HEMISPHERIC PLAN FOR DISASTER REDUCTION IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION AREA

I. 	INTRODUCTION

If we inquire as to which aspect of the management of disasters could most significantly reduce the loss of human lives and the material damage caused by disasters, we can conclude with certainty that it is the knowledge, values, and attitudes of communities regarding the phenomena that threatens them, their causes, potential effects, and mitigation measures. 

Unfortunately, during the past few decades, the inhabitants of the western hemisphere have developed urbanization, production, consumption, and housing practices, most of which are completely devoid of a sense of the ecological balance that should exist on our planet.  Consequently, our communities have become highly vulnerable to natural and man-made hazards, which unfortunately predominate our hemisphere today. 

However, we can state, almost without exception, that it is possible that these practices be modified or replaced such that, instead of generating vulnerabilities, we participate in the decision-making leading to the construction of safer living conditions for the community, the adoption of concepts of sustainable development and general compatibility with our environment. 

There exists, therefore, a hope that the current situation can change since, as humans we have this capability, which can be achieved through awareness of the cause-and-effect principle and how this is relevant to the management of disasters.   Thus, if we come to discover that there exist constructive practices which increase the vulnerability of our communities regarding certain types of hazards, we can replace these practices by others which offer greater promises of protection. 

In order to achieve this, it is necessary to shape communities so that they develop attitudes and skills which make it possible for them to become aware of the problems and undertake actions in order to solve them. 

This component of the Hemispheric Plan addresses the subject of Citizen Participation and its sustainability, placing special emphasis on subjects such as citizen participation, community organization, links between risk and environmental management, encompassed by the main goal of empowerment. 

II. 	PURPOSE

To develop strategies and instruments that make it possible for the communities of the western hemisphere to gain knowledge, values, and attitudes, and develop skills inherent to a preventative culture facing natural hazards and vulnerabilities.

III. 	OBJECTIVE

To produce sustainable actions of risk and disaster management - based on experiences or initiatives related to training - that incorporate the objectives of public awareness, dissemination of information, and community training programs, and founded on the understanding that community organizations are jointly responsible, along with specialized agencies, such as local governments, civil or equivalent defense, and related organizations, for the mitigation and monitoring of, the preparedness for, and the alert and response to such disasters.

IV. 	STRATEGIES

-	To define a national policy with contributions from the central and local governments, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGO’s), the private sector, and the community, especially in the fields of civil defense, education, health, and environment. This can be accomplished in political forums at the local, national, or hemispheric level, where a culture of prevention can be promoted. 

-	To develop community training programs. One option is to link programs that teach reduction risk with public information programs administered by governmental or non-governmental entities devoted to disaster reduction, civil defense and environmental awareness. The interaction among the different social players exposed to training activities are opportunities to create or strengthen alliances and projects that encourage specific groups so they can become an active force in risk reduction in their communities.

-	To incorporate the mass media in the formulation of risk and disaster management programs. The entities in charge of disaster management should promote open and permanent communications with the media. The training activities on this subject matter should include the participation of specialized institutions as well as the media. 

-	To reinforce local structures in order to promote community development for the purpose of improving risk and disaster management in each community. 

-	To improve legal frameworks, and when necessary, to utilize existing legal instruments to recognize the new scope of actions, the organizational and social progress, and citizen participation. 

-	To promote the participation of citizens with the intention that they assume their role of responsibility for their personal safety, their belongings, and their environment. 

-	Community organizations should be recognized by the authorities as legitimate local agents. Citizen participation in the reduction of vulnerabilities implies the creation of cultural conditions and political participation that continually contributes to the improvement of the community, permanently preserved and promoted by all its citizens. 

-	To increase the participation of the private sector in risk and disaster management, both within businesses hoping to increase profitability, and towards the labor community in order to increase the safety of workers. 

V. 	METHODOLOGY

In order to best discuss the topics, the Citizen Participation area has been divided into four sub-areas:

A. 	Public Awareness.
B.   Training for the alert, monitoring, assistance, and recovery of communities.
C.	The role of government agencies, NGO’s, the private sector, and the community in risk and disaster management.
D.	Risk and disaster management in the context of the interaction between “quality of life”, “environment”, and “sustainability.” 

VI. 	SUB-AREAS

A. 	PUBLIC AWARNESS

General Objective

The main purpose is to change the attitudes and behaviors of the population in general and of the specific sectors involved, regarding disaster risks and their consequences.

Specific Objective

To raise the level of awareness of the population regarding risks, in addition to specific mitigation and prevention measures. 

