About AUEDM
The Asian University Network of Environment and Disaster
Management (AUEDM) is a unique initiative of prominent Asianuniversities coming together to share knowledge resources related toenvironment and disaster risk management amongst themselves andwith the larger group of stakeholders working on these issues beyond
conventional national and thematic boundaries.
AUEDM partners work in close collaboration to jointly conduct research,share findings and find ways forward in a part of the world that isincreasingly at threat due to rising disaster events and climate change
impacts. AUEDM also works closely with governments, corporate
citizens, international agencies and civil society organizations toestablish collaborations that eventually lead to reduction of risk for themost vulnerable communities.

AUEDM-ADRRN Linkage :A Knowledge – Action Partnership

A common thread in the roadmaps of the two networks is the priority given to

Who can be members of AUEDM:
The universities of Asia who are conducting education and research in the field of disaster andenvironmental management can apply for the membership. There is no fee for the membership;
it is a voluntary network aiming at the cutting-edge field based research and higher education in therelated field.
For further details, visit:www.auedm.net
or contact:

Rajib Shaw

International Environment and Disaster Management (IEDM) Laboratory
Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies
KYOTO UNIVERSITY
Yoshida Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, JAPANE-mail: auedm.net@gmail.com
Web: http://www.iedm.ges.kyoto-u.ac.jp/

The Road Ahead
years. It seeks to expand its membership to include many more leading

have a stronger and more vibrant system of linkages, which will allow for more

Acknowledgements
This publication was made possible with the help and cooperation of the AUEDM members, advisors
and observers, which is highly acknowledged. The production team consists of Rajib Shaw, Yukiko
Takeuchi, Fuad H. Mallick and Phong Tran. AUEDM acknowledges the funding support from Mitsui
Foundation for its operation for past 3 years and this publication. Photo credit goes to the Kyoto
University Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies International Environment and Disaster
Management Laboratory. This publication is Kyoto University’s contribution to the Nairobi Work

Program of UNFCCC.

the NGOs and NGO networks of the region who are natural consumers of theresearch and academic products and services of the university community. It
looks forward to a two way learning process through its partnership with theground truths.

healthier and community oriented environment and disaster governance regime
across the region.
Supported By: Mitsui Foundation 2008-2011
Design and Layout Takayuki Moriyama

Table of Contents

Context .................................................................... 2
Higher Education in Sustainable Development .........4Emerging Issues........................................................ 8
Environment Disaster Linkages.............................9
Hydro-Meteorological Disasters............................ 9
CCA-DRR Synergy...............................................11
Human Security.................................................... 11
AUEDM: Background, History, Activities...................12
Guiding Principles of Higher Education.................... 16
Model Contents of Curriculum ................................. 18
Mode of Delivery....................................................... 22
Inventory of Universities........................................... 26
Inventory of Resources............................................ 28

1

ontext
C

2

When disaster education it mentioned, theusual focus in more on the school or family
or community education. Very little focus isgiven so far on the higher education. However,higher education (in college and university) is
the key to develop professionals in the subject.
Higher education in disaster is still lacking
in most of the countries and regions. In thiscontext, the lessons of environment or the fieldof sustainable development can provide usefultips. Higher education is not only the curriculum,
but the approach or mode of delivery is equallyimportant. To develop an appropriate higher
education a system of educational governanceis important (COE 2005). Given the role ofeducation has for the overall societal andeconomic development, there is a necessity toensure the responsiveness of higher education
to the changing needs and expectations ofsociety. In this respect, it is important to ensure
participation of external actors in the governanceof higher education and to allow the flexibility
to accommodate the continuous change ofthe needs and requirements over time. COE(2005) made several recommendations forhigher education, which can be considered as
the base of the disaster education in colleges
and universities. These include: serving theneed and expectation of the society, having
appropriate academic freedom, process ofsetting up long terms goals and developing
appropriate strategies for achieving them,providing reasonable scope of innovationand flexibility in research, promotion of goodeducational governance through regional andinternational networks, and ensuring quality
control of teachers and students.
For development to be sustainable, mitigationof the destructive effects of natural disasters
remains a challenge. Proper application ofscientific and technical knowledge on disasters
offers an opportunity to reduce the vulnerabilities
and risks of various social groups. Disastereducation is now recognized as an essential
element in formulating the appropriate disasterrisk reduction strategies for any country. Overthe last few decades, there has been remarkableprogress in developing the theoretical basis
for disaster management. The advancementin science and technology allows better
understanding and presentation of risk andvulnerability issues; application of remotesensing techniques and GIS has significantly
contributed in this regard. Social scientists havebeen successful in exploring the various social
dimensions associated with disaster risks andvulnerabilities.
Higher education in disaster risk reduction (DRR)
is a multi-disciplinary issue. It encompasses all
faculties of knowledge ranging from science,social science, humanities and so on. It has notbeen long that some formal academic degrees
have been offered in the field of disaster risk
reduction from a few academic institutions
worldwide. Since long before offering academic
degrees, many institutions around the world
have been conducting disaster related researchand offering training programs of varying
duration. The objective of these research andtraining and degree programs are mainly tofoster local or regional need.
It is important to facilitate disaster risk reduction(DRR) education at tertiary level throughdevelopment of a regionally suitable andsufficiently flexible curriculum structure. Before
embarking on developing a curriculum structure
for DRR education, particularly at the post
graduate level, it is important to differentiate
DRR education from DRR training. This isbecause, prior to the evolution of mainstream
DRR education, DRR training either in the formof response and recovery or preparedness hada fairly wide spread across agencies concernedwith it. DRR education is not only about thecreation of well versed professionals in DRR but
is also a vehicle for knowledge accumulation andimportantly knowledge creation. While there are
academic programs that deal with disasters fromthe perspective of discipline that hosts them i.e.
geology, engineering, geography to name a few,
there is yet to visibly emerge DRR as a discipline
on its own, which takes comprehensive accountof all components.

