Making disaster risk reduction a reality in Kyrgyzstan
By Aynura Alymbekova, Disaster Reduction Adviser, UNDP Kyrgyzstan

My first experience of a natural disaster happened in April 2003, when a massive landslide hit the Kara-Taryk village in southern Kyrgyzstan killing 38 people and sweeping away 16 houses. Since then, I have been working in UNDP Kyrgyzstan on disaster risk reduction, providing support to communities on how to prevent and respond to natural disasters. Thanks to UNDP’s support, for the first time, communities are developing their own preparedness and response plans that factor in the risk of a natural hazard. Forty villages in Osh, Jalalabad and Batken provinces have also organized their own voluntary Rural Rescue Teams, which will become part of the state civil defense system managed by the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

The village of Kyzylordo in the Kattataldyk municipality illustrates the benefits of having a Rural Rescue Team, which includes both men and women. The village of Kyzylordo is particularly exposed to mudflows. Because of land over-exploitation and overgrazing, any heavy rain causes mudflow that results in a loss of human life and destruction of infrastructure. I recall the dramatic event of May 2007 when, in 15 minutes of heavy rain, the village secondary school and 52 houses were flooded. To ensure that the impact of future hazards will be reduced, the village of Kyzylordo established a Rural Rescue Team, which received training and equipment from UNDP. The team identified the best solution to reduce the impact of heavy rain falls – the building of a downstream canal of over 1,000 meters that would run through the village.

In May 2008 the mudflow accumulated again due to heavy rains, but thanks to the canal, the village did not experience any casualties, crop loss or infrastructure damage. Building on this experience, villagers have become more confident that they can prevent the risk of disasters and have started implementing another mitigation project - tree planting – to counter the effects of deforestation and land erosion in the community.

My hope is that the lessons learned from these villages become known at the national level and that they can ultimately influence national policies on disaster risk management. CPR

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In this Issue

> Six months after Cyclone Nargis
> Success story: Indonesia
> Lessons from Bangladesh
> Natural disasters in Kyrgystan
> Women and disaster recovery
> Natural disasters in Armenia
> Spotlight on Staff

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