ISDR partners in action

From HFA-PEDIA

1 United Nations
2 World Bank - UN/ISDR: Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery
- 2.1 Central American Probabilistic Risk Assessment (CAPRA)
- 2.2 Catastrophe Deferred Draw Down Option (CAT DDO)
3 Organization of American States (OAS)
- 3.1 Department of Sustainable Development (OAS/DSD)
- 3.2 Other initiatives and activities
4 IPCC
5 ProVention Consortium
6 CRID
7 Subregional Partners
8 Other

United Nations

The United Nations is central to global efforts to solve problems that challenge humanity. Cooperating in this effort are more than 30 affiliated organizations, known together as the UN system.

The United Nations was established on 24 October 1945 by 51 countries committed to preserving peace through international cooperation and collective security. Today, nearly every nation in the world belongs to the UN: membership totals 192 countries.

When States become Members of the United Nations, they agree to accept the obligations of the UN Charter, an international treaty that sets out basic principles of international relations. According to the Charter, the UN has four purposes:

to maintain international peace and security;
to develop friendly relations among nations;
to cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights; and
to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.

The United Nations is not a world government and it does not make laws. It does, however, provide the means to help resolve international conflicts and formulate policies on matters affecting all of us. At the UN, all the Member States — large and small, rich and poor, with differing political views and social systems — have a voice and a vote in this process.

The United Nations has six main organs. Five of them — the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council and the Secretariat — are based at UN Headquarters in New York. The sixth, the International Court of Justice, is located at The Hague in the Netherlands.

UN Resident Coordinators & the UNRC System

The United Nations Resident Coordinator (UN RC) is the designated representative of the UN Secretary-General for development operations and leader of the United Nations Country Team, which consists of the heads of all UN agencies resident or represented in a particular country. The UN RC is responsible for promoting the UN global agenda and for effective coordination of activities of all UN agencies, resident and non-resident. The aim is to enhance the coherence and impact of the activities of the United Nations for development.

Resident Coordinators, who are funded and managed by UNDP, lead UN country teams in more than 130 countries and are the designated representatives of the Secretary-General for development operations. Working closely with national governments, Resident Coordinators and country teams advocate the interests and mandates of the UN drawing on the support and guidance of the entire UN family.

Resident Coordinator System

The Resident Coordinator system encompasses all organizations of the United Nations system dealing with operational activities for development, regardless of their formal presence in a given country. The RC system aims to bring together the different UN agencies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operational activities at the country level.

As emphasized in the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), a strong national and local commitment is a prerequisite for successful disaster risk reduction at the national level. While States have the primary responsibility in implementing the disaster risk reduction measures at the national level, the HFA also made a direct call to Resident Coordinators to support actions that promote the integration of disaster risk reduction considerations into development assistance frameworks, such as the Common Country Assessments, the United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks and poverty reduction strategies. The Resident Coordinators represent the ISDR system at the national level, and in their capacity as the heads/convenors of the UN Country Teams they are in the best position to coordinate the United Nations’ disaster risk reduction efforts to support national governments.

How ISDR can assist Resident Coordinators

The UN/ISDR secretariat offers advocacy and information services, electronic and printed materials and tools, temporary advisory services from staff in the regional offices, or other resource persons to support Resident Coordinators and UN Country Teams for making disaster risk reduction a national priority and to raise the awareness of the subject, as set out in the HFA.

UN/ISDR services to UN Resident Coordinators and UN Country Teams: See Brochure

UN Mechanisms of the ISDR: http://www.eird.org/coordinadores/UN_Mechanisms.pdf

UNETT

United Nations Emergency Technical Teams (UNETT)

Since 2006, 19 UNETT were created in LAC. The UNETT Team is the United Nations tool for emergency preparedness responsible for providing a coordinated response during disasters. It reports directly to the United Nations Disaster Management Team (UNDMT) and is made up of emergency specialists from each of the country’s United Nations Systems agencies.

