Editor’s choice
Community participation is considered an integral part of Build Back Better (BBB) initiatives and an asset for ensuring equitable resilient outcomes of post-disaster recovery. However, SEI Tallinn’s Senior Expert Heidi Tuhkanen found that BBB-related practices, as well as recovery research, have failed to avoid reinforcing inequities that require addressing issues of power.
House destroyed by the passage of a hurricane in Florida.
Photo: CHUYN / Getty Images
Tuhkanen undertook a scoping review that examines the intersection of power and participation in post-disaster recovery. Using a qualitative analytical approach, she presented an overview of the existing power imbalances, participatory activities and their associated outcomes.
How can participatory processes influence power dynamics? Tuhkanen’s study identified five roles that participatory processes can play:
In general, Tuhkanen found in the scoping review that the scientific literature does not make use of power as an explicit analytical lens and that the social processes related to participation are insufficiently documented. Correcting these gaps can generate a better understanding of the possibilities for collaborative disaster risk governance in recovery.
Perspective / On 8 November 2013, super Typhoon Haiyan left a trail of destruction in the Philippines. A researcher reflects on power and recovery on the 10-year anniversary.
Project / AgroMixNorth offers springboards for resilient cropping systems that provide nutritious food and income to farmers while increasing below-ground carbon storage.
Project / SEI is supporting community-led adaptation and mitigation actions in Colombia, through a partnership with the IUCN.
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