Resettlement as a tool for Disaster Risk Reduction

1. Resettlement as a tool for Disaster Risk Reduction GFDRR – SDV Elena Correa February 4, 2010

2. The Assignment • Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) approved the proposal to study existing resettlement programs for disaster risk reduction in four LAC countries. The main objectives are to identify main lessons-learned and prepare a tool-kit for planning and implementing resettlement programs for disaster risk reduction. • SDV included this activity in the work program (FY09-10) of the Social Sustainability and Safeguards team and allocated staff weeks to implement this initiative

3. Task Team • Initial research • Dianna Moyer • PaiviKoskinen-Lewis • Case studies • Ignacio Zeltmeister y Rómulo Pérez (Argentina) • Marilia Scombatti y Ronaldo Marques(Brazil) • Narzha Poveda (Colombia) • Eduardo Aguirre (Guatemala) • Sergio Carmona (technical reviewer) • Toolkit • Fernando Ramírez • Margarita De Castro • Elena Correa • TTL • Elena Correa

4. Outline • Global and LAC natural disasters trends and consequences • LAC – Vulnerability factors • DRR - A preventive approach • Preventive Resettlement • Brief summary of the case studies • Outline of the toolkit

5. Global and LAC Natural Disasters Trends

6. Global Natural Disasters Events Source: EMDAT, Emergency Events Database 2009

7. People Affected by Natural Disasters in the World

8. LAC – Natural Disasters • LAC region is hit on average by 40.7 major disasters per year (1) • LAC is one of the most highly natural disaster prone regions in the world, second only to Asia (2) (1) ECLAC, IDB 2000 (2) Center of Research of Natural Disaster, 2004

9. LAC - Natural Disasters Events Source: EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database Created on: Apr-19-2009. - Data version: v12.07

10. LAC – Type of Natural Disaster Source: EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database Created on: Apr-19-2009. - Data version: v12.07

11. LAC – People Affected by Natural Disasters

12. LAC – Deaths by Natural Disaster Source: EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database Created on: Apr-19-2009. - Data version: v12.07

13. LAC – Vulnerability Factors Natural factors • Four active tectonic plates • Significant portion of the earth’s seismic and volcanic activity takes place there • Land slides relate to the geological age of mountains ranges • Flooding related to a complex river basin systems • Tropical storms and hurricanes (Atlantic and Pacific Ocean) • El Niño and la Niña phenomena exacerbate certain weather patterns

14. LAC – Human-made Factors • Rapid urbanization • From 41% of urban population in 1950 to 78% in 2007 • Poverty • 40 percent of population lives in poverty • Poverty and vulnerability to disasters are inherently linked • Environmental degradation • Deforestation • Loss of natural drainage systems in urban areas • Lack of adequate solid waste management and disposal • Climate change

15. LAC – Human-made Factors • Lack of effective policies to reduce vulnerability • Lack of land use planning • Inadequate quality of construction building codes • Weak enforcement of regulations when they exist • Lack of housing programs for low income population • Lack of preventive strategies • Reactive responses instead of proactive responses • Prevention is perceived as a cost rather than an investment (only 20% of decision makers ranked prevention as a high priority )

16. DISASTER RISK REDUCTION: A PREVENTIVE APPROACH “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”

17. Disaster Risk Reduction Framework and Measures

18. Preventive Resettlement

19. Main Principles • Resettlement becomes a risk reduction measure when it is not possible to mitigate the risk through other interventions (structural, non-structural) • Preventive resettlement should be articulated into a comprehensive risk reduction strategy and should be planned and implemented properly • If not, it is inefficient, unsustainable and leads to frustration of people and governments • If yes, it becomes an opportunity to safe lives, assets and improve the standards of living of people living in high risk areas

20. Benefits of Preventive Resettlement • Preventive resettlement diminishes the damage, losses and impacts caused by natural disasters in both monetary and non-monetary terms on human life, structures and assets

21. Savings from Preventive Resettlement

22. Pertinence of Resettlement

23. CASE STUDIES: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala Preventive Resettlement

24. Case studies - Methodology • Description and analysis of the national context • Natural hazards, events, consequences • Population, geographical distribution, poverty • Institutional and legal frameworks for disaster risk reduction and recovery • Resettlement case study • Event that originated the resettlement • Disaster risk reduction strategy and articulation of resettlement into the main strategy • Institutional arrangements • Sources of funding • Resettlement options • Results • Control of recovered areas • Lessons learned

25. Argentina • Flooding hazards • 11, 911 families (69,000 persons) • 120 cities, 7 provinces • Resettlement strategy • Self – construction • Institutional Organization • Coordination of national and local levels • Main lesson learned • The self – construction strategy which generate important value added • Possibility of intervene large areas

26. Brazil • Sao Paulo - Flooding hazards • 7,544 families (69,000 persons) from several slums (favelas) • Resettlement strategy • New developments (large vertical solutions) • Resettlement in the same neighborhoods but in safe areas • Cash compensation • Institutional Organization • Municipal institutions (2) • Main lesson learned • Cash compensation is not an adequate option • Resettlement in large vertical solutions entails several social problems • Resettlement in same neighborhoods are the best option

27. Brazil - Resettlement options

28. Guatemala • Department of Sololá – Panajab and Tzanchaj counties • 915 families (5,400 persons) – Mayan descendants • 287 affected by the hurricane Stan • 628 preventive resettlement • Resettlement strategy • Land acquisition and construction of new settlement • Participation of indigenous leaders, communities • Institutional Organization • Inter - institutional coordination, participation of academia, NGOs, • Main lesson learned • Legacy issues matter • Importance of trust between government and affected communities • Importance of cultural dimension • Accountability mechanisms