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

The Risk, Emergency, and Disasters Task Force of the Regional Inter-Agency Standing Committee, commonly known by its acronym REDLAC, was created in 2004 to promote programs and projects in the areas of risk management and mitigation of disasters and emergencies. Along with other member organizations and special guests, UN/ISDR and OCHA work closely together through REDLAC to promote common interests relating to disaster risk reduction and recovery.

See also: OCHA's 2009 Annual Report

OCHA website: http://ochaonline.un.org/

Redhum

Redhum is a humanitarian network for Latin America and the Caribbean that seeks to bring together the region's principle humanitarian actors and organizations producing relevant information for the humanitarian assistance community. It is the result of a 2006 cooperation agreement between UN/OCHA, SICA and CEPREDENAC.

More information: http://www.redhum.org (Spanish only)

UN/ISDR-PAHO/WHO

2008/2009 World Disaster Reduction Campaign

A meeting was held on December 7 in the offices of UN/ISDR the Americas to formalize the details surrounding the World Disaster Reduction Campaign 2008-2009: Hospitals Safe from Disasters: Reduce Risk, Protect Health Facilities, Save Lives, which is to be launched on 25 January 2008, in Davos. This campaign is a joint initiative of UN/ISDR and WHO with support from the World Bank. The meeting allowed for the exchange of ideas about what could be done to promote this campaign over the next two years in terms of initiatives, resources and a common work agenda. In attendance at the meeting were representatives of UN/ISDR, PAHO, IFRC and Ayuda en Acción.

UN/ISDR - PAHO/WHO - University for Peace

Encompassing Disaster Risk Reduction and Human Health Resilience in Environmental Security and Peace Studies UN/ISDR and the Pan American Health Organization have developed a program “Encompassing Disaster Risk Reduction and Human Health Resilience in Environmental Security and Peace Studies” as part of the Masters’ Programme on Environmental Security and Peace at the UN University for Peace (http://drr.upeace.org/) in Costa Rica. This programme will provide 20-30 students per year with didactic understanding and practical tools in a multidisciplinary way. The first course is scheduled to start in 2008. For more information, please contact: Rolain Borel (rborel@upeace.org)

The University for Peace (UPEACE) with the collaboration of the UN/ISDR secretariat has developed a course on Disaster Risk Reduction at the local level. The course is a module of a post-graduate degree program in environment, peace and security. The course will be taught in San Jose, Costa Rica between February 4th and 22nd, 2008 and from then on annually during the second semester. UPEACE has five scholarships available for practitioners from the Central American or Caribbean regions to attend this course. Information on the course is available at: http://drr.upeace.org/english/how.cfm

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

The 2006-2007 World Disaster Reduction Campaign “Disaster Risk Reduction Begins at School”, aimed to inform and mobilize Governments, communities and individuals to ensure that disaster risk reduction is fully integrated into school curricula in high risk countries and that school buildings are built or retrofitted to withstand natural hazards. The Campaign’s key partners included UNESCO, UNICEF, ActionAid International, the IFRC, and the ISDR’s thematic cluster on knowledge and education.

UN/ISDR-UNICEF-DIPECHO

Project advances in “Strengthening of Local Risk and Disaster Management in the Education Sector in Central America” This project, financed by the European Union’s Humanitarian Aid Office (DIPECHO), seeks to promote the systematization of experiences and reproduction of practices and instruments regarding risk management in the field of education at a local level in six Central American countries.

Recognizing that numerous successful and potentially replicable initiatives regarding DRR in the education sector exist in the region, national workshops are being carried out in each of the 6 Central American countries to compile and share existing and proven tools, methodologies and models for disaster preparedness and response in the education sector at the local level. Workshops have now been completed in Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador; while the workshops in Costa Rica, Panama and Honduras are to be held from December 13-20. The regional organization, ITDG Practical Action, will oversee systematizing the potentially replicable initiatives.

