriate decision if and when needed
Md.A. Abedin, R. Shaw / International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 13 (2015) 381–389 385

prevent the economic and environmental damage. Conversely, its
management and maintenance is a pressing problem. As the
shelter is a bulky engineering structure, it essentially needs proper
management to ensure maximum efficacy. In addition, main-
tenance cost is higher as they are built in high salinity areas.
However, capacity of the shelters is awfully inadequate in com-
parison to the people (30 million) they are to cover. Presently, the
cyclone shelters have a capacity to accommodate only about 7.7%
of coastal population [34]. Furthermore, many of the hardcore
poor have only one or a few cattle as the main source of livelihood.
Having no provision for keeping cattle and other essential
household assets in the shelter, they stay at home taking the
highest risk in facing the disaster. In fact, these cause a number of
limitations to achieve the goal of disaster management. Therefore,
it demands new thinking for a disaster durable habitat and a
sustainable solution to a safer settlement against cyclone and tidal
surge under an emerging climate change scenario.
5.2.2. Approach
“Disaster Resilient Habitat”is an alternative approach in dis-
aster risk reduction and climate change adaptation targeting the
most vulnerable communities (Fig. 2). The concept of disaster re-
silient habitat is based on the idea that people do not have to leave
their homes to seek refuge; rather the home is made structurally
strong. It engages technology, physical and social infrastructure,
local knowledge and social capital to complement the available
resources to promote resilience through better living. In addition,
it utilizes both hardware and software along with people's parti-
cipation resulting in a more structurally and ecologically sustain-
able solution than cyclone shelters.
5.2.3. University intervention
UNDP funded project entitled “Disaster Resilient Habitat”was
executed by BRAC and BRAC university's department of Archi-
tecture and the postgraduate programs in disaster management
[18]. They designed and constructed houses, infrastructures and
schools for community of 43 households in the cyclone affected
areas in southeast Bangladesh and combined the building skills of
the community with technical knowledge from architects and
engineers.
6. Major obstacles of networking to harmonize the disaster
risk reduction processes
The number of catastrophic disasters and their consequences
have been increasing around the world. Thus the traditional
Table 4
Key Features of university networking in disaster risk reduction approaches.
Sl no Risk reduction approach Name of university Key university roles
1 Rainwater harvesting BAU and BUET
!
University may improve the system with the passing of time
!
Water quality maintenance with a definite time interval
!
Technology transfer using universities internal networks as well as partner organization
2 Disaster resilient habitat BRAC University
!
Technology development, design and construction of houses, schools and infrastructures in cyclone
affected area
!
Implemented at the field level
3 Salt tolerant variety development BAU
!
Variety development
!
Technology transfer at the end user
4 Coastal afforestation Khulna University
!
Screening of salt tolerant tree species
Fig. 1. Rainwater harvesting system.
Fig. 2. Disaster resilient habitat (Source: Mallick [18]).
Md.A. Abedin, R. Shaw / International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 13 (2015) 381–389386

disaster risk reduction approaches are under pressure to improve.
For example, in 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami allowed a lead-time of
more than two and half hours to notify the affected communities,
but the early warning information still could not reach the people
and communities in most affected countries. Even in case of the
Bangladesh, it has been stated by Ahamed et al. [4] that the poor
disaster management system and the ignorance of the physical
plan make the country to experience huge economic losses and
numerous deaths. According to their findings, most of the unions
of Kalapara Upazila of Patuakhali district have no guideline and
union disaster action plans for cyclone mitigation because of the
absence of disaster management committees. On the contrary, in
those unions that have local disaster action plans, the execution is
lacking due to insufficient resource and manpower to implement
the plans. Therefore, the basic plan and policies on DRR are ex-
tremely important. Likewise, it is a big challenge to disseminate
knowledge at the community level. Hence networking can
strengthen and promote dialogue and cooperation among disaster
experts, technical and scientific specialists, planners and other
stakeholders to harmonize the disaster risks.
However, it is evident from various studies that disaster risk
reduction is not quite successful due to several reasons. There are
significant gaps of coordination at different levels, including the
difficult process of priority setting, which should be addressed to
ensure that networking among different levels delivers maximum
benefits to the process of risk reduction in the coastal region. The
major obstacles derive from the above discussion are highlighted
below:
!
Poor disaster response capacity
–Although there is existence of disaster management plan at
national to grass root level, but implementation is very poor
due to poor governance, discrimination, inequality and in-
adequate access to resources and livelihoods.
!
Lack of institutional cooperation and collaboration
–There is an issue of overlapping membership in organiza-
tions and initiatives related to DRR in the coastal area. Thus,
there is a need of strengthening the framework for institu-
tional collaboration between the various actors involved in
DRR.