Strategies to follow at the national and local levels.

a)	Definition of the message and the desired attitude. 
b)	Identification of the specific sectors that should receive this message. 
c)	Organization of the dissemination campaign for these sectors. 
d)	Identification of institutions, organizations, or authorities who can or should be part of a common strategy to disseminate the message. Development of a joint plan of action. 
e)	Election of the appropriate media (via continuous drafting).
f)	Evaluation of the impact of the campaign through surveys (the drafting follows the same).

Proposals

1)	Proposal for community education (of the educational, business, and political sectors, among others)

a. 	Information: regarding natural hazards and mitigation measures (utilizing all the media and groups/audiences possible with the message specifically directed towards each group). 

b.	Coordination and Communication: between sectors so that everyone knows the abilities, capacities, resources, and experience of each player in order to optimize response capacity  to a disaster situation. 

c.	Training of Technicians and Professionals: who can serve as facilitators of and contributors to part “a” in all the sectors of part “b.”

d.	Community Education: to execute an aggressive plan in high-risk communities so its residents will learn what a disaster is; how to identify their specific vulnerabilities; how to identify their particular community resources (human and material) with which the community is able to face these vulnerabilities; and how to prepare and execute a Community Plan for Emergencies. IMPORTANT: The International Federation of Red Cross Societies and “Red Media Luna”  finance a campaign entitled, “It Is Better to Prevent...” in 9 countries of Latin America with funds from the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO). The Dominican Committee on Disaster Mitigation in the Caribbean (an offspring of  the Caribbean Disaster Mitigation Project of OFDA/USAID and the OAS) has already held more than 300 community workshops on disaster preparedness at the national level through more than 30 NGO’s with positive and concrete results. 

e.	Execution of Vulnerability Reduction Community Works: upon participating in the Disaster Preparedness Community Workshop, many communities create relief and rescue committees, either reactivating or establishing them, and carry out works such as building retention walls, and improving rain drainage, among others. Upon getting resources for cofinancing community initiatives, it is possible to carry out the necessary work to reduce vulnerability which otherwise would not be possible. While materials (cement. Sand. Stone, etc.) are provided, the community is usually required to contribute the labor, food for the workers, technical assistance, and to obtain the necessary work permits from the state. This makes it possible for the community to become responsible for the work, to be trained in its construction, and to remain positioned to increase its knowledge, as well as to arrange for outside support for desired additional work. 

2)	The entities in charge of disaster management at the national or local level should promote good and open relations with the press, radio, and television. This can be accomplished through short seminars, meetings with the media, press releases of pertinent information, and work with communication and journalism schools. In addition, public information government officials from different ministries should be trained and committees formed to provide information regarding risk and information management, during and after the impact of a disaster. 

3)	Take advantage of the time immediately following a disaster, whether large or small in scope, to carry out information campaigns directed towards the affected communities, institutions, and responsible authorities, or  to the population in general. 

4)	The interested parties should efficiently share information on models of excellence, appropriate practices, and successful cases of innovative educational materials focused on children and the general public in order to systematically implement these campaigns. 

5)	The development of activities of the Regional Information Center on Disasters for Latin America and the Caribbean (CRID), located in Costa Rica, and the growing Regional Information System on Disasters play important roles in the systematization and circulation of information and existing documentation. The conferences, electronic exchanges, publications that summarize positive initiatives, and contacts in this field, as well as national emergencies and disaster management organizations, and regional or national documentation and exchange centers, are all fundamental elements by which different countries and communities can implement  their own versions of prevention and mitigation programs. 

6)	It is important to promote formal and informal exchange networks that stem from the activities of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR), the Caribbean Disaster Mitigation Project (CDMP) of the OAS/USAID, as well as from programs sponsored by ECHO, the International Federation of Red Cross Societies, and Partners of the Americas, among others. 

Activities

Museums of science and technology, history, anthropology, theaters, parks and other areas of high attendance should be used to show progress in prevention, mitigation and preparedness, as well as the effects of natural and man-made phenomena, and the conditions of vulnerability, while giving priority to the phenomena common to the respective countries and regions. 

B. 	TRAINING FOR THE ALERT, MONITORING, ASSISTANCE, AND RECOVERY OF COMMUNITIES

Introduction

The promotion in the hemisphere of the necessary conditions for the incorporation of communities into risk and disaster management should be based on the consideration that communities are not subject to such management, but fundamental players in the process.

In order to strengthen the capacity of communities to reduce the vulnerability of the  lives of its residents, their property, and the environment in light of the occurrence of socio-natural disasters, training programs should be developed that make it possible for the community to acquire knowledge and to develop skills in the areas of prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.

In order to ensure the involvement of communities in this process, efforts should be made to encourage, along with community action, the organization of sustainable community structures that are able to interact in the processes of decision-making, promotion, dissemination, and application of local prevention programs of mitigation and disaster preparedness.

