ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL HOLDS PANEL DISCUSSION ON NATURAL DISASTER

PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE MEASURES

GENEVA, 12 July (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) this morning continued its annual review of humanitarian issues, with a panel discussion on natural disaster preparedness and response measures at which experts contended that advance planning, prevention activities, and especially local training and participation were critical for keeping casualties at a minimum and allowing recovery to take place as fast as possible.

Taking part in the discussion were Catherine Bertini, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) and Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa; Christopher Lamb, Head of the Humanitarian Advocacy Department of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; Bruno Moro, United Nations Resident Coordinator for El Salvador; and Saraswathi Menon, United Nations Resident Coordinator for Mongolia.

Ms. Bertini said a well managed international and national response had avoided a famine in the Horn of Africa, but the humanitarian campaign there would not truly be a success without a sustained follow-up that enabled people to rebuild their lives.  Recently, she pointed out, donor funding had been falling short of what was needed.

Mr. Lamb said the future outlook for natural disasters did not give any reason for optimism.  In 2000, the world had seen natural disasters affecting more than 250 million people.  Climate-related disasters, which had doubled since 1996, could cost $6-10 trillion over the next 20 years. 

Mr. Moro told the meeting that United Nations agency response to two earthquakes to hit El Salvador early this year had been rapid and well coordinated, with some services provided within hours of the first quake, and that relief activities had been greatly helped by emergency components in the agencies' core activities and because effective links had been established with government and civil society counterpart institutions.

Ms. Menon said summer and winter droughts in Mongolia over two years had killed hundreds of thousands of animals depended on by the country's largely rural population, putting many people at risk.  A $13.8 million response by donor agencies had been spent on a wide range of humanitarian relief supplies, including a considerable amount of hay and fodder for livestock.  The need now was to reduce

the threat of natural disasters and to ensure the long-term sustainable development of Mongolia's rural areas.

Among the remarks offered by national delegations in attendance were that information and communications systems were critical at times of natural disasters, so that the right aid could be gotten to the right places; that the international community should call more stridently for investment in natural-disaster prevention; and that it was vital to address gender issues in responding to and attempting to prevent or mitigate natural calamities.

Ross Mountain, Assistant Emergency Relief Coordinator, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said the stark fact in cases of earthquakes was that at least 90 per cent of survivors were saved by neighbours and other people on the scene at the time.  International rescuers arrived afterwards.

Panellists

CATHERINE BERTINI, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) and Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa, said in reference to the Horn of Africa that the population in the region amounted to millions of people.  Droughts occurred every 15 to 20 years, leaving them to struggle to survive; last year the drought had become more than domestic resources could cope with, and she had been asked by the Secretary-General to focus on its immediate impact and on long-term responses.  She had visited the region four times; needs had been explored and new assessments made in cooperation with other agencies; and it had been found that many things in addition to food were needed, such as seeds, medical supplies, equipment, and improved security for United Nations personnel, as many regions had not been reached by relief efforts because of security concerns.  Donors had responded generously and support mechanisms established in response to past disasters had been in place and had operated effectively, including early warning systems.  Transport systems had been augmented so that the entire region could be reached.  An Ethiopian national strategic stock of cereals had been tapped and had played a helpful role, as had national relief mechanisms in Kenya and Eritrea.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, Head of the Humanitarian Advocacy Department of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said the future outlook for natural disasters did not give any reason for optimism.  In 2000, the world saw more natural disasters than in any other year in the decade, affecting more than 250 million people.  Climate-related disasters, which doubled since 1996, could cost between $6 and 10 trillion over the next 20 years -- 10 times more than the anticipated flow of development assistance, in all its forms, over the same period. 

There was a need to think differently.  One of the key ingredients for successful disaster cooperation was local community involvement.  Disaster preparedness and response programmes which actively involved the community to find local solutions were vital for effective disaster management.  The International Federation had a grass-roots presence in 177 countries around the world.  Their staff and volunteers were ordinary people from the communities, and they were best placed to respond to a disaster and to provide first assistance to victims.  With proper training, they could provide early warning, local knowledge, local capacity, local expertise, response in first emergency phase and help in coordination.  If their local capacity was built, if they were actively involved in all stages of disaster recovery and rehabilitation, the effects of disaster would diminish faster. 

BRUNO MORO, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for El Salvador, said the country had been hit on 13 January by an extremely strong earthquake, one of the most severe to strike the region in the last century.  Then, a month later, there was another quake. More than 1.4 million people were affected.  The death toll reached 1,259.  The damage was some

$1.9 billion, or 14 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).  Roughly half the population affected lost their homes and sources of income, either temporarily or permanently.  In addition, this disaster came as the country was beginning to recover from a 12-year civil war that had cost some 75,000 lives.

Because of Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and the hard lessons it had taught by experience, United Nations agencies' capabilities were battle-tested in the region.  The United Nations Disaster Management Team was activated immediately and proved able to coordinate responsibilities among agencies and to consolidate information on the disaster in a coherent and timely manner.  A number of agencies were able to respond immediately, in part due to the existence or to the prominence of emergency components in their core activities and because effective links had been established with Government and civil society counterpart institutions.