!
Lack of prioritization of Disaster Risk Management (DRM) at the
political level
–A major obstacle to the region's realization of comprehensive
disaster management is the lack of genuine political will,
particularly at higher levels of government.
!
Poor community awareness, communication and participation
–The local people could not develop their skill towards dis-
aster risk because of the lack of information and knowledge;
and non-participation of disaster risk reduction programs.
The training programs are arranged for the officials of dif-
ferent organizations and for the member of disaster man-
agement committees and volunteer committees. Besides, it
has been found that there is no provision for any disaster
preparedness-training program for the local people [4]. As a
result, the community cannot get any benefit from the
awareness program and lack of preparedness may result in
a slower response to a disaster, leading to greater loss of life
or prolonged suffering.
!
Lack of integration among scientific, technological, managerial
and social disciplines
!
Lack of functioning partnership among stakeholders
–To minimize the disaster effects, it has been mentioned from
the past experiences that due to lack of proper collaboration
and coordination between different Government Organiza-
tions and NGOs, the affected people are not only unaware
about the disaster preparedness and mitigation but also,
deprive from getting relief materials [4,8].
!
Duplication of efforts
–It is evident that many organizations recently involved in
disaster management related activities. However, there is a
significant numbers of similar work which are duplicated by
the intervention of many organizations. For instance, after-
math consecutive two mega disasters viz. Sidr in 2007 and
Aila in 2009 in the southwest coast of Bangladesh, govern-
ment and other organizations worked on safe drinking water
supply with the assistance of international organizations in
the southwest Bangladesh [1]. Hence, networking may play
an important role to minimize the duplicity of work to
provide maximum benefits for the victims.
7. Strengthening community resilience through university
network
University contributes to strengthen community resilience
against disaster risk through effective networking among different
stakeholders viz. government, NGOs, other partner universities
and community. Furthermore, university networks will likely take
on an increasingly significant and proactive role for disaster risk
reduction because of their capacity to bring stakeholders together
to share experiences, increase knowledge base and facilitate im-
proved decision-making of stakeholders in terms of policy and
practice as university is centre of excellence with regard to re-
search and disseminating research outputs to end users. For in-
stance, University Constituent College (UCC) at Nemmeli is a good
example of enhancing community resilience towards disaster.
Nemmeli Panchayat is considered as a model site in the Tamil
Nadu State because of the establishment of UCC Nemmeli in
Kanchipuram District [14]. It is operated by University of Madras
where the piecemeal of activities in DRR through class room
teaching linking with community participation including the ex-
tension activities like National Social Service (NSS) and the field
based activity like Local Citizens' Alliance (LRA) are integrated
towards the preparation and implementation of site-specific
community based disaster management (CBDM) in Nemmeli
Panchayat. However, university can work in its own working di-
mension and can improve the networks to enhance community
resilience by the following modes.
7.1. University to government
The linkage between university and government, the “Double
Helix,”is taking place as each institution can increasingly assume
the role of the other. The Double Helix thesis states that the
knowledge infrastructure can be explained in terms of these
changing relationships. Arrangements and networks between two
institutional spheres provide input and sustenance to science-
based innovation processes. In this new alignment, academia can
play a role as a source of firm-formation, technological, and re-
gional development, in addition to its traditional role as a provider
of trained persons and basic knowledge. Even in extreme condi-
tions, the university research outputs can assist the communities
through education on advanced methods and technologies. In this
connection, government can accomplish university's cooperation
by providing funds through a number of funding programs for the
development and implementation of these activities towards dis-
aster risk.
7.2. University to NGOs
If the university can implement disaster risk reduction activ-
ities (pre–during–post), it is crucial to create and/or establish
Md.A. Abedin, R. Shaw / International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 13 (2015) 381–389 387

network with NGOs at local level to make the program effective
and sustainable. Since NGOs are well known to the communities
and community people directly or indirectly get benefits from
NGOs. NGOs have their own networks to build communication
with the communities they work with. Thus, network between
university and NGOs is crucial to establish a disaster resilient and
sustainable society. For example, BARC university is working with
the leading NGO in Bangladesh namely BRAC that execute the
disaster resilient habitat in coastal area for the enhancement of
community resilience towards cyclonic winds and storm surges
[18].
7.3. University to other partner universities
University networks with other partner universities work as
public forum on transdisciplinary education for disaster risk re-
duction. Climate change and its disaster consequences and the
highly complex problems of today spawned by rapid global change
evolve too fast for us to adapt to such changes effectively. Their
inter-connectedness requires a holistic transdisciplinary approach
that brings all stakeholders together, including academia, local
government units, business, NGOs and communities, to foster ra-
pid feedback and effective exchange of knowledge and experi-
ences that will enable rapid formulation of sustainable solutions.