3

H E
ustainableinS
evelopment
D
igher

4

ducation

CRE (1994) has developed the university charterfor sustainable development in 1994. The
charter points out that education at all levels,
especially university education for the trainingof decision-makers and teachers, should beoriented towards sustainable development andfoster environmentally aware attitudes, skills
and behavior patterns, as well as a sense of
ethical responsibility. Education must become
environmental education in the fullest senseof the term. To conduct appropriate educationin sustainable development, the charter urges
the universities to take appropriate actions as:
institutional commitment to the principles andpractices of environmental protection, promoting
environmental ethics among teachers, students,
education of university employees, programsin environmental education, inter-disciplinarily,
dissemination of knowledge, networking,partnerships, and technology transfer. The
point most applicable to higher education [HE]was the need for the reorientation of existingeducation to take sustainable development
principles into account (Brunton 2006). In
addressing this point, McKeown (2002), makes
the argument that countries should be careful
not to confuse reorientation and increasing theamount of education. Despite numerous bodies
arguing that economic, social and environmental
issues need to be equally weighted it is often
the environmental angle that comes to thefore. ‘Greening the university’ or ‘greening
the curriculum’ have become commonly usedphrases that tend to refer to the integrationof environmental perspectives into university
operations and teaching (Alabaster and Blair
1996). Brunton (2006) from his study concludes
that the ingredients for effectively incorporating
ESD into teaching and learning practices include:• Full integration of ESD into the curriculum(i.e. not a one-off or final-year option module,with continuity (i.e. not a three-year projectthat ends in a report)• Student-centered activities and assessmentsthat reward critical thinking and reflective
learning, e.g. use of problem-based learning,projects, case studies, portfolios, field studies• Trans-disciplinary teaching, with modules
that are taught by staff from a range of
disciplines and encourage contact between
students from different subject areas• Teaching that emphasizes that ESD is
an ongoing process, i.e. part of a lifelong
learning journey where answers are not hardand fast.
In an interesting article, Fortuin and Bush (2010)
mentioned that to understand the complex issues
environment and sustainable development,
the scientists need “boundary crossing skills”
next to domain specific knowledge andcommunicative and social skills. Citing theexample of the European Workshop (EUW) as
an interdisciplinary course, the paper suggests
to incorporate course structure [stage basedwith specific phases focusing on specific interdisciplinary topics], course components [including
matrix approach with course reporting andfieldwork], communication among students,
and role of teachers as essentials to facilitate
the “boundary crossing skills” among thestudents. Two components of the EUW, thematrix approach and the field work, particularly
contributed to enhancing students’ awareness of
disciplinary and cultural boundaries. They also
contributed to the students’ appreciation of using
different disciplinary and cultural perspectives
in solving problems. The students developed apositive attitude or habits to crossing boundaries,
a precondition for being able to cross them.
By working on a real project in an intercultural
setting, the students can be confronted withshortcomings of scientific research and theoften politicized nature of environmental
management. Learning to cope with these issues
by questioning the reliability of information and5

6realizing that decisions are often made in a particular
context, exposed the students to the central challengesof crossing boundaries between theory and practice,disciplines and cultures. This realization will be transferred
into research and professional skills as they advancewith their academic and professional careers and will
be further exposed to the complexity of environmental
and societal problems. Realizing that one should crossboundaries to solve problems could be one of the mostimportant elements in their education (Fortuin and Bush,2010).

