Disaster Risk Reduction
Our Disaster Risk Reduction programs are responding to the Fierce Urgency of Now!
The Blue Mountains has been declared a natural disaster area six times in five years. We are actioning research and providing communication networks, resources and opportunities to learn how to reduce the risk of disaster, including creating a Disaster Risk Reduction Demonstration site at the Planetary Health Centre. We take a long term approach to reducing disaster risk by working together bioregionally, and globally, to restore the health of our planet. In the short term we respond to immediate threats by actioning the latest research and providing resources to facilitate urgent adaptation.
Background
Our Disaster Risk Reduction programs were launched after receiving funding from the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF), which is jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments.
We received $1.135 million for our Bioregional Collaboration for Planetary Health which we delivered in collaboration with our neighbouring local government area, Lithgow. We share disasters and are now also collaborating on solutions.
The funding helped us establish the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre.
The Bioregional Collaboration for Planetary Health
The goal of the Bioregional Collaboration for Planetary Health was to:
“Pioneer systemic change – through innovative water management initiatives, neighbourhood communication platforms, and co-designed place based accelerated research and learning – to support disaster risk reduction.”
The project was unique in its breadth and depth. Key strategy and project elements included:
1. The Blue Mountains Planetary Health Pluriversity
- Providing multiple streams of formal and informal learning, including addressing the need to learn how to manage water to reduce risk of future disasters. Capability and resilience building activities engaged the community in learning about disaster risk management and included:
- Creation of educational resources for community on bushfire sprinkler system design, including training for plumbers on implementing bushfire infrastructure;
- Hands on learning opportunities for community and agencies with 64 workshops and events held;
- Thermal imaging workshops with community and University of Notre Dame medical students alongside the publication of Cool Mountains Guides to prepare the community for future heatwaves;
- Intergenerational Skillshare Saturdays with Bushcare, Upcycled Fashion, Plant Based Cheese Demos, Writing and Video Workshops to engage young people;
- Major events including the world’s first Planetary Health Day, a Celebrating the Changemakers Networking Luncheon, and the Futureproofing with Circular Water
- Developing an innovative interactive Circular Water Demonstration Site on the 30 hectare Blue Mountains Planetary Health Precinct site (former site of Katoomba Golf Course!) including:
- Installing a 150K litre demonstration underground water tank made of Stormbrixx as an innovative prototype for tanks that could then be built at the end of flame zone streets around the perimeter of the City – the tank captures, cleans and stores stormwater for firefighting as well as reducing stormwater surges;
- A model “grey water” recycling system in partnership with Sydney Water (the ‘Hydraloop’) that reduces water bills and provide households and gardens with water during drought;
- The installation of a Bushfire Sprinkler System for the Planetary Health Centre designed by Australia’s leading researcher in this field Dr Alan Green from the Sustainable Buildings Research Centre at the University of Wollongong. This was supplemented by a Sprinkler Demonstration wall for educational purposes, and resources for sharing in Vocational Educational Training courses for plumbers on implementing bushfire infrastructure;
- A demonstration domestic water tank with diversion devices to show the community how to use the water from tanks during different scenarios;
- Small scale water management strategies for communities including drip irrigation, ponds for wildlife, wicking beds and composting seats.
Learn more about Future Proofing with Circular Water, and access our research and resources here
On Friday 26 July 2024 we held a Future Proofing with Circular Water Symposium. View our presentations below:
2. Establishing Funding Models for the ongoing sustainability of disaster risk reduction strategies
- Establishing an innovative funding model to fund the underground tanks and other disaster risk reduction projects through the Sydney Community Foundation (the Disaster Ready Community Fund) and the establishment of a Planetary Health Environmental Trust (May 2024).
3. Establishing Hyperlocal News Platforms in every neighbourhood from the Lower Mountains to Lithgow
- Engaging community and agencies to collaborate and partner through sharing news, stories and resources.
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- Six local news sites were established as a bottom-up media platform to strengthen and increase communications between and within communities, and with agencies on disaster risk adaptation and mitigation.
