EconPapers    
Economics at your fingertips  
 

Community Participation in Disaster Recovery Programs: A Study of a Coastal Area in Bangladesh

Emadul Islam (), Haris Bin Abd Wahab () and Odessa Gonzalez Benson ()
Additional contact information
Emadul Islam: Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies, Independent University Bangladesh
Haris Bin Abd Wahab: University of Malaya
Odessa Gonzalez Benson: University of Michigan

The European Journal of Development Research, 2022, vol. 34, issue 5, No 13, 2438-2462

Abstract: Abstract This study explores disaster-affected local community participation in disaster recovery programs led by governmental organizations (GOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Focusing on programming in response to the devastating cyclone Aila in the coastal areas in Bangladesh in 2009, the study employed a mixed-method approach using qualitative data (interviews and focus groups) and quantitative data (surveys). Quantitative findings reveal a moderate level of participation in all four stages (decision-making, implementation, benefit sharing, and evaluation) in GO and NGO recovery projects. Qualitative findings reveal that the decision-making process was controlled by project authorities, local elites, and power politics; community participation was limited to passive participation. Furthermore, findings suggest that GO-led programs as less effective in facilitating community participation, compared with NGO-led programs. Findings point to the need for policymakers and practitioners to view community participation not as a monolithic concept, but as a multi-dimensional, dynamic process that can be facilitated more effectively when disaster recovery programming and policies are targeted and intentional in aiming for partnerships and empowerment especially during decision-making phases of programming, rather than nominal forms of community participation. Further, findings call for comparative studies of GO-led and NGO-led programs to better understand organizational culture and institutional mechanisms and their differential impact on community participation during disaster recovery.

Keywords: Community participation; Sustainable disaster recovery; Community resilience; Bangladesh (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41287-021-00460-7 Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:eurjdr:v:34:y:2022:i:5:d:10.1057_s41287-021-00460-7

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/journal/41287/PS2

DOI: 10.1057/s41287-021-00460-7

Access Statistics for this article

The European Journal of Development Research is currently edited by Spencer Henson and Natalia Lorenzoni

More articles in The European Journal of Development Research from Palgrave Macmillan, European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().

 
Page updated 2025-03-19
Handle: RePEc:pal:eurjdr:v:34:y:2022:i:5:d:10.1057_s41287-021-00460-7