and sustainability in a joined-up world (Parker 2010). The
literature review demonstrates developments towards
action competencies in inter-disciplinary for sustainability
but with an over-reliance on students guiding their own
practice and reflection. Findings highlight potential
elements of a more widely informed knowledge literacy,
including philosophical, sociological and cultural aspects,
that is needed to support the development of thesecompetencies.
In a review of the progress of higher education insustainable development, Ryan et al. (2010) have pointed
out that the Asia-Pacific region offers many creative
There exist several other models of deep learning
initiatives and shows considerable progress in ESD and(Warburton 2003), sustainability trans-disciplinary
in understanding the learning dimensions of sustainability.
education model (STEM) (Clarke and Button 2011),
At the same time, it mirrors global trends that further work
competency enhancement for interdisciplinary issues
is needed to promote systemic change in educational(Parker 2010) in higher education. Deep learning isarenas, particularly in terms of strategic integration withina key strategy by which the students extract meaning
higher education institutions. Nomura and Abe (2010)
and understanding from course materials andpointed out that encouraging leadership development
experiences (Warburton 2003). Because of the range
for sustainability amongst university executive staff
and interconnectedness of environmental, social andmembers is critical to continuing and strengthening efforts
economic issues, and the importance of interdisciplinary
in this area in Japanese higher education. In contrast,
thinking and holistic insight, deep learning is particularly
the example from India shows that several principles of
relevant in the context of education for sustainability.
sustainable development are embedded in the country’s
However, deep learning can be inhibited if the existingeducation policy (Chhokar 2010). It is perhaps theinterests or backgrounds of students have a strong
only country where the highest court has mandated
disciplinary focus. The STEM integrates the sciences,environmental education at all levels of formal education,
arts and aesthetics, and the university with the greater
which includes a compulsory undergraduate course.
New Britain community, and beyond (Clarke and Button
However, the challenges of implementing this requirement2011). Academic areas included geography, environmental effectively are hampered by lack of inter-disciplinaryscience, communication, art history, aesthetics, andcompetence among staff and students, and traditional
teacher education. The trans-disciplinary methodology
methods of assessment in higher education. In case of
was integrated in a learner-centered design. As a result
China, teaching about sustainable development has beenof the mutual learning implicit in the STEM, all participants integrated into technical fields, especially at universities
expanded each other’s understandings of sustainability.
in major cities, and research has been undertaken toStudents were learning from instructors, instructors
develop economically effective and environmentallywere learning from students, students were learning
friendly innovations (Niu et al. 2010). However, resourcesfrom students, instructors were learning from instructors,
and capacities are still very limited, given the ambitions
and all were learning and sharing knowledge with theassociated with sustainable development in China.
greater community. As a result, all participants gained
Different examples demonstrate the need to harness
a deeper and broader understanding about humannational policy, to develop local and regional initiatives
environment relationships and how humans impact
and to work effectively towards more profound change
natural resources. Competencies are at the heart of thein higher education curricula and through collaboration
new forms of inter-agency and inter-professional working
with external communities and stakeholders (Ryan et al.,that is increasingly recognized as essential to deliver care 2010).

7

E

merging

8

I

ssues

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), being an inter-disciplinary subject has its links to other sectors,
like environment, development, human security. The link between environment and disaster isprominent in the area where natural and social issues merge, and this is specifically prominent in
the rural areas where most of the communities depend on agriculture and natural resources for theirlivelihood. These issues are linked with the overall concept of human security (Shaw 2006). Climatechange impacts are often regarded as the missing link between environment and disaster. However,
the relationship is not clearly reflected in the national policies and international and local actions.
Following section shows some of the key issues to be reflected in higher education in DRR.

Environment Disaster Linkages
The link between development, environment and disasters is a very deeply entrenched one.
Unplanned, ad-hoc and poor development is directly responsible for a significant part of thevulnerabilities observed in the region. Large scale industrial developments unmindful of related risks
and pollution considerations, the rise of high density settlements with inadequate infrastructure, nonengineered buildings, all have contributed to high levels of risk. The intermediary in this process
is often the environment, as can be seen clearly in the case of climate change that has been
established to have arisen out of anthropological causes. While there is very popular recent focus
on carbon footprints, the concept of ecological footprints has existed for a long time in the academic
domain. The fact that the environment has a limited carrying capacity beyond which it cannot support
consumption and emission levels has been a well known fact for very long, and has been articulated
in scientific terms for many decades. Yet ecological footprints have gone on increasing exponentiallywith increasing consumption patterns that have accompanied development and economic growth.

Hydro-Meteorological Disasters
The most significant increasing trend that threatens vulnerable populations in the mountain regions,river basins, arid swathes and coastal stretches of Asia is one of increasing hydro-meteorologicaldisasters. In terms of climate change induced catastrophic events, these threaten us with shocks
such as cyclones, cloudbursts, flash floods and urban floods. On the other hand, in terms of
prolonged stresses, they threaten us with drought and water stresses. Their impact on urban
settlements is also increasing, though not as visible and noticed as the case of catastrophic events.
Unmanageable migration, often in waves or migration storms that are related to distress migration
are burdening the already bursting Asian cities to a point of breakdown. Urban droughts are an
intimidating phenomenon that looms in the face of many Asian cities already reeling under severe
and prolonged water stresses. What climate change threatens to do to the water towers, the mighty
glaciers and water reservoirs in the mountain regions, only compounds the seriousness of thesethreats.

9

10

CCA-DRR Synergy
Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), though broadly understood tobe linked in some ways, have not yet been taken as a holistically linked complementary set of actions
that require collaborative and coordinated action by all concerned stakeholders. The significance of
CCA-DRR synergy cannot be felt more by vulnerable communities who do not feel the impact of climatechange or natural disaster sectorally, but it hits them as a combined whole with devastating effects. It
needs to be appreciated that a piece-meal, sectorally split approach to this complex set of problems will
not bear fruit. Recent work by some of the AUEDM university partners has thrown light on the intricate
linkages between cross sectoral development activities, their impact on the environment, subsequent
detrimental impacts of a deteriorating environment on human life, and the integrated approach neededto address this combined threat of climate change and disasters. Such an understanding can be very
meaningfully deployed at various levels – from governance to voluntary action to education, and can goa long way in developing community based and environment based resilience to climate change as well
as disasters.

Human Security
The relationship between human security and the environment is most pronounced in areas of humandependence on access to natural resources. Environmental resources are critical part of the livelihoodsof many people. When these resources are threatened because of environmental changes, people’s
human security is also threatened, and people move from the rural areas to the marginal lands, whichleads to a decline in the household income. This relationship is captured in the promotion of sustainable
development. Two other fields – environmental security and sustainable development – emerged
and grew roughly during the same period as human security and human development. Disaster risk
reduction has a direct connotation to human security. Many of the natural disasters like flood anddrought are directly related to the environmental degradation and climate change. Disaster events affectthe poor the most by affecting their lives, properties, and livelihoods. Therefore, by creating disasterresilient communities, it is possible to enhance human security. Although some countries have taken
pro-community measures to enhance environmental sustainability, thereby reducing the impacts ofdisasters, there is still a long way to go in the direction of synergy of community-based natural resource
management and disaster risk management.

