Beyond the community: integrating local and scientific knowledge in the formal development approval process in Jamaica

Community-based disaster risk management methods routinely include capture of local knowledge which is used to inform community-level risk reduction programmes and development plans. In Jamaica, development planning at the national level has relied historically on scientific knowledge, usually to the exclusion of local knowledge. However, community disaster risk management plans reviewed for this paper show that communities have very clear ideas on the threat posed by hazards, resources at risk from the hazards and ways of reducing the risk. Communities also appreciate the value of cultural and historical sites and are willing to sacrifice development in order to protect and preserve these sites. Such knowledge is valuable for informing risk-sensitive development planning, and should be captured within the formal development approval system. A model is proposed in which community and scientific knowledge can be integrated into the formal development approval process at the national level. The model includes integrating community representatives in technical committee reviews, capturing local knowledge through community consultations and subjecting community knowledge to validation prior to its use. Successful implementation of this model should result in more accurate field assessments for risk-sensitive development planning as local knowledge provides current, site-specific information. Better risk-sensitive development planning will ultimately lead to reduced exposure to hazards and reduction in losses from the impact of hazards for Jamaica.