A community engagement project to help animals survive natural disasters.

Transcription

1 Our animals. Our responsibility. A community engagement project to help animals survive natural disasters. Volume 1 Strategy

2 Published by the NSW Department of Primary Industries Our animals. Our responsibility. A community engagement project to help animals survive natural disasters. Volume 1 Project strategy First published July 2014 ISBN Acknowledgments Funded under the joint State and Commonwealth Natural Disaster Resilience Program JTN 12847_1 State of New South Wales through the Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services, You may copy, distribute and otherwise freely deal with this publication for any purpose, provided that you attribute the NSW Department of Primary Industries as the owner. Disclaimer: The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing (July 2014). However, because of advances in knowledge, users are reminded of the need to ensure that information upon which they rely is up to date and to check currency of the information with the appropriate officer of the Department of Primary Industries or the user s independent adviser.

3 A community engagement strategy to improve animal care for natural disasters. Contents iii Introduction 1 Purpose 3 Scope 4 Priorities 6 Priority 1: Empowering individuals and communities to exercise choice and take responsibility 6 Priority 2: Partnering with those who effect changes 6 Priority 3: Building capability for owners to better plan for the care for their animals during natural disasters 6 Priority 4: Communicating with and educating people about animal care roles and responsibilities 6 What is a community? 7 Engaging with communities 7 NSW DPI community engagement model 8 Strategic roles 9 Biosecurity NSW 9 Agriculture and Animal Services Functional Area Committees 9 AASFA participating and supporting organisations 9 Emergency Service Organisations (ESOs) 9 Local Government 9 Industry associations 9 Education providers 9 Strategic goals 10 Goal 1: Build collaborative networks 10 Goal 2: Provide trusted information on prevention and emergency preparedness 11 Goal 3: Increase the number of well trained and resourced people 12 Designing a community engagement plan 12 Principles for effective practice 12 Governance 13 Implementation 13 Implementation priorities 13 Evaluation 14 Training needs 14

4 NSW Department of Primary Industries July 2014 iv Government, industry and community working together to reduce the impact of natural disasters on people, animals, the environment and the economy.

5 A community engagement strategy to improve animal care for natural disasters. The focus on prevention and preparedness rather than response and recovery reduces the financial burden of caring for animals in natural disasters. Introduction Everyone who is responsible for animals must have information, guidelines and tools to help them develop prevention and preparedness plans before their animals are injured, killed or need to be rescued in a natural disaster. The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) has developed this engagement strategy to enhance community resilience by helping communities care for their animals before, during and following natural disasters. Natural disasters are an unfortunate reality in Australia floods, bushfires, severe storms (wind, rain, hail, cyclones, tornadoes), extreme weather (hot or cold) and even tsunamis. The cost to the community and to individuals due to lost production, replacement of livestock, veterinary services, disruption to our food supply and emotional loss is enormous. The suffering endured by productive, recreational, companion and native animals is heartbreaking. In 2009, COAG published a National Strategy for Disaster Resilience (NSDR). Building on that strategy, Emergency Management Australia (EMA) published the Community Engagement Framework as part of implementing the National Strategy. These strategies have informed NSW DPI s community engagement strategy. The COAG strategy and EMA framework recognise that empowered communities, working in partnership with industry, government agencies and non-government organisations, can develop more effective, timely and cost efficient ways to prepare for natural disasters and minimise their impact. NSW DPI s new community engagement strategy focuses on reducing natural disaster impact on animals; be they production, companion or wild. There are many different kinds of communities, including communities of place, interest and culture. Communities are dynamic they change over time and interact in different ways. Community engagement is the process of stakeholders working together to build resilience through collaborative action, shared capacity building and developing strong relationships built on mutual trust and respect. 1 Empowerment means ensuring that communities have the resources, information and partnerships they need to make effective plans before natural disasters occur. In relation to the care of animals, partnerships involve many agencies and organisations working together and understanding each other s roles: NSW DPI, local government, animal welfare organisations, emergency services, industry, educators and others. Disaster resilience is the collective responsibility of the community. It involves individuals and communities understanding the risks that may affect them, then working together to anticipate the nature of potential disasters, plan for them, take steps to prevent or reduce their consequences and ensure that services can be quickly restored after a disaster. The strategy developed by NSW DPI may have application beyond natural disaster preparedness. With modifications to suit different conditions and needs, it is also relevant to planning for other kinds of emergencies. A resilient community is one whose members are connected to one another and work together in ways that enable it to function in the face of stress and trauma. 1 Attorney General s Department, 2013, Community Engagement Framework, Handbook 6, Australian Emergency Management Handbook Series 1

6 NSW Department of Primary Industries July A resilient community has the ability to adapt to changes in the physical, social or economic environment, and the potential to learn from experience and improve over time. A resilient community can also be self-sufficient, at least for a time, if external assistance is limited or delayed.

