In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 1 International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories © 2021 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20433, U.S.A. The text in this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or nonprofit uses, without special permission, provided acknowledgment of the source is made. GFDRR’s Secretariat would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this report as a source. Copies may be sent to the Secretariat at the above address. No use of this publication may be made for resale or other commercial purpose without prior written consent of the Secretariat. All images remain the sole property of the source and may not be used for any purpose without written permission from the source. 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Table of Contents Foreword 5 AFRICA 7 GFDRR Labs: Addressing the gender divide in digital technologies 8 Advancing emergency preparedness and response in Cabo Verde 10 Leveraging citizen engagement to tackle the DRM-FCV nexus in Guinea and Kenya 12 Mozambique: Cyclones Idai and Kenneth 14 Making transportation climate resilient in Freetown 16 EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC 17 Building resilience from the bottom up in the Solomon Islands 18 Recovery and resilience in Lao PDR 19 Strengthening disaster management policy in Pacific Island Countries 20 EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA 23 Ensuring post-disaster business continuity for water utilities in the Danube region 24 Improving school infrastructure safety in the Kyrgyz Republic 26 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 29 Applying behavioral science to disaster risk management in Haiti 30 Advancing inclusive resilience-building in Saint Lucia’s critical infrastructure and beyond 32 Upgrading Caribbean disaster preparedness and response capacities 34 Managing disaster risk in Central America 36 SOUTH ASIA 39 Engaging with citizens and communities to build a resilient Afghanistan 40 Strengthening risk data for urban resilience in Bangladesh 42 Strengthening health emergency preparedness and response in South Asia 44 Building a resilient energy sector in Afghanistan 46 MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA 47 From challenges to opportunities: Rapid Needs Assessments as entry points for building resilience 48 Multimedia 50 4 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories Chad. Photo: Mustafa Olgun. In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 5 Foreword G rappling with their fair share of development challenges, countries supported by the International Development Association (IDA) are also highly vulnerable to the impacts of a changing climate and intensifying disaster risk. The good news is that over the past decade, IDA countries have made tremendous progress in strengthening their ability to understand, manage and reduce risk, thus laying the groundwork for a more resilient future for their citizens. The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), in close collaboration with the World Bank, has played its part in driving that progress. Tapping into its long experience and deep expertise in disaster risk management and climate resilience, and capitalizing on its unique position with the World Bank, the Facility has mobilized and delivered funding, knowledge and technical assistance that has been instrumental to the resilience building efforts of IDA countries in every region of the world. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, GFDRR’s core mission to bring resilience to scale has become even more important than ever. The Facility has acted swiftly to support the global response, drawing on the fundamental pillars of its work, including risk identification, risk reduction, preparedness, and financial protection. As IDA countries strive to not only build back better in the aftermath of COVID-19, but also sustain and even accelerate the progress they’ve made in tackling disasters and climate change, it is vital that we take stock of what we’ve achieved and learned in our efforts thus far. In that spirit, this booklet highlights stories of impact from GFDRR’s engagements in IDA countries. Best, Niels B. Holm-Nielsen Head, GFDRR Madagascar. Photo:pierivb. In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 7 Africa 8 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories AFRICA REGION Promoting Open Access to Risk Information GFDRR Labs: Addressing the gender divide in digital technologies G FDRR Labs focuses on delivering solution-driven several cities were allowed flexible schedules, which let research and development in disaster risk management women select times to work when they were available. to address identified gaps and obstacles. It identifies In Antananarivo, Madagascar, teams traveled through challenges, undertakes research, consults a broad range communities in pairs to ensure the security of female members. of stakeholders, connects to existing communities, and develops And in Accra, Ghana; Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of pilot global public goods. Committed to continuous learning, Congo; and Pointe-Noire, the Republic of Congo women led successes and failures inform the continued development and community outreach efforts, serving as role models to women improvement of the ideas. interested in data collection and mapping. This year, one of the challenges GFDRR Labs examined is the Efforts taken to promote women’s participation have produced gender divide in digital technologies and mapping. The lack of tangible benefits. Among these is an emerging cohort of female women engaged in digital projects has tangible consequences Open Cities Africa alumni with digital skills who are now and can run the risk of worsening inequalities. Labs sought to serving as role models for other women in their communities. better understand why it is difficult for women to take part in Through the Open Cities Accra project, Pascalina Awelana digital participatory mapping projects through the Open Cities Abadum, a member of the data collection team, developed Africa project and pursued ways to address the obstacles in the an interest in data quality and the use of drone imagery. program design. Encouraged by her project supervisor, she went on to complete an internship with local drone imagery provider Soko Aerial Women face many hurdles and challenges, including lack of Robotics, and she was ultimately selected to participate in the education and decision-making authority as well as having 2020 Africa Drone Forum in Rwanda. Today, Abadum works more responsibilities at home than men have, while also facing on data quality for the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, security concerns when going out into the field. Moreover, there where she supports community projects focused on COVID-19 is a lack of role models that women can look up to in the field, response and promoting girls’ access to education. all contributing to the digital gender gap. Actions taken to address barriers to women’s participation can The Open Cities teams tried to address these barriers by begin to close the digital gender gap in cities across the region providing comprehensive training to every participant in the and promote the creation of maps and mapmakers that represent program. A team in Ngaoundéré in Cameroon met with local the needs of all community members. Supporting better heads of households to introduce the project and explain representation and the growth of more female local champions the benefits of involving women and girls in this work. To like Abadum will, in turn, support more inclusive and resilient accommodate responsibilities at home, data collectors in urban development. In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 9 One Female Mapper’s Open Cities Africa Experience: Pascalina Awelana Abadum (front center). Photo: World Bank. Forecast-based financing pilot in Indonesia The GFDRR Labs Challenge Fund supports innovative solutions for identified disaster risk management obstacles. This year, the topic focused on how to support early action and better target vulnerable communities with funding following forecasted disasters—otherwise known as forecast-based financing. Implementing forecast-based financing is difficult because, when a hydrometeorological forecast is issued, it is not clear to risk managers what kind of impacts to expect. Questions like “Will houses be destroyed?” or “What roads will be impacted, and where?” usually arise. Without information about potential impact, risk managers do not know what early actions to take and where to implement them. Partnering with the Red Cross Red Crescent (RCRC) Climate Centre and Kartoza, a tech start-up, Labs supported the development of the first of its kind impact-based forecasting tool to address floods in Indonesia. The pilot has adopted the concept of impact-based forecasting—an approach that combines the understanding of forecasts, impact-hazard curves, and risk analysis—to generate an intervention map that will inform when and where funds for early action should be deployed. These efforts will support anticipatory action and help reach vulnerable communities and provide broad support for the strategies once they were developed. 10 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories AFRICA REGION Enabling Resilient Recovery Advancing emergency preparedness and response in Cabo Verde L ocated 500 kilometers off the western coast of Africa, ministries, agencies, and public institutions, along with the the small island developing state of Cabo Verde grapples private sector and civil society—to collect and validate the with a range of natural hazards that are increasingly data, which included 72 indicators across the five core areas. exacerbated by climate change, including hurricanes A key conclusion of the assessment, which was completed in and tropical storms, droughts, and flash floods. In 2017–18, December 2019, is that Cabo Verde’s EP&R would be well- sustained low levels of precipitation led to a severe drought served by a shift toward a more proactive, systematic approach that devastated the agriculture sector. Highly vulnerable to that draws on good practices already in place. These include geological hazards, in 2014–15 Cabo Verde wrestled with the current strong commitment of emergency responders and the impacts of a volcanic eruption on the island of Fogo that local communities to react effectively to emergencies and crisis displaced nearly a thousand people and caused a great deal of situations, while also learning and innovating for future crises, damage in road infrastructure and nearby villages. in addition to the government’s extensive engagement with the Cabo Verde has been stepping up its efforts to build the private sector and civil society. country’s resilience to disasters and climate change, and in Moreover, the assessment also identified several key late 2018, the national government approved an overarching investment opportunities that, even with limited targeted framework for those efforts: the National Disaster Risk funding, could significantly strengthen Cabo Verde’s EP&R Reduction Strategy. GFDRR and the World Bank have been system. These include the establishment of a national working closely with the government of Cabo Verde and other emergency operations center, the implementation of crisis development partners to operationalize this strategy, including management plans, and the completion of the EP&R legal strengthening the emergency preparedness and response framework. The technical team has been working with the (EP&R) system. This engagement has deepened following the government of Cabo Verde to develop a sequenced investment World Bank’s June 2019 approval of Disaster Risk Management plan that seizes on these opportunities. Development Policy Financing with a Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (Cat DDO), a contingent line of credit GFDRR’s support for strengthening the EP&R system in that can be accessed when a natural catastrophe occurs. Cabo Verde is only one among a broader suite of efforts to The financing arrangement will support the government in advance the country’s resilience to disaster and climate strengthening its institutional and legal framework for disaster change. For instance, as part of the World Bank–supported and climate resilience. Cat DDO program in Cabo Verde, the technical team has also been working with the Ministry of Finance to enable the In partnership with the National Civil Protection Service establishment and operation of the National Emergency Fund and with the support of the government of Luxembourg, (NEF), including the preparation of an operational manual that GFDRR and the World Bank provided critical technical and was adapted to allow the use of the NEF as a critical financial financial assistance toward a comprehensive EP&R diagnostic instrument for the country’s COVID-19 response. The Cabo assessment