11

AUEDM
Background,
History, Activities

12Background,
Hisory, Activities

The Asian University Network of Environmentand Disaster Management (AUEDM) is a uniqueinitiative of prominent Asian universities that cometogether to share knowledge resources related
to environment and disaster risk management
amongst themselves and with the larger groupof stakeholders working on these issues, inaddition to conventional national and thematicboundaries. AUEDM members work in close
collaboration to conduct education and research,share findings and find ways forward in a region
that is increasingly at threat due to climatechange impacts. AUEDM also works closely withgovernments, international agencies and corporate
and civil society organizations to establish
collaborations that eventually lead to resilient
communities. AUEDM reflects each member’scommitment to implementation-oriented education
and research in the field of environment anddisaster risk reduction. The objectives of AUEDM
are:

6. To enhance recognition of the vital roleof universities in implementation-oriented
education and research in environment anddisaster risk reduction

1. To share and work together (bilaterally or
multilaterally) in promoting environ-ment anddisaster risk reduction in higher education(focusing on, but not restrict-ed to, postgraduate education)

2. Extensive network: The four universities
have largest networks in the tsunami af-fectedareas, and thus ensure that the knowledge
product will have largest circula-tion in future.

2. To collaborate on field-based and policy
oriented research focusing on different aspects
of disaster risk reduction and environmental
management
3. To broaden the scope of education andlearning in the environment and disaster risk
reduction field through collaboration withdiverse stakeholders including NGOs and local
governments
4. To document, develop and disseminate
knowledge products in the field of environment and disaster risk reduction
5. To provide a forum for consultation,
information sharing and cooperation among
universities on matters and themes of common
interest

One of the specific features of the AUEDM is close
cooperation with the civil society organizations.
Non-government organizations (NGOs) havedirect field access, and experiences in grassroot project implementation. However, theseexperiences are not properly reflected in the
educational curriculum. Thus, the network aims at
bridging academic research, education and fieldpractice. Some of the highlights of the universityNGO cooperation are:
1. Quality of knowledge and information:
All participating universities in the targetedcountries are esteemed organizations in thefield of disaster risk management. Therefore, itbrings high quality knowledge and information.

3. Ensuring sustainability: Throughdevelopment of the certificate courses andcus-tomized courses, young professional
development will be ensured, which is linked tothe sustainability of the disaster preparedness
activities in the targeted countri-es andcommunities.

AUEDM Started from an
Imperative
AUEDM has been conceived and pursued by its
member organizations based on this common
understanding and motivation. It has comeabout from felt needs that appear to be crucial
for the survival of millions of poor and vulnerable
men, women and children living on the margins
of society in Asia. AUEDM come together forreasons of educational, research and networking
imperatives.
13

14

Educational imperative: To discuss the status and scopeof environment and/or disaster risk reduction curriculumin the higher studies in each university. Each country
has its own perspective. Some countries have full two
years DRR master program. Some universities havesome modules of DRR in the postgraduate programs.
Therefore, the attempt is not to standardize the program,but to learn and understand the process in DRR. The
challenge is how effective the process can be customized
into each context.

highly varied across Asian countries. Networking is the
only way to share knowledge and experiences, and to
draw lessons based on principles derived from practices.
The network is thus expected to go a long way in thedevelopment of a regional knowledge base, making it
accessible for practitioners, and using it to influence thepolicy environment.

Research imperative: To discuss the possibility of climatechange adaptation as the key entry point of collaborative
research. Each country has a high prevalence of impactsof climate change being borne by the most vulnerable
communities. Impacts are most visible on coastal,
mountain, urban poor and migrant communities. Since
adaptation is a relatively new subject, heavy investments
need to be made in research on effective local adaptation
as a means for coping with imminent climate change
impacts and linked disasters.

The Asian Disaster Reduction & Response Network(ADRRN) is a network consists of 34 national NGOs
from 16 countries across the Asia-Pacific region. With astrong footprint in the region, the network members areconstantly engaged with local communities streng-thening
their ability to combat disasters, providing humanitarian
aid like food, water, shelter and health care, protecting
critical facilities like schools and hospitals, creatingawareness, advocating for policy changes and improving
the capacity of community based organizations.

Network imperative: To discuss the establishment of
the Asian Universities network. While there are integral
commonalities in the vulnerability context and the natureof impacts, the local setting and contextual nuances are

For over 20 years, CITYNET (The Regional Networkof Local Authorities for the Management of Human
Settlements) has committed itself to helping local
governments improve the sustainability of human

AUEDM collaborates with different
other networks

Background,
Hisory, Activities
settlements. Starting with 26 members in 1987, CITYNET has grown to become aninternational organization of more than 100 members in more than 20 countries,
most of which are cities and local governments in the Asia-Pacific region.
United Nations University has started an innovative networking among universities
called UNCECAR. The University Network for Climate and Ecosystems Change
Adaptation Research (UNCECAR 2009) was established in 2009 by leading
universities in the Asia Pacific region to strengthen the higher education sector to
respond effectively to climate and ecosystems change. Research and education
are the main focus of UN-CECAR. The network will bring together all-available
resources and expertise across disciplinary lines to work collaboratively to enhance
understanding on how climate change is affecting roughly two-thirds of the world's
population who live in Asia Pacific region, and advance adaptation research for thedesign of appropriate policy and development strategies.