With the above considerations in mind, the importance of the role of education must not be underestimated. Therefore it is necessary to promote the implementation of training programs in the community educational systems, through which it will be possible for members to learn to reduce their own vulnerability. Furthermore, these programs can be used as a forum in which to transfer knowledge and experiences that will enhance the ability of communities to assume the roles that they will be expected to fulfill when faced with emergencies and disasters.

Schools can offer the community resources and space for planning and training activities on critical subjects, such as the implementation of warning systems, the preparation of risk maps, and steps to take in the face of a probable disaster. Parents can be instructed in community watch strategies that are used in monitoring the hazards to which they are exposed. Schools can play an important role in teaching the management of risks and disasters such as it is promoted by agencies that are specialized in the field.

It is the responsibility of the organizations that specialize in emergency and disaster response to effectively incorporate the communities and their members into the decision-making, planning, and execution processes of the prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery plans related to socio-natural disasters. Similarly, community organizations, with widespread participation, should assume the responsibility for the creation of mechanisms to avoid or to control hazards, to reduce vulnerability, and to act with greater capacity in assistance and recovery when destructive events become unavoidable.

Objectives

-	To strengthen the capacity of communities to participate effectively in the processes of socio-natural disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. 

-	To train the personnel of governmental and non-governmental agencies that are involved in risk and disaster management. 

Strategies

-	To promote the organization of community structures that are capable of assuming the management of vulnerability reduction programs, including their promotion, dissemination, and implementation.  

-	To design training programs that contribute to the acquisition of knowledge and the development of skills needed for participation in the risk prevention and mitigation processes. 

-	To expand the coverage of training programs, directing them not only to members of the communities, but to the rest of the social players involved in the risk and disaster management processes, including both public and private organizations. 

-	To develop different and specific training strategies that are appropriate to the respective sectors of the society towards which the training is directed. 

-	To ensure that the teaching materials utilized in training activities for the communities contain sufficient information and is pertinent to the natural disasters specific to their environment. 

-	To create mechanisms of coordination and mutual assistance among the different public and private agencies that are involved in the community training such that the adequate implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the risk prevention and mitigation activities is permitted. 

-	To establish sources of financing that make it possible to expand the coverage of the training programs.

Activities

AAA) Training program for the preparation of prevention plans and evacuation of educational buildings in the event of earthquakes.

Activity proposed by FUNDAPRIS, Venezuela.
Contact: Fernando Bellandi, Telefax: (58 74) 442076 - 401338. E-mail: bellandi@ciens.ula.ve

Executive summary:

In several educational institutions in the city of Mérida, Venezuela, evacuation simulations have been carried out which have been coordinated by the personnel of FUNDAPRIS and Civil Defense.  These have been based on a relatively simple procedure, which has permitted its effective implementation in these institutions.

In order to expand the scope of this program, a methodology designed for teachers of basic education has been proposed, through the utilization of a program manual and advisory services from the organizations of emergency control and prevention. In the case of earthquakes, using these resources, a program of prevention and evacuation can be prepared and implemented in their own educational institutions.

Objective:

To write and publish a program manual that contains all the information necessary to develop prevention and evacuation plans for earthquake risks to educational buildings.

To hold training workshops for primary school teachers to assist them in their understanding of the information in the manual, and in implementing prevention and  evacuation plans.

BBB) Program of the Civil Defense of Schools.

Activity proposed by the National Civil Defense System of Panama.
Contact: Dr. Roberto Velásquez, Tel. 2325101. Fax: 2325108. e-mail: snpe@Panamá.phoenix.net.

Executive summary:

To develop this project an organizational structure was designed; a National Committee integrating governmental institutions and NGO’s, and a similar Committee in every province working to carry out the monitoring, evaluation, and sustainability of the program in the provincial schools. Once this structure was in place, each Provincial Committee selected schools, based on their vulnerability and number of students, where 5 teachers were trained to coordinate the School Committees. This project included 38 educational centers.

Every coordinator organizes its own group where students, professors, parents, and administrative staff are trained by officers of institutions that are participating in the Committee. Each school prepares an emergency or disaster plan that is tested through simulations which are carried out periodically. This effort strives to reduce the vulnerability of the educational sector.

Objective:

The organization of Civil Protection of Schools in each educational center in the country for the prevention and mitigation of, and response to disasters.

CCC) Curriculum and  training aspects for the education sector in disaster reduction – vulnerability.

Activity proposed by: the Ministry of Education of Peru. 
Contact: Lcda. Rosario Sánchez Vidalón, Tel. 51 1 4360192, Fax: 51 1 4350711.

Executive summary:

This activity includes the following aspects: curriculum development, teacher training, and preparation of educational, printed, and audiovisual material.

