Disaster Risk Reduction Country Document for Suriname, 2014 February 2017 National Coordination Center for Disaster Relief (NCCR)
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1 Disaster Risk Reduction Country Document for Suriname, 2014 February 2017 National Coordination Center For Disaster Relief (NCCR) National coordination: National Coordination Center For Disaster Relief (NCCR) Colonel Jerry Slinjgard, Coordiantor NCCR Uno Kranenburg, Director NCCR Regional coordination: Alexcia Cooke, UNISDR Author: Maggie Schmeitz Cover photo: provided by NCCR This document covers humanitarian aid activities implemented with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of the European Union, and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. ECHO UNISDR European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Protection Department Reduction Office for Central America and the Caribbean Regional office for the Americas Managua, Nicaragua Ciudad del Saber (Clayton), Panamá Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] URL: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/ URL: http://www.eird.org/ http://www.dipecholac.net/ http://www.unisdr.org/americas 2 Message from government authorities Reducing the risks that are associated with disasters is a crucial and literally life-saving aspect within the broad range of issues around disaster preparedness and management. That is why NCCR, the National Coordination Center for Disaster Management, embraces the old Surinamese saying of “Dringi dresi wakti siki”; take precautionary measures to prevent and be resilient against diseases! This report, the Country Document on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is a key part of the efforts to indeed increase Suriname's preparedness and resilience against potential disasters. While we can be considered a “blessed country” which does not have a history of recurrent, devastating, natural or man-made disasters, that does definitely not mean that we should not be prepared and cautious of them. To the contrary, disaster risks are increasing exponentially, anywhere in the world, due to a variety of reasons. To name only a few of these reasons: increased urbanization and population density, expansion of technology, infrastructure and traffic, intensified use of chemicals and pollutants, faster river and coastal erosion, ecosystem degradation, and last but certainly not least: climate change that will threaten not only our current but also our future generations. At the same time, knowledge and experiences on how to effectively prevent, mitigate or adapt to the new challenges is also increasing exponentially. Countries, and all actors concerned with disaster risk reduction, learn from each other and support each other. This report, the Suriname Country Document on DRR, is a fine example and tool for that. The report provides thorough insight and understanding of Suriname's status of preparedness, identifying and analyzing the full range of influencing factors including the legal, policy and institutional framework, vulnerabilities but also capacities for disaster risk reduction. Two districts, that to a large extend can stand model for Suriname's risks and risk reduction preparedness, have been analyzed in even more detail in order to show the actors, the processes and the actual risky circumstances or behavior in daily life. A number of key recommendations are also provided, guiding us towards priority action to be taken. The process of reporting in itself has been a very useful one. The thorough and broad consultations that have been undertaken as part of the reporting process, provide important input and energy to our further DRR understanding and efforts. NCCR is therefore particularly grateful towards Ms. Maggie Schmeitz, the consultant who conscientiously prepared this report. We also sincerely thank all actors involved in the reporting for their valuable inputs, comments and recommendations. Not only Suriname will learn from this analysis but also other countries in the Caribbean and Latin- American region where there are comparable circumstances and conditions. Similar reports have been made in other Caribbean countries, as part of the regional efforts for strengthening disaster risk reduction, supported by the Disaster Preparedness program of the Humanitarian Aid Department and Civil Protection of the European Commission (DIPECHO) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). NCCR highly appreciates this support which is crucially necessary for us as a developing country with multiple challenges. The staff of UNISDR has been instrumental in realizing the reporting process. Aware of its responsibilities, NCCR will seek to progressively implement the key recommendations coming forth from this report. In doing so, continued cooperation, knowledge sharing, mutual support and technical and financial assistance will be imperative. The energy and positive experiences rendered during the development of this report provides us with much confidence! Paramaribo, November 2016 Col. Jerry Slijngard Coordinator NCCR 3 Contents Figures ..................................................................................................................................................... 5 Tables ...................................................................................................................................................... 5 1. Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... 8 2. List of acronyms ............................................................................................................................ 12 3. INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL CONTEXT FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION .............................. 15 3.1 Global DRR and Sustainable Development Strategies .......................................................... 15 3.2 Regional DRR and Sustainable Development Strategies ...................................................... 17 4. NATIONAL CONTEXT ..................................................................................................................... 19 4.1 Physical Environment ............................................................................................................ 19 4.1.1 Geographic Location ..................................................................................................... 19 4.1.2 Physiography ................................................................................................................. 19 4.1.3 Climate .......................................................................................................................... 21 4.2 SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT ................................................................................................ 22 4.2.1 Population and Demographics ...................................................................................... 22 4.2.2 The economy ................................................................................................................. 23 4.2.3 Poverty and Unemployment ......................................................................................... 24 4.2.4 Most Vulnerable Groups ............................................................................................... 25 4.3 GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE ................................................................................................... 26 4.3.1 Political Structure and Organization ............................................................................. 26 4.3.2 Local Government and Levels of Decentralization ....................................................... 28 4.3.3 Coordination Mechanisms between State and Non-Governmental ............................ 29 4.4 DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT ..................................................................................................... 29 4.4.1 National Development Objectives ................................................................................ 29 5. THE COUNTRY’S DISASTER RISK REDUCTION LEGAL, NORMATIVE AND INSTITUTIONAL PROFILE 31 5.1 Legal Framework ................................................................................................................... 31 5.1.1 Constitution................................................................................................................... 31 5.1.2 Laws and Legally Binding Provisions ............................................................................. 31 5.1.3 Major Gaps in Legislation .............................................................................................. 34 5.2 POLICY FRAMEWORK ............................................................................................................ 34 5.2.1 Policy Instruments for Disaster Risk Reduction Technical and Political Decision Making 34 5.2.2 Public Policies ................................................................................................................ 35 5.3 INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK............................................................................................... 36 5.3.1 Organization of the National System and Mechanisms at all Levels ............................ 36 5.3.2 National Plans and their Implementation ..................................................................... 41 6. THE STATE OF DISASTER RISK IN THE COUNTRY ........................................................................... 43 4 6.1 HISTORICAL DISASTER ANALYSIS..........................................................................................