Tai O Community Campaign on Disaster Resilience

Challenges and Objectives

Tai O village is situated on the low-lying coastal west side of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. This special geographic location leaves the community highly vulnerable to climate change impacts like flooding and coastal inundation. In September 2008, typhoon Hagupit caused severe flooding across Tai O, damaging homes and infrastructure. Following this event, the Hong Kong government constructed dikes and drafted an Emergency Response Plan to strengthen flood defences and protocols. However, knowledge of climate risks facing the community and understanding of disaster preparedness measures remained limited among villagers.

Launched in June of 2016, the Tai O Community Campaign on Disaster Resilience aimed to address these information gaps through collaborative action. Designed by the non-profit organisation CarbonCare InnoLab (CCIL), the campaign brought together diverse local and external partners. The goal was to assess Tai O’s vulnerability to climate hazards and evaluate awareness of the Emergency Response Plan. Findings from the participatory research process would then support efforts to enhance disaster resilience in the village. By engaging residents, youth, experts and officials, the project also sought to facilitate cross-sector knowledge exchange on climate threats and adaptation.

Collaboration Partners and Roles

The project collaboration was initiated by Hong Kong Jockey Club Disaster Preparedness and Response Institute (HKJCDPRI). CCIL was one of the four NGOs that HKJCDPRI engaged for its Community Campaign on Disaster Resilience 2016, which aimed at raising public awareness and knowledge on disaster preparedness and response measures.

CCIL played a central coordination role, leading data collection, workshop organisation and knowledge dissemination efforts. To capture local understanding and experiences, CCIL partnered with local groups like Tai O Sustainable Development Education Workshop and the YWCA Tai O Community Work Office to conduct surveys and workshops in Tai O.

HKJCDPRI supported the documentation, analysis and publication of findings in addition to providing funding.

Revitalisation Activities

The project carried out workshops and community engagement activities in Tai O and was able to conduct surveys involving 197 villagers and in-depth interviews with 70 elders. Schools inside and outside Tai O participated in interviews and educational activities to provide youth perspectives.

The project’s study report titled “Tai O under Climate Change: A Preliminary Study on the Disaster Preparedness and Resilience of Communities” was published in November 2016. It reflects on the high-risk nature of Tai O as a community in the face of climate change. It also assesses the community’s preparedness and resilience in terms of disaster response and makes recommendations for relevant stakeholders to follow up on.

Revitalisation Outcome

Stakeholder interviews preserved cultural knowledge of past climate impacts that could bolster community cohesion. Surveys offered local feedback to authorities on support systems. Workshops raised community awareness and knowledge of climate threats, local flood emergency response plan and climate action. Published findings made this contextual data available to guide future emergency planning and policy.