As to the development of curriculum that is related to in-school formal education, disaster prevention has been a part of the curriculum structure since 1975. This has been continuously updated and improved as changes have occurred in the theories of disaster prevention.

Currently, these subjects, having been given an important role in the education of Peruvians from an early age, are maintained in the officially approved curriculum structures, as well as in those in the process of modernization. In terms of teacher training, it is worth indicating that in the Disaster Prevention Programs (previously, Bureau of Mobilization and Civil Defense), such training activities on the preparation of schools against disasters are schedules for 1997 in cities with high vulnerability: Nasca, Chincha, Huancayo, Tumbes, and Tacna. In the following years, through 2000, training will continue throughout the country. This procedure has been applied for budgetary reasons since the financing of the program comes from resources of the Ministry of Education.

Printed educational material (methodological guide, manual, etc.) are basic methodological instruments that assist in teaching disaster prevention. The audiovisual material (television spots, documentaries, etc.) will strengthen the educational programming, and raise the awareness on the subject of the educational community and the community at large.

Objective:

To reduce the degree of vulnerability of the educational community to hazards or dangers in their environment.

DDD) Strengthening the national program of conservation and maintenance through the reinforcement of the emergency control module of the preventative maintenance program.

Activity proposed by the Fundación de Edificaciones y Dotaciones Educativas, FEDE of Venezuela. 
Contact: Arq. Marieva Payares R./ María Santamaría D., Tel. 58 2 316064

Executive Summary:

The maintenance management carried out by FEDE is based on combating risk factors through the application and dissemination of the National Program for Conservation and Maintenance which represents a synthesis of our experience in this area. Its fundamental objective is to reestablish an educational facility to its optimal conditions of operation and safety, guaranteeing its maintenance, through a process of co-management between the state, regional, and local governments, private companies, and educational communities.

Along this line, the first steps were initiated towards the promotion of pedagogical and participatory programs with emphasis in the area of citizen participation, in order to promote a sense of ownership of the educational facility among the members of the communities, and to form an awareness of the importance of its active participation in the tasks of maintenance and risk mitigation. To strengthen this formative action, techniques and procedures were investigated and developed that made it possible to transmit practical knowledge to the communities on where, how, and when to do maintenance and how to plan for emergencies in a simple, organized, and practical manner. This practice led to the Manuals on Maintenance of the School Building. They were conceived of to be used as a practical guide by people with little or no previous experience, and from which they can learn to carry out inspections, services, minor repairs, and coordination of corrective repairs. The objective of these manuals is to teach the educational community a basic knowledge and certain procedures that help to guarantee the safety and the smooth operation of the components of the educational facility, providing appropriate techniques to be implemented once the maintenance programs have been established. 

Objective:

To train the educational communities so that they are able to participate in the emergency maintenance and control processes.

To incorporate the different governmental entities that, at the national, regional, and local level, invest human, economic, and material resources in the maintenance of educational infrastructure with private enterprises interested in contributing to the process. This joining of forces and coordination of technical criteria will lead to an increase in the number of buildings that are incorporated into the program, guaranteeing high quality maintenance of the school buildings and the physical safety of those who use them.

EEE)	From school to home, to the community, to save lives (ECHO)

Project  agreement between the Ministry of Education and Culture and the National Directorate of Civil Defense, with support of the Program for Emergency Preparedness  from Partners of the Americas.
Contact: Mr. Fausto Moncayo/ Hugo Velasco, Tel. 593 2 590097.

Executive Summary:

A. The fundamental objective of the project is to help in the preparation of the school, the home, and the community to be able to face risks, emergencies, and disasters. 

B. The principal activities:  in the process of project development are: a) promotion of the project among the institutions and other groups that will participate; b) definition of the plan of action for each year; c) training of teachers and students; d) implementation of home training visits (e) on the part of each student who participates in the project; f) evaluation of the work carried out by the students (in sessions at the end of the visits).

C. Results obtained: Up to this point, 5,000 teachers have been trained, and 11,304 students have participated in the project. They have benefited nearly 30,000 homes with an average residence of five members per house. In addition, there exists a positive relationship among the authorities of the institutions that promote the project and other agencies that offer possibilities for its extension.

Objective: 

The main goal, from the very beginning of the project, was to take advantage of the capacity and potential of the students from high school and junior high. The students are required by ministerial directive to contribute 200 working hours to community projects. By offering them the subject of civil defense as an option, they can fulfill their obligation to the Ministry of Education and Culture and contribute to the project at the same time.

With this sizable number of young people working on the subject, once trained by its professors and personnel specialized in emergencies, it is possible to install or strengthen the emergency plans of their respective institutions. Furthermore, each student can offer training to the members of three households in their community in how to identify emergency risks and resources, and how to design plans for disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness. The possibilities of increasing training and communication with the general population are enormous.

