LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN: REPORT AND REGIONAL BLUEPRINT FOR CHANGE

Part I: Draft Concepts of "Regional Blueprint for Change"

Preamble: The Latin America and Caribbean region has considerable experience with natural and technological hazards and environmental impacts as a result of the geographic and geologic settings of individual countries.   For example, In the January 2001 El Salvador earthquakes, one-third of the schools was destroyed along with many health care facilities.  Health and education have long been the "Cinderella's" of Latin American and Caribbean budgets.  However, the political climate is changing  as the result of a political process that began in 1988,  disasters are considered to be unresolved development problems, which are to be resolved through development  agendas associated with economic sectors such as agriculture, health, tourism, transportation, and municipalities,.  The region is now in a position to export technical capability instead of just importing it, but it is in is in a difficult position because a  large number of unfunded hemispheric and sub-hemispheric mandates  to reduce vulnerabilities and risk.  Although competition for scarce resources is very strong, vulnerability reduction studies are underway in most countries and for groups of countries. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has a strong technical program that shows the benefit of two decades of experience with public awareness and education programs.

Latin America and Caribbean Regional Leadership Team:

·        Tri-Chair: Juan Murria

·        Secretariat: Luis Jorge Perez

·        Secretariat: John Dickey

·        Secretariat: Craig Taylor

I.     INTRA-REGIONAL ACTIVITIES--2002-2007  

A.     Activity: "Microzonation" of Social and Technical Risks in Latin America and the Caribbean

Purpose: Increase awareness in all sectors of the Latin America and Caribbean publics of vulnerability and risk at site specific, community, national, and regional scales from natural and technological hazards and environmental degradation.

Objectives:

·     Build on current momentum created by ongoing economic  sector development programs such as health, education, transportation, agriculture, tourism, municipalities, using them to append specific disaster reduction activities. 

·     Build on bilateral and multilateral agreements

·     Build on special programmatic  activities in Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico

·     Build on San Juan agreement

·     Determine training needs  throughout the region

·     Plan for future inter-regional activities in global perspective.

 Who is going to do it:

·        Individual countries working in cooperation with OAS  and PAHO and others

 Strategy:

·     Use existing organizations such as FUNVISIS, CERESIS, using every opportunity to strengthen and revitalize them

·     Reach out and involve UPADI

·     Reach out and involve UNESCO

·     Reach out to GeoHazards International

·     Collaborate with American Geophysical Union (AGU)

 When:

·     Working with OAS and PAHO, we will start  immediately to build incrementally on the momentum created by existing programs.

 Process:

·     Increase roles of professional organizations

·     Involve the media, helping them to understand and to write about the process of vulnerability and risk reduction. 

·     Develop communication and coordination plans

·     Improve codes and standards for buildings and infrastructure and their implementation

·     Improve guidelines for transportation systems

·     Develop training programs that are focused on needs of the region

 Potential investors/donors (traditional and non-traditional):

·        USAID

·        OFDA

·        UNESCO

·        Oil companies

·        Construction companies

II.     INTER-REGIONAL ACTIVITIES--2002-2007

.

We will be in a better position to contribute to inter-regional activities for the benefit of other regions during this period as a result of our intra-regional activities described above. 

PART II: BACKGROUND

B.    GLOBAL BLUEPRINTS FOR CHANGE

 1.  In Latin America and the Caribbean, we live with earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, tsunamis,
      severe windstorms, droughts, floods, global change,  and environmental degradation. We  especially 
      need a regional Blueprint that integrates topics A.4, with topics B1. through B7 with topics C.1 through C.9.  
2.   We want current and new Blueprinters to know that enhancing  public awareness and increasing  capacity
      to understand and reduce vulnerability and risk are our highest priorities.  Environmental concerns are
      also a high priority.

C.    PROPOSED "INTERNATIONAL MEETING" IN 2002

1.      We welcome the proposed congress and will help to design it and share in it so that we can  highlight our  goals, prioriy objectives, and the activities named above.

2.      The priority themes/topics that our region would like to have included in such an "International Meeting" are named above. 

D.    REGIONAL FORUMS, ONGOING PROJECTS, AND  CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE

 1.      We will seek opportunities to undertake regional forums and new projects to  contribute to assessment
          and reduction of vulnerability and risk in Latin America and the Caribbean.  CERESIS and FUNVISIS are
          "Centers of Excellence, but they need to be revitalized and strengthened to meed current needs of the
          region.