for Cabo Verde. The assessment draws upon the Verde Cat DDO was financed with $5 million from IBRD and World Bank’s Ready2Respond methodology, which assesses $5 million from IDA; it was fully and rapidly disbursed in April EP&R capacity based on quantitative data covering five and May 2020 to support the government’s response to the core areas: legal and institutional frameworks, information, impact of COVID-19. The Cat DDO was the first instance of facilities, equipment, and personnel. A technical team engaged international financial support for the government during the with over 150 stakeholders—spanning the government’s pandemic. In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 11 Neighbors in Cabo Verde. Photo: Eric Valenne geostory. Lessons Learned "[The assessment] gives us critical recommendations to guide investments required to strengthen the national It is important to help country leaders emergency preparedness and response system to have an understand the value of improving EP&R, effective and efficient service that save lives when extreme events hit our country." not only in terms of the significance of —Renaldo Rodrigues, President of the National Civil Protection Service of investing in upgrades to their systems’ Cabo Verde capabilities and capacities, but also in terms of EP&R’s role in enabling a government to undertake its core Results in Numbers responsibility of protecting its citizens. This investment must be systematic to be both Engaged with over 150 stakeholders effective and coordinated since operating to collect and validate data spanning 72 indicators in silos does not work in responding to for analyzing emergency preparedness and response emergency and disaster situations. capacity in Cabo Verde 12 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories AFRICA REGION Strengthening the Nexus between DRM and FCV Leveraging citizen engagement to tackle the DRM-FCV nexus in Guinea and Kenya A cross the globe, an increasing number of countries is applying DRM-FCV resilience-building practices to county-level affected by the interrelated and mutually reinforcing planning processes and a lack of tools to help stakeholders challenges of disaster and climate risks and those drive resilience development in their local communities. of fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV). Guinea and In conjunction with these efforts, technical teams in both Kenya are no exception to this trend. The northern region of Guinea and Kenya have also been working with local partners to Kenya has been dealing with the complex interplay of droughts develop frameworks and methodologies for better integrating and communal and armed conflict over natural resources. citizen and community engagement in local development Guinea, meanwhile, is highly exposed to disaster and climate plans, with a focus on the DRM-FCV nexus. For instance, in hazards even as it copes with longstanding social and political Guinea, a team has been supporting the National Agency tensions. for Local Development Financing, which has selected two Locally led efforts in both Guinea and Kenya, including those by local governments to pilot the methodology that integrates local governments, are at the forefront of tackling these critical challenges around the DRM-FCV nexus in the development challenges. In FY20, the GFDRR DRM-FCV Nexus Program planning processes across both rural and urban areas. These supported these efforts, with a focus on leveraging citizen efforts are also expected to influence local governments’ and community engagement at the nexus of disaster risk annual investment plans. In the past, local development plans, management (DRM) and FCV. although formed with extensive community participation, had not systematically integrated DRM-FCV risks. A focus of GFDRR’s efforts in both Guinea and Kenya has been to better understand the barriers to citizen and community Even at this early stage of the work, these engagements are engagement with respect to marginalized groups such as already informing governments and other key stakeholders as women, young people, and traditional leaders. For example, in they move forward with resilience-building efforts in Guinea, Kenya, a technical team worked with local partners to conduct Kenya, and beyond. For example, it is expected that the a survey of stakeholders’ perceptions and experiences at methodology for integrating challenges around the DRM-FCV the country level. Even as the survey revealed an increasing nexus will be adapted to a forthcoming World Bank regional appreciation for the importance of resilience-building, operation in the Lake Chad region (Cameroon, Chad, Niger, including in the context of the DRM-FCV nexus, it also and Nigeria). highlighted two potential barriers to engagement: gaps in In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 13 Nairobi, Kenya. June, 2020. Women migrating to find a better and cheaper life away from Kibera. Photo: SOPA Images Limited/Alamy Live News Lessons Learned “For a long time, we have talked of strategies for integrated climate- and hazard-related risk reduction and Understanding key stakeholders’ perceptions peacebuilding in planning. The integrated framework gives and experiences is critical to effective us a practical tool to achieve climate change adaptation resilience-building. Accordingly, as part of and disaster risk reduction. We at the Isiolo County are really excited about applying this tool and hope to generate this effort, a team in Kenya surveyed county- experiences that can help other counties.” level stakeholders to better understand —Salad Tutana, County Chief Officer, Department of Livestock and the gaps and opportunities when it comes Agriculture, Isiolo County Government, Kenya to leveraging citizen and community Results in Numbers engagement. A major opportunity identified in that survey is the strong appreciation by county-level stakeholders for the importance 75 percent of the stakeholders consulted of resilience-building at the nexus of DRM in Kenya said tackling the interplay of climate and conflict risks represents a key opportunity for and FCV. resilient development at a local level 14 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories AFRICA REGION Mozambique: Cyclones Idai and Kenneth R elief efforts in Mozambique after Cyclones Idai and Looking ahead Kenneth in early 2019 showcase GFDRR’s holistic approach to disaster risk management (DRM), from The findings of the PDNA helped mobilize further support and projects which strengthened lifesaving infrastructure directly informed the preparation of the Cyclone Idai & before the cyclones hit and innovative financial solutions Kenneth Emergency Recovery and Resilience Project. The project is a $130 million IDA Crisis Response Window grant, which will which are helping the government build back better and be used to repair and reconstruct housing and rebuild public providing support to small and medium enterprises to continue infrastructure while strengthening climate resilience in the areas operations. most affected by Idai and Kenneth. The project also has a first-of- On March 14, 2019, Mozambique was hit by Cyclone Idai, the its-kind private sector recovery component that will help micro second-deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the South- and small-sized firms get back on their feet and improve access West Indian Ocean basin. With powerful winds and extensive to finance through matching grants, credit lines, and technical flooding, it killed more than 600 people in the northern and assistance to support the implementation of these firms. central parts of the country, directly affected more than 1.8 million people, and devastated infrastructure, with recovery Coming together for a more needs exceeding $3 billion. Cyclone Idai also had significant comprehensive DRM plan impacts in the neighboring countries of Malawi and Zimbabwe, and the devastation of its aftermath was exacerbated by the These resilient recovery activities complement existing and impact of Cyclone Kenneth, a less deadly storm which struck long-standing DRM efforts in the country. In the days following Idai, the World Bank approved the Mozambique Disaster Risk on April 23, 2019. Humanitarian agencies responded quickly Management and Resilience Program, a project which had been to the disasters, providing much needed aid to those affected. under preparation during the previous two years with support As they tended to the most urgent human needs, support from from the ADRF initiative. The $90 million project ($84 million GFDRR helped the government of Mozambique and technical from IDA and $6 million from Global Risk Financing Facility, teams with early response and planning for next steps. GRiF)1 is supporting implementation of Mozambique's second DRM master plan, which will strengthen disaster preparedness The immediate aftermath throughout the country, improve climate resilience in its school infrastructure, and enhance financial protection against Shortly after Idai dissipated, an initial damage assessment disasters through a new Disaster Management Fund. using the Global Rapid Post-Disaster Damage Estimation (GRADE), a speedy and information-rich remote methodology, The project includes two financial instruments for disaster was done, drawing on analysis done by World Bank teams response: with GFDRR support through a Just-in-Time (JIT) grant. Using (i) a contingency fund capitalized with IDA funds and the satellite imagery along with data compiled through the Africa national budget, which was first used to respond to the Disaster Risk Financing Initiative (ADRF), the GRADE analysis recovery requirements following Cyclone Idai, and (ii) a identified approximately $773 million in damages to buildings, sovereign risk insurance scheme that is being prepared with infrastructure, and agriculture. Equipped with this knowledge, the $8 million in grants provided by the GRiF. Of this, $6 the government and recovery teams were able to make more million is directly co-financing IDA resources in the project to informed decisions about allocation of recovery resources in a pay for premium subsidies for cyclone or drought insurance, much shorter time frame. Following the GRADE, a team was on which is complemented with $2 million in technical assistance to support the government on design and implementation of the ground in Beira supporting a government-led Post-Disaster the instrument. Needs Assessment (PDNA). The PDNA estimated that Cyclone Idai caused about $1.4 billion in total damage and $1.39 The master plan is aligned with the priorities of the Sendai billion in losses, with major impacts in housing and transport Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and has five strategic infrastructure. pillars: (i) improving the understanding of risk; GRiF is co-managed by GFDRR and the World Bank’s Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice. 1 In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 15 May 1, 2019: Aerial view of devastated fishing village after Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba, northern Mozambique. Photo: fivepointsix. (ii) strengthening governance and public and private Project was completed. The new drainage system, which benefits participation in disaster risk reduction; (iii) mainstreaming over 250,000 people, including over 70,000 people living in DRM in public investment and territorial planning, and informal settlements, helped divert large quantities of storm consolidating financial protection against disaster; (iv) water out to the sea. The areas that had benefited from drainage strengthening disaster preparedness, response, rapid recovery, rehabilitation investments under the project suffered little to no and resilient reconstruction; and (v) building partnerships and flood damage compared to areas not serviced by rehabilitated international cooperation. drainage systems. Successful DRM investments helped The success of this intervention has helped drive institutional support in Beira to undertake other resilience-building strengthen the case for more projects. "The drainage system and water retention basin The losses could have been even worse. Mozambican cities worked well during heavy rains earlier this year,” said Beira have high exposure to coastal and river flooding. Fortunately, Mayor Daviz Simango during the aftermath of the storm. “Even the city of Beira had recently upgraded its stormwater drainage after Cyclone Idai, Beira faced less flooding than other parts of system. Just six months before Idai made landfall, the first stage the country. Now we need to extend our drainage network to of the IDA-supported Mozambique Cities and Climate Change other parts of the city.” 16 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories AFRICA REGION Promoting resilience to climate change Making transportation climate resilient in Freetown F reetown is a vibrant city of 1 million inhabitants, contributing to 30 percent of Sierra Leone’s GDP, and located on a hilly