FFF) Training the education sector in vulnerability reduction. 

Activity proposed by the Ministry of Education of Panama.
Contact: Adilia Olmedo de Pérez. Tel: 507 2623632 Fax: 507 2621576.

Executive summary: 

Project development is carried out under the coordination of the National Directorate of Environmental Education of the Ministry of Education and the Program of School Civil Defense of the National Civil Defense System with the support of governmental and non-governmental organizations (Red Cross, ANCOM Firefighters, Ministry of Health and others). The processes of implementing, sustaining, monitoring, and evaluating the program will be carried out through the regional committees. 

It has been planned to follow up on the education centers based on their vulnerability, student population, and teaching and administrative staff. In addition to the insertion of School Civil Defense component in the different educational levels modes, the following teaching material will be prepared: guidelines of school civil defense, posters, bulletins, pamphlets, and other documents. 

The strengthening of the knowledge and practices of the educational community through training days (simulations, evacuations, first aid) and distance training will continue. 

Objective: 

To stress to the community the importance of a program for emergencies, and that every educational center should be geared towards reducing the vulnerability of the education sector. 

GGG) Preparation of the School Emergency Plan of 26 educational centers of District 6 - capital city. 

Activity proposed by the Army of Nicaragua - Civil Defense.
Contact: Ricardo José Ramos López. Tel. 505 2 2773822 - 2774534. Fax: 505 2 2774681. 

Executive Summary: 

-	Coordination meetings with institutions and organizations that will participate in the advisory services for preparation of the School Emergency Plans. 
-	Coordination with agencies and institutions that will be part of the School Emergency Plan. 
-	Preparation of the School Emergency Plan. 
-	Review and approval of the School Emergency Plan. 
-	Evaluation of the School Emergency Plan. 

Objective:

To minimize vulnerability of 26 educational centers in District 6 of the capital city.

C. ROLE OF GOVERNMENTAL AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES, THE PRIVATE SECTOR, AND THE COMMUNITY IN RISK ASSESSMENT AND THE MANAGEMENT OF DISASTERS. 

Background: 

National and international organizations in the hemisphere have become aware of the existence of a large number of actors and agents, both public and private, that are related to the subjects of risk and disaster management. This awareness has shed light on the duplication of functions, deficiencies, and contradictory activities that are being implemented, leading to the inefficient use of financial, technical, and human resources.

In this arena the interaction of actors, as well as technical, legal, and financial instruments, is marked by conflicts of interest.

Governmental Agencies

Due to the implementation of neoliberal policies in recent years, important reforms have been implemented regarding governmental management.

As part of a political discourse surrounding the inefficiency of governmental administration and its lack of legitimacy, governments have been promoting a “new administrative rationality,” that will increase the productivity of the state by reducing  the state apparatus and decentralizing (delegating power in such a way as to give an active role to local governments, civil society and the private sector). Consequently, the role of the state and its institutions are changing; the systems of domination, regulation, and control are being revised, reformed, or adapted to the new international order.

It is in this context, and with consideration of the increase in the number and severity of disasters in recent years, especially in developing countries, that the different governments of the region have created national systems of civil defense, civil protection, and disaster prevention.  Among the goals of these governments has been to promote the incorporation of the prevention and mitigation of disasters into the economic and social planning of the respective nations, as well as to define the functions of the institutions at the national, regional and local level that are responsible for these activities.

These systems have been created so that their actions are carried out by local governmental institutions that focus on disaster prevention and relief. These institutions are connected to other public or private sector institutions with experience in the subject. However, the operation of the national systems at the local level has had drawbacks. The persistence of a paternalistic vision and centralization, on the one hand, and the lack of coordination and duplicity of actions of some institutions at the local level, on the other, make it necessary to review and to redefine the responsibilities and functions of the initial proposal.

Within this framework, there is almost a consensus on the need to point out the “bureaucratic culture” that exists among public workers. Such a bureaucracy frequently acts as an obstacle to citizen participation, and considers the public a mere beneficiary of a particular project, and not as a participant in its development.

In general, the governmental agencies lack effective channels, legal frameworks, and attitudes to be able to stimulate citizen decision-making initiatives. The existing bureaucratic organism, in the name of a certain self-preservation, has discouraged citizen action in, and even knowledge about, risk and disaster management .

Non-Governmental Organizations 

NGO’s have become important agents of development, responsible for common services that previously were assigned to the public sector. Though formally outside of the traditional democratic political system, these organizations are still largely controlled, informally or formally, by the state.

