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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI13010954/00001
Notes
- Summary:
- This document discusses Oxfam’s integration of disaster risk reduction (DRR) initiatives with water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) strategies in Cordoba, Colombia. It outlines the country’s increasing vulnerability to climate change, connections between associated flooding and water-borne diseases, and Oxfam’s work to address these risks. Colombia is a country that has progressively become more vulnerable to the vagaries of climate change. This is evidenced by increasingly intense rainy seasons that produce more frequent and extreme floods and landslides throughout the country. The magnitude of the disasters associated with these natural hazards is further exacerbated by misguided development decisions in environmentally fragile areas of the country. According to the document, floods have a major impact on local communities’ abilities to access clean water and adequate sanitation-related services, particularly in rural areas. Floods critically damage important water, drainage, and sanitation infrastructures. When this occurs, communities are forced to engage in risky practices such as collecting water from unfiltered and potentially contaminated sources. After major floods in 2007, Oxfam in Colombia began working with the Colombian Red Cross (CRC) and the NGO ASPROCIG to assist vulnerable populations to improve not only their WASH facilities but also change their practices in relation to public health in anticipation of future flooding events. Their work included improving and rehabilitating community and household WASH facilities, facilitating household water treatment, building school latrine units and working on household sanitation, hygiene promotion, and disaster risk reduction (DRR). During their work on WASH and DRR in Colombia, Oxfam discovered a number of lessons for future project implementation. Oxfam found that increasing the capacity of communities through the training of locals in water treatment, sanitation, and DRR led to more sustainable impacts. The organization also believes that in order for household water treatment to be viable in the long-term, filters would have to be produced locally and thus less expensive to procure, easy to use in terms of low filtration times and less subject to clogging, and meet local cultural standards. And lastly, the organization calls for disaster risk to be taken into account in the planning of new water and sanitation systems. This involves working through a WASH network to standardize designs and operating procedures so that they take into account risks associated with flooding and incorporate mitigating measures. ( English )
- Subject:
- Disaster Risk Reduction ( English )
- Scope and Content:
- Introduction p. 5; Oxfam action p. 6; Key outcomes p. 9; Analysis: Lessons learned and future p. 12; What's next? p. 14; Sources of information p. 15 ( English )
- Citation/Reference:
- Morris-Iveson, L. (2011). WASH and DRR integration during a flood response in Cordoba province, Colombia. Oxfam.
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- Florida International University
- Rights Management:
- Refer to main document/publisher for use rights.
- Resource Identifier:
- FI13010954
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