THE ROLE OF UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP) IN DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT (DRM): THE CASE OF SHELTER PROJECT FOR CYCLONE AFFECTED DISTRICTS IN ODISHA, INDIA

Abstract

The issue of Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in respect to the lack of understanding of disaster resistant construction technology has become an issue of many countries including India. In 1999, one of the states in India named Odisha was hit by a super cyclone. It creates a devastating impact to the state. Almost 10.000 people lost their lives and houses were partially and fully damaged due to the super cyclone. The lack of shelters and houses that are constructed without utilizing the disaster resistant construction technology has contributed to the high death toll and damaged houses. The role of UNDP to address the issue of DRM related to disaster resistant construction technology is expected to help the Odisha cyclone affected districts to address the issue. Thus, this thesis aims to analyze the role of UNDP in Odisha cyclone affected districts through Shelter Project. This thesis uses the Liberalism perspective to understand the importance of UNDP as the International Organization (IO) and Biddle & Biddle roles of IO to understand the role of UNDP in the Shelter Project. This study uses the case study method to analyze the role of UNDP in this project. This thesis found that the role of UNDP has contributed to help the Odisha cyclone affected districts to improve their capacity in disaster risk reduction which is related to the use of appropriate construction technology in cyclone affected districts in Odisha.