The video (15 min.) and publicity spot (30 sec.) about "Disaster risk reduction in the education sector in the region" is ready and is been distributed to Ministries of Education throughout the region.

The Riskland game and accompanying activities booklet, are being updated in both English and Spanish to incorporate the main topics that the project is promoting: - School infrastructure - Children’s rights to education in emergency situations - Scholastic Emergency Plans - Safe Schools in Safe Territories - Schools as temporary emergency shelters

Furthermore, the "Riskland" game is been adapted to the reality of El Salvador.

A preliminary draft of the basic guide surrounding the use of schools as temporary emergency shelters has been developed. This guide contemplates the necessary conditions, administrative aspects and means of promoting the involvement of the surrounding community in times of emergency situations as based on the Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, Chronic Crises and Early Reconstruction (Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies - INEE Minimum Standards). Validation of this tool among Ministries of Education and related organizations will commence in January.

A preliminary version of the basic guide "Safe School in Safe Territory" is in the final stages, expected to be available by the end of December.

All activities, advances and final reports are available through the UN/ISDR and UNICEF websites through a link to the DIPECHO Project Webpage. For further information: http://www.unicef.org/lac/dipecho/ (Spanish only)

DIPECHO Regional Consultation Workshop A Regional Consultation Workshop in Central America, organized by DIPECHO in Antigua, Guatemala from November 20-24, 2007 served to culminate the consultation process that involved national consultation workshops held between November 1 to 13 in Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

The workshop served to define the sixth DIPECHO Plan of Action for Central America, taking into consideration the priorities of strategic partners, as well as the main advances being made in the region within the context of HFA. The workshop brought together a variety of government institutions, national and international organizations and initiatives including the following: CEPREDENAC, OPS, CRID, UN/ISDR, PREVDA/UE, ECHO/Andean Region, ECHO/Caribbean Region, and BCPR-PNUD.

UNDP

Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR)

The United Nations’ Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN's global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. UNDP focuses on five key practice areas:

Democratic Governance
Poverty Reduction
Crisis Prevention and Recovery
Energy and Environment
HIV/AIDS

Created in 2001 by UNDP's Executive Board, the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) works around the world to restore the quality of life for men, women and children who have been devastated by natural disaster or violent conflict. Operating through some 100 country offices, the Bureau provides a bridge between the humanitarian agencies that handle immediate needs and the long-term development phase following recovery.

URL: www.undp.org/cpr/

Objectives:

Preventing the incidence of violent conflict and natural disasters;
Supporting the recovery efforts of both conflict and natural disasters;
Protecting women in crisis and promoting gender equality; and
Establishing foundations for sustainable peace and recovery.

Areas of focus:

Provide technical expertise: By serving as a repository for tools, methods, and experience, BCPR provides both technical knowledge and financial resources to support prevention and recovery efforts;
Protect women and give them a voice: Security threats to women escalate in times of crisis. BCPR seeks to empower women and girls and give them a voice in the recovery effort through its Eight Point Agenda for Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality in Crisis Prevention and Recovery;
Recognize the importance of partners: BCPR fosters partnerships to design and implement crisis and recovery programmes;
Develop policy and contribute to the capacity of societies in crisis to prevent and resolve conflict;
Provide leadership on crisis issues, serving as a center for crisis policy and best practice for partner agencies and governments; and
Advocate for crisis sensitivity. BCPR works to ensure that long-term development policies and programmes incorporate opportunities for disaster reduction and conflict prevention.

URL: www.undp.org

UNDP Regional Centre

UNDP’ s Regional Centre in Panama offers support to Country Offices to strengthen their capacity in project management, and to endorse the creation of strategic alliances and distribution of knowledge in high-priority areas of Latin America and the Caribbean. The Centre is integrated with a growing team of professionals and experts working in initiatives that promotes human development in focus areas such as Democratic Governance, Energy and Environment, Crisis Prevention and Recovery, HIV/AIDS, Capacity Development, and Poverty Reduction and MDG. Additionally, the Regional Centre Office in Port of Spain are also consolidated to fortify the capacity of governments and communities, to promote the sustainable development, and to support the completion of the Millennium Development Goals.

