UNESCO CCT Initiative: Reduction of Natural Disasters in Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean A Final Report on The UNESCO Cross-Cutting Theme Initiative: Reduction of Natural Disasters in Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean A UNESCO International Initiative to Promote Human Security and Sustainable Development by Reducing the Impact of Natural Disasters March 2004 Final Report UNESCO CCT Initiative: Reduction of Natural Disasters in Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean “The toll from natural disasters is particularly severe and tragic in poor countries. In dealing with the hazards, we need to act in a responsible manner. We need to place far greater emphasis on prevention across the whole continuum of hazards faced by humanity - ranging from natural to man-made disasters and including threats to civil and international peace.” Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO at the opening ceremony of the initiative’s mid-term meeting in Paris, France “It is our right to have safe schools! We do not build our school buildings. However, if they are very weak, the earthquake will destroy them and kill us. Why should we, the children, die from weakness that others create? It is not our fault but the fault of those who build those structures. So, we request our parents and teachers to build safe houses and school buildings for us!” Sony Maharjan, Kathmandu student representative Sony Maharjan, Kathmandu student representative, at the initiative’s final symposium in Tijuana, Mexico Final Report UNESCO CCT Initiative: Reduction of Natural Disasters in Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean Preface Cities are growing rapidly, and so is their risk to natural disasters. According to the US Office for Foreign Disaster Attention, the population of the world’s 50 largest earthquake-threatened cities in 1950 was of 150 million people. In 2000, that population was almost 500 million, that is, more than three times the number in 1950. However, the number of people at risk has not only augmented, but the distribution of that population has changed as well. While in 1950, one in every two people living in earthquake threatened cities were in developing countries, in 2000 nine of every ten lived in developing countries. Currently, nine of every ten people killed by earthquakes die in developing countries. When all types of natural hazards are considered, it is estimated than more than 95% of people killed by natural disasters die in developing countries. Evidence shows that urban risk is increasing rapidly, especially in developing countries. Rapid, poorly planned urban growth increases risk to natural disasters. UN-Habitat studies indicate that almost 180,000 people are added to the urban population each day. Informal construction and settlements, lack of enforcement of appropriate codes and regulations for both structures and infrastructure, uncontrolled use of soils and unplanned location of social and economic activities contribute to the steep increase of the urban physical and social vulnerabilities to natural hazards, especially in developing countries. Currently, over 90% of population growth in developing countries is in cities and, according to World Bank estimates, one third of people in developing countries living in cities live in slum/squatter settlements. Clearly, risk is increasing rapidly, especially in developing countries, and that risk increase is mainly the result of the rapid and unplanned growth of urban areas. There is a close linkage between development and disasters. Poverty results in social and physical vulnerability to disasters, which is made evident by the fact that in any given natural disaster the most affected are always the poorest communities. In the same way, disasters generate and perpetuate poverty by causing huge financial losses and destroying infrastructure. In Bangladesh, just one flood destroyed 15,000 km of roads, 14,000 schools, and caused US$ 500 million in damage to rice crops. There is, therefore, a vicious circle of poverty causing increasing vulnerability to natural disasters and disasters causing increasing poverty. Poverty Losses Vulnerability Disaster The close linkage between poverty and disasters generate a vicious circle In consequence, any initiative that reduces poverty will reduce the effect of disasters and, similarly, any action that mitigates the impact of disasters will help to reduce poverty and promote development. From this perspective, it is only logical for risk reduction to be an integral part of public policy, urban planning, and development processes. That is what the UNESCO Cross-Cutting Theme Initiative was about. The goal of this initiative was to promote and protect development and reduce poverty by reducing the losses caused by natural disasters through the incorporation of risk management in urban planning and development processes. Final Report UNESCO CCT Initiative: Reduction of Natural Disasters in Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean One of the main end products of this project was a set of recommendations to the local governments on normative actions that should be undertaken in terms of urban planning and citizen empowerment in order to enhance disaster reduction and, in this way, protect development. To achieve its goal, the initiative worked in close collaboration with local authorities, experts, and institutions of selected cities in Asia and Latin America to a) evaluate the cities’ existing development plans and determine their potential impact on the level of urban earthquake risk, b) utilize the cities’ growth tendencies (demographic, economic) to estimate future earthquake risk if urban growth continues with the current characteristics (without risk management considerations), and c) identify feasible, effective mitigation options for each participating city and perform cost-benefit analyzes to determine the most efficient risk reduction activities for each particular city. The cities selected for the project were Antofagasta (Chile), Dehradun (India), Kathmandu (Nepal), and Tijuana (Mexico). Besides producing urban planning mitigation options tailored to the particular needs and implementation capacity of each city, which are being incorporated into the cities’ development plans, the project increased local capacity by installing risk assessment tools in the computer systems of the local governments and training city official and local experts on the use and application of those tools to urban planning. Also, the project increased public awareness through the active participation of city institutions and representatives of the various sectors of the community throughout the project and a collaborative interaction with the local mass media. Understanding that effective reduction of urban risk requires long-term efforts that produce permanent solutions and that sustainable implementation of long-term programs will only be possible when there is a well-established culture of preparedness and planning, this initiative implemented demonstration projects with schools in the participating cities. The aim of these demonstration projects was two-fold. In the short-term, the objective was to promote the introduction of risk reduction and management in the educational system of the participating cities, and, in this way, contribute to the long-term objective of creating a culture of prevention. Both objectives are set with the necessary consequential goal of ensuring the sustainability of long-term risk reduction programs. As Coordinator of this initiative, I would like to highlight the hard work and enthusiasm of the working groups in the participating cities, where local government officials, scientists, and city institutions collaborated very closely to make the most of this effort. All the material presented in this report is the product of their dedication and commitment to their cities’ safety and development. My special thanks go to Ms. Cynthia Cardona, who assisted me in the implementation of this project and whose bright and tireless work made possible the successful implementation, in a relatively short time, of this initiative in four cities of two continents and using two languages. Finally, I would like to thank Ms. Elina Palm, Head of the UN- International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) Office for Latin America and the Caribbean for coming to the rescue when the implementation of the project’s final symposium was lacking the necessary funds. The impact of the project has been felt immediately. The representatives of the Kathmandu City Government to the project’s mid-term meeting in Paris expressed: “The beauty of this project is that we, the staff of the city government, performed the assessment of Kathmandu’s risk and we now understand what is making our city vulnerable to earthquakes. Thus, we now can act accordingly.” It is my sincere hope that many other local governments and communities will use this methodology to understand their cities’ risk and take actions to protect the lives of their citizens and the development of their societies. Carlos Villacis Program Coordinator UNESCO/ISDR Consultant Final Report UNESCO CCT Initiative: Reduction of Natural Disasters in Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean Project Participants Coordinators Carlos A. Villacis, Program Coordinator Cynthia N. Cardona, Assistant Program Coordinator Antofagasta Working Group Tijuana Working Group Municipality of Antofagasta Municipality of Tijuana Caupolicán Aguirre Luis Duarte M. Joel Becerra