Living with Risk. A global review of disaster reduction initiatives

Policy and public commitment: the foundation of disaster risk reduction
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Institutional Framework
High-level programmes for
promoting prevention
Prevention plans
Prevention in development
plans and control mechanisms
gramme has been approved and organizations
in four sectors have been invited
to participate. This decision is not
backed by legislation. Individual sectors
formally decided to establish sectoral
committees. There has been a National
Civil Defense System (INDECI) since
1972 with responsibility for prevention,
emergencies and rehabilitation. In 1997,
the government decided to reactivate the
multi-sectoral ENP Study Committee, a
body that coordinates scientific institutions.
This has been maintained and the
decision has proven to be a good one. In
1998, the government transferred
responsibility for mitigation work on
rivers from INDECI to the ministry of
agriculture.
basin of the River Rimac where
Lima and eight other district
municipalities have mitigation
plans, emergency contingency
plans and risk studies with microzoning
maps. These municipalities
regularly update their plans
and keep the public informed in
what is the most advanced experiment
in local work. Lima and
eight other district municipalities
have mitigation plans, emergency
contingency plans and risk studies
with microzoning maps.
Venezuela
Following the devastating mudslides in
Vargas State in 1999, reference to prevention
concepts being incorporated as
part of development policy began to
appear in national and municipal statements.
The subject was also one of the
main concerns of senior government
spokesmen involved with reconstruction
programmes. In general, official statements
are made when events occur, and
in connection with emergency operations
if there are landslides.
Formal decisions: Important steps are
being taken to incorporate prevention in
development processes. This is most evident
in the health sector which has been
attentive to these matters
for some time, and has set up a maintenance
programme for incorporating
changes in school buildings. Immediately
after the Vargas events in 1999, the ministry
of science and technology (MCT)
formally institutionalized a disaster risk
management policy with tools for its
implementation. Financing was provided
to support risk management, preparedness
and disaster relief strategies. The national
government joined PREANDINO to
coordinate and promote these activities at
all levels, and is now working within that
framework to define strategies. Some
municipal bodies, such as those of Chacao,
Sucre, Baruta, Maracaibo, Valencia and
Alcaldia Mayor have formally decided to
proceed with the incorporation of prevention
in development management, even if
in an isolated fashion.
The MCT has set up the Risk
Management and Disaster
Reduction Programme which
takes an integral approach to
support the inclusion of risk
management into development
planning and sectoral and local
actions, despite its emphasis on
scientific development and the
introduction of technologies
into all risk management and
disaster relief processes.
PREANDINO implemented
a programme in December
2000 with objectives to coordinate
the handling of disaster
risks, to incorporate risk reduction
issues into development
policies and to support national,
sectoral and local exchanges
among countries. There are
other sectoral programmes
such as one to reduce vulnerability
to socio-natural disasters
in the education sector and
another in the ministry of the
environment and natural
resources to prepare risk maps
for land use planning.
There are no prevention
plans but national and
sectoral plans are in the
process of being completed.
There are some
territorial initiatives but
no prevention plans exist
for municipalities.
A start has been to incorporate
prevention issues in the National
Development and Social Sector
Plan as well as in a few
regional plans that are under
preparation. Initiatives in the
utilities sector have partially
incorporated prevention within
certain subsectors such as
hydroelectric power generation
and in thermal power generation.
Only very few municipalities
have seismic microzoning
and geodynamic risk maps for
use in new techniques for
municipal planning.
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