See more: www.regionalcentrelac-undp.org

Related initiatives

Caribbean Risk Management Initiative (CRMI)

The Caribbean Risk Management Initiative (CRMI) was launched in 2004 as an umbrella programme designed to build capacity across the Caribbean region to manage climate-related risk. Within the UNDP strategy for knowledge management, the CRMI provides a platform for coordinating and sharing knowledge and experiences on risk management throughout the Caribbean. This regional programme is anchored in the UNDP country offices in Cuba and in Barbados, the latter also encompassing the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

CRMI Website: www.undp.org.cu/crmi

Red Desastres

This website presents events, news, publications and links to other agencies, projects, strategies, databases and international organizations. It also includes a video library focusing on disaster-related issues, a repository containing key documents and information relating to projects in the region.

URL: www.reddesastres.org/

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CADRI

The Capacity for Disaster Reduction Initiative (CADRI) is a collaborative programme of UNDP, OCHA and UNISDR for building capacities surrounding disaster reduction.

CADRI is a joint programme of the United Nations Development Programme’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (UNDP/BCPR), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the secretariat of the United Nations' International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).

Recognizing that capacity development is a cross-cutting activity for disaster risk reduction, CADRI relates to all of the five priorities of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters. It serves the ISDR system and engages with the wider professional communities working in capacity development.

On 22-34 September, 2009 a pilot workshop was held in Kingston, Jamaica on 'Advancing Disaster Risk Reduction at the National Level'.

For more information on this workshop:

Geraldine Becchi, Capacity Development Programme Specialist, CADRI - becchi@un.org,

Jennifer Guralnick, Disaster Reduction Advisor, UNISDR Americas - jguralnick@eird.org,

Ronald Jackson, General Director, Jamaican Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) - rjackson@odpem.org.jm.

UNISDR - ILO/DELNET - UNOSAT

Specialization in Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainable Local Development Practitioners and academics from various countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, graduates of ILO/DELNET’S first-ever year-long specialized course on "Disaster Risk Reduction within the Framework of Sustainable Local Development", met from November 19-24 in Managua, Nicaragua to participate in a workshop on "The Use of GIS Based on Satellite Imagery Applied to Strategic Planning for Disaster Risk Reduction at the Local Level", and for the course’s final evaluation and graduation ceremony. This event marks the beginning of an inter-agency partnership between ITC-ILO/DELNET, UN/ISDR and UNOSAT to support the continuation of this course in years to come and to join forces in the creation of a disaster risk reduction and sustainable local development network. For more information, please contact: Alice Vozza (a.vozza@itcilo.org) or visit: http://learning.itcilo.org/delnet/

The finalization of the first specialization course Disaster Risk Reduction within the Framework of Local Sustainable Development culminated in Managua, Nicaragua with an evaluation on behalf of UN/ISDR - evaluation and discussions surrounding a joint initiative on behalf of UNISDR, DELNET and UNOSAT to support the DELNET users network with the use of a prototype “Municipal Disaster Information System for Latin America and the Caribbean” developed through a pilot project by CRID with financing from IDRC Canada and technical support by UN/ISDR the Americas.

UN-HABITAT

Within the region of the Americas, UN-HABITAT (through the country office for Costa Rica) is an active partner in the Thematic Platform for Urban Risk

Contact information:

UN-HABITAT/ ROLAC - Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean

Rua Rumânia, 20 - Cosme Velho

22240-140 - Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Tel: +55 (21) 3235-8550 / Fax: +55 21 3235-8566

E-mail: rolac@habitat-lac.org

Sitio Web: www.unhabitat-rolac.org

Contact persons:

Mrs. Cecilia Martínez Leal, Director

E-mail: martinez@habitat-lac.org

Mr. Erik Vittrup Christensen, Human Settlements Office

E-mail: vittrup@habitat-lac.org

UN-HABITAT Costa Rica office:

Ileana Rámirez, National Programme Coordinator

E-mail: rileana@mivah.go.cr

WMO

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It is the UN system's authoritative voice on the state and behaviour of the Earth's atmosphere, its interaction with the oceans, the climate it produces and the resulting distribution of water resources.