7 A community engagement strategy to improve animal care for natural disasters. Purpose This is a state wide community engagement strategy under the New South Wales emergency management arrangements 2, to enable NSW DPI, through the participating and supporting organisations that make up the Agriculture and Animal Services Functional Area (AASFA), to: build and develop partnerships across agencies and act as a conduit to other community engagement teams and networks; including local government, NSW Government, non-government organisations and the wider community encourage individuals and communities to plan and prepare for the care of their animals before natural disasters occur and enable owners to care for their own animals during response and recovery provide a framework for regional and local community engagement and capacity-building through action plans and projects provide a framework for monitoring, evaluation and documentation of community engagement and capacity-building activities to enable reporting and validation of resource allocation develop community engagement tools which can be used to support community engagement activities for the AASFA and that can be used and adapted by other organisations undertake community profiling and identify communications networks to enable targeted delivery of community engagement activities that can enhance overall resilience through more effective preparations for animal care during natural disasters. This strategy aims to: ensure individuals and communities have access to knowledge, tools and skills to enable them to plan and act to lessen the impact of natural disasters on their animals build an understanding of agency and individual responsibility during a natural disaster encourage hazard identification, elimination or reduction on properties as part of a farm/property planning process that can be integrated with existing plan formats such as RFS bushfire plans and SES flood plans encourage families to prepare for the impact of natural disasters on companion animals as an integral part of overall family preparedness, e.g. using plans developed by other agencies such as the RSPCA and Red Cross (e.g. REDiPlan). 3 2 State Emergency and Rescue Management Act, 1989

8 NSW Department of Primary Industries July Scope It is vital to build community capacity, strengthen partnerships and activate stronger participation of diverse groups and individuals. Communities need consistent messages they can rely on; information about preparedness, hazard reduction and prevention; effective communications pipelines ; practical skills; and the means to build and improve community relationships. No single agency or individual has all the solutions or capabilities to deal with the impact of natural disasters.

9 A community engagement strategy to improve animal care for natural disasters. 5 The strategy provides guidelines for how NSW DPI, AASFA and the community will engage before and after a natural disaster, and establishes: 1. the priorities that guide the planning and conduct of community engagement activities 2. how and why the AASFA collaborates and engages with animal owners and carers, peak bodies and other organisations. There is a need to develop engagement strategies for all communities. It is just as important to engage commercial producers as communities in regional centres, peri-urban and small towns. Above all, the accent should always be on improving prevention methods, preparedness, and reducing the need for response and recovery. This strategy aims to reduce the impact of natural disasters on the following animal groups: Production animals, including intensive and extensive animal production animals ranging from traditional to more exotic species, as well as working animals that support farms Companion animals, including all varieties of animals, reptiles, insects and fish that are kept as pets, farm pets and animals in small holdings that do not qualify as production animals Horses, including racing, campdrafting, show jumping, working, recreational and breeding Wildlife (terrestrial and aquatic), including native and introduced species found throughout NSW (including NSW waters): natural environments, bushland, national and marine parks and unincorporated areas All members of a community need to understand their role in minimising the impact of natural disasters on their property and animals, and have the knowledge, skills and motivation to take appropriate action. Zoos, including exotic and native zoos, licensed wildlife parks and reserves, areas for show animals and petting zoos Aquaculture, including finfish, oyster and other shellfish farms both land and water based Animal holding establishments, including production animal feedlots, animal boarding kennels, pet shops and veterinary practices. This strategy does not address hazards to animals from animal disease emergencies or drought, nor does it directly address communication to the community during an emergency response, which is primarily the responsibility of the relevant combat agency under the NSW emergency management arrangements. The partnerships and networks established as a result of the strategy will improve combat agency awareness of animal care issues, which will help ensure animal care issues are considered during emergency response.

