Drafting of practitioner’s guideline and introduction of disaster waste systems

Enabling Pacific Islands to effectively manage disaster waste

This project included the following activities:

(a) Development of Template for National and Community Disaster Waste Management Plans with Drafting/Guiding Instructions;

b) Development of an Operational Guide on the establishment of an Environment Sector Working Group (EWG); and

(c) Standard Methodology for Estimating and Recording of Disaster Waste and Biodiversity Loss and Damages following disasters

Design, Develop, and Deliver a Regional Virtual Vocational Training Program on disaster waste management

Enabling Pacific Islands to effectively manage disaster waste

This project is a sub-project of a larger waste management project that included three other sub-projects on used oil management, sustainable financing mechanisms for waste management, and project management. It was conducted in partnership with CIFAL-Newcastle. It involved designing the learning platforms, developing the course structures and contents and delivering the courses.

Shelter self-recovery in Vanuatu

Recommendations and guidance for future self-recovery initiatives

This project investigatedthe lived experience of shelter self-recovery after disasters for communities and how shelter contributes to community recovery and resilience. It provided lessons on how humanitarian support for shelter self-recovery has evolved through time and impacts disaster risk reduction, preparedness and the role of women and girls by examining shelter responses to disasters by CARE Vanuatu and local and national authorities and organisations. It was conducted across Pentecost, Maewo and Tanna islands, following participatory research approaches.

Climate smart adaptive resilience and engagement for animal evacuation

To upgrade and extend animal sheltering facilities

This project worked with key stakeholders that underpin the Hunter region’s economies and communities. It responded to the tremendous impacts of the 2019-2020 bushfires in NSW using co-creation approaches, innovative, cost-effective resilience technical solutions. It aimed to collate logistical data requirements to better protect the wider regional agricultural sector and vulnerable communities, enabling them to thrive in disasters.

Improving local resilience to floods in the Hunter region

To address Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13

This research project was concerned with the recent floods in eastern Australia, understood to be related to climate change. It thus focused on SDG 13 on Climate Action, seeking to address the critical challenge of floods specifically in the Hunter region, piloted in two LGAs (Cessnock and Singleton). The project sought answers to how local resilience to and adaptive capacity for floods can be improved in the Hunter region to address SDG 13. Consultations with local participants allowed developing a set of principles for flood risk management.

Capacity assessment of self-recovery in New Caledonia

To assess which aspects will and will not succeed according to the context

This research project aimed to investigate the opportunities and challenges with regard to self-recovery in New Caledonia, drawing from the experience elsewhere in the Pacific region, such as Vanuatu. Through this investigation, context-specific guidelines are being developed for self-recovery in New Caledonia.

Building ASEAN capacity

Disaster Resilience Education Capacity Building in South-East Asia

Commencing in March 2016, the ‘Disaster Resilience Education Capacity Building in South-East Asia’ project drew upon the University of Newcastle’s particular position as a centre for resilience education excellence in order to build capacity in the ASEAN region, leveraging the recent partnership with the United Nations that established a Centre for Disaster Risk Reduction and made Newcastle a UN City. The project furthered our understanding of regional challenges that result from complex problems generated by natural hazards and human induced threats. The overarching aim of the project was to create regional synergies between leading higher education institutions while building capacity in ASEAN countries to proactively address disaster risk and build resilience through education.

Building codes for disaster resilience

Exploring opportunities and challenges in Bangladesh and Nepal

Collaboration with two universities in these countries with experience in this field will address: sharing the understanding that evidence-based knowledge is a critical component in the commitment to local action; institutional and community awareness of the importance of compliance with/barriers to enforcement of codes; fostering communities of collaborative practice; subsequent development of local and international dissemination networks.

To bridge the affordability gap a Grey Building Handbook with translated versions was produced for low-income communities with a focus on disaster resilience.