peninsula surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the world’s most vulnerable cities to the impacts of climate change, with floods and landslides compromising its transport system, which is so important for its economic development. During the rainy season, the already inadequate transport services, badly maintained infrastructure, and chronic congestion are exacerbated by floods, which hinder access to jobs, universities, and overall mobility in the city. The public transport services in Freetown are growing rapidly—both formally and informally. Lack of data and a poor understanding of the vulnerabilities of the transport system to climate-related hazards is preventing city planners from improving and developing a sound and resilient transport system to meet the growing demand. Freetwon, Sierra Leone. Photo: World Bank. To address those challenges the government of Sierra Leone, with support from the Facility, worked to gain a better for challenges related to resilient urban mobility. Winning understanding of the roads’ vulnerability to floods and solutions that will be developed include an app for cashless landslides and how climate change would affect the patterns payment systems for public transport with adapted features for and characteristics of those events. They collected data on people with disabilities; a platform that reports on important public mobility on formal and informal transport systems and information for flood mitigation; and a bus routing system with identified interventions to enhance the resilience of transport emergency response features. systems. This work resulted in the first comprehensive climate risk– To promote the use of innovative approaches for data informed transport map of Freetown and will support decision collection, the World Bank transport team in Sierra Leone making on everything from infrastructure and policies to partnered with students from the Fourah Bay College, journey planning. It has already informed the $50 million the engineering university in Freetown, and the WBG’s Integrated and Resilient Urban Mobility Project funded by IDA WhereIsMyTransport initiative. Mobile applications, such as the that will address identified challenges. Because the transport RoadLabPro, were used by local civil engineering students to map is also publicly available, several developers across map 4,038 km of formal and informal transportation systems. West Africa are building apps to support decision making and Flooded areas and the locations of critical road infrastructures, journey planning. such as drainage and culverts, were also mapped. With this information, together with climate change projections for rainfall and sea level rise, researchers at the University of California Berkley developed risk maps for several scenarios “I see we are going in the right direction. We need and computed risk reduction for different road interventions. to use more data for decision making. And we need A Resilient Urban Mobility Hackathon was also organized in more people locally that can collect and analyze the collaboration with the Directorate of Science Technology and data to make the decisions.” Innovation. More than 110 talented young people mentored by —Professor Obafemi Davies, Head of Civil Engineering Department, experts gathered for three days to produce innovative solutions Fourah Bay College In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 17 East Asia and Pacific Vanuatu. Photo: Gerold Grotelueschen 18 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories EAST ASIA PACIFIC Building social resilience Building resilience from the bottom up in the Solomon Islands Results in Numbers Overall, 64,000 people benefited from community-led resilience projects Nearly 70 community-led resilience projects were supported 7 seismic and volcano monitoring stations were supported A household in the Solomon. Photo: World Bank. L ocated in the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Solomon Islands In view of the particular needs and vulnerabilities of women, are highly prone to natural hazards. Each year, the the community-level projects put a heavy focus on ensuring country incurs an average loss of $20 million as a result that they have a key role to play in decision making during the of earthquakes and tropical cyclones alone. Ranked project identification and selection process, as well as during among the top 10 countries with the greatest exposure and design and implementation. Women are estimated to comprise vulnerability to disaster, the Solomon Islands face the specter nearly half of the direct beneficiaries of the project. of more severe weather extremes as a result of climate change. Taking a comprehensive approach to community resilience, the Recognizing the importance of building resilience from the Facility is also supporting the national and select provincial bottom up, GFDRR supports efforts by the government of the governments in integrating disaster risk management in their Solomon Islands and select provincial governments to engage policies and practices, including at the community level. For with communities in the Pacific Island nation so that they can instance, this engagement has facilitated the development take the lead in managing disaster and climate risks closest to of nearly 80 community-based disaster risk management home. plans. It has also enabled the implementation of a revised national disaster management plan designed to strengthen the With the support of the ACP-EU Natural Disaster Risk Reduction governance of this sector at the national, provincial, and local Program, nearly 70 community-level resilience projects are levels. underway across the provinces of Central, Guadalcanal, Malaita, and Temotu. Local communities are at the helm of Further, technical assistance is also being provided to these efforts, helping to ensure that results and outcomes are strengthen the Solomon Islands’ climate and disaster risk sustainable over the long term. information. The country’s seismic monitoring infrastructure has been enhanced significantly, beefing up authorities’ One example of what has been achieved so far is a community- ability to detect seismic activity and disseminate early led effort in the village of Nanggu that has built 15 water warnings to communities. A milestone achievement has been standpipes, which provided water to 700 residents and the modernization of the Ministry of Environment, Climate strengthened their ability to cope with natural hazards. Overall, Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM)’s risk 64,000 people have benefited from the community-level information management system, making climate and disaster projects, which also include earthquake retrofit strengthening risk data much more usable and accessible for end users. or cyclone strengthening of buildings, foundation raising for flood alleviation, safe footbridges, community safe houses, and shoreline protection measures. In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 19 EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC Enabling Resilient Recovery Recovery and resilience in Lao PDR Since the assessment, the World Bank and the government of Lao PDR have been working to implement recommendations from the PDNA. The two hardest hit public sectors were transport and waterways, making up 75 percent of total damages. To provide immediate support for recovery and reconstruction, the World Bank is providing $51 million through project restructuring and special funding from the IDA Crisis Response Window for the rehabilitation of roads and embankments. The government allocated approximately $58 million The Old Bridge in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR. Photo: holgs. in its budget, with specific actions based on the PDNA’s findings. In In 2018, Lao PDR suffered its most damaging and costly floods addition, in line with the assessment’s recommendation, the in a decade. Heavy rains from two tropical cyclones resulted World Bank is preparing a Development Policy Operation (DPO) in the collapse of a saddle dam in Attapeu province, which with a Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (Cat DDO), caused flash floods. Overall, 64 people lost their lives and which seeks to advance the disaster risk management policy more than 600,000 people across the country were affected. agenda and provide immediate liquidity in the aftermath of a The destruction of farms and microenterprises, along with disaster. the disruption to social services, affected income sources and increased debt levels for the 70 percent of households already Overall damage and losses by province (billion kips) in debt. Vulnerable communities were particularly affected, especially with the displacement caused by the destruction of almost 1,700 houses. GFDRR provided a Just-in-Time grant of $100,000 to help identify priority needs following the floods, together with technical support for a government-led Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA). With support from the Facility, teams from the World Bank, the UN, and EU, worked with civil society organizations to assist the government with the assessment. With close cooperation between the partners, an assessment was completed in less than a month. The PDNA report n < 100 estimated total damages of $371.5 million, equivalent to 2.1 n 100–150 percent of the country’s projected 2018 GDP, and 10.2 percent n 150–200 of Lao PDR’s annual budget in 2018. Recovery needs were n 200–250 estimated at $520 million, with the highest impacts identified n > 300 in the transport, agriculture, and waterways sectors. The PDNA highlighted actions for improving gender equality and child Source: UNITAR, Lao PDR, October 22, 2018. protection in the recovery process. 20 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC Policy reform for disaster preparedness Strengthening disaster management policy in Pacific Island Countries AT A GLANCE Countries Pacific Island Countries (PICs): Fiji, Samoa, Tuvalu, Vanuatu Risks Tropical Storms, droughts, floods, storm surges, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, sea level rise Areas of engagement Deepening engagements in resilience to climate change, Enabling resilient recovery Pacific Island Countries are developing national policy and regulatory frameworks to address the threat of climate and weather-induced disasters. Effects of Cyclone Winston in Fiji. Photo: World Bank/Vlad Sokhin Context Approach Losses from disaster shocks are felt across Pacific Islands. Introduction of customized policy responses Pacific Island Countries (PIC) such as Fiji, Samoa, Tuvalu, and to tackle disaster and climate threats Vanuatu have been repeatedly hit by tropical cyclones, each time incurring significant losses. For example, Vanuatu alone In order to address disaster and climate risks, PICs have is estimated to incur an average of $48 million of losses per upgraded their policies, strategies, and regulations to tackle year due to earthquakes and tropical storms, which represents future threat scenarios by considering the projected effects approximately 6.6% of its GDP. In Tuvalu, 45% of the of climate change into disaster resilience planning. Relevant population were displaced in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Ministries and Disaster Agencies in Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu Pam which hit in 2015. and Tuvalu have collaborated to develop or strengthen their respective DRM and CCA policies and regulatory frameworks, Given the common challenges that PICs face in the increasing in order to enhance preparedness and response to climate and variability of impacts from climate-related hazards, disaster shocks. governments in the region are looking to strengthen and harmonize policies, strategies, and regulations for effective These efforts have been combined with planned World Bank disaster risk management (DRM) and climate change investments that aim to help countries strengthen legal, policy adaptation (CCA). Challenges remain in strengthening and other institutional aspects of DRM, as well as provide national policy and regulatory frameworks and in effectively immediate liquidity in the aftermath of disasters. coordinating these efforts. The Africa Caribbean Pacific – European Union Natural Disaster Risk Reduction (ACP-EU NDRR) Program has been solicited by the governments of Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu and Tuvalu to help strengthen and coordinate these national frameworks. The ACP-EU NDRR Program is an initiative of the ACP Group of States, funded by the EU and managed by the Global Facility for Disaster reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 21 EAST ASIA PACIFIC Policy reform for disaster preparedness Strengthening disaster management policy in Pacific Island Countries Results and Achievements Fiji A consortium of government ministries, including those responsible for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Education, Heritage and Arts, Rural and