10 NSW Department of Primary Industries July Priorities Four priorities for this strategy have been adapted from COAG s National Strategy for Disaster Resilience 3. Priority 1: Empowering individuals and communities to exercise choice and take responsibility The resilience of a community is shown in its capacity to prepare for and reduce or withstand the effects of emergencies, including natural disasters. This is a community safety approach to building disaster resilience, where the community and individuals understand that they must take responsibility for the care of their animals. Priority 2: Partnering with those who effect changes A well-informed, integrated and coordinated approach to building disaster resilience in the context of animal care comes from robust and trusted partnerships across and within the AASFA, emergency services, industry groups, education providers, the not-for-profit sector and the community. Priority 3: Building capability for owners to better plan for the care for their animals during natural disasters Greater natural disaster resilience can be achieved through learning, innovating, and developing individual, community and industry level skills and employing new and existing resources (such as prevention measures and plans) that can reduce disaster impact on animals. These need to be on-going, practised routinely and evaluated. Preparedness means preventing risks, planning ahead and practising the plan. Priority 4: Communicating with and educating people about animal care roles and responsibilities NSW DPI, through the AASFA, aims to become the acknowledged source of information about how to best manage animals in preparation for and during a natural disaster. However, this is predicated on raising awareness of NSW DPI s role in emergency management and building and maintaining strong partnerships with other agencies and organisations with an open flow of information (e.g. local knowledge) from communities and individuals a two-way conversation. 3 Commonwealth of Australia, 2011 National Strategy for Disaster Resilience

11 A community engagement strategy to improve animal care for natural disasters. It is vital that active partnerships are maintained for ongoing community engagement even when the threat of a natural disaster is perceived to be low, e.g. outside the bushfire season. Communities need to be regularly reminded that proactive prevention and preparedness have been proven to reap enormous benefits in reducing financial and emotional costs, and restoring community continuity after a natural disaster. What is a community? A community can be many things. It can be a community of place the entire state, a region, peri-urban area or town; a community of interest 4 (such as communities of beef farmers, wildlife carers or pet owners) or a cultural community (including indigenous, ethnic, folkloric, linguistic or religious group or combinations of these). A community can change over time or form for a specific purpose. Communities can have sub-groups that are, in themselves, diverse communities with informal or formal communications networks. Some members of a community may be physically absent from their community, either temporarily or permanently, e.g. absentee landholders. Nearly all communities include people with special needs. Engaging with communities Community engagement is a multipath process where a community develops strong relationships with its own members, as well as with emergency services, other government agencies, local government, non-government organisations, industry groups and various specialists to build, in the case of this strategy, capability in risk prevention and preparedness for animal care issues in the event of a natural disaster. Community engagement facilitates community empowerment and works best within an active and flexible partnership structure, where the community is resourced (and resources itself) with information, skills, communications modes and personal and professional networks (new and existing) to build resilience before natural disasters occur. Prevention and preparedness activities are most effective soon after a disaster impact, when motivation to act is high, and when there is no obvious threat, such as outside a storm season. Preventing, planning and preparedness usually involve changing certain practices, relocating safety equipment and infrastructure, cooperating with neighbours to plan for and move animals, improving communications, practising evacuation plans and anything else that can be practically achieved before a natural disaster poses an imminent threat. 4 New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management 2010, Community Engagement in the CDEM Context 7 Long term financial, business continuity, emotional and animal welfare benefits will be achieved by actively planning then preparing for a natural disaster rather than just responding to one.

12 NSW Department of Primary Industries July NSW DPI community engagement model This community engagement model recognises the structure of NSW DPI, its close links with AASFA participating and supporting organisations, emergency services and other groups. The model recognises that NSW DPI does some direct community engagement, however most engagement with animal owners and carers must be achieved through a network of influencers with existing links to communities, e.g.: AASFA participating and supporting organisations (such as LLSs, WIRES or RSPCA) emergency service organisations local government industry bodies (including producer organisations such as the Cattle Council and professional organisations such as the Australian Veterinary Association) education providers non-government organisations supporting animal welfare and other community organisations (such as kennel or pony clubs). The following model shows how NSW DPI and other agencies and organisations should engage with animal owners and carers. Wherever possible, community engagement should be a two-way process where information and ideas are shared. The desired outcome of engaging with the community is for animal owners and carers to take proactive responsibility for their decisions and actions. ANIMAL OWNERS & CARERS AASFAs ESOs NGOs DPI Local Govt Education Providers Industry

