Haiti is one of the Caribbean countries most at risk and most affected by natural disasters (hurricanes, floods, droughts, earthquakes, etc.). The island of Hispaniola lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and is subject to severe storms from June to November. The effects of tropical storms and hurricanes include wind damage, flooding, landslides and coastal surges. Haiti’s high vulnerability to these events stems from high levels of poverty, weak infrastructure, a degraded environment, and a history of ineffective governments with serious fiscal problems. Given the poor state of economic infrastructure and lack of preparedness, natural adverse events of lesser magnitude occurring on a frequent basis also cause immeasurable impacts on the population and on economic assets. In the past, vulnerability reduction and disaster management have received very limited attention from governments.
An IDA-financed Emergency Recovery and Disaster Management Project seeks to (i) support the rehabilitation of the areas affected by recent adverse natural events, (ii) strengthen the country’s capacity to manage natural disaster risks and better respond to emergencies resulting from adverse natural events; and (iii) reduce the vulnerability of communities through risk identification and risk mitigation activities.
During the 2006 hurricane season, the Directorate of Civil Protection (DPC), with the help of UNDP, followed the national hurricane preparedness plan: the national hurricane warning system was successfully activated and the response and relief to areas affected by adverse natural events was well coordinated.
Highlights:
- Four rehabilitation sub-projects have been identified and are being implemented. The largest of which is the rehabilitation of the Fonds Verrettes watershed, which was prepared under a LICUS Trust Fund grant to the Haitian government in 2005.
- A Public Awareness and Educational Thematic Committee has been reactivated and has developed a National Public Awareness Campaign for the upcoming 2007 hurricane season. The Committee also developed a pilot disaster management curriculum that is currently being introduced in a number of schools based in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan areas.
- The ERDMP financed the renovation and equipping of the DPC project coordination and training center. Given the importance of strong coordination in the sector, the center houses not only the ERDMP project coordination units (PCU), but the United Nations Development Program Hazard and Risk Management Program and the European Union financed Vulnerability Reduction Project’s PCU. Soon the Inter-American Development Bank’s Disaster Project PCU will be house at the DPC project coordination and training center as well.
- The ERDMP has financed the renovation and equipping of two departmental emergency operations centers (EOC) in the capitals of L’Artibonite and Les Nippes. The Departmental EOC will be functional by the June 2007.
- To date, the ERDMP has financed the reactivation/creation and training of 52 community-based civil protection committees in 54 of the most highly vulnerable communities in the most at risk departments in the country.
- IDA has served as a catalyst in reenergizing the work on disaster management, coordinating and focusing the efforts of many development partners, including multi-lateral donors such as the European Union and the Inter-American Development Bank and international NGOs such as Catholic Relief Services, Pan-American Development Foundation and Oxfam GB. IDA’s convening role and close collaboration with other development partners, especially the UNDP, has provided an important framework for multi-lateral reengagement in this important area in Haiti.
- Total project cost is US$12 million financed by an IDA grant.
In March 2007, IDA approved a US$9 million grant to finance Haiti’s Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) entry fee and annual insurance premium for three years, thus helping the country to insure itself against the macroeconomic impact of large natural disasters. The CCRIF, developed by the World Bank, provides participating Caribbean governments with immediate liquidity, if hit by a major hurricane or earthquake.
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