During these recent years, and bearing in mind a variety of perspectives, we are attending to the social construction of a proposal that reinforces the role of institutions and  their services, and re-emphasizes the importance of the environment, in terms of the life of the communities in which the NGO’s act as bridges of communication.

The Private Sector

The role of the private sector is potentially quite an important component of risk and disaster management. In spite of having been significantly affected by socio-natural threats, its active participation in prevention has rarely been considered.  In fact, on occasions, due to a lack of maintaining or observing norms of prevention, security, etc., it has even contributed to such disasters.

National and international forums in which the private sector participates (business, commercial, industrial, agricultural, mining, energy, among others), do not incorporate into their strategies the relative risks of their own actions and activities, exposing instead those to whom they are indebted for their success, the community.

In a growing awakening, countries have begun to build legislation that supports conservation of the ecosystems, pollution prevention, and industrial safety. For example, the requirement of the private sector to conduct environmental impact assessments, observe standards of earthquake-proof construction, and enact preventative measures against fires, promotes a reduction in the levels of vulnerability to natural hazards.

Investors who risk their money hoping to receive a return that more than compensates for their risk should be made aware of the returns to an investment in risk assessment and disaster prevention and mitigation. Such information will help the investor maintain a more acceptable risk, as well as give a more realistic picture of what to do (or not do) when faced with a potential event.

In an activity that was promoted at the beginning of this decade, we an example in which some companies took on the challenge of working with its employees and the neighboring industrial community to increase its security levels. This was known as the APELL process.

The private sector should assume a leading role beyond the one of paternalism and charity that is often assumed once a disaster has occurred. It should provide for its employees training in the prevention and mitigation of socio-natural hazards.  Not only will this benefit the community in terms of protection and more efficient dissemination of information, but it will also improve the company’s image, the quality of its products, and better insure its investments.

The Community

The existence of risk to our communities is determined, not only by the threat of a socio-natural event, but more importantly by the existence of social conditions of vulnerability. 

Disasters directly affect vulnerable communities. Despite the damages and losses suffered, it is the local populations that assume the immediate responsibilities for re-establishing basic conditions of survival, and that redouble their commitments - although with more limited resources - to their own rehabilitation and recovery. 

The intervention of the state, the private sector, and NGO’s in disaster situations has often been characterized as social welfare and by paternalistic actions. These groups frequently fail to limit their functions to simply aiding and strengthening the capacities of the local organizations that already exist in the community. Such a situation unfortunately has promoted the role of victim among the local populations which subsequently come to rely upon external aid in order to survive. 

Throughout history, communities have developed different strategies and mechanisms to avoid potential hazards and reduce their vulnerability. Organization, solidarity, participation, negotiation, and collective dialogue have been and are part of their cultures, and are those things which have given sustainability to their processes of consolidation and development.

A recognition of the strength of these community organizations does not exist in the government, the private sector, nor the NGO’s. This means that there is a lack of mechanisms to facilitate the communication and negotiation with, and the participation of communities and its representatives, in the decision-making processes inherent in the management of development. 

Objectives

-	To strengthen the institutional capacity of the central government, the local governments,  NGO’s, the private sector, and the community, in order to incorporate risk management into their plans and projects. 

-	To implement institutional strategies and actions aimed at establishing a harmonious local and national organization for the assessment of risk and the management of disasters. 

Proposals

1. To recognize the joint responsibility of the community, the private sector, and governmental and non-governmental organizations, for the creation of opportunities for citizen participation, the construction of consensus-building and negotiation mechanisms, the incorporation of criteria for equity and solidarity, and the development of multidisciplinary, integrated, and intersectoral approaches. 

2. To strengthen and consolidate community organization. To increase the capacity of community organizations by promoting mechanisms of technical transfer and training. To promote the recognition and involvement of these organizations in the processes of decision-making regarding the development of their communities. 

3. To strengthen the work of NGO’s. To combine the work experiences and methodologies of these organizations regarding research, advisory services, and the formulation of policies in relation to risks and disasters. This systematization will allow NGO’s to have at their disposal instruments, knowledge, and a variety of options for the development of their work. 

4. To integrate the private sector into the systems of risk assessment and disaster management. Companies should be lured to invest in activities of prevention, mitigation, preparation, and industrial safety for marketing purposes, to be able to increase their production capacity, and in order to protect their investments

5. To strengthen local systems of prevention and disaster relief with the participation of all social actors at the local level. An approach from this angle makes it possible to identify more precisely, not only the structural determinants, but also the mediations, the direct causes, the environmental, social, and even geographical and biological factors that contribute to the development of risks and vulnerabilities

6. To promote and to strengthen the relationship between the organized community, NGO’s, local governments, and central government through training activities in risk assessment and disaster management. This interinstitutional network should be coordinated at a political level, recognizing the autonomy of local actors and their capacity for self-management. All of this should be framed in the practical and legal consolidation of the National Plan of Risk Assessment and Disaster Management. 

