Actions to integrate local and
indigenous knowledge by suco and
aldeia (hamlet) councils
Within each village, the suco chief and village leaders
(such as elders, traditional leaders and members
of suco councils) are responsible for emergency
and disaster risk reduction activities. Suco Disaster
Management Committees (SDMC) have been
formed in some villages. An activity that could be
implemented in at least one of the three project sites
is to promote the formation (if not already existing)
of a SDMC involving suco/aldeia chiefs and councils,
traditional leaders, women, and youth. Although the
current focus of SDMCs is to request assistance from
the sub-district and district administration during and
after emergency situations, these committees could
also be used as a venue through which traditional
leaders and elders transmit LINK related to hydrometeorological
hazards and climate change, and as a
vehicle to disseminate the IEC materials developed.
Suco councils, with support from sub-district
management committees and District Disaster
Management Committees (DDMC), can implement
the process of documenting LINK related to hazards
and climate change, with the goal of incorporating
LINK into their village and hamlet disaster plans.