A Visual Analytics Approach to Understanding Poverty Assessment Through Disaster Impacts in Latin America and Africa
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Global Pulse Rapid Impact and Vulnerability Analysis Fund Project A Visual Analytics Approach to Understanding Poverty Assessment through Disaster Impacts in Latin America and Africa U NITED N ATIONS O FFICE F O R O UTER S PACE A FFAIRS , U N O O S A A Visual Analytics Approach to Understanding Poverty Assessment through Disaster Impacts Disclaimer The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s). The publication does not imply endorsement by the Office for Outer Space Affairs or the United Nations. All contents included in this document are for informative purposes only. The Office for Outer Space Affairs cannot and does not guarantee the accuracy, accessibility, integrity and timeliness of the information gathered from the different websites and from different sources which is displayed in this document. 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They imply neither responsibility for, nor approval of, the information contained in those websites on the part of the Office for Outer Space Affairs nor the United Nations. 2 In Latin America List of Acronyms ACH Action Against Hunger (International NGO) AECI International Cooperation Agency of Spain ANACAFE National Coffee Association of Guatemala (National NGO, Guatemala) ARDs Acute Respiratory Diseases ASIES Asociación de Investigación y Estudios Sociales (National NGO, Guatemala) BANGUAT Bank of Guatemala CERF Central Emergency Response Fund (United Nations) CGIAR Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research CIA Central Intelligency Agency (United States) CONE National Emergency Committee (Guatemala) CONRED National Coordinating Agency for Disaster Reduction (Guatemala) CPI Consumer Price Index CRED Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, Belgium DESA United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs DFID Department for International Development (United Kingdom) ECLAC Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (United Nations) FAO Food and Agriculture Organization (United Nations) GATE Generic Architecture for Text Engineering GDP Gross Domestic Product GEC Global Economic Crisis GFDRR World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery GFRP Global Food Crisis Response Program (World Bank) GIS Geographical Information System GIVAS Global Impact and Vulnerability Alert System GoG Government of Guatemala GTQ Quetzal currency (Guatemala) HDI Human Development Index IADB Inter American Development Bank ICO International Coffee Organization IGSS Guatemalan Social Security Institute IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute IFRC International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies INCAP Nutrition Institute of Central America and Panama IGN National Geographic Institute (Guatemala) INE National Institute of Statistics (Guatemala) INSIVUMEH National Institute of Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology, and Hydrology (Guatemala) IOM International Organization for Migration, United Nations IO&FC International Oil and Food Crisis ISDR International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, United Nations JICA Japanese International Cooperation Agency MAGA Ministry of Agriculture, Cattle and Food (Guatemala) MARN Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Guatemala MIF-IADB Multilateral Investment Fund (Inter American Development Bank) 3 A Visual Analytics Approach to Understanding Poverty Assessment through Disaster Impacts MINEDUC Ministry of Education (Guatemala) MFEWS Mesoamerican Famine Early Warning System MSPAS Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (Guatemala) NER Named Entity Recognition NGO Non-Government Organization OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (United Nations) OWL Web Ontology Language OFDA Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, United States REDHUM Humanitarian Network RIT Rochester Institute of Technology RIVAF Rapid Impact and Vulnerability Analysis Fund SEGEPLAN Presidential Secretariat for Planning and Programming (Guatemala) SESAN Secretariat for Food Security and Nutrition (Guatemala) UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNOOSA Office for Outer Space Affairs, United Nations URL Rafael Landivar University, Guatemala US-AID Agency for International Development, United States USDA United States Department of Agriculture VBFB Vital Basic Food Basket (Guatemala) VAG Visual Analytic Globe WB World Bank WFP World Food Programme (United Nations) 4 In Latin America Summary This final report presents a summary regarding the activities conducted by UNOOSA and partners agencies in the project entitled: A Visual Analytics Approach to Understanding Poverty Assessment through Disaster Impacts in Latin America and Africa . The report comments on activities conducted thus far, results from ongoing analysis and challenges faced during the execution of the project. Upon completion of the project, it is concluded that the assessment of the impacts of the Global Economic Crisis (GEC) in countries like Guatemala requires a more in-depth analysis of pre-existing conditions, of the impacts of International Oil and Food Crisis which preceded the GEC, and regarding local conditions including those faced by the government at the time of the GEC. The project focused on the analysis of impacts of disasters to track the effects of the GEC, but the impacts related to disasters reveal the vulnerabilities which have been generated over the years or decades, and the effects of the GEC on vulnerability is often blurred by other factors including the effects of the preceding International Oil and Food Crisis, previous disasters, the pre-existing conditions regarding poverty and livelihoods. The main difficulty faced in this project was the lack of data that did not allow the research team to conduct a more precise assessment of the impacts of the GEC. While manifestations of the GEC were identified in developed countries and within the public sector of Guatemala, its impacts could not be readily detected through data and information generated by the government and other organizations, in particular due to the fact that the main factors affected by the GEC, such as unemployment and reduction in income at the local level in urban and rural communities associated with remittances from developed countries are not monitored on a monthly basis or a yearly basis. While visual analytic tools such as the Visual Analytic Globe were developed to assist researchers involved in this project in the analysis of the GEC and its effects on Guatemala and Burkina Faso, such tools did not provide an advantage in comparison to the more traditional research methods when tracking the effects of the GEC. Nevertheless, its important to recognize the usefulness of such visual analytic tools in the representation of information gathered from such an analysis, particularly as it may allow decision makers to become better aware of the differential impacts of the GEC in departments or communities throughout the country. 5 A Visual Analytics Approach to Understanding Poverty Assessment through Disaster Impacts Table of Contents I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 7 II. Theoretical Approach ..................................................................................................................................... 8 III. Results of analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 12 Guatemala ......................................................................................................................................................... 12 General trends before the GEC ..................................................................................................................... 14 The international oil and food crisis which preceded the GEC ..................................................................... 44 The Global Economic Crisis ........................................................................................................................... 50 The Global Economic Crisis and disasters ..................................................................................................... 57 Comparing disasters before and after the Global Economic Crisis ............................................................... 69 Comparing crises: the Global Economic Crisis and the International Coffee Crisis ...................................... 70 IV. Challenges faced with respect to data, information, and visual analytics ................................................... 72 Data and information ................................................................................................................................... 72 Visual Analytic Tools ..................................................................................................................................... 74 V. Conclusions .................................................................................................................................................