7. To increase the level of awareness and to train decision-makers and their immediate collaborators in local and national governmental agencies, NGO’s, the private sector, and communities, on strategies of institutional strengthening for risk assessment and disaster management. 

8. To promote the generation and exchange of information needed by decision-makers and their technical support groups, through training in the assessment of risks specific to their respective jurisdictions. 

9. To retrieve, reappraise, and systematize the experiences and mechanisms that have been developed by local governments and communities, in an effort to improve and strengthen them with new proposals. The product of this combination will be utilized for training. 

Activities

AAA) Strengthening of local structures in Central America

Activity proposed  by the National Commission of Emergencies of Costa Rica.
Contact: Marco Vinicio Saborío, Tel. 506 2202020, Fax: 506 2202054.

Executive Summary: 

In Central America, governmental institutions, NGO’s, and public, local and private organizations, as well as the community in general, will strengthen their capacity in the prevention and mitigation of, the preparation for, and the response to disasters. These concepts will be incorporated through strategies and mechanisms of participation. The strengthening of structures will be accomplished through the realization of diagnostic workshops on the main hazards and risks to the respective community, along with a plan of risk assessment and disaster management that emphasizes prevention, mitigation, preparation, and response.  To be included in the above strategy is the development of a training methodology that gears itself towards the special characteristics of the community, and that focuses on public awareness and changes in attitudes regarding disasters. 

BBB) Institutional strengthening at the local level for prevention of disasters

Activity proposed by the Network of Social Studies for the Prevention of Disasters in Latin America (LA RED). 
Contact: Andrew Maskrey, Tel. 511 4475127, Fax: 511 4466621, Email:   linda@itdg.org.pe

Executive Summary: 

The objective of the project is to strengthen local capacity for the management of risks in Latin America. It is oriented towards local committees on civil defense or the equivalent,  NGO’s, community organizations, and other local actors. 

The strategy consists of selecting nine areas or vulnerable communities in nine countries in Latin America, and through agreements with their respective national systems, to implement training programs for educators utilizing methodologies and materials developed by LA RED. 

CCC) Local Initiatives of Prevention and Mitigation in the Southern Section of Costa Rica

Activity proposed by the School of Sciences of Collective Communication at the University of Costa Rica.
Contact: Marle Bermúdez Chaves, Tel. 506 207427

Executive Summary: 

The general objective is to elevate public awareness of the vulnerability to disasters in the southern part of the country in order to generate and promote local initiatives of prevention and mitigation. 

Specific objectives:

-	To identify informational needs regarding natural disasters in the project areas. 
-	To inform the population in the subjects of disaster prevention and mitigation. 
-	To support the actions of formal education and training in their efforts to build a curriculum. The result will be a document that contains a basic diagnosis of the information needs in the southern area of the country. This will serve as a basic document for the information campaign. 

DDD) Institutionalization of Risk Management in Local Governments of Latin America

Activity proposed by the Office of Urban Development for South America (USAID/RUDO) and LA RED. 
Contact: Linda Zilbert, Tel. 511 4447055, Fax: 511 4466621, E-mail: linda@itdg.org.pe

Executive Summary:

The project consists of creating or strengthening the local risk management systems of selected local governments in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Paraguay.

The main training strategies are:
 
-	directed towards the municipal staff members who will make decisions regarding the creation or strengthening of the local systems.
-	directed towards municipal training centers in order to generate sustainable processes of training in risk management at the local level.

One of the expected results is the regulation that will institutionalize local risk management systems. Another is to achieve municipal level training capacity that is able to duplicate the training process among all of the local actors.

EEE) Awareness among business management

Activity proposed by the Dominican Committee for the Reduction in Disasters
Contact: Cristina Guerrero

Executive Summary:

-	To train industrial management and tourism companies in risk management and to increase awareness of the need to train their employees, so that they might prevent damages and losses, as well as the interruption of production and/or services, in the event of a disaster.

-	To increase the level of awareness among insurance providers so that they will be able to offer coverage to businesses in case of disasters (especially educational centers).

-	To raise the level of awareness among the management of hardware stores in risks, and in the advantages of offering products to educational organizations products that are easily applied to doors, windows, shelves, electronic equipment, cylinders of gas, etc., and that will help to reduce damages and losses in the event of a disaster.