Schools safe from disasters

Investigating education continuity in urban floods

This research analyses education continuity after urban flooding events in South and Southeast Asia by focusing on primary, middle and high school educational institutions. Partnering with the National University of Civil Engineering (Vietnam), the Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand), and the University of Dhaka (Bangladesh), the University of Newcastle has led this cross-disciplinary investigation spanning 9 schools, 100+ interviews and 30+ focus groups.

Discourse on recent disasters in Sri Lanka

Strengthening the research base in South Asia

This project explores disaster management policy with regard to recent disasters in Sri Lanka, such as the May 2017 floods and landslides based on a review of media reports and interviews of local experts. Questions such as below are explored:

  • Whether and how disaster management policies are reviewed in the light of recent disasters?
  • What are the enablers and barriers to building resilience?

The project allows gaining a comparative understanding across several small South Asian countries.

Building women's disaster resilience in Fiji

Capacity building through Training-of-Trainers

Women are usually embedded in their communities and have strong potential as community leaders to contribute to resilience. It is therefore relevant to build capacity of women there in disaster risk assessment, preparedness, response and recovery. In this project, working with local stakeholders in Fiji, trainers were trained from different agencies, followed by village level training of at-risk communities.

Strengthening capacity in Vanuatu for managing disaster wastes

Through development of action plans and training of potential trainers on appropriate responses and measures

During and immediately after disasters, the ToT will allow proper management of disaster wastes and prevent building up of hazardous piles in the affected areas. Removal of hazardous wastes and large bulky wastes will prevent further harm to people and the environment. This will also allow faster response when dealing with humanitarian activities in emergency situations.

Prospects and constraints of post-cyclone housing reconstruction in Vanuatu

Drawing from the experience of Tropical Cyclone Harold

The research was conducted with partners in Vanuatu through the Academic-Practitioner Collaboration for Urban Shelter – South Pacific (APCUS) network following Cyclone Harold in April 2020. Firstly, by assessing the impact of cyclones on housing, key challenges for post-cyclone housing reconstruction in Vanuatu were identified. A review of cyclone-resistant construction approaches and post-Harold housing reconstruction initiatives allowed identifying key opportunities for the sector.

Building disaster resilience capacity in Latin America

The project draws upon this UON’s expertise in disaster resilience research to build capacity in the Latin American region. It is intended to develop a mutual understanding of regional challenges that result from complex problems generated by natural hazards and human induced threats and how these aspects are interacting with and being included in higher education curriculum.

The project partners formed a robust regional network with the collective capacity to lead initiatives that protect society from shocks to physical, socio-cultural, politico-economic and natural systems. Each institution brings strong disciplinary expertise in Architecture and Construction Management (UON), Civil/Environmental Engineering and Water Resources Engineering (UDP), Construction Technology and Management (PUJ) and Sustainable and Environmental Law and Policy (UFSC).

Working with Hunter communities

The Research Group engage with Hunter Communities through projects such as:

  • Stronger for the Storm (funded by NSW SES), which looked at community resilience in relation to the April 2015 storm and flooding event
  • Community Severe Weather Response Plans (funded by Community Resilience Innovation Program) –partnering with NSW SES, developing community-led response plans in 5 NSW towns
  • Dungog Community Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Strategy (funded by Community Resilience Innovation Program) –partnering with Dungog Information & Neighbourhood Service Inc. to create and implement a disaster preparedness and resilience strategy for Dungog.

Housing and floods in Honiara, Solomon Islands

In the Solomon Islands floods is a pressing hazard and has severe impacts on housing, particularly in informal settlements. In partnership with Tonkin + Taylor, New Zealand, the research explored the flood risk context of greater Honiara, and the impacts of floods on housing, thereby conducting a gap analysis, particularly of the policy framework regarding land-use planning and building codes, allowing the identification of potential opportunities for supporting flood resilience. A framework for housing improvement in informal settlements of with relevance for the wider Pacific region was formulated.