WMO promotes cooperation in the establishment of networks for making meteorological, climatological, hydrological and geophysical observations, as well as the exchange, processing and standardization of related data, and assists technology transfer, training and research. It also fosters collaboration between the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services of its Members and furthers the application of meteorology to public weather services, agriculture, aviation, shipping, the environment, water issues and the mitigation of the impacts of 'natural' disasters.

World Bank - UN/ISDR: Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery

The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) is a partnership of the ISDR system to support the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA).

In June 2006, the World Bank’s Board of Directors endorsed establishment of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), a longer term partnership under the ISDR system to reduce disaster losses by mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in development, particularly upstream country strategies and processes, towards fulfillment of principal goals of the Hyogo Framework of Action (HFA).

GFDRR helps developing countries fund development projects and programs that enhance local capacities for disaster prevention and emergency preparedness. GFDRR grants support disaster risk assessments, developing risk mitigation policies and strategies, preparation of disaster prevention projects and additional financing for recovery provided recipient governments demonstrate commitment to disaster prevention.

GFDRR pursues its objectives at global, regional and country levels and it addresses disasters both ex ante and ex post through its three tracks of financing:

Track I supports the annual work program of ISDR to enhance global and regional advocacy, partnerships, and knowledge management in disaster risk reduction.

Track II is designed to provide ex ante support, primarily through a 3-year technical assistance program to enhance investments in risk reduction and risk transfer mechanisms (such as CAPRA).

Track III is deployed to strengthen mobilization of international assistance for disaster recovery and supports primarily low-income countries to accelerate recovery operations.

GFDRR is assisting several countries, regional and international organizations in identifying the disaster risks, developing risk mitigation and risk financing strategies, establishing institutional and legal systems for risk reduction, and strengthening regional cooperation in early warning, knowledge sharing and emergency preparedness.

Central American Probabilistic Risk Assessment (CAPRA)

The Central American Probabilistic Risk Assessment (CAPRA) initiative seeks to enhance disaster risk management understanding in the Central American region. CAPRA builds upon the work of disaster risk experts to provide a GIS-based information platform on risk generated by adverse natural events. It is a disaster risk analysis and communications tool that enables decision-makers to manage risk at local, national and regional levels.

CAPRA applies probabilistic risk techniques to measure magnitude and likelihood of occurrence of hazards, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, landslides, volcanoes, or rainfall. This information is combined with exposure of assets and vulnerability data, to produce a comprehensive measure of risk. The main CAPRA product is a compendium of risk maps that provide disaster risk specialists and policy-makers with the necessary information to manage future disaster risk.

Accompanying the information platform is the CAPRA web portal , designed to cultivate collaboration and support the disaster risk management community. This is an open space where users share information, experience and the tools they work with on a daily basis. The initiative is part of an ongoing effort to promote a pro-active disaster risk management strategy in the region.

Led by the Central American Coordination Centre for Disaster Prevention (CEPREDENAC) and in partnership with Central American governments, the CAPRA initiative is supported by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Secretariat (UNISDR), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank.

Ultimately, CAPRA hopes to contribute to Central America’s sustainable development by supporting a regional strategy that advances disaster risk evaluation and risk management decision-making across all sectors.

