CDMP Progress Bulletin

Inclusion of Natural Hazards in CDB Project Appraisal

 Bulletin Date: May 1998

The Caribbean Disaster Mitigation Project (CDMP) has been working with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to include considerations for natural hazards in their economic development loan packages for large infrastructure projects in the Caribbean. In 1994, the CDMP conducted a workshop for the bank's project staff on this theme. In 1995, CDB took over the initiative and organized a follow-up workshop, with CDMP in a supporting role. These workshops covered both the need for inclusion and continued use of natural hazard information, such as hazard and risk assessments, in the bank's project development and appraisal process and a methodology for accomplishing this. In the workshops, concrete proposals were developed for adjusting the Bank's Environmental Impact Assessment Procedures (EIA) to include, for the first time, a section on the impact of natural hazards on development projects and cost effective ways of reducing future losses.

Unmitigated development projects have historically contributed to significant increases in disaster vulnerability and undesirable economic setbacks in many Caribbean countries. In the opening ceremony of the second CDMP/CDB natural hazard workshop which occurred in March 1995, the Vice President of the Bank spoke of the low productivity of investment in the Caribbean Region and cited the lack of disaster mitigation considerations in project design as a major reason for this. He applauded the efforts of the CDMP and reiterated the bank's continued support for this project.

Since these workshops, the CDB has started a process of amending its existing Environmental Procedures to include considerations for natural hazard analysis. Furthermore, in preparing a rehabilitation package for the island of Dominica after hurricane Luis and Marilyn (1995), the CDB included as a conditionality for the loan funds to this country, the use of storm surge maps produced by the CDMP as an input for the determination of the design criteria for the reconstruction of Dominica's damaged sea defense structure. Additionally, the Caribbean Uniform building Code (CUBiC) is now being used as the standards against which large development projects financed by the CDB need to be designed.

Subsequent to hurricanes Luis and Marilyn, the CDB and the CDMP jointly undertook an investigation into the structural integrity of the emergency shelters in the Eastern Caribbean. Under this activity, the CDMP undertook technical surveys of up to 20 schools in the islands of Anguilla, Antigua, Dominica, Grenada and St. Kitts, to determine the suitability of these buildings (facilities) for serving as hurricane shelters. The results of the survey included recommendations and costings for retrofitting these structures to acceptable standards and a manual of standards for the retrofitting or construction of schools/shelters. The CDB committed to make funding available to carry out the proposed retrofit for any of the schools or shelters surveyed under this program.