History and Evolution of AUEDM

AUEDM
Workshops

5th
16th October 2010
in Kyoto, Japan
March 2011:24 University from 17 country and area

4th
22-24 February 2010
in Bangkok, Thailand

3rd
4-6 June 2009in Dhaka, Bangladesh

2nd
23rd Febrary 2009
in Delhi, India
1st28-29 July 2008
in Kyoto, Japan

December 2010:22 University from 17 country and area
November 2010:21 University from 17 country and area
October 2010:20 University from 16 country and area
February 2010:18 University from 14 country and area
October 200917 University from 14 country and area
September 2009:
6 University from 13 country and area

May 2009
15 University from 13 country and area

Number ofMember Universities

15

Guiding
Principles ofHigher
Education
As explained in the earlier section, disaster risk reduction(DRR) is an inter-disciplinary subject, and needs to be practicaland field oriented with a balanced approach of theory andpractice. In reality, DRR higher education is practiced in different
departments in the universities, starting from engineering,science, architecture, agriculture, economics, social scienceand humanities. A comprehensive DRR course is desirable but
possible not a practical solution in many countries, depending on
the market mechanism of required professionals. DRR higher
education can learn significantly from the process and approachesof sustainable development. Following parts are some suggested
future directions of higher education in DRR.

16

Inclusive Curriculum
Disaster type, nature, intensity, density,
frequency, perception, damages, response,
relief, recovery, prevention, mitigation, andpreparedness vary not only in terms of location
but also relate to the socio economic conditions,
technical capabilities, political priorities,
development agenda of particular societies.
While each has its own priority a curriculum
structure needs to address issues at a generallevel that are inclusive of all for a well rounded
foundation to proceeded to specific issues. Thisrequires a faculty network with technical supportof the Universities concerned in order to design auniversally acceptable curriculum on disaster risk
reduction and climate change adaptation. Thisshould consider the potential time investmentof both students and teachers and optimize theopportunity for quality student faculty interaction
in support of learning and sharing information
on approaches and innovation in the field of
disaster risk reduction.

Theoretical Focus
The curriculum will focus on imparting education
primarily in the field of disaster risk reduction
with climate change adaptation, disaster risk
reduction/prevention/mitigation as importantcomponents. The theoretical focus will be on
the basic concepts and theories of disaster risk
reduction climate change adaptation, global
warming and scientific understanding of thevarious types of disasters.

Field Orientation
The curricula will not only focus on theoreticalknowledge but the faculty and students
would undertake research on disaster related
issues. Exposure of students to real life
situations to assess vulnerabilities, mitigationand preparedness measures will help thembridge the theories with the practice. Scientificapproaches could be adopted to conduct
research work on Disaster risk reduction moreat the field level to make it valid, applicable, andauthentic. New techniques could be identified
and adopted in this regard particularly for risk,
vulnerability, and capacity assessment. Tools
from the relevant field could be merged in thefield of disaster risk reduction for the conductionof various studies and researches.

Multidisciplinary
Disaster preparedness and Management are
multidisciplinary in nature. Various subjects like
Geography, Environmental Sciences, Geology,
Economics, Sociology, Social work, Psychology,
Medical Sciences, Civil engineering, City andRegional Planning, Architecture, Urban andRegional Planning, Agriculture, Forestry, Animal/
Plant Sciences and Management Sciences
contribute to the field of disaster management.
Keeping in view the disaster risk reduction cycle
it has special area of interest and research. The
curriculum of disaster risk reduction will focus on
all subjects. This multidisciplinary approach will
provide a vast field of research and coordination
on one hand and also increase the need ofunderstanding of the subject as a whole on theother. The important point is to streamline these
multidisciplinary course contents and researches
to an integrated and coherent subject of disastermanagement.

Skill Enhancement
The curricula will focus on producing trained
man power. The training should be based on
experiences learned from the previous casestudies according to market demand. The
trained manpower produced from the university
would be engaged in the Government / NonGovernment / private sector institutions dealing
with disaster preparedness and management
and thus play an important role in minimizing
the losses caused by the disaster through better
preparation and management.

17ModelContents ofCurriculum
The curriculum is context specific, country specific, and university
specific. AUEDM does not prescribe a standard curriculum, eachpartner university need to develop its own curriculum. However,following are some basic examples of curriculum contents, which
need to be customized based on the local context. It needs tobe kept in mind that the contents described here are for multidisciplinary courses, which can be provided to the students withdifferent background.