Contact information:

Francis Ghesquiere, Regional Coordinator for Disaster Risk Management in the Latin America and Caribbean Region - fghesquiere@worldbank.org

Joaquin Toro - jtoro@worldbank.org

Edward Anderson, DRM Specialist - eanderson1@worldbank.org

Emma Phillips - ephillips@worldbank.org

Catastrophe Deferred Draw Down Option (CAT DDO)

The Catastrophe Deferred Draw Down Option (CAT DDO) was developed by the World Bank to respond to middle income countries’ request for financial instruments that better address immediate funding needs in the aftermath of a disaster triggered by adverse natural events. Providing a source of immediate liquidity in the aftermath of such events, it acts as a source of bridge financing that allows the country to maintain its development programs while mobilizing other sources of funding to address the emergency situation.

The CAT DDO can be disbursed over a period of three years and may be renewed up to four times for a total of 15 years. The loan, which is up to 0.25 percent of GDP, can be disbursed partially or in full, upon the condition of a declared state of emergency following a disaster arising from the occurrence of a natural hazard.

In September 2008 the World Bank approved a US$65 million loan to Costa Rica for the first Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (CAT DDO) ever issued by the World Bank and in December of 2008 a US$150 million loan to the Government of Colombia. These loans are repayable over a period of 29.5 years with a five-year grace period.

The World Bank is also preparing a project with Guatemala for a loan in the amount of US$85 million, as well as in other regions of the world. The CAT DDO is an important part of a country’s financing strategies, and allows the Ministry of Finance to take a pro-active role in disaster risk management. The overall development objective of the projects is to enhance the government's capacity to implement its disaster risk management program.

The first request for the activation of the CAT DDO occurred when the Government of Costa Rica declared a state of emergency following the earthquake that jolted the country on January 8, 2009.

Organization of American States (OAS)

OAS brings together the nations of the Western Hemisphere to strengthen cooperation on democratic values, defend common interests and debate the major issues facing the region and the world. The OAS is the region’s principal multilateral forum for strengthening democracy, promoting human rights, and confronting shared problems such as poverty, terrorism, illegal drugs and corruption.

http://www.oas.org/

Department of Sustainable Development (OAS/DSD)

The Department of Sustainable Development (OAS/DSD) is the principal technical arm of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (GS/OAS), responsible for meeting the needs of OAS member States in matters of sustainable development and environment. In keeping with OAS’ mandate as the main political body in the Western Hemisphere for promoting social and economic development through cooperation, OAS/DSD supports the formulation, design and execution of policies and technical cooperation projects that help translate the goals of sustainable development and environment protection into concrete action. A key objective of this work involves natural disaster risk management as an essential component for development.

Along with the countries’ adoption of the HFA at the global level, they have adopted the Inter-American Strategic Plan for Policy on Vulnerability Reduction, Risk Management and Disaster Response (AG/Res.1955 (XXXIII-O/03)) (IASP) as the regional intergovernmental guidance for disaster risk reduction. Later the countries of the hemisphere established the Inter-American Network for Disaster Mitigation (INDM), assigning it the unique position, “….as the permanent hemispheric mechanism for strengthening practical cooperation among intergovernmental agencies in the area of disaster reduction, especially by sharing technical information and best practices” (AG/Res. 2314 (XXXVII-O/07).

Inter-American Network for Disaster Mitigation (INDM)

The OAS’ Inter-American Network for Disaster Mitigation (INDM) supports good governance-related activities in reducing the risk posed by natural hazards, by supporting on-going cooperation and collaboration among member states, multilateral and regional organizations in risk-reduction programs, projects and strategies in the hemisphere, including the development of the Regional Platform of the Hyogo Framework for Action

OAS/DSD & UNISDR towards the Regional Platform for DRR in the Americas

During the 1st Session of the Global Platform (June 2007), the UNISDR and the GS/OAS signed a cooperation agreement for advancing the implementation of the HFA in the Americas and the IASP and later a follow-up cooperation agreement between the parties (August 2008) on the joint execution of the Regional Platform for the implementation of the HFA in the Americas.