Maritime Development, and Disaster Management and Meteorological Services, has finalized the preparation of guidelines for the implementation of the National Building Code. This has in turn strengthened Fiji’s capacity to improve the design and construction of single- Effects of Cyclone Winston in Fiji. World Bank/Vlad Sokhin story houses and schools to prepare for climate and disaster risks. The new guidelines of the National Building Code include practical solutions and illustrations showing best practices for the design and construction of new buildings. Lessons Learned Revised DRM and CCA policies have a direct impact on Samoa promoting resilient infrastructure The Ministry of Works, Transport, and Infrastructure and the New DRM and CCA strategies represent a policy shift from Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment have mitigating damage to addressing the causes of risk across many worked together to strengthen the country’s institutional policy industries, including the building and construction sectors. This framework for CCA and DRM. This has entailed developing can be seen, for example, in the new Building Act of Tuvalu. practical solutions, guidelines, and awareness of revised building codes and standards which has increased the New policies are the result of an inclusive, whole-of-society country’s ability to assess building applications and to check approach compliance with new building codes. The government has also Each PIC solicited expertise and feedback from a broad communicated the new building guidelines to stakeholders representation of societal actors to design the new DRM in the private sector and reached out to communities to raise frameworks. Traditional institutions representing indigenous awareness of climate and disaster-related risks. communities, educational and health experts, and engineers from the private sector worked alongside government Vanuatu ministries, such as Fiji’s Ministry of Itaukei Affairs, to promote A multi-pronged policy analysis was conducted to identify inclusive and sustainable risk planning. areas that need to be strengthened for an effective national DRM and CCA framework to take root. The government revised its National DRM Act and the National Subdivision Policy and developed a Disaster Recovery Framework that will provide “The government of Samoa is continuing to deliver advice for implementing post-disaster recovery and “build back on reforms that will strengthen our economy, better” measures. enhance our resilience to climate change and natural hazards, and reduce the scourge of non- Tuvalu communicable diseases. We are pleased to partner Technical and analytical work was undertaken to review with the World Bank as we work for Samoa’s people, existing DRM policies, plans and regulations to identify guided by our Strategy for the Development of potential gaps and identify priority reform actions and to enhance the government’s capacity to implement the National Samoa.” Strategic Action Plan for climate change and DRM. —Hon. Sili Epa Tuioti, Samoa’s Minister of Finance 22 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories Serbia. Photo: Jose_Matheus / Shutterstock.com In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 23 Europe and Central Asia 24 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA Promoting Resilient Infrastructure Ensuring post-disaster business continuity for water utilities in the Danube region S tretching from Germany’s Black Forest region all the way identification, measurement and mitigation, and the design and to the Black Sea, the Danube region has known more implementation of operating procedures for managing disaster than its fair share of disasters, including earthquakes, events, as well as business recovery plans in their aftermath. droughts, and floods. These disasters have all too often Recognizing the value of learning by doing, the curriculum put the region’s access to water at risk. Case in point: at the peak features scenario-based training exercises for decision-making in of the May 2014 floods around the Sava River Basin, roughly emergencies. 1 million people in Bosnia and Herzegovina were left without In an effort to ensure country ownership and long-term access to drinking water because of disruptions in the country’s sustainability, a technical team, with the support of GFDRR, water supply. In recent years, authorities in the Kosovar capital subsequently provided advice to water utility associations in of Pristina have also been forced to curb water services because Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia of severe drought. so that they could take the lead in disseminating the curriculum In six countries of the Danube region—Albania, Bosnia and through both in-person training and virtual lessons in the local Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia— language. Overall, these associations have helped distribute the GFDRR has been delivering support to water utility providers curriculum to over 150 technical and managerial staff at water to ensure business continuity in the aftermath of a disaster. utility providers in these four countries. The key focus of this engagement has been the development COVID-19 has not spared the Danube region, and it poses and dissemination of a comprehensive water safety and a significant challenge to business continuity in the water crisis management curriculum in post-disaster contexts for utility sector. As of the end of fiscal year 2020, GFDRR has their respective technical and managerial staff. These efforts been providing support for upgrading the water safety and have been made under the umbrella of the Danube Learning crisis management curriculum to more strongly incorporate Partnership (D-LeaP), a capacity-building initiative representing preparedness and response in health emergencies, including a water utility providers across the region, in partnership with the broadened approach to risk assessment. As part of this effort, World Bank–supported Danube Water Program. dedicated webinars have highlighted insights that are most Drawing on the expertise of the International Association of relevant for utility companies in pandemic situations, including Water Service Companies in the Danube River Catchment the essential elements of preparation during day-to-day Area—a regional platform for knowledge exchange in the operations to ensure rapid emergency response, subsequent water sector—the curriculum covers several key areas in crisis management, and, later, recovery. water safety and crisis management. These include risk In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 25 Credit: ADKOM (Association of public utility services providers of the Republic of North Macedonia). Photo: World Bank. “In the state of emergency and declared pandemic, the water safety planning and crisis management training Lessons Learned allowed us to propose and immediately implement measures to protect workers in the vital facilities of the Building local ownership plays a key role in water supply and wastewater treatment plant.” driving the sustainability of resilience efforts. —Stojan Eftimov, Crisis Manager at PCU Komunalec, Strumica, North This was proven when the technical team Macedonia worked closely with water utility associations in four countries to ensure knowledge transfer Results in Numbers and develop the skills to lead and disseminate the water safety and crisis management Over 150 officials from water utility curriculum for the long haul. providers in 4 countries trained in water safety and crisis management, with a focus on post-disaster contexts 26 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA Ensuring a safe learning environment for children Improving school infrastructure safety in the Kyrgyz Republic AT A GLANCE 80% of schools in the Kyrgyz Republic Countries Kyrgyz Republic are vulnerable to earthquakes Risks Earthquakes, landslides, mudflows, glacial lake outburst floods, and avalanches Areas of engagement Promoting resilient infrastructure In the Kyrgyz Republic, the Government is investing in its schools to improve their safety and functionality and ensure that they are more resilient to natural disasters. Kyrgyz Children at Risk A New Curriculum for Safer Schools An estimated 2.5 million students attend over 3,000 public In 2015, the government established the State Program on school facilities in the Kyrgyz Republic. There is general Safer Schools and Preschools of the Kyrgyz Republic 2015– knowledge throughout Central Asia of the seismic vulnerability 2024 to improve the safety of all its 2,222 schools and 806 of its residential and school buildings built during the Soviet preschools. era. The State Program provides the initial framework to reduce the However, through a recent national-level probabilistic risk vulnerability of school infrastructure nationwide, technical and assessment, the Kyrgyz Republic was able to quantify and financial support will be required to support the Government to identify regions in the country where the seismic risk is reach their stage. concentrated, including the capital, Bishkek. In addition to safety and resilience challenges, the project aims The assessment provided compelling evidence of the high to improve quality learning environments vulnerability of the existing school infrastructure. It found that the combined total value of school buildings across the country in existing facilities through measures such as higher energy- is estimated to be $1.5 billion. efficiency; updated Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities; and inclusive education, which are not in adequate It also showed that potential fatalities in the education sector condition due to lack of school budget. are alarmingly high: fatalities were estimated to exceed 7,500 in school buildings, while a lower number is expected in GFDRR and the World Bank have provided support to the residential buildings. government in implementing this forward-looking strategy through the Enhancing Resilience in Kyrgyzstan Project. In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 27 EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA Ensuring a safe learning environment for children Improving school infrastructure Safety in the Kyrgyz Republic Results in Numbers Improving safety for 2,222 schools and 806 preschools Photo: Nick van Praag / The World Bank Lessons Learned NEW RETROFIT SOLUTIONS Affordable and locally-applicable retrofit solutions were Locally applicable solutions enable sustainable management designed for 3 of the main types of school buildings The program tailors affordable and effective engineering in Kyrgyz Republic. These solutions are design in an solutions for 3 typical school building types in the country to incremental approach to efficiently ensure satisfactory improve seismic performance to meet international standards. seismic performance according to different conditions. The solutions take into consideration the local constitution environment and the capacity building of the local technical STRONGER ANALYSIS community, so that the solutions can be widely applied in the The project introduced a new tool to conduct seismic country by the local technical community. risk assessment, intervention strategy optimization, and Finding the most efficient investment plan is a key to scale up investment prioritization for school facilities. The tool the impact has been applied to 300 eligible schools to inform the The program develops an intervention strategy and investment decision of investment plan. The analysis produced a plan, enabling the optimization of the safety benefit with solution that would enable nearly 80% of the schools to limited investment. Informed by the optimized solution, become seismically resilient with about 30% of the total decisions can be geared towards more efficient development of investment needed. the seismic resilience of schools and benefit as many students as possible. LIVES AND FUTURES PROTECTED Informed by the analytical results and following the Involvement of wider stakeholders can load to greater optimized solution, 10 schools with about 8,500 students adaptation of the strategy are estimated to benefit in the short term with $12 million The program operated under the country’s institutional, legal investment under the project, covering 4 oblasts with the and regulatory framework, and included the participation of highest seismic risk. The benefits include seismic safety, key stakeholders involved in school infrastructure. The wide energy efficiency, and WASH improvements. involvement of stakeholders facilitates the building of local capacities to enable a better and wider implementation of the framework. “I really knew little about these problems before that, but today I was convinced that this project is not easy one. We need to engage fully, and at the same time, this project will provide a guarantee to ensure the safety of our students and our population.” —Kalys Ahmatov, Deputy Minister of MoES of the Kyrgyz Republic. 