29. Chuck Muk – Resettlement

30. Colombia • Bogotá – Landslides hazards • 1,069 families (4,600 persons) • Part of of a larger resettlement program of families living in high risk-areas (15,000 families) • Resettlement strategy • Use of real state market (city and places of origin of families) • Construction of new developments through alliances with private investors and NGOS • Construction by the implementing agency • Institutional Organization • An institution responsible of preparing and implementing resettlement plans • Inter - institutional coordination • Main lesson learned • Resettlement incorporated into a comprehensive risk reduction strategy • A long term vision and an effective strategies • Effective land use planning • Importance of several resettlement options

31. Resettlement and recovered area

32. Argentina Recurrent Flooding and the Housing Problem in Argentina

33. The problem • The Provinces of La Plata river basin face recurrent flooding • Five of the ten worst floods in the XX Century have occurred since 1983

34. The problem • Rapid urbanization • 90% people live in urban areas • Lack of housing programs for poor people • Human settlements in flood-prone areas

35. Flood Protection Program • Objectives • Improve the security of economic assets and persons living in flood-prone areas by constructing defense facilities to reduce future losses due to floods, and by strengthening national and provincial institutions and systems for dealing with future floods • Components • Structural measures (dikes, pumping stations, control gates, flood storages) • Housing program: Resettlement of families living in flood-prone areas About 12,000 families (120 urban areas, 7 provinces) • Implementing agencies • Ministry of Federal Planning, Public Investment and Services; Provinces; Municipalities

36. Resettlement strategy: assisted self-construction • Land provided by the municipality • Training provided by local governmental institutions (23.822 persons were trained in construction. After the project, 41% reported temporary jobs thanks to the new skills) • Design of houses adapted to cultural characteristics of each region and prepared by the technical team of the Ministry

37. Strategy: assisted self-construction • Construction materials: subsidized by the program, and delivered through alliances with local providers through vouchers • Community organization and strengthening of social networks. 100 families organized 5 constructing teams to build 20 houses each team

38. Results: 11,911 houses Before After

39. Costs and time frame • Time frame: 1992 – 2004 • Total cost: U$ 420 million • Housing component: US$ 31 million • Maximum cost per house: $13,300 • Minimum size: 42 m2 (continuous expansion housing units) • Public services: water, energy, sewerage • Source of funding: external credit (WB), national and municipal resources

40. Control of new settlements in recovered areas • Municipalities assigned the use of flood-prone areas (parks, soccer fields, green areas) • Municipalities committed to control the flood-prone areas

41. Lessons learned • Trust the client’s proposals (during several months the WB did not endorse the self-construction strategy and promoted different solutions –pre-built houses, tents – which caused delays) • Self-construction is possible and generates an important value added (beneficiaries with new labor skills, stimulus for the local economy, high level ownership and self-esteem in beneficiaries) • It is possible to assist populations in a large area and living in different municipalities (coordination between national and local levels) • Dependency on external credits cause delays and interruptions in the program implementation

42. Colombia Bogota. Nueva Esperanza. A experience of resettlement, rehabilitation and development

43. The Country • 44.5 million inhabitants • 75% of population live in urban areas (2005) • Major natural disasters • Earthquakes in 1983, 1992, 1994, 1999 • Volcano eruption and mud slide 1985 • Armed conflict • 1946 – 1966 • 1985 – to date

44. A National Disaster Risk Reduction Policy • Major disasters generated the preparation of a “National Disaster Preparedness and Response System” (SNAPD) in 1988. • SNAPD is a very comprehensive system (policies, hazards assessment and monitoring, mapping, early warning systems, information systems and a national disaster prevention and assistance plan) • A National Disaster Fund was crated in 1984. It receives resources from oil and mining royalties and the national budget • A housing subsidy policy was created in 2005 for poor families living in high-risk areas • Disaster risk reduction was incorporated in the land use planning law (1997) • Preventive resettlement was incorporated as a disaster risk reduction measure (about 130,000 people had been resettled)

45. Case Study - Bogota • Bogota is the capital of the country • 7.5 million inhabitants • Main hazards: flooding and land slides • Bogota has developed a comprehensive Disaster Preparedness and Response System (inter- sectoral and inter-institutional)

46. Disaster Preparedness and Response System and Programs • The land use plan incorporated risk reduction strategies • Slum upgrading programs • Housing and building retrofitting programs • Information systems • Monitoring systems • A fund for prevent disasters and assist affected people (funded by the 0.5% of the taxes collected by the city)

47. Control of human settlements in high-risk areas • Control of human settlements in high-risk areas was included in the disaster risk reduction strategy as well as resettlement of people living in high risk areas. Responsibility for these programs was assigned to specific institutions • A housing subsidy program for people living in high risk areas was created • 9.154 families were identified living in high-risk areas in 1997, 82% of them had been resettled as of 2008

48. Case Study – Nueva Esperanza • Population in high-risk: 1,069 families (4,600 people) without legal titles • Land use and geological studies determined that the neighborhood was invading a a natural park, creeks’ buffer zones and located in a high-risk area (landslides)

49. Case Study – Nueva Esperanza • A rehabilitation, reconstruction and sustainable development plan was prepared • Land and environmental recovery • Community organization and participation • Resettlement of families

50. Resettlement Options • Real state market in the city and in the places of origin • New developments • Built by private investors or NGOs • Built by the implementing agency • Fair housing