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PREANDINO
Regional Andean Program for Risk Reduction and Disaster Prevention
 Starting
in November 2000 based on a joint decision by their presidents, Bolivia,
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela launched the Regional Andean Program
for Risk Reduction and Disaster Prevention (PREANDINO).
The 1997-1998 El Niño
affected significantly the welfare and economic development of these countries.
The Andean Development Community (CAF) received a first mandate from the
presidents of member countries, who met in Guayaquil in 1998, to carry
out an assessment of the socioeconomic impact of the disasters that resulted
from el Niño, with a view to strengthening prevention. Many institutions
from each country participated in the effort, producing a set of policy
recommendations and suggestions for projects to respond to future events.
Later, based on the results of the assessment and the evident lack of
a disaster reduction component in the Andean nations’ sustainable
development policies, CAF was entrusted once again in 1999 by the presidents
with the task of supporting the institutional strengthening required at
the regional level to achieve this objective and build capacity in risk
management by promoting collaboration across national borders.
With this purpose
in mind, and based on the recommendations presented by the countries themselves
during their joint meetings on the El Niño phenomenon, it was decided
to launch PREANDINO.
The Program PREANDINO
The general objective
of the program is to promote and support the design of national and sectoral
risk mitigation policies and of institutional arrangements aimed at incorporating
prevention into development planning.
Specific objectives
include the following:
- Promoting and
supporting the definition of national risk prevention and reduction
policies and the development of institutional arrangements to respond
to these challenges.
- Promoting, guiding
and supporting cooperation programs among equivalent institutional sectors
of the Andean countries in order to strengthen their technical capacity
to adopt prevention policies and programs.
- Promoting the
incorporation of both the technical and the political spheres in the
development of national policies.
- Promoting regional
risk prevention programs, particularly those related to climate and
natural phenomena.
- Facilitating,
supporting and coordinating technical cooperation initiatives among
Andean countries.
- Promoting the
participation of supra-regional and international organizations in the
design and implementation of cooperation projects at the national and
regional levels.
- Promoting the
institutionalization of disaster prevention at the regional level.
The first PREANDINO
meeting was held in Caracas on 30 November and 1 December 2000. A series
of agreements were reached to launch prevention activities in each of
the member countries.
It was agreed that
regional and national working groups should be set up from both a territorial
and a sectoral perspective, focusing on seven strategic sectors:
1. Knowledge of natural
phenomena and their impact.
2. Water, sanitation and health.
3. Agriculture, livestock and fishing.
4. Roads and transport.
5. Energy.
6. Urban development, housing and infrastructure.
7. Financial and fiscal matters.
It was also agreed
that the program would focus on six strategic areas:
- Institutional
development: Sectoral and national planning; standard setting; institutional,
technical, and financial aspects; and follow-up and control.
- Citizen participation:
Linkages with the private sector and local communities and organizations
for risk reduction.
- Education and
Culture: The development of a culture of prevention.
- Political networks:
The incorporation of risk prevention into the regional, national end
territorial political decision-making systems.
- Science and technology:
Improving knowledge of adverse natural phenomena and the management
of their sectoral impact.
- Environment and
land use management: The impact of environmental degradation and incorrect
land use on increasing vulnerability.
The institutions spearheading
the program at the national level are the ministries of Planning or their
equivalents, since it is considered essential that prevention plans, programs
and projects should fall within the sphere of development planning and
policymaking.
Guidelines have been
set up for achieving these goals. They include the following:
- In both the national
and the sectoral realms, formalizing the objectives, organization, functioning
and launch of the PREANDINO Network, so that the Andean countries can
appropriate it and ensure its continuity.
- Striving for a
formal commitment from the various participating institutions to the
PREANDINO Program, to begin its implementation and make sure that it
can become a permanent process at the regional and national levels.
- Establishing National
and Sectoral Committees in each country as the custodians of the process
in the long term.
- With the support
of these Committees, developing national and sectoral plans.
• Defining regional cooperation frameworks.
- Holding national,
sectoral and regional meetings to coordinate and evaluate the application
of the Program.
- Creating and strengthening
the communications network required for the Program’s national
and regional teams to work effectively.
- Supporting the
development of methodological instruments for hazard, vulnerability
and risk analysis and for incorporating prevention into development
planning; as well as training officials in the use of these instruments.
- Seeking cooperation
mechanisms with other extra-regional programs involved in risk prevention.
- Within national
institutions, strengthening the existing mechanisms for monitoring and
researching natural phenomena and promoting the exchange of information
on these issues across the region.
The Next PREANDINO Meeting
The next PREANDINO
Meeting will take place on 4-6 July 2001 in Quito. The purpose of the
Meeting is to start exchanging experiences in disaster prevention and
agreeing on mutual support mechanisms to strengthen national and sectoral
capacity in risk reduction and prevention in the following areas: National
planning, the knowledge sector, agriculture, transport, and urban development.
The delegates will
focus on the following sets of objectives:
1. Exchanging experiences
and success stories.
- Presenting and
analyzing the most current national and sectoral plans.
- Exchanging information
on risks and on risk reduction through planning, policies, regulation,
institutional development and methodological and technological advances.
2. Laying the foundations
for horizontal cooperation
- Defining the procedures,
methodologies and agendas required for each country to advance in the
development of national and sectoral plans.
- Identifying the
areas and sectors in which each country can give or wishes to receive
horizontal cooperation from the other countries, depending on the strengths
and weaknesses of each in the various fields.
- Defining a common
regional framework for horizontal cooperation among countries and assigning
priorities to the programs and projects that should be promoted in the
short term.
- Establishing regional
agreements and procedures for regional exchange and joint efforts.
3. Strengthening the
network.
- Finding out the
status of international funding for the program and how international
agencies will collaborate in the process of institutional strengthening
for prevention activities.
- Perfecting and
strengthening the permanent regional and national communications and
information network linking National and Sectoral Committees.
- Defining institutional
responsibilities for each of the activities decided upon during the
meeting.
- Agreeing on a
Plan of Action for the national, sectoral and regional teams and cooperating
international agencies.
For more information,
please contact:
Tanya Miquilena de Corrales
Regional Coordinator, PREANDINO
+58 (212) 209-2032
Caracas, Venezuela
tcorrale@caf.com
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