Disasters are not natural: risk management, a tool for development

Abstract

Risk management is a policy promoting the identification, analysis and quantification of the probability of damage that a natural hazard might cause, considering the vulnerability of the human environment and the ways to prevent and mitigate the losses in advance. In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) available information about causes and consequences of risk is scarce and barely matches the needs of project engineers and decision-makers. Average annual losses caused by major and ‘minor’ hazards (the latter usually not included in the statistics) amount to a large share of the development effort. Disasters provide evidence of the vulnerability of the countries, have a severe impact on the economic performance and social well-being through the loss of infrastructure, agricultural capacity, basic services, housing and environmental deterioration, and affect the quality of life of the poorest sectors of the population. Therefore, vulnerability is an economic problem with deep social roots. In LAC, the circumstances influencing the ex ante decision-making processes have not been favourable to prevention. Governments still reinforce reactive institutions, which are usually centralized. Delegation of tasks and responsibility to national planning entities, local governments and communities trails behind. Typically, local communities bear the brunt of the losses and do not participate in defining the ‘acceptable’ levels of risk. Therefore, it is evident that there is no such a thing as a ‘natural disaster’. The inclusion and adoption in investment projects of risk management criteria supported by engineering geology should start by increasing awareness, understanding and modelling of natural hazards, reducing vulnerability, and increasing social, environmental and economic resilience. This paper analyses practices based on experiences in LAC and proposes proactive risk management criteria.

Risk Management at the Latin American Observatory

“…These agents are frequently [4,6] classified in terms of their origin, namely  hydro-meteorology: both global and local processes (hurricanes, floods/droughts, weather extreme events)  internal geodynamics (seismicity and volcanism)  external geodynamics (landslides, intensive erosion, torrential debris flows).…”

“…Even when a general framework is used by the OLE 2 on this field, the different institutions develop tailored applications to take advantage of the local experience and mechanisms already in existence in their countries. However, the general framework closely follows the ideas discussed by Mora [4].…”

“…Risk management is from a wide perspective, a policy system that, among its components, permits stakeholders in several levels, to identify, analyze and quantify the probability of human, material and ecosystem losses, as well as to provide metrics and technical criteria for prevention, mitigation, reduction or transfer of risk [4]. A key idea to be still implemented in most parts of the world is that risk management needs to be understood and addressed as an investment, not as a cost.…”

“…A key idea to be still implemented in most parts of the world is that risk management needs to be understood and addressed as an investment, not as a cost. [4] It is clear that nowadays the establishment of efficient risk reduction plans does not possess a real priority on the agenda of decision-makers and stakeholders, except a posteriori. This is especially true in most parts of Latin America, as is exposed in some case studies included in this chapter.…”

“…This is especially true in most parts of Latin America, as is exposed in some case studies included in this chapter. Moreover, in general, there are no consolidated cultures incorporating risk management throughout decision-making processes for public and private investment and planning (see [4] and references therein). Also, private sector involvement in this process presents several unique challenges to be overcome [5].…”