This public forum will demonstrate the experience in transdisci-
plinary disaster risk reduction programs of respective universities.
It will explore the role of partnership with universities in the re-
gion in developing and delivering effective transdisciplinary edu-
cation and capacity development programs. This network will help
other network partners give their commitment to the develop-
ment and implementation of locally based, multi-stakeholder
projects in disaster risk reduction. This platform will also feature a
panel discussion forum that will explore the different perspectives
in clarifying issues that relate to trans-disciplinarity.
7.4. University to community
Communities are the front liners of any kind of disaster and are
the real experts on how to cope with adverse impacts. Hence, it is
essential to address communities first in working or implementing
disaster management activities. University network makes a
bridge between community leader and university researcher to
intervene for the community. For instance, it is recommended that
disaster awareness programs such as mock drill, public awareness
campaign, and volunteer training, among others, be integrated
into community activities to mitigate the impact of disasters on
the lives of the people. Furthermore, university network can in-
volve NGOs and civil society to enhance community awareness by
transmitting programs and policies developed at national to the
grass-roots level.
8. Conclusion
University as an academic institution may need to develop and
organize comprehensive educational disaster programs or curri-
culum for the community [5]. Disaster management is not just a
curriculum, but it is method to deliver suitable and reliable ap-
proaches to the communities [29]. It is mentioned earlier that
imparting disaster education in a community college helped not
only the local community in getting better employment and al-
ternate consistent livelihood but also to enhance their resilience to
disasters. Therefore, the disaster related programs should be
simple, easy to understand, high quality and with low cost [5]. The
programs should be conducted by those stakeholders who are
actively involved within institutions, organizations and
communities in order to provide valid training regarding disasters
[33]. Universities play a major role in planning and implementa-
tion since all efforts require major scientific base whereby the
proper information and uncertainties associated with disaster
impact need to be fully understood before the preparedness plan
can be translated into policy and regulatory measures.
On the contrary, the network acts as mobilizing agent that
helps to enable physical, socio-cultural, politico-economic and
natural systems to adapt, by resistance or changing in order to
reach and maintain an acceptable level of functioning. The net-
work will also assist in identifying disaster risk reduction policies
and measures, including prevention, mitigation and preparedness
actions, coordinating global support initiatives, developing gui-
dance information and nurturing the development and strength-
ening of regional, national and local networks. Besides, the net-
work will promote a common understanding among stakeholders
that underlines the importance of disaster resilience education
and will raise awareness in improving the community's disaster
resilience.
In this way, it is therefore recommended that university net-
working is the only way to share knowledge and experiences and
to draw lessons based on principles derived from practices [30]. It
made requisite among various stakeholders such as government,
NGOs, CBOs to reduce the disaster impacts. In order to minimize
the disaster effects and loss of lives, the synergy among disaster
education, research and implementation is indispensable. Because
not only the educational product in DRR but also of improved
process implementation is needed [30]. It has been noticed that
disaster education in Bangladesh has been incorporated in pri-
mary, secondary and tertiary level that mainly related to response
and some preparedness issues. However, the involvement of
government, NGOs and civil society through the university net-
working can improve the risk reduction process and awareness by
cascading programs and policies developed at the national level to
disaster-affected communities.
Based on the above discussion, to make the process more ef-
fective, this study has formulated a model where university net-
working plays a proactive role for building disaster resilient
coastal community (Fig. 3). It has been stated in Fig. 3 that edu-
cation and research are the two main components of the uni-
versity that help to enhance capacity building, develop policy and
advocacy, and implement the advancement practiced in DRR. On
Fig. 3. Model of disaster resilient coastal community through university network.
Md.A. Abedin, R. Shaw / International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 13 (2015) 381–389388

the other hand, to conduct the research and education smoothly,
government, international organizations, donor agencies and
overseas university partners should facilitate the resources. This is
because the universities act to optimize eminence, prestige and
reputation by pursuing external research support from industry
and government bodies [6,13]. Moreover, Sutz [31] highlights that
the role of universities in developing countries is important, as it is
a crucial tool for overcoming underdevelopment and thus a strong
local knowledge base needs to be created and nurtured through
research and development. Eventually, the university could
channel the disaster education, relief, support to the affected
community and grasp the situation from a research perspective
through dialogue, consultancy, and advisory. Furthermore, the
networking has been improved with the support and contribution
from all the primary stakeholders viz. university, local govern-
ment, national government, NGOs, CBOs, media and community
that ultimately build the disaster resilient coastal community to-
wards disaster risk.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the support from the PARR (Pan-Asia
Risk Reduction) Fellowship and Kyoto University to conduct this
research.
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