28 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories Haiti. Photo: McIninch In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 29 Latin America and the Caribbean 30 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN Building Resilience at the Community Level Applying behavioral science to disaster risk management in Haiti H aiti’s geographic location makes it highly exposed to 5. Moreover, people who have had a bad experience with shelters hurricanes, and climate change is increasing their might be hesitant to evacuate because they are worried about frequency and intensity. And while much remains to their safety in the shelter. For example, they may be concerned be done, the country has been making headway in that the structure may not be resilient enough or safety strengthening its resilience to hurricanes and other adverse measures in the management of the shelter may not be well events by developing early warning systems that provide local implemented. populations with immediate and actionable information to Drawing on these findings, the team developed strategic prepare for and minimize the impact of these events. recommendations for strengthening Haiti’s early warning Research has shown that many fatalities can be prevented systems. These include simplifying warnings and messages, if people evacuate to a safer place in a timely fashion. improving the timeliness of dissemination, and promoting trust Notwithstanding the progress in improving Haiti’s early warning between local populations and the CCPCs, which play a key role systems, behavioral barriers often interfere with people’s in the communication of messages. decision-making when they are faced with a catastrophic event. These recommendations are already informing and catalyzing With the support of the ACP-EU Natural Disaster Risk Reduction resilience and disaster risk management efforts across Haiti. Program managed by GFDRR, a World Bank technical team dug Recently, with support from the EU-funded Caribbean Regional deep into these behavioral barriers, with the goal of identifying Resilience Building Facility, managed by GFDRR, the country’s opportunities for strengthening the effectiveness of early DGPC launched a national communications campaign to build warning and evacuation systems. In Haiti, these systems are awareness and preparedness during the 2020 hurricane season managed by Municipal Civil Protection Committees (Comités through a variety of platforms—including national and local Communaux de Protection Civile, or CCPCs) under the direction radio, SMS, social media, and other online platforms in audio, of the country’s Civil Protection General Directorate (Direction video, text, and graphic formats. As part of the campaign, over Générale de la Protection Civile, or DGPC), utilizing a range of 1 million people have viewed a music video featuring a song communication channels including radio and door-to-door visits, and dance number by popular Haitian artists that conveyed the as well as short message services (SMS). Haiti has a cell phone importance of being prepared for hurricanes and other disasters. penetration rate approaching 60 percent. At the same time, the World Bank’s IDA-funded Strengthening Through interviews and focus groups carried out in Port-au- Disaster Risk Management and Climate Resilience Project is Prince and in the Nippes and South departments of Haiti, the putting an emphasis on understanding the mindset and beliefs of team identified five main behavioral barriers to evacuation: target populations for its comprehensive resilience engagement in Haiti. With support from GFDRR and in partnership with 1. Often the population does not receive the alert messages. the government of Haiti, this project is helping the country 2. When the information does arrive, messages are not always simplify early warning system messages, including the use presented in a format that is easy to understand. of salient visuals, in addition to strengthening the training of CCPCs to facilitate evacuation. This project is also financing 3. Even when the information arrives and is understood, the construction of multifunctional emergency shelters while sometimes people do not internalize the risk level. For integrating the behavioral insights in the design and functional instance, the average person may struggle to believe that a aspects, ensuring not only the resilience of the infrastructure but hurricane, which is perceived to be a low probability event, also the safety of the people evacuated. will hit their home, or they may stay behind to protect their livestock. 4. Even when people internalize risk levels, structural challenges—such as the lack of a shelter close to their homes or lack of transportation—make it impossible to heed warnings. In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 31 Haiti’s Municipal Civil Protection Committees, under the direction of the Civil Protection General Directorate, play a key role in implementing the country’s early warning and emergency evacuation systems. Photo: ©Vincent Theodore. “This activity was key to build awareness of the risks Lessons Learned associated with hurricanes and strengthen communication in preparation for an emergency situation.” People may not evacuate despite warnings —Lolo of the band Boukman Eksperyans, one of the artists involved in the because they may not understand the communications campaign informed by the study messages and do not trust the messengers. Accordingly, a national communications Results in Numbers campaign, informed by the behavioral study, featured popular Haitian artists who Over 1 million people have viewed a music conveyed the importance of being prepared video featuring a song and dance number for disasters through the relatable and by popular Haitian artists that drew on the accessible medium of song and dance. behavioral study to convey the importance of being prepared for hurricanes and other disasters 32 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN EU-Funded Programs Advancing inclusive resilience-building in Saint Lucia’s critical infrastructure and beyond L ocated on the southern edge of the Atlantic hurricane belt support to update the 2004 National Water Policy. This and characterized by a steep and rugged topography, the analytical work has highlighted the tension between outdated Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia is all too familiar land use management regulations and the protection of water with the devastation caused by natural hazards, including supply sources for potable use, and the need to improve the hurricanes, landslides, flooding, droughts, and earthquakes. Most governance both of water resources management and water recently, in May 2020, the government of Saint Lucia declared a supply, and of sanitation services. While focusing on the long- water emergency amid growing imbalances between water supply term planning of water infrastructure, the analytical work also and demand, a situation the country is observing with increasing considered the impacts of aging water supply infrastructure frequency. and inefficiencies in water usage and service delivery, among other key challenges. Recognizing the challenge posed by intensifying disaster and climate risks to Saint Lucia’s development prospects, the In conjunction with these initiatives, the technical team, with national government is strongly committed to charting a more support from the ACP-EU NDRR Program, has also engaged resilient future for its citizens, including the implementation of with the government of Saint Lucia on analytical work that climate change adaptation strategies for critical infrastructure will inform the country’s efforts to ensure that the poor and economic sectors. With the support of the ACP-EU Natural and socially vulnerable are not left behind in the country’s Disaster Risk Reduction (NDRR) Program, which is managed by resilience-building. Efforts that have been completed include GFDRR, Saint Lucia has been making strides toward not only the development of a shocks module that was incorporated strengthening the resilience of public infrastructure, but also into the country’s living standards measurement survey, which ensuring that its resilience-building efforts put the needs of the was used by national authorities to quantify the impact of past poor and socially vulnerable front and center. disasters. A technical team, with the support of the ACP-EU NDRR This suite of analytical work has informed the targeting Program, has been providing support to Saint Lucia’s and implementation of the government’s social protection government in its efforts to understand and tackle resilience measures—a key pillar of the national resilience program. For gaps across the country’s critical infrastructure. instance, the social safety net targeting instrument was updated The team has worked closely with the Saint Lucia Solid Waste to better identify poor and vulnerable households, including Management Authority to develop a deep dive assessment, female-headed households. This will enable the government to policy, and action reform plan for the country’s solid waste provide focused support to those most at risk and more likely management system. The assessment and action plan, which to experience debilitating effects from disasters. The analytical will inform the government’s solid waste management strategy, work is also informing initiatives to improve farmers’ access to calls for the establishment of community-based collection climate risk finance through the Climate Adaptation Financing systems near residences that are not located on roadways Facility (CAFF), a component of the World Bank’s IDA-funded where authority contractors collect waste. These efforts are Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project. expected to increase public awareness around the roles and As Saint Lucia wrestles with the impacts of COVID-19, the responsibilities of waste generators in properly managing their national government has been working with the technical waste, and to optimize basic waste collection and disposal team to adapt its engagement to respond to the pandemic. For services and infrastructure to ensure that core solid waste instance, the team has been providing technical assistance to management services are provided in an environmentally ensure the resilience of critical infrastructure works, including sound and sustainable manner. medical facilities, which are part of the government’s efforts to Furthermore, the team has also engaged with the Saint Lucia respond to COVID-19 and to stimulate the economy amid the Water Resource Management Agency to provide analytical downturn. In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 33 Castries, The Marchand River Bed. Department of Infrastructure Engineer (center) flanked by staff of the Lucia. Photo: St. Project © Lawrence Coordinating Weslowski Unit Jr | Dreamstime.com. (PCU). Photo: World Bank. Lessons Learned Effective targeting of disaster risk management and resilience measures is “Over the hurricane seasons, when Saint Lucia has critical to ensure that these measures do actually been hit by a hurricane, our infrastructure that has really been damaged has always been the not leave vulnerable populations behind. highest cost of government rebuilding. With new Accordingly, a key priority for the analytical infrastructure that is being built, . . . we’ve taken that work was to enable the government of into consideration from a climate perspective to ensure Saint Lucia to update its social safety net that we can reduce the risk of very high hurricane storms or Category 5+ storms and sea-level rise and targeting instrument to better identify poor everything else.” and vulnerable households, thus helping —Nadia Wells-Hyacinth, Director of Financial Administration, ensure focused support for those most likely Government of Saint Lucia to experience debilitating effects from disasters. 