Community participation
Community participation is the active involvement of people from communities preparing
for, or reacting to, disasters. True participation means the involvement of the people
concerned in analysis, decision-making, planning, and programme implementation, as
well as in all the activities, from search and rescue to reconstruction, that people affected
by disasters undertake spontaneously without the involvement of external agencies.
While the opportunities for community participation may vary greatly from place to
place and at different points in the disaster-management cycle, a participatory approach
to disaster-related activities should be promoted to achieve sustainable development