Safer communities, case study 3: reaching out to the public, raising community awareness to flood risk reduction in Cambodia
This case study describes the flood risk awareness campaign undertaken under the “Flood Emergency Management Strengthening (FEMS)”, component 4 of the MRC Flood Management and Mitigation Program (FMMP) which is implemented by the Mekong River Commission Secretariat (MRCS) with support from the ADPC in two target provinces of Cambodia. FEMS’s experience will be of interest to individuals and organizations who are contemplating the initiation of similar awareness campaigns.
It illustrates examples of cost effective and replicable practices and the adoption of a sound overall approach towards flood risk awareness. During the campaign, a process was facilitated whereby local stakeholders were given the opportunity to review existing flood information materials, adapt these to local conditions and disseminate them to the public. The result is the implementation of a well thought-out flood risk awareness campaign that also targeted specific vulnerable segments of the population: women and children.