34 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN Caribbean nations work together for regional resilience Upgrading Caribbean disaster preparedness and response capacities AT A GLANCE Countries: Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Risks: Tropical storms, hurricanes, storm surges, floods, rising sea levels GFDRR Areas of Engagement: Deepening engagements in resilience to climate change, Enabling resilient recovery National disaster management agencies in the Caribbean are overcoming challenges to the implementation of effective emergency preparedness and response systems. Understanding Risk Caribbean Conference. Photo: World Bank Institutional obstacles are preventing a comprehensive institutional evaluation of their respective effective responses to disaster risk NDMOs to identify weaknesses in their preparedness and The Caribbean region is confronted with an increasing response systems, and to build a framework that will support number of devastating storms and extreme weather events, as future regional cooperation. This initiative is supported by the evidenced by the increasing length of the Atlantic hurricane Africa Caribbean Pacific – European Union Natural Disaster season during which these storms can form, as well as Risk Reduction (ACP-EU NDRR) Program, an initiative of the their severity. These events require advanced government ACP Group of States, funded by the EU and managed by the and institutional capacities to adequately prepare for an Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). immediate response in their aftermath. Yet many of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the region are confronted Designing a regional strategic roadmap with significant obstacles in designing and maintaining such and investment plan a system. These obstacles derive from insufficient human In order to guide and coordinate these countries’ efforts to and financial resources being invested in these countries’ improve their disaster management capacities, an institutional respective National Disaster Management Organizations roadmap is being developed to help each country’s respective (NDMOs), ranging from deficiencies in their institutional NDMO to address its gaps and deficiencies. This roadmap is frameworks to a lack of coordination between these agencies. being informed by the results of an institutional assessment The common challenges faced by these countries require a of each NDMO that was conducted by a series of in-person regional response which can guide coordination on disaster interviews and questionnaires between national disaster management mechanisms. To this end, the Caribbean experts and program representatives. Based on the evaluation Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), a regional of existing legal and institutional policies, facilities, equipment, inter-governmental agency for disaster management in the and personnel, each assessment will inform the roadmap on Caribbean community, is spearheading an initiative to enhance the most viable paths for reform. For instance, in Saint Lucia, disaster preparedness in Eastern Caribbean countries, namely the assessment has yielded recommendations for strengthening Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the cooperation with the private sector and deepening knowledge of Grenadines and Saint Lucia. These countries are undergoing private sector insurance schemes. In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 35 Castries, Saint Lucia. Photo: Flavio Vallenari. One of the common weaknesses identified by the institutional Lessons learned assessments was the NDMOs’ insufficient capacities in collecting and managing actionable data and information. At A participatory approach combining analytical and capacity the request of the countries that underwent the assessment, building outputs ensures better end-products the project received additional funding to undertake a series of Country consultations have been essential to develop the five data collection training workshops to address this gap. These country-level situational awareness reports, through workshops capacity-building trainings are being held with the objective and bilateral follow-up meetings. This approach has produced of handling both the Covid-19 crisis in the Caribbean and the detailed information on each country’s disaster preparedness hurricane season. and response capacities, such as the growing expectations gap between each agency’s capacity to meet increasingly diverse Results and Achievements disaster management responsibilities and their own human and financial resources, and the development of actionable Institutional assessment reports were developed for the five recommendations. participating Caribbean island states, highlighting several policy gaps and recommendations. For example, it was Institutional reforms require inputs from policy as well as identified that Saint Vincent and the Grenadines would require technical levels leadership and co-ordination at the strategic level in order It is important to engage not just stakeholders within disaster to drive reforms, promote engagement of stakeholders and management agencies through technical assessments and influence experts, emergency responders and the public. Key trainings, but also involve policymakers within the government institutional bottlenecks and blockages were also identified in who are likely to determine the long-term success of these Saint Lucia and Dominica, such as outdated legislation and the institutional reforms. To define priorities for investment, lack of relevant training and investment in human resources. gaining input from the ministries of finance in each country of engagement is crucial to guarantee the sustainability of these The 5 institutional assessment reports were presented and reforms. discussed with national stakeholders during 5 country-level situational awareness workshops, leading to the training and awareness-raising of 147 people, including 45 women. Multiple targeted follow up sessions were also organized with national stakeholders in order to finalize the outputs. 36 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN Strengthening hydrometeorological services to curb risk Managing disaster risk in Central America AT A GLANCE Countries Honduras and Nicaragua Risks River floods, hurricanes, tropical storms, landslides, long term economic and fiscal impacts Areas of engagement Strengthening hydromet services and early warning systems As disaster risk intensifies in Central America due to the impact of weather events and climate change, Honduras and Nicaragua are taking action to be better prepared for natural hazards by Flooding in the north of Honduras on the Ulua River has displaced many from their small homes. (Photo: World Bank) modernizing hydromet services In Honduras, Hurricane Mitch (1998) represented the worst disaster in the country’s recent history, affecting 90 percent of its territory, leading to over 5,700 deaths and 8,000 missing as A Transboundary Approach for Similar well as displacing nearly half a million individuals. The overall Regional Challenges damage amounted to 81.0 percent of GDP, and subsequent extreme meteorological events since Hurricane Mitch would In Central America, adverse hydrometeorological events are suggest that Honduras’ disaster vulnerability is on the rise. In the most frequent disasters generated by natural hazards in Honduras alone, between 1980 and 2010, over 15,000 people Honduras and Nicaragua. From 1990 to 2012, it is estimated were killed and over 4 million were affected by disasters, while that annual economic losses due to weather-related disasters— economic damage amounted to US$4.5 billion. including hurricanes, tropical storms, floods, and landslides— were equivalent to 2.8 percent and 1.9 percent of GDP for Honduras and Nicaragua, respectively. Applying Hydromet Expertise and Investment Both Honduras and Nicaragua are exposed to hurricanes More than 15 million citizens in Central America are at risk that frequently strike the countries, resulting in extensive of not having access to public weather services, timely early flooding, landslides, and destruction from strong winds. This warning systems, or hydrometeorological information. The lack is treacherous for the rural economies, which rely on income of access to this information leads to not having the ability to in the agriculture sector, leaving populations in an extremely be prepared. Ultimately, having these systems and processes vulnerable position. Moreover, these countries are consistently in place allows countries to plan, prepare, and if necessary, facing high levels of physical and financial risk and losing evacuate in a disaster situation. hundreds of lives every year because of extreme weather events such as intense storms, flooding events, and hurricanes During 2015–19, both countries embarked on an effort to that have left economic damage in the billions of dollars. strengthen the institutional capacities at the national level to Specifically, in Nicaragua, Hurricane Felix (2007) caused support early warning systems for meteorological, hydrological, damage and losses equivalent to 14.4 percent of GDP, while the and climate-related hazards in Honduras and Nicaragua, heavy rains of 2007 in the northwestern region and the 2011 including at the subnational levels in the Nicaragua Caribbean Tropical Depression 12E eliminated 3 percent and 6.8 percent coastal and Rio San Juan regions and the Honduras Chamalecón of GDP, respectively and Ulúa River basins. / 37 Results in Numbers More than 7 million citizens now have access to weather and forecasting information Photo: NASA A three-year project was implemented to develop access to Lessons learned basic hydromet information for 4.5 million in Honduras and 3 million in Nicaragua through low-cost, high-impact activities, The Importance of Modernization Plans such as newly digitalizing all hydromet records, developing The development of modernization plans proved to be a a hydromet database, and creating a roadmap and strategy practical way to help Honduras and Nicaragua improve their for how to improve hydromet services in the coming years. public weather services, invest in disaster-related early The countries aimed to develop a strong hydromet and early warning systems, and strengthen their hydrometeorological warning system so they could act quickly against an extreme information and decision support systems for climate- weather event. In the end, having the most up-to-date and dependent sectors. reliable information is key for a country and its citizens. The Criticality of Installing a Database The Government of Japan, through the Japan–World Bank Using the low-cost database platform initiated the DRM Program, provided a US$1.45 million grant to Honduras transformation and modernization of both national institutions. and Nicaragua to support their hydromet modernization The development of hydromet service websites proved useful efforts. Building on the experience of Japan in identifying, to increase the visibility of the National Meteorological and predicting, and managing the risks posed by weather hazards, Hydrological Services. These websites could have an important Honduras and Nicaragua developed modernization plans for impact in both countries to make the case for improved their hydromet infrastructure and improved their weather hydromet services to gain the support of users and beneficiary forecasting capabilities. Overall, the investment helped not institutions. only to benefit more than 7 million people to give them access to hydromet information, but also leveraged more than US$13 million dollars between the two countries to finance more MODERNIZATION PLANS DEVELOPED activities described in the hydromet modernization plans. The Modernization Plans developed through this grant established a framework toward strengthening early warning systems and improved the weather services provided to end users in both countries. OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES IN PLACE “Previously when we were asked, for example, a Through this grant, manuals and procedures were map with the accumulated rainfall of recent days, developed to help both governments improve the accuracy we took several hours to produce it. Now with the of the current weather forecasts made by introducing MCH [the WMO Meteorological, Climatological and the use of appropriate methods, tools and operational Hydrological database management system] it is procedures, and recommendations to implement concrete something that is produced and published on the actions to improve weather forecasts and capabilities. website automatically.” DATABASE AND WEBSITES OPERATIONAL —Francisco Argueñal, Chief Meteorologist Websites allowed real-time and historical information of the Honduran Emergency Commission to be managed and stored with a new meteorological, hydrological, and climate database management system. Afghanistan. Photo: Jose_Matheus / Shutterstock.com In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 39 South Asia 40 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories SOUTH ASIA Engaging with citizens and communities to build a resilient Afghanistan F or much of its recent history, Afghanistan’s development deliberations around the identification and prioritization progress has been set back by conflict. Eager to turn of resilience measures to be undertaken by the Afghan the page and rebuild the bonds of trust that have frayed government under its CCAP. For instance, the Allani council over the years, the national government has prioritized in the northwest region of the Darayim District, Badakhshan the implementation of the Citizens’ Charter Afghanistan Province, has identified the construction of a protection Project (CCAP), a comprehensive program to put the needs and wall against floods, landslides, and avalanches as a priority aspirations of citizens front and center in the development of investment for the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and the country’s infrastructure and