Contact information:

Cletus Springer, Director of the OAS/DSD

Alternative contact:

Pablo González, Chief, Natural Hazard Risk Reduction Program

Department of Sustainable Development, Organization of American States (OAS/DSD)

1889 F Street, NW, suite 711 Washington, D.C.

Tel: 001-202-458-3274 / Fax: 001-202-458-3560

Email: pgonzalez@oas.org

Other initiatives and activities

Hemispheric Encounter on “Cost-Benefit Analysis: Making a case to invest on Vulnerability Reduction in the Americas”

Bogota, Colombia; December 11 - 12, 2007

Co-sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Disaster Prevention and Attention Direction (DPAD) of the Ministry of the Interior and Justice, both of Colombia, and the Department of Sustainable Development of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (DSD/OAS), through its Inter-American Network for Disaster Mitigation (INDM), this event was held in Bogotá, Colombia, on December 11 and 12, 2007, at the Palacio San Carlos, headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia was celebrated around the preceding mandates of the resolutions from the General Assembly of the OAS, through its Inter-American Network for Disaster Mitigation (INDM) and the Hemispheric Security Commission (HSC). The event was particularly a direct answer to the agreements of the (INDN) and the resolutions AG/RES 2314 (XXXVII-O/07) and AG/RES 2184 (XXXVI-O/06) for which it calls for the DSD/OAS to support in “improving the economic cost-benefit analysis in the reduction and prevention of risks on natural disasters”.

The main objective of the meeting was to explore the strategies to highlight and promote the benefits of risk reduction investment, instead of investing on response, attention, rehabilitation and reconstruction. Based on case studies and practical experiences, the meeting sought to analyze and prove that “investing in vulnerability reduction in the Americas is a better option”, getting into the effective cost of investing in the social and economic vulnerability reduction against the economic costs associated with disasters and their impacts in the economic growth of the region.

IPCC

The Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change is the leading body for the assessment of climate change, established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic consequences.

The IPCC is a scientific body. It reviews and assesses the most recent scientific, technical and socio-economic information produced worldwide relevant to the understanding of climate change. It does not conduct any research nor does it monitor climate related data or parameters. Thousands of scientists from all over the world contribute to the work of the IPCC on a voluntary basis. Review is an essential part of the IPCC process, to ensure an objective and complete assessment of current information. Differing viewpoints existing within the scientific community are reflected in the IPCC reports.

ProVention Consortium

A global coalition of governments, international organizations, academic institutions, the private sector, and civil society organizations aimed at reducing disaster impacts in developing countries. ProVention, at present, involves some 70 associated partner organisations (See the full list of ProVention partners).

The overall goal of ProVention is to reduce the risk and social, economic and environmental impacts of natural hazards on vulnerable populations in developing countries in order to alleviate poverty and contribute to sustainable development. This is achieved through:

Forging partnerships and promoting multi-stakeholder networking;
Promoting policy as an informal forum for dialogue and agenda-setting;
Improving practice through more effective problem-solving;
Managing knowledge through combining knowledge advancement, gathering and sharing.

Currently, partners are contributing to the ProVention Consortium in a variety of vital roles – as Advisory Committee members, voluntary patrons, Forum participants and project partners and donors. All Consortium partners share a common commitment to the central goal of ProVention to reducing the risks and social, economic and environmental impacts of natural hazards on vulnerable populations in developing countries.

Seeking to vitalise partnering within the Consortium, ProVention has initiated a number of multi-partner projects and the current work programme focuses particularly on increasing involvement of four specific constituencies:

Collaboration among international financial institutions on reducing natural hazard risk
Linkages with the private sector to build the business case for disaster prevention
Interaction with civil society to strengthen community-oriented risk reduction activities
Partnering regional research centres, universities and NGOs to expand research and learning on risk reduction in developing countries.

All ProVention project activities are intended to contribute to these four overarching and interconnected objectives and to the Hyogo Framework for Action.

CRID

The Regional Disaster Information Center (CRID) is an initiative sponsored by six organizations that decided to join efforts to ensure the compilation and dissemination of disaster-related information in Latin America and the Caribbean.

