Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

Recovery and renewal strategies require community co-production to be influenced by the knowledge, skills and experience of communities. Participation depends on a number of factors. VFL find that time and convenience are crucial when it comes to community participation in recovery, renewal and resilience plans and actions. Measures to facilitate community participation should address the needs of all community members, so as to ensure accessibility, and not reinforce inequalities. Consider whether:

• Local planning and government meetings, forums and workshops are conveniently located and accessible:
  • Select locations and venues that facilitate access for all members of the community. Consider access constraints affecting disadvantaged groups, which may be physical, geographic, economic, or faith related. E.g. provide online access, transport, refreshments, accessibility for people with disabilities
  • Select venues/online forums where different groups within the community already congregate (e.g. different religious groups, women)
• The timing of activities fits with the commitments of the community members who will be participating. For example, work schedules, household responsibilities, school timetables of children and parents (particularly women), farmers' seasonal calendars:
  • Carefully consider people's time, and seek feedback from the community on times that are suitable
  • Draw on appropriate local volunteers to offer childcare where physical meetings are held
• Socio-cultural issues which might prevent some people from participating have been considered:
  • Identify potential barriers related to language, literacy levels, ethnicity, gender discrimination, etc.
  • Provide expert facilitation and translation services, or organize separate meetings with women, people with disabilities, specific ethnic minorities and other groups to facilitate their participation
• Report back to participants on the outcome of their community participation and how thinking/planning has changed as a result of their contribution

The pandemic has demonstrated how human health and environmental health are intertwined. Eco-system based strategies combine ‘natural resource management approaches and disaster risk reduction methods (e.g. early warning systems)’ to improve prevention and preparedness, reduce disaster impacts on communities and support recovery from disasters. Local governments can identify ecosystems and increase understanding of their potential role in reducing disaster impacts (e.g. coastal wetlands/floodplains) and their ‘contribution to climate change mitigation and adaption’. In India, ‘Wetlands International’ works with civil society partners and communities on strategies to reduce disaster risk, e.g. restoring wetlands so that they can act as a natural buffer to floods. Consider:

• Update and collate information on local natural areas (e.g. peatlands/wet grasslands) and their current and potential uses for climate change mitigation
• Assess the condition of local eco-systems to determine if actions are required to restore them as degraded environments can drive disaster risk and negatively impact recovery efforts
• When designing community development plans, ensure they consider the potential negative effects on local natural resources
• In Myanmar, a local-level disaster risk reduction policy and planning framework sets out how communities follow ‘structural (resilient infrastructure/homes), non-structural (land use planning that integrates ecosystem protection measures) and ecosystem-based (natural resource management) measures, at the household and community level’, to reduce disaster risk
• Develop solutions to address current and future environmental risks, such as maintenance of green and blue infrastructure through nature-based solutions or protection of the ecosystems (e.g. forest conservation)
• Protect and restore ecosystems to the extent that they offer sufficient adaption and mitigation benefits to current and future risks

Although measures to control the spread of the virus have had some positive environmental effects, such as decreases in global emissions of carbon dioxide, the use of single-use plastics has accelerated. For example, some schools have changed to using disposable cutlery during lunches due to COVID-19 restrictions; and bag use has increased to curb virus transmission. Furthermore, PPE waste has strained the capacity of waste management systems due to the complex composition of some PPE materials, making waste recycling a challenge. Consider:

• Address the challenges faced by waste management systems by including surge capacity and the environmental impact of waste in disaster management plans
• Prioritise reusable personal protective equipment
• Move from a linear to a circular economy to prevent products (including plastic) from becoming waste:
  • Introduce a phased ban on the use of all types of single-use plastic, e.g. via a tax on plastic packaging
  • Partner with organisations such as 'Recircle', to develop strategies to recycle rubber, a product that accounts for almost 10% of micro plastic waste found in the sea
• Commit to action at local levels, e.g. introduce a community single-use plastics policy and action plan:
  • Partner with local waste authorities, charities, community groups, schools, businesses and residents to create action plans and campaigns to reduce the use of single use plastic in the community, e.g. 'Good to know' posters in schools that provide fun facts on the benefits of re-cycling to increase awareness in young people
  • Collaborate with local water management authorities to install COVID-safe water fountains across the community, enabling free refills of water

The live music and entertainment industry has been heavily affected by the pandemic, with the majority of live events cancelled in 2020. A targeted contact tracing programme could enable the return of live entertainments events and keep the public safe, by identifying and containing a spread of the virus quickly. The contribution of the live entertainment industry to the economy is vast, and critical for GDP, generating employment and attracting tourism. Consider:

• Contact tracing as a targeted initiative to enable the return of live entertainment
• Scope costs of such an initiative and assess affordability:
  • Consider regional collaboration to lower costs
  • Seek funding or grant support, e.g. Arts Councils
• Establish and train a dedicated events contact tracing team to:
  • Provide contact tracing services
  • Develop educational materials for events companies, their employees, and customers
  • Provide on-site environmental health consulting to assist events businesses and venues in being COVID-safe
  • Support businesses in scheduling appointments at testing facilities
• Design an incentive and enforcement scheme to encourage commitment to a contact tracing programme and the implementation of COVID-19 safety measures
• Introduce an audit and certification programme to approve live events (see TMB Issue 28 for guidance on certification programmes)

Data from the EU shows that 18 year olds who are in care are more likely to be not in employment, education or training, and experience higher levels of social exclusion or homelessness. COVID-19 has exacerbated their financial insecurity, poor mental health, and limited support networks as they transition to independent living. In addition to assessing the capacity of social work provision (TMB Issue 6), consider:

• Formally designate people who are leaving care as belonging to a vulnerable group
• Extend social protection programmes to make support services, such as financial support for food and accommodation, immediately available to those who leave care
• Ensure social services maintain regular personalised contact with those who leave care to advise them of what support is available during COVID-19
• Increase the capacity and flexibility of online communication with those who leave care, including availability of support forums
• Increase the capacity of mental health services, including outreach services and crisis support teams, by drawing on trained volunteers and enhance training in psychological first aid and safeguarding
• Partner with private care agencies, non-governmental organisations, corporate partners and care professionals to establish support and training/employment programmes
  • Establish a mentor programme to strengthen the support network of care leavers during their transition from care to independent living (e.g. ProgramaMentor, Galicia, Spain)
  • Provide employment advice to those who leave care, such as guidance on CV writing via an online workshop
  • Host virtual career or industry insights days to support those who leave care in making decisions on their next steps regarding education and employment
  • Establish targeted education and employment support for those who leave care, such as practical skills training on computing, email writing, giving presentations, and interviews; plus volunteering opportunities, work experience and apprenticeships for when lockdowns and restrictions end

Concurrent incidents during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as locus swarms destroying farms in Africa, forest fires devastating the US, flooding in the UK, show us that climate change actions are crucial when considering renewal strategies. Communities that are more vulnerable to natural disasters are disproportionately challenged during a pandemic. Natural climate solutions protect and restore nature, which can help mitigation of (and adaption to) the impacts of climate change, e.g. coastal wetland can defend communities from storm surge and sea level rise, well-managed forests can protect water supplies, reduce wildfire risk and prevent landslides. Consider:

• Raise awareness locally of the value and potential benefits of nature-based solutions for communities in mitigating risks of future natural disasters
• Engage with local businesses as potential sponsors of nature-based solutions
• Establish a volunteering scheme with employees of local businesses to support nature-based initiatives
  • Partner with local voluntary groups and community based organisations to establish community-led conservation efforts
  • Establish a 'plant a tree initiative', to build and enhance local forestry
  • Encourage roof top gardens and balcony gardens - create online gardening tutorials for creating mini urban gardens
• Work with local land owners to identify appropriate actions that support nature-based approaches, e.g. planting marram grass to stabilise sand dunes or peatland restoration

The significant impacts of COVID-19 have created new groups of vulnerable people, such as people on middle-incomes and small businesses owners who have experienced a sudden loss of income and are now financially vulnerable. These new vulnerable groups have not before been targeted for social protection. Consider how other countries have expanded existing systems to support newly vulnerable people, for example:

• Adjust social protection programmes to give flexibility that can adjust to changing public health situations:
  • Directly link social protection measures to region-specific health or lockdown measures, e.g. tie social protection policies to tiers/categories in health responses
  • Establish a trigger system to rapidly adjust social protection measures to affected areas and groups
• Enable vulnerable people to access the assistance they need:
  • Establish a beneficiary database to identify and assess the social protection needs of newly vulnerable people
  • Partner with existing community organisations to identify vulnerable people, develop community-based targeting, and ensure those who become newly vulnerable are not excluded
  • Facilitate vulnerable individuals to self-identify through a registration service, e.g. online application, supported by a means test for verification
  • Expand sources of data to identify and verify intended beneficiaries, e.g. electricity or bank account data, employer’s redundancy data
• Revise legislation surrounding conditionality requirements, e.g. loosening conditionality principles of social protection programmes:
  • Morocco transformed ‘conditional cash transfer’ (CCTs) to ‘labelled cash transfer’ (LTCs) by removing the conditionality of continued school enrolment for cash transfers - resulting in reduced costs of programme implementation and reported increases in school enrolment and participation of children

The transfer of diseases such as COVID-19, avian influenza and swine flu can occur in agriculture and food production sectors. This can be facilitated by the rapid industrialization of meat production and poor biosecurity. Consider:

• increased monitoring of agricultural production as 'big farms create big flu'
• careful monitoring of wild animal sales; simply banning such practices may only drive markets underground and reduce visibility
• disease mitigation measures on farming practices of vulnerable populations. In the avian influenza outbreak, poultry from 'backyard chicken' producers were slaughtered compulsorily in huge numbers which caused devastating impacts on livelihoods across southeast Asia
• affordable measures for smaller farmers to meet food and agricultural standards, and consideration that if you remove their livelihoods, they will likely become more susceptible to current disease or new zoonotic diseases as a result of wild animal sale or consumption

This can help to prevent deaths and stop the number of cases accelerating as suppression measures are eased. The benefits of these measures are:

1. Containment measures allow us to reduce suppression measures without the spread of the virus accelerating
2. Shielding the vulnerable allows us to reduce the death toll of the virus even if the spread of the virus does accelerate. Older people and people with relevant health conditions would be protected

European countries are starting to ease, but containment and shielding capacity appears limited, risking acceleration of the virus. East Asia has advanced containment capacity and anticipate better testing and tracing capacity and widespread use of masks.

It is critical that governments and civil society proactively combat stigma and discrimination through regular and transparent communication on the transmission of the virus and other aspects of the pandemic, cautioning against laying blame or accusations against any group of people.

Local government should assess the health seeking behaviours of certain populations within their community. Health seeking behaviours will impact the success of disease suppression as behaviours impact access and understanding of public health measures (lessons from influenza A/H5N1 and 'swine influenza' A/H1N1).