- These news sites shared stories about taking action environmentally, socially and economically for disaster risk management and Planetary Health:
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- Lower Mountains Local News lowermtnslocalnews.com
- Springwood Area Local News springwoodlocalnews.com
- Mid Mountains Local News midmtnslocalnews.com
- Katoomba Area Local News katoombalocalnews.com
- Blackheath Area Local News blackheathnews.com
- Lithgow Area Local News lithgowlocalnews.com
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By sharing stories in this way, the project aimed to inspire everyone to learn how to take action and to discover others working in the same area, potentially leading to increased collaboration across sectors to address disaster risk and build resilient communities. These sites actively support the Council’s work on engaging the broader community in taking action e.g. to reduce community carbon emissions.
To increase community engagement and community connection, each neighbourhood site has a community calendar of events and community directories. The community is invited to submit their events for these calendars and the events from the whole bioregion are shared on the Pluriversity calendar: www.bmpluriversity.org/program
Another innovative focus of these storytelling platforms was stories engaging young people to support succession planning for volunteer organisations in the Blue Mountains.
4. Establishing Cross-Sector Collaborations
A Consultative Research Group was established and guided key elements of the project focused on co-designing place-based accelerated research and learning to increase the community’s adaptive capacity to face future risks. As well as community and emergency management representatives it included The Sustainability Workshop, a member of the Bushfire Australian Standards and expert witness to the Bushfire Royal Commission, and representatives from the University of Wollongong and Macquarie University.
A Bioregional Media Alliance comprising representatives from every sector (community groups, organisations, business, education and research and government) was established to ensure our news stories were representative of the whole community’s actions.
Outcomes of the Bioregional Collaboration for Planetary Health
This project increased collaboration across directorates in Council and across all sectors within the community, including with businesses, and education and research bodies, to leverage and share expertise to help us prepare for a more challenging future.
It delivered systemic change by working collaboratively across the Blue Mountains and Lithgow bioregion and utilising the key cultural drivers: ACTION, EDUCATION & RESEARCH and COMMUNICATIONS to increase understanding and capacity to reduce disaster risk. It provided an antidote to a growing culture of anger, polarization, pessimism, fake news, and fear.
Understanding and capacity were measurably increased across the whole system because of:
- Cross-sector sharing of information about risks, the latest DRR preparedness research, and local place-based solutions for these risks.
Information was shared via:
- Engaging over 2,700 participants in a total of 64 presentations, hands-on workshops and events delivered by a local government and community-led learning program (the Pluriversity)
- Over 600 solutions-focused stories and ‘listicles’ on 6 hyperlocal news sites, newsletters, extensive social media, and radio
- ‘How to’ resources and research published on the Pluriversity website
- The creation of a Planetary Health Centre with a Circular Water Demonstration site focused on Disaster Risk Reduction
- Opportunities for Community and DRR Agencies to connect and share information at events, and via Emergency Dashboards, directories, and stories shared via our communication platforms
- A ‘Revival of Hope’ after multiple extreme weather events and a pandemic which exacerbated depression, anxiety, and a sense of hopelessness and powerlessness in a disaster-weary community
- Building and strengthening community connections
- Engaging young people as part of succession planning
Other ways we are developing our Disaster Risk Reduction Programs
Disaster Risk Reduction Conferences
The Planetary Health Centre will be hosting a range of conferences to support Disaster Risk Reduction, including the Asbestos and Hazardous Materials Conference and the Australian Bushfire Building Conference.
Contact us if you’d like to be involved.
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Global Planetary Health News
View our Global Planetary Health News which aims to provide examples of how all sectors around the world are working to restore the health of our planet. Planetary Health News includes our hyperlocal news platforms which share local directories and support systems for reducing disaster risk.
Contact planetaryhealth@bmcc.nsw.gov.au or phone 0407 437553 if you’d like to partner, share your stories, or participate in our programs.
Our YouTube channel shares multiple stories about how to reduce the risk of disaster.
View more of our resources here