These organizations are:

Pan American Health Organization - Regional Office of the World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO),
United Nations Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR),
Costa Rica National Risk Prevention and Emergency Commission (CNE),
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC),
Coordination Center for Natural Disaster Prevention in Central America (CEPREDENAC), and
Regional Office of Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

CRID objectives:

Improve compilation, processing and dissemination of disaster-related information, offering quality information services to a wide range of users in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region.

Strengthen sub regional (Central America, South America and the Caribbean), national and local capacities to establish and maintain disaster information and documentation centers.
Promote the use of electronic technology for the provision of information services.
Contribute to the development of the Regional Disaster Information System.

The Regional Disaster Information Center (CRID), recognized as an Information Center specializing in disasters and health, aims to promote the development of a prevention culture in the Latin American and Caribbean countries through the compilation and dissemination of disaster-related information, and the promotion of co-operative efforts to improve risk management in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean.

URL: www.crid.or.cr

Subregional Partners

REDLAC

Central America

CEPREDENAC

CEPREDENAC was established in 1988 as a coordination center for strengthening the capacity of Central America as a whole to reduce the vulnerability of the population to the effects of these phenomena. In May 1995, CEPREDENAC became an official organization set up to foster the Central American Integration System (SICA) with the Governments of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama as members.

URL: www.cepredenac.org

Andean Region of South America

CAPRADE

The Andean Committee for Disaster Prevention and Response, CAPRADE, works towards contributing to reducing risk and the impact of disasters in the Andean region through coordination and the promotion of policies, strategies and plans, as well as the promotion of activities relating to disaster prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, rehabilitation and reconstruction. Furthermore, CAPRADE also works through cooperation, mutual assistance and the exchange of related experiences.

URL: http://www.caprade.org/

PREDECAN

Andean Community Disaster Prevention Project (PREDECAN)

Under the framework of the ISDR's new format for national reporting on the progress towards the implementation of the HFA - the HFA Monitor - PREDECAN is coordinating a process to assist Andean countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) in the elaboration of their respective national reports. Also supporting this initiative is German Cooperation Agency GTZ and with the technical support of the UNISDR regional office for the Americas.

Further information: Carolina Diaz, PREDECAN - e-mail: CDiaz@comunidadandina.org (Spanish)

URL: http://www.comunidadandina.org/predecan (Spanish)

The Caribbean

Association of Caribbean States (ACS)

The Convention establishing the ACS was signed on 24 July 1994 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, with the aim of promoting consultation, cooperation and concerted action among all the countries of the Caribbean, comprising 25 Member States and three Associate Members. Eight other non-independent Caribbean countries are eligible for associate membership. Its current focus is on cooperation in trade, transport, sustainable tourism and natural disasters.

URL: http://www.acs-aec.org/

Saint-Marc Plan of Action - ACS Plan of Action for Disaster Reduction in the Greater Caribbean

Resolution adopting the Plan of Action

CDEMA

The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), formerly known as the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) until 1 September 2009, is an intergovernmental, regional disaster management organization with 16 participating states, headquartered in Barbados. CDEMA adheres to CDERA’s main function of launching an immediate and coordinated response to any disastrous event affecting any participating state, once the state requests such assistance. Moreover, with the move from CDERA to CDEMA the agency is embracing the principles and practice of Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) as an integrated and proactive approach to disaster management. CDM seeks to reduce the risk and loss associated with natural and technological hazards and the effects of climate change to enhance regional sustainable development.

URL: http://www.cdera.org/

Other

Characteristics of a Disaster-Resilient Community: A Guidance Note; DFID, 2007

Version 1 (for field testing), August 2007

John Twigg for the DFID Disaster Risk Reduction Interagency Coordination Group

Online information: DFID on Characteristics of a Disaster-Resilient Community

Full list of ISDR Organizational Contacts in the Americas

Retrieved from "http://www.eird.org/country-profiles/profiles/index.php/ISDR_partners_in_action"