Among the conclusions to be drawn from the earthquakes was the need for risk-reduction policies for El Salvador as the country was prone to natural disasters, Mr. Moro said.  There was a need for serious and committed national rethinking of development strategies in light of the country's vulnerabilities and needs for risk management.

SARASWATHI MENON, United Nations Resident Coordinator for Mongolia, said Mongolia had one of the harshest climates on earth.  It was 100 kilometres from the nearest ocean, and was one of the coldest and driest countries in Asia.  It was home to 2.4 million people and about 300 million head of livestock.  Agriculture, based on animals and animal products, formed the backbone of the economy, accounting for about 36 per cent of the GDP, and employing about 48 per cent of the workforce. 

Two consecutive summer droughts, followed by unusually severe winters, killed hundreds of thousands of already-weakened animals.  In response, the United Nations agencies in Mongolia launched an international appeal for assistance, totalling $2.98 million.  Unfortunately, it netted only $230,000.  By November 2000, it was evident that Mongolia was in the middle of another winter disaster.  Assistance was requested from the OCHA, and another international appeal was launched.  The response was beyond expectations –- some $13.8 million was pledged by donor agencies.  These funds were spent on a wide range of humanitarian relief supplies.  It was important to learn lessons from the Mongolian situation, because it was unlikely that the international donor community would be able to support Mongolia in a state of chronic disaster.  However, the agencies of the United Nations and the international donor community were very committed to assisting Mongolia to reduce the threat of natural disasters, on the one hand, and to ensure the long-term sustainable development of Mongolia's rural areas, on the other.

Discussion

National delegations participating in the debate asked a series of questions, among them, whether wars and conflicts aggravated such natural disasters and food-security issues; what long-term measures could be taken to mitigate the effects of drought; and if specific lessons had been drawn in terms of disaster-mitigation investments that the international community could already begin to apply, so that preventive work could be done now.

Among the remarks offered were that information and communications systems were critical at times of natural disasters, so that the right aid could be gotten to the right places.  General health planning and health issues had to be considered, as the general state of health of a population greatly determined survival rates following natural catastrophes.  The international community should call more stridently for investment in natural-disaster prevention.  The worst natural disasters tended to occur in the poorest parts of the world, and, hence, general development aid and capacity-building to improve everyday life was needed to keep such disasters from being so devastating.  Speed was of the essence -- both in response to disasters and in shifting from emergency to long-term development; that response and prevention funding and activities were equally important.

A representative of Mongolia, in a brief statement, said the Mongolian Government was grateful for the international response to two years of drought in the country -- that the assistance had been a great help to the population -- and that the Government currently was rethinking its development policies to ensure that they made the country less vulnerable to droughts and other natural calamities.

Responding to the debate, Mr. MORO, Resident Coordinator for El Salvador, said lessons learned from the earthquake tragedies included that the transition period between the immediate emergency and longer-term responses was important, and that management of risk was vital -- risk depended upon the menaces a country faced and the vulnerability of its population.  These risks had to be inserted into national policy-making to make sure that the Government properly addressed the matter -- that is, ahead of time instead of after a disaster. 

Ms. MENON, Resident Coordinator for Mongolia, said much had been done in Mongolia by individual agencies to enhance food security, but what was needed was more of a coordinated approach led by the Government.  It was not easy in Mongolia, which had the lowest population density in the world, to get aid to the people who most needed it.  As for preparedness and mitigation, if the international community reflected on what had happened over the last 10 years, the

issue of disaster prevention had not been addressed.  The full range of international support to the country had to be reconsidered in that context, and this process should be led by the Government. 

Mr. LAMB, of the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said it was critical for responses to have local focus.  Beneficiaries had to participate in decision-making.  If you did not build a system that enabled a country to look after itself and local communities to look after themselves, you were going to have serious problems.  It also was clear that "fast" disasters such as earthquakes got more attention and funding than "slow" or "quiet" disasters such as droughts.

ROSS MOUNTAIN, Assistant Emergency Relief Coordinator, OCHA, said the stark fact in cases of earthquakes was that at least 90 per cent of survivors were saved by neighbours and the people on the scene at the time.  International rescuers arrived afterwards.  What was imperative was to have local knowledge and capacity.  It also helped to have experts nearby who could direct matters and assist international agencies by providing accurate assessments and information.  The emergency teams set up in Latin America and other regions were very useful in this context.  The United Nations sought to be present before, during, and after natural disasters.

Ms. BERTINI, the WFP Director, said it was clear that war and conflict made disasters such as droughts worse.  In the Horn of Africa, the ongoing conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea had made relief activities more difficult.  Among other things, it had not been possible to use some ports that might have been helpful.  As for the long term, efforts were needed in the region in terms of long-term sustainability of supplies of water, of seeds, and in response to other chronic issues.  Government leadership was vital for this. 

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