The matter is not if, but when and where: the role of capacity development in disaster risk reduction aiming for a sustainable water supply and sanitation

The document examines the PAARSS programme (1999-2007) in Mozambique, which integrated disaster risk reduction into water and sanitation services to build community resilience in flood-prone districts. It argues that ecosystem management is an undervalued but effective solution for mitigating hazards and reducing vulnerability, particularly as global environmental and climate changes increase disaster trends.

• The Programme for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (PAARSS), operating from 1999 to 2007 in four flood-prone districts of Mozambique, integrated capacity-building on disaster risk reduction with provincial disaster management plans to build community resilience and ensure sustainable water and sanitation services.
• Ecosystem management is identified as a proven method for reducing disaster risk by mitigating hazards, reducing exposure and vulnerability, and increasing community resilience, yet its adoption remains slow due to fragmented management, a preference for engineered solutions, and poor science-policy interactions.
• Global environmental change, including climate change, is contributing to an increasing worldwide trend in disasters, necessitating new approaches to hazard mitigation and vulnerability reduction.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2013). The matter is not if, but when and where: the role of capacity development in disaster risk reduction aiming for a sustainable water supply and sanitation. https://www.sei.org/publications/the-matter-is-not-if-but-when-and-where-the-role-of-capacity-development-in-disaster-risk-reduction-aiming-for-a-sustainable-water-supply-and-sanitation/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. The matter is not if, but when and where: the role of capacity development in disaster risk reduction aiming for a sustainable water supply and sanitation. 2013. https://www.sei.org/publications/the-matter-is-not-if-but-when-and-where-the-role-of-capacity-development-in-disaster-risk-reduction-aiming-for-a-sustainable-water-supply-and-sanitation/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=The matter is not if, but when and where: the role of capacity development in disaster risk reduction aiming for a sustainable water supply and sanitation |date=23 May 2013 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/the-matter-is-not-if-but-when-and-where-the-role-of-capacity-development-in-disaster-risk-reduction-aiming-for-a-sustainable-water-supply-and-sanitation/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2013matter, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{The matter is not if, but when and where: the role of capacity development in disaster risk reduction aiming for a sustainable water supply and sanitation}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2013}, month = may, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/the-matter-is-not-if-but-when-and-where-the-role-of-capacity-development-in-disaster-risk-reduction-aiming-for-a-sustainable-water-supply-and-sanitation/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }