The purpose of holding this Forum on Best Practices was to continue with the discussions and exchanges began during the Sixth Inter-American Dialogue on Water Management which was held in Guatemala this past August 12 to 17. Between the months of October and December, experts from Latin America and the Caribbean shared experiences and successful practices that will serve as case studies in order to develop a wider discussion that will allow us to transfer these experiences to identify “best practices.”

This is the second of a series of fora on Best Practices held with the support of the Inter-American Network for Disaster Mitigation, and the first to use the networks’ technology platform. The main objective of these fora is to share experiences, practices and strategies to analyze the different aspects of risk management, emphasizing the fragility of the social and economic infrastructure in the most vulnerable communities in the Americas. Another outcome expected from these fora is the formation of Expert Groups, technical authorities in the areas that make up risk management.  Through the INDM, these Expert Groups helped review political and technical documents, helped to moderate future fora and meetings, and were available for consultation and technical assistance.  

The latest events showed us that, on the one hand, progress has been made in prevention and in preparation for natural disasters.  On the other hand, there is still a lot to be done to minimize the vulnerability of the communities most exposed to natural phenomena which –in the case of hydro-meteorological phenomena-- are ever more intense and frequent and reach areas that, until recently, did not experience them. At the same time, we know that there are numerous successful experiences and others that, although adverse, can teach us quite a bit and which we can translate into “best” practices.  Therefore, at the conclusion of each forum we expect to extract the criteria and the expert opinions that will allow decision-makers, policymakers, project and program managers, individuals responsible for risk management in each institution, those with competence in this area at all levels but specially, members of the most vulnerable communities in our countries, to adapt these practices to their local context and environment in order to translate them into “best practices.”
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