13 A community engagement strategy to improve animal care for natural disasters. Strategic roles 9 NSW DPI s community engagement model suggests the following arrangements: Biosecurity NSW This strategy falls within Biosecurity NSW s area of responsibility, and will support the development of a resilience culture throughout NSW DPI. Biosecurity NSW will develop the community engagement capabilities of NSW DPI and AASFA Committees, consistent with its community engagement work for emergency animal diseases, where NSW DPI is the combat agency. Agriculture and Animal Services Functional Area Committees AASFA Committees at the state, regional and local level will develop and support engagement activities and build strong links with emergency service organisations. They will collaborate with peak bodies, participating and supporting organisations and stakeholders, seeking their input to enhance engagement programs by including information on animal care, and support emergency planning. AASFA Committees will also actively engage with state, regional and local emergency management committees and bushfire management committees, and support recovery committees or other structures established after a natural disaster. AASFA participating and supporting organisations AASFA participating and supporting organisations will contribute to emergency management and bushfire management committees planning and preparedness work and facilitate conversations and opportunities for improving animal care preparedness for natural disasters. Participating and supporting organisations are key conduits into communities. Emergency Service Organisations (ESOs) ESOs will work with the AASFA to disseminate animal care information about emergency prevention, preparedness, response and recovery, and facilitate opportunities for animal care discussions and information sharing. Local Government Local councils will have the opportunity to partner with animal care community engagement programs and assist AASFA to facilitate information sharing and conversations about animal care. Industry associations Industry associations will be encouraged to support NSW DPI through collaborative actions that emphasise risk reduction, business continuity planning, property planning and disaster recovery. Education providers Education providers will be encouraged to incorporate in appropriate course materials, information and methodologies about prevention and preparedness for animal care in natural disasters.

14 NSW Department of Primary Industries July Strategic goals Goal 1: Build collaborative networks Building collaborative networks between governments, industry organisations, businesses, not-for-profit sectors and communities will enhance resilience. Engagement activities need to be focussed on renewing, enhancing, strengthening and nurturing existing relationships, and building relationships where there are gaps. No Outcome Actions 1 Embed a community engagement culture throughout the AASFA. 2 Develop and implement state, regional and locally based engagement programs to promote resilience. 1.1 Maintain a community engagement focus for AASFA members working in local communities. 1.2 Skill AASFA personnel to support regional and local emergency management committees. 2.1 Clarify community expectations regarding animal care in emergencies and the types of communications channels individuals and communities currently (or prefer) to use or receive information. 2.2 Engage with national, state, regional and local animal care groups through the AASFA. 2.3 Actively contribute to emergency management and bushfire management committees. 3 Strengthen or open partnerships with key groups of influence. 3.1 Identify partners that can assist with community engagement activities. 3.2 Provide industry specific information about animal care in natural disasters to groups of influence. 3.3 Build partnerships to promote information on animal care in their community engagement activities. 4 Build inter-agency, organisational and community networks. 4.1 Identify stakeholders at state, regional and local levels. 4.2 Strengthen relationships within the AASFA. 4.3 Build relationships with industry groups. 4.4 Build relationships with education providers to help disseminate information to the next generation of animal carers and encourage students to become catalysts for change. 4.5 Build and use relationships with local government to enhance understanding of community structures, and understand information networks and linkages. 5 Promote a local focus for planning animal care in emergency situations. 6 Seek active participation by community members in program design and implementation. 5.1 Identify specific animal care issues that apply to diverse communities within a locality. 5.2 Design activities that draw on local knowledge and awareness of hazards and risks to animals. 6.1 Design engagement activities to provide various ways for the community to have its say. 6.2 Encourage resource and information sharing, e.g. sharing vehicles during natural disasters to move stock or pets.

15 A community engagement strategy to improve animal care for natural disasters. 11 Goal 2: Provide trusted information on prevention and emergency preparedness NSW DPI should be the trusted primary source of animal care information for natural disaster prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. Knowledge is fundamental to helping communities assess and understand local hazards and risks to their animals. Animal owners need access to information about preventive, preparatory and mitigation measures through a wide range of techniques, including face-to-face conversations, meetings, field days and emerging technologies. No Outcome Actions 7 Educate the community about natural disaster hazards and risks. 7.1 Identify and prioritise natural disaster hazards and risks to animals. 7.2 Provide advice to the community on interpreting risk information. 7.3 Provide links from NSW DPI website or dedicated enterprise social system site to emergency services websites for planning advice and warnings. 7.4 Develop links with local government to contribute to emergency risk management studies, in collaboration with the local emergency management committee. 8 Inform animal owners and carers of their responsibilities to care for their animals in a natural disaster. 8.1 Incorporate better practice animal husbandry, productivity and sustainability methods in emergency management information. Emphasise that animal care goes hand in hand with natural disaster resilience and business continuity planning. 8.2 Ensure that local and regional industry, animal care and professional groups have access to the information they need. 8.3 Engage with local and regional industry, animal care and professional groups to disseminate information to their constituents. 9 Inform animal owners and carers about ways to reduce risks and prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters. 10 Clarify AASFA roles and responsibilities in natural disasters. 9.1 Engage with ESOs, industry, professional groups and individuals with specialist or local knowledge. 9.2 Develop a portal for promoting better practices. 9.3 Contribute to ESO and NGO emergency planning resources Engage with partners to agree upon their roles and responsibilities.