18

INTRODUCTIONEDUCATION AND COMMUNITY

1. Disaster Management: An Overview

19. Disaster Risk Reduction Education
20. Essentials of School Disaster Education
21. Community Capacity and Disaster Resilience
22. Community Based Disaster Recovery
23. Community Based Disaster Management andSocial Capital
24. Designing Resilience for Communities at Risk

HAZARDS AND DISASTERS
2. Earthquake Risk Management: Problems andProspects
3. Tsunami Risk Reduction
4. Flood Risk Management
5. Cyclone Risk Management and Mitigation
6. Drought Risk Management
7. Post Tsunami Hazards along the Indian CoastRISK AND VULNERABILITY
8. Building Codes and Land Use Planning:
Challenges of Development
9. Social Vulnerability
10. Macroeconomic Management and Sustainable
Development
11. Environmental Vulnerability and Disaster Risk
Reduction
12. Climate Change Risk Reduction: Decision
Making in Uncertainty
13. Financial Management of Disaster-related
Economic Loss

DISASTER REDUCTIONTECHNOLOGY
14. Implementation Technology for Disaster
Reduction
15. Disaster Management for Infrastructures
16. Geo-spatial Information and its Usage
17. Using Multimedia Technology for Disaster Risk
Management
18. Transferable Indigenous Knowledge inDisaster reduction

CROSS CUTTING ISSUES
25. Disaster, Environment and Development
Linkages
26. Understanding the Impacts of Disaster on
Poverty and Deprivation
27. Climate Change Adaptation and Human
Health
28. Human Exposure, Health Hazards andEnvironmental
29. Impacts of Hydro-meteorological Disaster on
Agriculture
30. Forest Management and Disaster Risk
Reduction
31. Rural Livelihood and Disaster Risk Reduction
32. Essentials of Urban Disaster Risk Reduction
33. Institutional Capacity in Disaster Management
34. Corporate Sectors and Disaster Risk
Reduction
35. Pre-disaster Recovery Planning

REGIONAL EXPERIENCES
36. Asian Experiences of disaster risk reduction
37. African experiences of disaster risk reduction
38. American experiences of disaster risk
reduction
39. Small islands and experiences of disaster risk
reduction

19

Following part is another example of multi-disciplinary courses to be provided to thestudents with wider background. This is to be noted that the previous and following
contents are intended for the inter-disciplinary master courses.

1. Geohazards - physical and geodynamic

10. Hazards and Disasters in Asia -2. Hydrometeorological hazards - tropical
cyclones, monsoonal floods, flash floods, rain storm,snow fall, avalanches, landslides, tornados, wind storm,
lightning, me-teorites, droughts & wildfires. Cause ofnatural hazards and disasters.

11. Disaster Mitigation and Recovery - Inter-characteristics of earthquakes, landslides, meteorites,
sub marine earthquakes, tsunamis, soil erosion etc.

Preparations and analysis of list of disaster and ha-zard
data base (existing) in Asian countries.

& global environmental change – impact on natural
resources, environment, deforestation, environmental
damages due to disaster, watershed management.

relationship between mitigation and re-covery - process
for developing hazards mitigation plan, implementationof com-prehensive mitigation strategies. Urban/ Rural
planning and urban infrastructure planning.
12. Early Warning Systems. This chapter will
provide basics of early warning system for both hydrometeorological and geological hazards. Specific focus
will be given on the risk communication to enhance theearly warning to action.

4. Coastal hazards - impact of natural hazards on
development prospects – threat of sea level changes
on the global coast, chronic disasters such as coastal
erosion / accretion – coastal pollution.

13. Disaster Risk Reduction - Risk reduction
concept – pre and post disaster compari-son andanalysis – community based disaster risk reduction understanding the disaster cycle.

5. Technological / Industrial hazards Accidents in factories and nuclear power sta-tions.
Protection against contamination of the environment
from radioactive fall-out and leaking of toxic chemicals.
Industrial pollution, effluent contamination and acid rain.

14. Disaster Recovery Planning – disasteremergency preparedness and on recovery andreconstruction.

6. Public health and biological hazards Outbreak of Dengue and Malaria epidemics, bird flu,swine flu, contagious diseases e.g. AIDS. Protection andawareness. Ground water contamination; Water-borne
diseases affecting bowels/kidney. Human disasters due
to air accidents and bomb explosions etc.

ration of comprehensive management plans –communitybased disaster risk man-agement – participatory risk
assessment.

3. Global climate change - global warming

7. Social and economic vulnerabilities asroot cause of disaster risk reduction - gen-der, food security and poverty. Psychological impacts
of disaster, social aftershocks, vulnerable groups like
women, children, disable and aged.

8. Environmental Vulnerabilities andillustrate the environment-human interactions.
9. Technology Tools in Disaster
Management - Hazard-prone areas identification –application of remote sensing and GIS tools – hazard
mapping – risk modeling, risk zonation and damage
assessments (i.e monetary assessment models in a post
dis-aster scenario or pre disaster projection methods) –vulnerability variables and their methods of importance..
20

15. Community Based Disaster
Management - Stakeholders’ participation and prepa-

16. Coastal Areas Management - Coastal
regulations, coastal management in tsunami
reconstruction, relocation issues - national andinternational scenarios.

17. Disaster Planning and Management- Responsibilities of government/private sec-tor in
emergency management and disaster recovery

18. Economics of Disaster Management– Economic evaluation of disaster risk reduc-tion, costbenefit analysis of risk reduction activities.

21

Mode of
Delivery22Lectures and Coursework
Lectures are probably the traditional teaching
method in many circumstances and for many
students; especially for communicating conceptual
knowledge, and where there is a significant
knowledge gap between lecturer and audience.
In disaster risk reduction the lectures are effective
because they exploit the spontaneous human
aptitude and communications. Experienced
teachers should be invited for delivering lectures
to the students of disaster management. Teachers
from universities, disaster or environment
ministries, fire station, life-line related companies,
the city government, the volunteer organizationand so on should be involved. In some cases
there may be students who have experience in
DRR in which case the lectures can be supported
by interactive session for cross learning.

