ECLAC, Manual for Assessing Socioeconomic and Environmental Impacts of Disasters

The new version of this manual, developed by ECLAC, describes a methodology used for assessing the economic, social and environmental effects caused by disasters, which are classified into direct and indirect damage, and macroeconomic and global effects. The manual describes neither the origin of disasters nor the actions carried out during emergency phases or humanitarian responses, as it is considered that other organizations and bodies are responsible for such actions. This second version represents the progress made to date, and the manual will continue to develop as the experience and contributions of its users are received, particularly when applying it to specific, ongoing and new situations.

This manual is easy to use, especially by people in charge of assessing specific sectors as each of them is treated separately, along with conceptual aspects aplicable to each particular sector. The manual will be available in CD-ROM, which will also include examples of assessments carried out recently by using this methodology. The manual is currently available on ECLAC’s website. This is a more complete and user-friendly version.

Readers and users are expected to contribute with their experiences to enrich and improve future versions. Furthermore, the manual will be used as a training tool in educational processes related to risk reduction and the promotion of a culture of prevention.

For further information, please contact:
Ricardo Zapata
ECLAC