D. 	RISK ASSESSMENT AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN THE INTERACTION BETWEEN “QUALITY OF LIFE,” “ENVIRONMENT,” AND “SUSTAINABILITY”

Background

Despite the existing linkages between the management of the environment, the quality of life, and of sustainability in the context of disaster reduction (risk and disaster management), the various disciplines and entities that have been involved have traditionally been handled independently. Those who have been responsible for the management of the environment, quality of life, and sustainability generally have focused their attention towards the study (research and evaluation), intervention (planning), and control (politics) of those specific actions that affect the water, soil, air, flora, and fauna, and that have produced various imbalances, degrading the quality, not only of these elements separately, but of their interaction in the artificial/natural environment, with sustainable socio-economic development, and with life itself. In this context, human beings are usually viewed as the threatening element.

In contrast, those who have focused specifically on risk assessment and disaster management have directed most of their efforts towards the research, planning, and control of water, soil, and air, and how these elements can have a significant effect on the well-being and integrity of human beings, as well as their collective and individual properties. Indeed, when the elements of the natural environment are present in excess, or when they are completely absent, such situations occur which, when they surpass the capacity of the affected systems to self-regulate, we call “disasters.” In this case it is precisely these elements that are identified as threatening: water, soil, and air.

Natural phenomena interact with human products, and these interactions often can have negative consequences, not only on properties, but also on life itself. For example, if torrential rains occur in a watershed, the possibility of a flood will depend on the interaction of a set of natural and artificial variables that have affected or deteriorated the basin of the rivers (deforestation, erosion, change in runoff, reduction in water absorption, etc.). Similar examples can be cited with regard to the destruction of mangroves, agricultural activities, destabilization of slopes, exhaustion of aquifers, and disturbance of fragile ecological systems.

From the standpoint of causality of disasters and their risks, it can be said that human beings, in their interaction with the natural environment through building and developing artificial environments, generate conditions that exacerbate or complement natural phenomena. Such conditions can magnify the adverse effects that these phenomena can create. This type of disaster has been qualified more appropriately a “socio-natural disaster.”

Considering the current trends in environmental management, when plans are made to collectively and individually improve the quality of life and to sustain the socio-economic development of human settlements, present and future, and when these changes are not accompanied by radical changes in the practices and attitudes of the people involved, the risks of socio-natural disasters will increase: floods, landslides, avalanches, sinkholes, droughts, fires, tsunamis, and the functional and total collapse of installations. These occurrences will irreversibly affect, not only the natural environment, but also the sustainability of the development in the communities involved, as well as their respective qualities of life.

Therefore it is necessary, indeed it is vital, to articulate the crucial links between risk assessment and disaster management, and the management of the environment, quality of life, and sustainable development.

General objective

To incorporate environmentalists and politicians into the processes of risk assessment and disaster management keeping in mind a global vision of the interrelationships between the environment, sustainable development, and the quality of life in human settlements.

Specific objectives

1. 	To raise the level of awareness among the environmental and political sectors towards risk assessment and disaster management, and its relation to the quality of life, the environment, and sustainable development. 

2.	To promote mechanisms of real and effective participation of environmentalists and politicians in disaster risk management in educational centers. 

Strategies

1.	To formulate a comprehensive model that establishes the interrelationship between “environment,” “quality of life,” and “sustainability.”

2.	To investigate this model under the criteria for “risk assessment and disaster management.”

3.	To develop instruments and physical and social techniques that will permit the application of the model under the criteria for disaster risk management.

4.	To prepare an educational plan (intensive short courses) to train disaster risk managers for human settlements in accordance with their environment, sustainable development, and the progressive improvement of the quality of life of their inhabitants.

5.	To convince politicians and environmentalists that they should take this course, and act in consequence.

Activities (1)

1. 	To identify  actors, agencies, institutions, and decision-makers (environmentalists and politicians) involved in risk assessment and disaster management in the education sector. 

2.	To facilitate contact between environmental, economic, and socio-cultural groups, organizations, and associations, and the educational communities in charge of training in disaster risk management. 

3.	To develop guidelines of occupational formation in the planning, control, and assessment of the risk of disasters, directed to the actors, agencies, institutions and decision-makers (environmentalists and politicians) involved in the education sector. 

4.	To promote the development of practices adequate for the conservation and maintenance of the “natural” environment adjacent to the educational centers (rivers, gorges, channels, slopes, etc.). 

5.	To establish permanent mechanisms of communication among the environmentalist and political actors, the educational communities, and the managers of disaster risk. 

Activities (2)

1.	To organize a hemispheric forum on “Environments, Sustainable Development, and Socio-Natural Disasters,” after contacts have been made with the respective actors.

2.	To facilitate the preparation of programs for environmental education that include the following variables: quality of life, sustainable development, and disaster risk management.

3.	To prepare a hemispheric inventory of the organizations, companies, public agencies, educational institutions, etc., that are related to the environment, sustainability, quality of life, and their interrelationships within various activities: education, management, legislation, execution, etc.