Fieldwork
Fieldwork is the means of gaining first-handknowledge of an environment. This experienceplays a fundamental role in the teaching ofdisaster risk reduction. This activity makes thelesson more interesting to students and throughit students acquire certain skills, which are rarely
learnt in the classroom. Some of these skills,
which they can use in everyday life, include
the skill of observation, of experimentation andinvestigation, problem solving, cooperation,communication and decision-making. In disasterrisk reduction the students need to carry out datacollection and calculations in order to achieve
results and they are also encouraged to use
different research tools. Tools like questionnaire,interview schedule, FGD (focus group discussion)etc. are common research tools. For students,
whether they are in Master’s level or in PhD,
field work is to be compulsory. The prime focusof the AUEDM is to present an opportunity forgraduates from a variety of disciplines to expand
their viewpoint through a combined program oftaught and research components. The field work/

research will create deeper insight of the issues
associated with risk and vulnerability assessment,
preparedness, response, recovery, reconstruction
and rehabilitation, development and theenhancement of community capacity in a broad
range of disaster scenarios.

InternshipLong –term (from 3 to 5 months, depending on
the nature of the course) internship program ofthe students can be considered as a compulsory
subject in the DRR education in the university.
The internship needs to be long-term, and throughthis education process, the students need to goout of the university boundaries. The internshipplaces can be research institutions, government
departments (national and local), non-governmentorganizations (NGOs), international organizations
and bilateral donors and private sectors. Specificmonitoring mechanism needs to be placed toensure the quality of internship. The internshipprogram provides practical, real world knowledge
to the students. It also helps them in future job
prospects.

Market Demand/Socialization
To some extent, a disaster is predictable, butthere are varying degrees of uncertainty as tohow and when it will occur. The incidence ofa disaster creates varying degrees of anarchy
combined with a variance between resources
and needs. Therefore, in order to reinstate anaffected society back to its pre-event position, it
requires extraordinary efforts. While, in the past,
responses were slow, today we can rely on theprovision of timely relief, but the precision of what
we provide to meet the needs of the affected
community leaves much to be desired. There isa need of expert people in the field for disastermanagement. This need can be socialized throughadvocacy events and effective communication
with the relevant institutions, departments and23

24organizations. Disaster risk reduction should be mainstreamed with all
the developmental activities. There should be a separate section in eachdepartment and ministry for disaster management. These qualified graduates
should be placed in departments and organization like Authorities at various
levels, emergency response and coordination bodies, early warning, flood
control and disaster monitoring bodies, universities and research institutes,
non-government organizations, community based organizations, andinternational development organizations, local and municipal administrations,with Civil Defense, media or hospital management, training institutions,consulting companies or private business. These graduates have highcapacities to adjust to the steadily rising complexity of an interlinked andglobalizing world because of the interdisciplinary character of the education.

Research Linkages
Academic institutions/Universities and Aid agencies have significant
contributions towards sustainable DM. Schools, college and university
programs play a key role in establishing successful partnerships with
operational organizations because of the technical content of these areas
and the expectation of outreach among these departments. Universities
have provided research opportunities and contextual knowledge that areof potentially great value for operational agencies. Increasingly university
settings may serve operational agency staffs that are prepared to reflect,
write and publish on the insights they have gained from their experiences.
Academics, for their part, already derive considerable advantage when
operational agencies facilitate their access to the field. In both appliedand social sciences, essential field data may be difficult or impossible (ordangerous) to gather without an affiliation that is accepted and locallytrusted. It is important both for that organization employees and university
faculty members to have the opportunities to spend time in each other’s
programs.

25

Inventry of Universities
Kabul University, Afghanistan:
Department of environmental
protection and disaster management

Beijing Normal University,
China:

University of Peshawar, Pakistan:

Disaster reduction center andGeography department

Master program in disaster management,
Department of Geography

Tribhuvan University, Nepal :Disaster management center inschool of engineering

BRAC University,
Bangladesh:

Tata Institute of Social
Sciences, India:

Disaster management
master program

Master program in disastermanagement

Jadavpur University,
India:
Department of
economics

Chulalongkorn University,
Thailand:
Department of Architecture

University of Madras,
India:
Department of appliedgeology

University of Peradeniya,
Sri Lanka:

Department of Geography,
Master in disaster management
programs

University of Colombo,
Sri Lanka:
Faculty of Science

26

Universiti Kebangsaan
Malaysia (UKM), Malaysia:
Disaster Prevention ResearchCenter for SE Asia

Inje University,
South Korea:

Fire safety and disastermanagement department

Tokyo Polytechnic University, Japan:

Civil engineering department, wind engineering

University of Tokyo, Japan:

Civil engineering, urban safety center

Kyoto University, Japan:

Graduate school of global environmental studies andDisaster Prevention Research InstituteHanoi Architectural University (HAU), Vietnam:

Disaster risk reduction in urban planning and architecture

National Yunlin University of Science andTechnology, Taiwan:
Research center on water and soil related disastermanagement

Hue College of Economics, Vietnam:
Disaster studies in economic faculty

University of Philippines Los Baños,
Philippines:
School of Forestry and Agriculture

Danang University of Technology, Vietnam:
Graduate school of environmental studies

Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia:
Department of environmental management

