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"Dr. Antony Gnanamuthu, who has worked with the target communities vulnerable to cyclone (first responders) and been a practitioner in the field of disaster management. He has worked diligently in Asia, Africa, and Europe at international levels in this field. He has developed this book on the basis of his experiences in disaster prone Indian State of Odisha, as well as his experience while working with various countries in the three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe). His own research in implementing ""Community Based Disaster Risk Management"" on community aspects of disaster management as well as use of policy initiatives and technology developments has been the basis on which he has further developed the basic themes of this book (training manuals) from community preparedness perspective (as a bottom-up approach). As Program Director - he brought this work with a large number of new ideas, and initiatives which were innovative in nature and were put to practice during the period 2005 - 2009, while implementing the ""Odisha Disaster Mitigation Program - ODMP"" (funded by Federal Republic of Germany (through KfW) with Government of India through Odisha State Government, Indian Red Cross - Odisha State branch, is even now being practiced by the ""Odisha Disaster Management Authority"" in all the Shelter communities across Coastal Odisha. This initiative has reduced the ""loss of life"" to almost ""nil"", through proper planning and coordination with various relevant stake-holders (in a bottom-up approach) as in "Village Disaster Management Plan" (VDMP) – connecting the target population with the Government officials at Panchayat, Block, Thasil and District level. This community-based initiative is now being practiced in various developing countries by mobilizing the ""target communities as ""first responders"", in case we are to achieve the benchmarks set and accepted globally relating to the Sendai Framework and other global mandates.The key take away is that this model of mobilizing the target communities as first responders given the nature of the hazards and risks, natural and human-made, with which we are facing now and in the future. There are plenty of ideas put forward by Dr. Antony Gnanamuthu, which can be the basis for further policy and strategy development and actions. This book (training manuals), right thinking people and concerned strategies and practitioners find new vistas of public action in India and in the disaster-prone areas around the world. This community mobilization can be practiced and has significance for any country around the world having disaster prone areas. The recommendations are equally relevant for any other country as well, and as such the ideas also have an international significance."
Dr. Antony SR Gnanamuthu (former MEMBER Expert Appraisal Committee - INDUSTRIES, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Government of India) is a highly experienced humanitarian and disaster management expert with over 25 years of global experience across Asia, Africa, and Europe. His expertise spans nonprofit leadership, community engagement, capacity building, disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, and risk reduction, working notably with International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) organizations. He pioneered community-based disaster risk reduction strategies, including the development of the Village Disaster Management Plan (VDMP), significantly improving community resilience. His leadership of the Odisha Disaster Mitigation Program (ODMP) from 1996 to 2009 yielded substantial reductions in disaster casualties. Academically, he holds multiple degrees, including a Ph.D in Public Management from the University of Potsdam, and has authored numerous manuals on community empowerment and disaster preparedness. His credentials include managing diverse projects such as cyclone, earthquake, flood, drought, and climate change adaptation programs funded by prominent donors like KfW, EU, ECHO, Google, and German MoFA, Netherlands MoFA while working in various countries. Currently, he serves as the Ambassador (Country Head) for India with IADM (Sweden based INGO) and has received the 2025 Global Recognition Award (GRA) for his contributions towards "Community Based Disaster Management". He has also served on high-level advisory bodies for environmental and industrial assessments in India, demonstrating his leadership and influence in global disaster risk reduction and environmental governance.
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