GSLL 1511 - Grassroots Participatory Disaster Management

“If sufficient a number of management layers are superimposed on top of each other, it can be assured that disaster is not left to chance.” -Norman R. Augustine

The occurrence of disasters appears to be on the rise, and despite several technological advancements, they still cause major damage and destruction to our societies. In order to minimize these damages and save lives, disaster management plans must adopt a participatory strategy with an increasing focus on the grassroots level. Small initiatives, such as creating awareness and educating vulnerable communities on simple and easy disaster management techniques, may mitigate the conditions that exacerbate disasters and help reduce losses.

Therefore, there is a need for a participatory and broad-based approach in order to increase the scope of disaster management and utilize local knowledge and means of communication and organization. Instead of looking at crises from the delivery end as outsiders, we need to focus on understanding the requirements of the sufferer, the victim, the community and design disaster management plans accordingly. The course mainly focuses on victim-centric, micro-level planning in disaster management and predominantly discusses the techniques that are useful at the individual/family/community level. It focuses on actions to be taken during and after the occurrence of disasters, rather than focusing on the mitigation.

This course can be applied towards:

• Community-Based Development Certificate

Noncredit courses do not produce academic credit nor appear on a Colorado State University academic transcript.

Important Information

Due to the condensed time frame for this course, students cannot withdraw and receive a refund once the course begins.

Instructors

Prakash Kamtam
prakash@devlogix.org

Prakash Kamtam is a civil servant with over fifteen years of experience in governance and development administration and with over a decade of hands on experience in the disaster management department in India. He worked as one of the key officials during the Tsunami relief and rehabilitation operations in Southern India. He is a qualified mechanical engineer with executive management qualifications from the Indian Institute of Management- Ahmedabad, India.

Mr. Kamtam is passionate and committed to working toward the greater good of society. He recently cofounded a not-for-profit NGO that is working towards building a global sustainable development resource center. Other areas of interest include promoting green and sustainable development, working towards holistic and inclusive growth, advocating governance reforms, and working towards building corruption free and transparent institutions.