Nanyang University of Technology,
Singapore:
Civil Engineering department

Institute of Technology Bandung,Indonesia:
Civil and geotechnical engineering

27

Inventry of Resources
1. Krishnamurthy, Bruce C. Glavovic, Andreas Kannen, David R. Green, et al.(2008): Integrated coastal zone
management, RPS Publisher, Singapore.
2. Shaw R. and Krishnamurthy R. (2009): Disaster Management: Global challenges and local solutions: University
Press and CRC Press, 648 pages.
3. Shaw R., Sharma A. and Takeuchi Y. (2009): Indigenous Knowledge and Disaster Risk Reduction: From Practice to
Policy: NOVA Publication, USA, 490 pages.
4. Phong T. and Shaw R. (2009): Integrated river basin management for effective flood risk reduction, Research
Publication, Singapore, 268 pages
5. Shaw R. and Krishnamurthy R. (2010): Communities and Coastal Zone Management: Research Publication,
Singapore, February 2010, 354 pages.
6. Abe M., Takeuchi Y. and Shaw R. (2011): Adaptive and sustainable post tsunami human resettlement, RPS,
Singapore, 209 pages
7. Surjan A., Takeuchi Y. and Shaw R. (2011): From Disaster and Climate Risk to Urban Resilience: Approaching
through Community Based Environmental Improvement, RPS, Singapore, 282 pages

28

Community, Environment andDisaster Risk Management

Asian Journal of Environmentand Disaster Management

1. Shaw R., Srinivas H. and Sharma A. (2009):
Urban Risk Reduction: An Asian Perspective,
Emerald Publisher, UK, December 2009, 373
pages.

http://www.rpsonline.com.sg/journals/101ajedm/ajedm.html

2. Shaw R. and Thaitakoo D. (2010): Water
Communities, Emerald Publisher, UK, June,
2010, 274 pages.
3. Iwasaki S. and Shaw R. (2010): Integrated
Lagoon Fisheries Management: Resource
Dynamics and Adaptation, Emerald Publisher,UK, 218 pages
4. Shaw R., Pulhin J. and Pereira, J. (2010):
Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk
Reduction: Issues and Challenges, Emerald
Publisher, UK, 391 pages
5. Shaw R., Pulhin J. and Pereira, J. (2010):
Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster
Risk Reduction: Asian Perspective, Emerald
Publisher, UK, 478 pages
6. Shaw R. and Sharma A. (in press): Climate
and disaster resilience in cities, Emerald
Publisher, UK, expected in March 2011

Volume 2 number 1:
special volume on Natural Resources,
Infrastructure, and Post-Conflict Peace-building:Lessons from the United States and Japan
Volume 2 number 3:
special volume on Japanese Experiences ofDisaster Risk Reduction
Volume 2 number 4:
special volume on Climate Change Adaptation:
Perspectives in the Asia PacificVolume 3 number 1:
special volume on Disaster Reduction
Technology Information: DRH Initiative Toward
Implementation of Product, Process, andWisdomVolume 3 number 2:
special volume on Disaster Education and Risk
Communication for Climate Change Adaptationin Japan and Taiwan

7. Shaw R. and Nguyen H. (in press): Droughts
in Asian Monsoon Regions, Emerald
Publisher, UK, expected in August 2011
8. Shaw R. and Tran P. (in press): Environmentand Disaster Linkages, Emerald Publisher,UK, expected in September 2011
9. Shaw R. (in press): Community Based
Disaster Risk Reduction, Emerald Publisher,UK, expected in December 2011
10. Shaw R., Shiwaku K. and Takeuchi Y. (inpress): Disaster Education, Emerald
Publisher, UK, expected in June 201129

Common Online Resouces
1. United Nation International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction: http://www.unisdr.org/eng/library/lib-index.
htm. This is the Inter-Agency Library for the ISDR
reflects the activities of major stakeholders involved indisaster risk reduction.

5. ProVention: http://www.proventionconsortium.
org/?pageid=4. The online resources of ProVention isrich and updated of DRR publications
6. The World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/reference/.
There is a section on DRR in the online resource ofthe WB that include numerous studies and reports on
DRR.

2. PreventionWeb: http://www.preventionweb.net/english/.
PreventionWeb serves the information needs ofthe disaster risk reduction community, including thedevelop-ment of information exchange tools to facilitate 7. EM-DAT The international disaster database: http://collaboration. Information regarding the design andwww.emdat.be/. EM-DAT con-tains worlwide data on
development of the project together with backgroundthe occurrence and impact of natural disasters fromdocumentation can be accessed here along with some1900 to the present. The database is free and fully
services that have been put in place.
searchable through the website, also allow-ing users to
download available data.
3. The International Recovery Platform: http://www.
recoveryplatform.org/resources/ . IRP is an
8. Disaster Risk Reduction Library: http://drrlibrary.org/
international source of knowledge on good recovery
This online library contents a good source of DRR
practice.
publication
4. The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC):
http://www.adpc.net/v2007/IKM/ONLINE%20
DOCUMENTS/Default-DOCUMENTS.asp. The
online information center has a wide range of DRR
publications of ADPC projects and studies.

9. International Environment and Disaster Management:
http://www.iedm.ges.kyoto-u.ac.jp/top_e.htm. IEDM has
a long list of downloadable research papers and books
on DRR
10. ADRC: http://www.adrc.asia/publication.php. ADRC
publication archive has a various papers on DRR.

30