Investigating the potential of renewable energy in community-based disaster risk reduction and development

Abstract

In recent years, there has been growing interest in community hazard resilience and sustainable development at the local level. Initiatives that accord with the principles of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction increasingly frame community resilience research and programming. However, there has been little research to date exploring energy and water hazard management within remote communities. Such research is an important element in progressing sustainable development at the local level - understanding community views, priority needs and solutions that are feasible and sustainable in their context. Humanitarian engineering is an appropriate vehicle for translating these views into proposed solutions and offers substantial benefits to interventions for sustainable development and disaster resilience. Community-centered initiatives for off-grid renewable energy generation and flood response at the local level have the potential to support community hazard management and socio-economic growth. To do so effectively, they must support genuine community engagement and stakeholder synergies. The current study examined energy and flood response needs in riparian communities in Nepal and Greece and identified specific options which could be co-developed and sustained in these contexts. Paper I presents evidence-informed technical criteria for the development of off-grid renewable energy and early warning hybrid systems, and more specifically, small-scale hydropower generators combined with flood warning systems. Paper II is a scoping review of the literature examining riparian communities in low and lower middle-income countries, and their use of off-grid renewable energy and flood warning systems. Paper III presents a review of the extant literature regarding best practice community engagement for localised renewable energy systems and flood early warning systems. Paper IV details an exploratory investigation of community vulnerability and capability mapping that identifies communities with high water-based disaster risk and their associated needs. Paper V presents a mixed method approach for humanitarian and development research engagement that allows the collection of information from both professionals and non-experts remotely. Paper VI is informed by the previous studies (Papers I - V) and presents findings from our research on flood response and energy needs of two riparian communities in Nepal and Greece. The findings indicate combined functions are favoured and that the co-development of a hybrid unit for hydropower generation and flood warning is preferred compared to single-use market available options. The remote research approach (detailed in Paper V) supported effective participant engagement and data collection despite pandemic restrictions.

Date of Award	2023
Original language	English