service delivery. Development. To ensure that council members and the wider population are able to participate fully in the deliberations, the In line with the Citizens’ Charter, the national government, risk profiles have been converted to a video format, narrated in with the support of GFDRR and the World Bank, has been both Dari and Pashto. making marked progress toward strengthening community- based disaster risk management practices in Afghanistan. No With an eye for long-term sustainability, GFDRR has also stranger to disaster, the country is highly vulnerable to natural supported training and capacity-building activities that hazards such as flooding, earthquakes, avalanches, landslides, complement these efforts for community members. Within each and droughts. local team, a leader has been trained and recruited to help ensure consistent engagement and buy-in from the community. In 10 communities in Badakhshan, Panjshir, and Kandahar At the same time, community development councils and provinces, local teams have gathered firsthand information community champions have received training in key disaster about the disaster risks and challenges people face and, just risk management concepts and principles. as critically, the opportunities for building resilience at the community level. Focus group discussions involved over 800 GFDRR and World Bank support for community-based disaster participants, nearly 40 percent of whom are female. Alongside risk management in Afghanistan is aligned with a wider the focus group discussions and key informant interviews, portfolio of resilience engagements in the country. For instance, staff from the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Resource several community leaders have also participated in training to Center (piloted at the Ministry of Reconstruction and Rural operate and maintain low-cost and locally assembled weather Development) have been conducting field surveys to document stations as part of ongoing support toward strengthening the and better understand past hazard events. country’s hydrological and meteorological (hydromet) and early warning services. Coupled with weather boards located in Drawing on insights from these efforts as well as Afghanistan’s mosques, along with a free mobile weather application in Dari repository of geospatial disaster data in the country’s Geonode and Pashto to use on a phone, these efforts are helping ensure platform, which has also been supported by GFDRR, the DRM that Afghan citizens in the 10 communities have access to local Resource Center has developed multi-hazard risk profiles for weather data and forecasts. Furthermore, insights and lessons each of the 10 communities. These profiles include maps of from the community-based DRM engagement are also informing buildings and farmlands that identify residents and categorize the development of the IDA-funded, Drought Early Warning, the different levels of risk in each of the communities. Finance, and Action Project in Afghanistan, which is currently With feedback from the wider population, community under preparation. development councils have begun using these profiles to inform In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 41 Clockwise top to bottom: Focus group discussions with female Community development council members in Tolat village. Weather station installation and training in Naw Abad Pingani during the Bridge Project. DRM and Risk Profile Review during Bridge Project. Review of Risk Profiles with Community development council. Photos: World Bank. Lessons Learned Developing a gender-sensitive approach to Results in Numbers community-based disaster risk management requires strategies for engaging women and Over 800 citizens in 10 girls that are appropriate to the local context. communities across 3 provinces informing the identification and prioritization of In this work in Afghanistan, the technical team resilience measures by the Afghan government helped cultivate a network of male and female considered in the resilience-building efforts allies that was crucial to ensuring that women and girls’ needs and capacities were fully considered in the resilience-building efforts. 42 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories SOUTH ASIA Scaling Up the Resilience of Cities Strengthening risk data for urban resilience in Bangladesh O ver much of the past decade, Bangladesh’s development have agreed to utilize the platform to collaborate on mapping prospects have been buoyed by a record of strong and roads as well as on gathering data on building footprints, water sustained economic growth. Yet even as the country’s supply, and sewerage facilities. bustling urban areas, including the capital city Dhaka, have helped fuel that growth, rapid and unplanned development At the same time, government agencies are also making use of is leaving millions of people more vulnerable not only to natural GeoDASH’s web application, which enables users to visualize hazards, including cyclones, floods, and earthquakes, but also to and analyze the data to inform their resilience planning. the impacts of climate change. For example, through this application, Bangladesh’s Local Government Engineering Department has been using geospatial In response to this challenge, Bangladesh has embarked on layers from the Department of Disaster Management’s multi- a comprehensive urban resilience agenda. The government hazard risk and vulnerability assessment to produce cyclone strongly recognizes the importance of risk data for informing risk maps for critical infrastructure. These maps will, in turn, and driving that agenda. Under the Japan-World Bank Program inform its investment plans for cyclone shelters in both urban for Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in and rural areas of Bangladesh. Developing Countries, GFDRR has been supporting national efforts to strengthen the infrastructure for collecting, sharing, To ensure that the government of Bangladesh is able to and analyzing risk data. sustainably utilize GeoDASH in its resilience efforts, GFDRR has also been supporting a comprehensive training program Until recently, government agencies as well as the private for officials on how to use and administer the platform. As sector in Bangladesh had been producing vast amounts of a testament to its commitment, the national government, geospatial data, but largely without the ability to share these which manages GeoDASH, has integrated the platform into its data seamlessly without delay. Accordingly, a key focus for National Spatial Data Infrastructure policy. GFDRR’s engagement has been to provide technical and financial support toward the development and sustainability of GFDRR’s support for strengthening risk data is one of a range GeoDASH, Bangladesh’s first ever open source geospatial data of urban resilience engagements with the government of collection and sharing platform. As of the end of fiscal year Bangladesh. For instance, under the Japan-World Bank Program 2020, nearly 3,000 users representing over 50 public, private, for Mainstreaming DRM in Developing Countries, technical and civil society organizations have shared data, making assistance is currently being provided toward developing a available 740 data sets from road network maps and building strategic environmental assessment of Dhaka, now in its final footprints to the location of water, gas, and utilities in a secure stages. The assessment, which makes use of the data layers platform. All of these data sets are available to the public in a uploaded in GeoDASH, will integrate environmental concerns widely usable format. into the government’s ongoing plans to enhance resilience Government agencies in Bangladesh, including in the city in Dhaka—such as retrofitting public buildings and updating of Dhaka, are now leveraging the GeoDASH platform to land use plans and building codes. Furthermore, GFDRR has reduce duplication and minimize costs in their geospatial partnered with the World Bank on the $173 million IDA-funded data collection efforts. The Dhaka North and South City Bangladesh Urban Resilience Project, a multisectoral disaster Corporations, the Capital Development Authority, and the risk reduction program that has been informed by geospatial Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority, for instance, data analysis through GeoDASH. In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 43 Bangladesh, busy Mirpur 2 road flooded after heavy rainfall. Photo: SO Photography. Lessons Learned “If Bangladesh is to thrive, we must make our cities more resilient, and we must do so quickly. Through this project, Despite increasing interest among both public we expect to have an impact on the long-term disaster resilience of the urban centers of Bangladesh.” and private sector stakeholders in Dhaka to —Abdul Latif Helaly, Chief Engineer, Capital Development Authority exchange critical geospatial data, many had (RAJUK) and Project Director, Bangladesh Urban Resilience Project hesitated to do so, in part because of privacy and security concerns. Accordingly, GeoDASH Results in Numbers was established in line with best practices in data privacy and security; for instance, it Nearly 3,000 users representing over allows organizations to utilize the sharing 50 public, private, and civil society platform while limiting other users’ ability organizations have shared data on the to see more sensitive data uploaded to the GeoDASH platform, making available platform. 740 data sets—from road network maps and building footprints to the location of water, gas, and utilities. 44 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories SOUTH ASIA Multi-Donor Trust Fund Strengthening health emergency preparedness and response in South Asia I n recent years, the countries of South Asia have made steady, Fast-Track Facility. Under this project, efforts are underway if uneven, progress toward building robust health emergency to bolster Pakistan’s response to the pandemic while also and preparedness systems that will be critical to ensuring a strengthening national systems for public health preparedness. healthier, brighter future for all their citizens. Recognizing Meanwhile, in Bhutan, the team engaged with national the often mutually reinforcing challenges posed by public health government officials, including the Ministry of Works and Human threats and disaster and climate risks, GFDRR has been a partner in Settlements, the Ministry of Health, and the Department of that effort, drawing on the fundamental pillars of the facility’s work, Disaster Management, to ensure that the country’s new, $14.8 including risk identification, risk reduction, and preparedness. million Development Policy Financing with Catastrophe Deferred As COVID-19 unfolded across South Asia in the second half of FY20 Drawdown Option (Cat DDO) program, funded by IDA, would be and threatened to roll back the region’s hard-won gains, GFDRR’s able to provide additional liquidity to the government of Bhutan engagement, which has since adapted to the evolving needs of a not only in the event of a disaster induced by natural hazards, but pandemic situation, has become more important than ever. also in the case of a public health emergency such as the current crisis. The countries of South Asia have a long history of dealing with health emergencies—from the global H1N1 pandemic in 2009 to In line with a recommendation from the forthcoming multi-country the dengue outbreaks in Bangladesh and Pakistan in 2019. In report, the technical team has also been engaged with their the first half of FY20, a key focus for the region’s technical team, government counterparts in Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Pakistan supported by GFDRR, was to distill and assess lessons learned from to ensure that countries have appropriate plans in place to tackle the experiences of four countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, the next health emergency. Specifically, this includes pandemic and Pakistan. Now in its final stages of development, the multi- plans in Bhutan and Bangladesh, and the National Action Plan for country report will highlight the importance of a holistic approach Health Security in Pakistan. to resilience that incorporates public health, disaster risk, and In Bhutan, the team supported their government counterparts climate change considerations. to revise the National Influenza Preparedness and Response This critical work was well underway when the impacts of Plan, in alignment with the country’s 2016 Health Emergency COVID-19 began to be felt in South Asia. At the request of national and Disaster Contingency Plan (HEDCP) as well as the National governments, the technical team began to work closely with key Disaster Management Act of 2013. At the request of the national officials in five countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, government, standard operating procedures have been developed and Pakistan to strengthen national efforts to respond to the that provide practical guidance for how to carry out the plan, which pandemic. A main thrust of this engagement was to support the covers key areas of pandemic preparedness such as surveillance design and implementation of the World Bank’s COVID-19 lending and outbreak response. and technical operations in South Asia. In a testament to the government of Bhutan’s commitment to For example, in Pakistan, collaboration between the team and their address the mutually reinforcing challenges posed by public health Pakistani counterparts in the Ministry of National Health Services threats and disaster and climate risks, the HEDCP mandates that Coordination and Response helped pave the way for the design all hospitals should develop early warning systems, carry out and early implementation of the IDA-funded Pandemic Response vulnerability assessments, and facilitate the capacity-building of Effectiveness Project in the amount of $200 million, of which $100 health workers on emergency and disaster management. million is provided through the World Bank Group’s COVID-19 March 20, 2020, Kathmandu, Nepal, amid concerns of COVID-19, people leave the city. Photo: Subash Shrestha/Pacific Press/Sipa USA. Lessons Learned Given the often mutually reinforcing challenges posed by public health threats and disaster risk, there is a pressing need to break down the silos that all too often prevent effective collaboration and coordination between the global health and disaster risk management fields. As the world grapples with COVID-19, GFDRR, as shown by its record of partnership in South Asia, is well positioned to advance the dialogue between the two sectors—with an eye toward a holistic approach to resilience that integrates public health, disaster risk, and climate change considerations. 