Thematic focus – Needs Oriented

The Americas present a wide range of meteorological, hydrological, and geophysical characteristics, which pose natural threats to valuable ecosystems and natural resources, as well as social and economic infrastructure. The thematic focus of the Program is therefore defined by the priorities established by the OAS member states, their development objectives and plans, their wealth of natural resources and ecosystems that support their national and local economies, and the needs of the most vulnerable communities and productive sectors.

While the meteorological, hydrological and geophysical characteristics of the different regions demand attention to specific phenomena, and the development of specific measures, the DSD-NHRRP has identified six priority areas of action, as follows:

(i)   Increasing Resilience of Local Communities. This implies community-based organizations and risk management, self-assessment of risk –including hazard and vulnerability mapping and zoning, vulnerability reduction of physical infrastructure in most vulnerable communities. This later with specific attention to housing and schools, shelters, health units. This area of action includes also land-tenure and land-use planning, and building local specialized labor capacity for construction. It also includes structural and non-structural measures to make local communities more resilient;

(ii)  Increasing Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change and Climate Variability (including the ENSO phenomena). This area of action complements the previous one, providing for adaptive measures to increasing climate variability and its resulting extreme events of flooding and droughts. Emphasis is on basic service systems, such as sanitation and water supply; and the main productive sector, agriculture and livestock rearing;

(iii) Legal and Institutional Framewo             rks to Lift Barriers to Humanitarian Assistance. In partnership with competent (in the area of humanitarian assistance) international organizations, the DSD-NHRRP works on reviewing current legal frameworks, international conventions and other instruments to facilitate the humanitarian assistance when a disaster strikes;

(iv) Legal and Financing Mechanisms for Risk Transfer. In cooperation with financial institutions, international banks, and other competent organizations, the DSD-NHRRP supports the establishment of Catastrophic Insurance Facilities and other risk transfer mechanisms and instruments. It supports studies on current legal constraints as to provide recommendations for legal and financial mechanisms to facilitate risk transfer, and risk sharing (multi-country risk-pooling to reduce single-country risk and reduce insurance premiums);

(v)  Cost-benefit Analysis Integrating Social Aspects and Impacts on Regional Trade. The DSD-NHRRP seeks to partner with competent organizations to support the integration of social cost analysis and analysis on the impact of natural disasters in regional trade agreements and mechanisms, into traditional economic cost analysis, as to advance Integrated Cost-Benefit Analysis; and

(vi) Sharing and Exchange of Information and Knowledge. The DSD-NHRRP, through its Inter-American Network for Disaster Mitigation, supports the sharing and exchange of information and knowledge towards the development of “good” practices for replication


 

 

 

This page was last updated on Wednesday September 29, 2010.