Natural Hazards
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After seven years of field work it is now possible to prepare this synthesis of
OAS experience with natural hazards. The material comes with a broad set of objectives, a
reflection of the breadth of the issues involved in hazard mitigation. At the policy
level, it is hoped that national planning ministries, development agencies, and
international financing institutions will be encouraged to systematically include analyses
of natural hazards in their economic development programs.
 2,054Kb - 141 pages
This document presents information on the vulnerability of road segments
of the Pan American Highway and when available, information on its alternate or complementary corridors in Central America. The document also contains information about the vulnerability of each section of the Pan American Highway, the natural hazards to which it is prone, the length of each vulnerable road segment,
a list of vulnerability reduction measures taken, and the history of disasters it has suffered (where information was available).
This information is based on Central American vulnerability profile studies carried out by technical teams from the Central American countries with international coordination by the DSD. The DSD has coordinated these efforts and has been working on the development of vulnerability studies since March 2000.
The matrices are available for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama. In order to receive a copy, please contact the respective Ministries.
249Kb - 51 pages
This document was prepared by the Department to help identify
the major constraints and opportunities to further the use of natural hazard
information during the investment project formulation process, focusing on
development assistance agencies. It describes their roles, procedures,
structure, and influence, and presents a strategy for promoting natural hazard
assessment and mitigation in investment projects. Also included is a list of
issues for discussion by CIDIE members to assist each member in defining future
actions it might undertake.
98Kb - 20 pages
The Unit for Sustainable Development
of the Organization of American States (OAS/DSD) has had an active role in
vulnerability reduction to natural hazards and has been supporting disaster
reduction activities related to the transportation sector. Prior to Hurricane
Mitch the OAS/DSD approached the Central American Secretariat for Economic
Integration (SIECA) and COMITRAN on the need to begin a systematic evaluation of
the Pan American Highway to natural hazards.
Following that disastrous event, and
as part of the U.S. Government’s interagency support of reconstruction
activities in the affected countries, which are coordinated by the USAID, the
OAS/DSD approached the U.S, Department of Transportation (USDOT) for financial
support studies on the disaster reduction of the Central America transportation
sector. One component of those studies is a the preparation of a document to
identify existing and potential mechanisms for mutual assistance in case of
damage to infrastructure and vulnerability reduction of the transportation
sector in Central America. This study also forms part of OAS/DSD’s support of
the implementation of the Western Hemisphere Transportation Initiative (WHTI)
through is action plan adopted at the WHTI meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana in
December 1998.
287Kb -
580 pages
Following the El Niño occurrence of 1982-83, the member states of the
Organization of American States (OAS) expressed the need for technical cooperation in
natural hazard management. In response, the Department of Regional Development and
Environment (DRDE) initiated the Natural Hazard Project with support from the Office of
Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) of the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID).
The need for this book became clear through field work and discussions with
planning agency counterparts and representatives of other development assistance agencies.
Great strides were made in the past two decades in emergency preparedness and response,
but up to now insufficient attention has been paid to reducing the vulnerability of
existing and planned development. After seven years of field work, it is now possible to
prepare this synthesis of OAS experience with this neglected subject.
7,700Kb - 520 pages
Regardless of their size, their location, or the degree of development of the
country in which they are situated, river basins play an important role in the economic
life of their countries. This becomes even more important when flood-caused losses of
capital goods and production and service capacity, especially in major economic sectors
such as agriculture, energy, and transportation are taken into account. It is the
variability of water resources and its effects on the socioeconomic infrastructure that
make the relationship between river-basin management and environmental management so
pertinent to sustainable development.
With the support of the Secretariat of Water Resources of the Brazilian Ministry
of Environment, Water Resources, and Legal Amazonia, experts from these economic sectors
and specialists in the environment, planning, and flood mitigation met in Foz do Iguaçu
to deal with this topic. The conclusions and recommendations of the Seminar-Workshop on
Reduction of the Vulnerability of the Agriculture, Energy, and Transportation Sectors to
Floods in River Basins are presented in this publication.
1,330Kb - 153 pages
In the context of the institutional arrangements set up in Santa Cruz de la
Sierra, Bolivia, the Secretary General of the Organization American States was given the
mandate to submit a report on progress attained in the implementation of the initiatives
of the Plan of Action on Sustainable Development. The report, to be made available prior
to the 1998 Summit of the Americas, was intended as a follow-up on the commitments entered
into in Bolivia. This paper is in compliance with the coordinating and follow-up roles
entrusted to the OAS.
224Kb - 50 pages
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