46 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories SOUTH ASIA Multi-Donor Trust Fund Building a resilient energy sector in Afghanistan I n its drive to achieve broad-based and inclusive development, Afghanistan has been making marked progress in ensuring a reliable and sustainable energy supply for its citizens. The country is particularly susceptible to natural hazards like floods, droughts, and earthquakes, and the national power supply remains highly vulnerable to disaster risk; in 2015, an earthquake of 7.5 magnitude on the Richter scale caused widespread power outages in the capital of Kabul. In partnership with the Afghan government, including the Ministry of Energy and Water and the national power utility (DABS), GFDRR has been supporting efforts to enhance the resilience of the country’s energy system. In view of Afghanistan’s diverse energy mix, these engagements span the country’s power sector, from the grid-based system to solar to hydropower. GFDRR is supporting vulnerability assessments of the resilience of the country’s preexisting and planned energy facilities, A team of specialists supported by GFDRR organized a training course in Kabul including solar power plants, wind farms, and hydropower for the Afghanistan Land Authority (ARAZI). Photo: World Bank. plants. The assessments are designed to analyze the impacts of natural hazards and climate change and include projections and geophysical criteria for siting new solar plants and wind of risk over a 50- to 100-year period that covers the expected farms, among other key topics. lifespan of these facilities. As this initiative enters a new phase, a key focus moving Several technical vulnerability assessments have been forward will be the development of an action plan for resilient completed, and these are already beginning to shape energy energy in Afghanistan in collaboration with local partners. The sector planning and investments by the Afghan government, plan will define and prioritize a set of measures to enhance the as well as key development partners such as the World Bank resilience of energy systems, covering key areas such as energy and the International Finance Corporation. For example, the production diversification, renewable energy development, and identification of hazard risk levels in an assessment of planned water resource management. A vision paper for the resilient solar plants and wind farms is helping the Afghan government development of solar power in Afghanistan has already been to identify the most suitable sites for these facilities, and to produced and will inform the broader action plan. design appropriate climate adaptation and risk mitigation measures. A team of specialists supported by GFDRR is providing technical assistance to Afghan government officials to help Results in Numbers them apply the findings from the assessments. For instance, the team organized a training course in Kabul for the Afghanistan Risk projections for Afghan energy sector for Land Authority (ARAZI), which covers social, environmental, up to 100 years In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 47 Middle East and North Africa Tunisia. Photo: Gim42 48 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Multi-Donor Trust Fund From challenges to opportunities: Rapid Needs Assessments as entry points for building resilience Balaballa, Djibouti residents after the floods caused by Cyclone Sagar. Photo: Karima Ben Bih/World Bank I n May 2018, tropical cyclone Sagar, accompanied by heavy them as analytical basis to prepare emergency budgets to rains and flash floods made landfall near Djibouti-Ville and implement priority interventions, to reprogram funds allocated its major suburb, Balbala. Three months later, Tunisia was for other development projects, and/or to mobilize additional hit by two waves of record-high levels of torrential rain and resources. As the case studies of Djibouti and Tunisia show, serious floods. Djibouti was again affected by heavy rains in RNAs and rapid PDNAs can also be used to raise the awareness November 2019 resulting in flash flooding. Faced with these of governments on the need to improve their countries’ disaster adverse natural events, both the governments of Djibouti and risk management (DRM) systems. Tunisia requested support from the World Bank in conducting In Djibouti, the 2018 RNA was conducted with the assistance Rapid Needs Assessments (RNAs) or rapid Post-Disaster Needs of the Food and Agriculture Organization. Within one week of Assessment (PDNA), which are conducted immediately after the receiving the official request, the assessment was completed, onset of a disaster to evaluate its impacts in the affected areas and and the findings presented to the Ministry of Finance. The the associated recovery needs. assessment estimated that the damages and losses due to The purpose of the Rapid Needs Assessments or rapid Post- Cyclone Sagar amounted to US$ 29 million, and that US$ 31 Disaster Needs Assessment is to perform a broad-based million was needed for recovery and reconstruction. Within assessment that can help governments identify the critical the first year of the disaster, Djibouti’s recovery focus has been impact and resulting priority needs and interventions in a placed on restoring vulnerable damaged physical infrastructure matter of days instead of conducting a detailed analysis that in the critical sectors and providing immediate support to might take months. Such assessments are government-led farmers and the livelihood of those most affected. Within the with support from international donors, including the World next three years, the focus will shift to investing in enhancing Bank. RNAs and PDNAs rely on data collected locally by the disaster risk reduction measures such as improving government in the aftermath of the disaster, satellite imagery hydrometeorological early warning systems to alert the analysis (if available), as well as percentage-based estimation community and put in place measures to reduce losses. models in case of access limitations. Governments can use In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 49 Supported by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and areas which could be strengthened in the country’s DRM Recovery(GFDRR), the RNA in Djibouti has also informed system, including disaster risk understanding, an institutional a modified institutional framework for national disaster framework with cross-sectoral coordination, a functioning early response, which outlines how the government will prepare warning system, and systematic ex-ante disaster risk financing for, respond to, and recover from disasters, and disaster mechanisms. communication guidelines. As a direct result of the RNA’s Prompted by the analysis provided in the RNA, the Government findings, the Government of Djibouti is also being supported of Tunisia subsequently requested the World Bank to provide by the World Bank in exploring viable options for disaster technical and financial support on DRM. Based on detailed risk financing. Building up on the 2018 RNA, a World Bank- consultations with key counterparts, the World Bank is supported rapid Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) was currently providing a comprehensive technical assistance carried out jointly with the United Nations after the November program, which covers the following main elements: i) the 2019 flash flooding. Led by the Ministry of Interior and development of a national hazard risk profile covering floods covering eight sectors, the rapid PDNA found that the housing, and earthquakes, ii) technical inputs to the national flood transport and health sectors were the most severely affected. risk management program; iii) recommendations for the The preliminary findings were presented to the Executive institutional strengthening of Tunisia’s DRM framework; iv) Secretary for Disaster Risk Management (DRM) within five days. technical support to improve the country’s hydrometeorological With additional data collection being undertaken, the final services and early warning systems, and v) the development of report is currently being completed. a national disaster risk financing strategy. In Tunisia, the RNA was led by the Government with support As the two case studies in Djibouti and Tunisia demonstrate, from the World Bank, the United Nations, and the European RNAs can be a very useful tool for governments to quickly Union. A first preliminary report was presented one week understand the impact of small-scale disasters and to initiate following the disaster event to the Ministry of Development, appropriate disaster recovery efforts. As they also shed light on Investment and International Cooperation. This report was the underlying challenges in countries’ DRM systems, they also then used by the Government for mobilizing funding during serve as effective instruments to identify areas of collaboration the 2018 World Bank Annual Meetings. Following additional between the governments and the international community, data collection on the ground, a final report was presented including the World Bank, on strengthening DRM. With the one month after the flooding. The final report estimated the effects of climate change likely to aggravate the frequency recovery and reconstruction needs at US$ 99 million, most of and severity of natural disasters in the Middle East and North them concentrated in the transport and housing sectors that Africa, demand for this kind of assessments is likely to increase were significantly impacted by the flooding. The RNA identified in the near future. 50 / In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories Multimedia AFRICA EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC Urban Flooding, Land Value Capture and Building resilience in Pacific atoll island Virtual Reality: Innovative Solutions in countries Dar es Salaam SOUTH ASIA Tackling Urban Flooding in the future Mega-City of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Improving the Resilience of Bhutan’s Cultural Heritage Sites Mozambique’s path to resilience after Cyclone Idai GLOBAL Climate and disaster resilient transport in Small Islands Developing States In Focus International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories / 51 Multimedia LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN Haiti Hydrometeorological Unit (UHM) Préparons-nous davantage Disaster Risk Management - FVC Nexus in Emergency Response after Hurricanes Eta Haiti and Iota: Lessons Learned Stories of Risk and Resilience in the Caribbean: Reducing Disaster Impacts in Saint Lucia The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and www.gfdrr.org Recovery (GFDRR) is a global partnership that helps developing countries better understand and reduce their vulnerabilities to natural hazards and adapt to climate change. Working with over 400 local, national, regional, and international partners, GFDRR provides grant financing, technical assistance, training and knowledge sharing activities to mainstream disaster and climate risk management in national and regional policies, strategies, and investment plans. Managed by the World Bank, GFDRR is supported and directed by a Consultative Group that has 17 members and 14 observers.