Phuentsholing Thromde developed a disability-inclusive DRR initiative combining municipal sensitisation, disability-disaggregated data collection, engagement with parents and caregivers, and an interdepartmental communication group. Activities sought to incorporate disability-related needs into infrastructure design and disaster risk reduction planning.
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Phuentsholing Disability-Inclusive DRR Planning
General Information
ISIG
Municipal initiative integrating persons with disabilities into DRR and infrastructure planning through disaggregated data collection, workshops with caregivers and disability organisations, and a permanent communication forum linking communities and municipal departments.
Phuentsholing is a municipality in Chhukha District, southwestern Bhutan. The Amochhu and Omchhu rivers expose the city to seasonal flood risks. Disability-inclusive planning developed within a wider national capacity-building process involving Bhutan’s four thromdes, supported by UNDRR and the Department of Local Governance and Disaster Management.
Hazard Type
Geographical Scope - Nuts
Geographical Scope
Population Size
Population Density
Needs Addressed
Disability-related needs and contributions can be overlooked in local preparedness and infrastructure planning. The Bhutan assessment identified barriers including inaccessible risk information and insufficient consideration of persons with disabilities in disaster prevention processes.
Children with disabilities and their families are relevant through the involvement of Phensem Parents Support Group.
Municipality-led coordination connects public departments and disability-related civil society. Municipal authorities retain the formal planning mandate.
Preparedness plans exist but not operationalized and not systematically implemented
A national performance audit identifies accessibility and pedestrian-safety shortcomings in Phuentsholing, supporting the relevance of the intervention. No data at the Municipal level is provided.
Identify disability-related barriers and priorities, and bring lived experience into municipal resilience assessment and action planning.
Municipal sensitisation meeting; community workshop with Phensem; caregiver participation; collection of disability-disaggregated information; and a social chat group connecting families and officials.
The wider Bhutan process brought disability organisations into assessment alongside municipal decision-makers and technical staff, followed by initial action planning. Published accounts do not trace individual stakeholder proposals through to municipal approval or expenditure.
The August 2023 training developed local officials’ and stakeholders’ capacity for disability-inclusive DRR. Longer-term empowerment would require sustained participation and influence over implementation.
Vulnerable Groups
Governance
Emergency Preparedness
Infrastructure Readiness
Engagement Level
Empowerment Level
Implementation
The methodological feature is the use of the Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities — Annex for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities to connect accessibility and participation with municipal resilience assessment
English for published documentation, local languages for local training and meetings.
Phuentsholing Thromde, with Phensem Parents Support Group for community outreach. The preparatory national training was organised by DLGDM and UNDRR GETI/Regional Office for Asia-Pacific.
Mayor, executive secretary, Tshogpas/local representatives, engineers, planners, finance and technical staff, education and health officers, educators, civil society, parents and caregivers.
- Participate in the 22–24 August 2023 national assessment training.
- Hold municipal sensitisation on 20 September.
- Assign disability-data collection and establish the communication group.
- Convene the 2 October community workshop.
Replication would require municipal coordination time, disability-organisation participation, accessible facilitation, data-management capacity and communication arrangements.
August–October 2023
Experience of the Implementing Organisation in DRM
Target Audience
Resources Required
Timeframe & Phases
Participation Results
Accessible risk information and the inclusion of disability perspectives were recognised challenges. The preparatory process used facilitated assessment involving disability organisations, planners, engineers and disaster focal points to identify gaps and priorities.
Risk & Mitigation Plan
Scalability and Sustainability
The underlying Scorecard Annex offers a transferable assessment framework organised around the Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient. Adaptation requires locally appropriate participation arrangements and attention to accessibility. Its availability supports replication of the method; comparable outcomes elsewhere require separate evidence.
The technological component is a social chat group. The principal innovation is organisational.
The preparatory national training received Finnish and Republic of Korea funding.
- give disability representatives a continuing role
- record how their contributions affect decisions
- connect agreed priorities to responsible departments and budgets