A global review of disaster reduction initiatives - Welcome to the ...

ment. Therefore organizational frameworks inplace for environmental issues can be expandedto serve the needs of disaster risk reductionas part of sustainable development planning.Many public agencies are experiencing cutbacks.Therefore, asking environmental agenciesto integrate environmental considerationsin other policy domains would save resources.This will require linking work in science, policy,environment and vulnerability reduction.Implementation of sustainable hazard reductionmeasures will need an appropriate macroplanning organizational framework organizationalframework establishing the critical linkbetween policy objectives and field performance.Multi-stakeholder processes (MSP) are one of therecent innovations to promote dialogue toachieve sustainable development. This dialoguemodel was initiated in 1998 by the UNCommission on Sustainable Development (CSD)and has since been adopted by other internationalforums. MSPs aim at bringing togetherall major stakeholders (non-state and governmentactors) in a new form of communication,decision finding (and possibly decision-making)on a particular issue.MSP are based on equity and accountability incommunication and representation betweenstakeholders. They are also based on principlesof transparency and participation, and aim todevelop partnerships and strengthen networksbetween stakeholders. MSP cover a wide spectrumof structures and levels of engagement.They are suitable for those situations wheredialogue is possible, where listening, reconcilinginterests, and integrating views into jointsolution strategies seems appropriate and withinreach. Each situation, issue or problemprompts the need for participants to design aprocess specifically suited to their abilities, circumstances,and needs. MSPs have emergedbecause there is a perceived need for a moreinclusive, effective manner for addressingurgent sustainability issues.During the preparations of the World Summitfor Sustainable Development (WSSD), stakeholdershave come together to work out how todo their part to implement the sustainabledevelopment agenda. Major inputs to the discussionon disaster reduction and sustainableA selection of disaster reduction applicationsdevelopment that fed into one of the ISDRbackground papers was drafted through multistakeholderelectronic forums. The addedvalue of a multi-stakeholder approach, namelyincreased quality, credibility and outreach,ensures an increased sense of ownership andcommitment for collaborative actions plans.Search conferences are also participativeprocesses that raise commitment for action andare applicable to collectively design disasterreduction plans.Environmental impact assessmentsLegislative and regulatory frameworks forEnvironmental Impact Assessments (EIA) alreadyexist and require strong institutional support,the commitment of governments, aid agenciesand civil society, as well as a monitoringprocesses.Risk reduction considerations could be furtherThe Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a policy makingtool that serves to provide evidence and analysis of environmentalimpacts of activities from conception to decision-making.An EIA must include a detailed risk assessment and providealternatives solutions. It must be thorough and well documentedand must provide the public an opportunity to participatein accordance with the law. The EIA report usuallyprovides a detailed and rigorous analysis on which the authoritycan decide whether to approve a proposal and under whichterms and conditions. Once a particular project is selected, itis monitored to ensure that conditions for approval areadhered to and that the benefits from the EIA are achieved.Monitoring, implementing and auditing within the EIAprocess provides feedback to further improve it.assimilated into the requirements for EIA. Amore comprehensive EIA could evolvetowards a periodic vulnerability assessment totake into account the dynamic nature of vulnerability.An expanded EIA process couldprovide a basis to ensure that proposed initiativeswould include considerations of both disasterreduction along with lessening environmentalimpact. Further it would allow for anassessment of potential problems as well asbenefits of disaster risk reduction activities.Additionally, disaster reduction specialistscould use the EIA model as an example toincrease comprehension of disaster impactassessments and to reorient it to become a plan-2155