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Sustainable livelihoods and effectiveness of disaster responses: a case study of tropical cyclone Pam in Vanuatu

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Abstract

Category 5 tropical cyclone Pam hit Vanuatu in March 2015, affecting thousands of people. Three months after the event, this study compared the responses from both external aid agencies and the disaster-affected communities to identify convergences, duplications and gaps. The research relies on 13 interviews with aid agencies and eight focus group discussions with participatory activities at local community level. While aid agencies actively responded during and after Pam, local people too responded to the event with strategies based on livelihoods diversification, food security techniques, traditional knowledge and cooperation intra- and inter-communities. The study emphasizes the need for an integrative approach where disaster responses from the top-down integrate that from the bottom-up. Aid agencies should build on the livelihood mechanisms developed at local level so responses and recovery can be more effective, socioculturally acceptable and may lead to sustainable outcomes of disaster risk reduction including climate change adaptation.

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Fig. 1

Sources: IBTrACS-All data, version: v03r08/NOAA 2015; SRTM 1 arc-second global/USGS 2016; OSM 2016

Fig. 2

Source: Authors’ own photography (24 June 2015)

Fig. 3

Source: Wheel of resources, Imafen village (n = 42)

Fig. 4

Source: Wheel of livelihood resources, Ehniu village (n = 18)

Fig. 5

Source: Participatory proportional piling (n = 42)

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Notes

  1. The land and resource tenure system in Vanuatu is complex and the subject of many unresolved problems (for a review see: Jolly, 1992; Bonnemaison and Penot-Demetry 1994).

  2. CDCs have been developed from 2011 with the input of CARE and the French Red Cross in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO). They have recently been renamed CDCCCs (Community Disaster and Climate Change Committees).

  3. The Nakamal is used in each village for meetings and ceremonies. This place is also utilized for preparing and drinking kava, central to Ni-Vanuatu culture. The Nakamal is often restricted to men.

  4. Many argue that this actually started earlier as a result of tinned army rations in World War 2.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the French Institute of Research for Development/Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD) who funded this research. We also thank the French Red Cross in Vanuatu for their collaboration. We are particularly grateful to David Bridier, Robert Butal and Julien Lamberti for their support on the field.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health and Psychosocial Studies, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

    Loïc Le Dé

  2. Department of Geography, University of Paul Valéry, Montpellier, France

    Tony Rey & Frederic Leone

  3. UMR GRED, Montpellier, France

    Tony Rey & Frederic Leone

  4. UMR Espace-Dev, IRD (Research Institute for Development), Montpellier, France

    David Gilbert

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  1. Loïc Le Dé
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Correspondence to Loïc Le Dé.

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Le Dé, L., Rey, T., Leone, F. et al. Sustainable livelihoods and effectiveness of disaster responses: a case study of tropical cyclone Pam in Vanuatu. Nat Hazards 91, 1203–1221 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-018-3174-6

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