16 NSW Department of Primary Industries July Goal 3: Increase the number of well trained and resourced people Effective community engagement is improved by establishing a policy framework with supporting guidelines and resources. Personnel will need to be appropriately skilled and supported to deliver the engagement activities. An integral part of the strategy is to identify and implement this training. NSW DPI will provide a policy framework with supporting guidelines to those agencies and organisations that identify a need to conduct community engagement and will, where available, provide resources and assist in the process. No Outcome Actions 11 Ensure adequate resources to coordinate and conduct community engagement activities. 12 Build community engagement capabilities of AASFA personnel Develop a policy framework to support the strategy Source funding for priority programs and projects Develop skills, knowledge and capability to plan and deliver community engagement activities. Designing a community engagement plan Principles for effective practice Emergency Management Australia describes the principles for developing and delivering an engagement plan. In summary, these are: devise plans and adapt generic materials that can be empathetically tailored to local communities and their needs, social settings and networks build formal and informal partnerships with a range of organisations and community groups and support them with resources and training use an integrated approach with emergency services to link plans, activities and communities across the spectrum of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery increase the emphasis on prevention and preparedness develop a suite of plans and activities that enhance community awareness and natural disaster preparedness evaluate plans and activities. The five stages in developing a community engagement plan are: 1. understand why you are engaging 2. understand your region and communities 3. plan to collaborate with stakeholders and your community 4. engage with the community 5. evaluate, monitor and review.

17 A community engagement strategy to improve animal care for natural disasters. Governance This strategy will be overseen by the AASFA Coordinator, to be implemented through the AASFA. The strategy will develop performance measures for each of the objectives and actions that can be reported by state, regional and local AASFA Committees. 13 Implementation Implementation priorities Task/action Create a program steering group to oversee implementation Develop an internal communication program to publicise the strategy Appoint a program coordinator with specialist expertise to support this strategy and link to NSW DPI Biosecurity and Rural Resilience programs; and to link to RFS and SES community engagement programs Determine evaluation measures and gather baseline data Develop supporting policy to implement the strategy Review NSW DPI web-hosting and publishing protocols to facilitate timely community access to current, relevant information and effective social media access Initiate a continuous review program for community engagement material Renew and reinvigorate AASFA Committees Provide training and resource support for AASFA Committee members to better understand their roles Provide support for emergency management committee members to actively participate in their committees, including skills in emergency management planning and familiarity with the NSW emergency management arrangements Indicative timeframe First month First three months First six months First six months First six months First twelve months First twelve months First two years First two years First two years

18 NSW Department of Primary Industries July Evaluation The community engagement strategy will require an evaluation framework at two levels; individual activity or program effectiveness and overall impact. Measuring the overall impact of any community engagement strategy is complex, particularly so in the emergency management context, where it is difficult (if not impossible) to determine a causal link between interventions and natural disaster losses. Nevertheless, it is important to measure such matters as the presence or absence of a property plan or family evacuation plan; the frequency of practising any plan; the currency of emergency management committee plans; the quality of the relationships between NSW DPI and its supporting and participating agencies. Development of a suite of measures, and determining their baseline is an important implementation priority. The strategy s outcomes and actions have been framed to be measurable and reported against. Training needs Not everyone involved in planning and implementing community engagement strategies requires specialist skills. Enthusiasm and interest should be encouraged and can also develop naturally. Technical expertise can be sourced. Desired capabilities needed to implement a community engagement strategy for animal care in natural disasters are: a theoretical understanding of community engagement, systems thinking, social capability and capacity building a strong understanding of the NSW emergency management arrangements a strong understanding of internal NSW DPI sources of technical expertise in animal husbandry practices and risk minimisation techniques project planning (including stakeholder and community engagement planning, budgeting, evaluation and reporting) facilitation skills adult learning and action learning skills interpersonal skills, including emotional intelligence development of stakeholder partnerships and networks the capability to work autonomously and as part of a team continuous skills improvement or development. All personnel who interact with the public will need to develop confidence in these skills. Many personnel already possess many of these skills and a collegiate sharing of experience will address most learning needs.