Case Study Summary - Dominican Republic
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Material Information

Title:
Case Study Summary - Dominican Republic Legislation and disaster risk reduction at the community level
Creator:
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Disaster Risk Reduction Program, Florida International University (DRR/FIU) ( summary contributor )
Publisher:
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Publication Date:
Copyright Date:
2011
Language:
English

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Natural hazards and disasters ( lcshac )
Risk management ( lcshac )
Genre:
non-fiction ( marcgt )
Spatial Coverage:
North and Central America -- Dominican Republic

Notes

Summary:
The document presents a short synopsis of the Dominican Republic’s efforts to develop a comprehensive disaster risk reduction (DRR) platform. It covers the various legislative initiatives and institutional arrangements being implemented in the Dominican Republic to address the countries vulnerabilities to a multitude of natural hazards. The summary of the Dominican Republic’s actions related to DRR begins with a discussion of the country’s risk profile. After the country that it shares the island of Hispaniola with, Haiti, the Dominican Republic is the next most vulnerable country in the Caribbean. It faces the yearly barrage of tropical storms and hurricanes, and corresponding floods and landslides, which are juxtaposed to periods of drought and wildfire. The country is also susceptible to earthquakes and tsunamis. These hazards, coupled with rapid unregulated urbanization, make the Dominican Republic in dire need of a DRR plan. In 2002 the government passed the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRM), a framework for disaster prevention, mitigation, and response. The development of a National Fund for Disaster Prevention, Mitigation, and Response is another component of the country’s efforts. Additional national laws on environmental protection, natural resource management, building and construction guidelines, and education, complement the overarching DRM policy. Some early successes of the DRM Act include provisions for the participation of community-based organizations in the decision-making government bodies for DRR, the decentralization of DRR through emphasis on strengthening governance at the local level, the incorporation of DRR objectives into the General Education Act, and government support for projects that combine poverty reduction through the improvement of livelihoods with natural resource management initiatives. Despite initial successes, the summary does address a number of lapses in the implementation of the DRR framework that persist. One significant hole in the country’s efforts involves failure of the national government to allocate a set percentage of its revenue to municipalities for DRR as established in legislation. Another deals with the lack of a clear mechanism for citizens to claim their rights to DRR. And lastly, the lack of enforcement mechanisms against those who ignore land-use, construction, and environmental regulations is also highly problematic. ( English )
Subject:
Disaster Risk Reduction ( English )
Citation/Reference:
(2011). Legislation and disaster risk reduction at the community level: case study summary—Dominican Republic. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Record Information

Source Institution:
Florida International University
Rights Management:
Refer to main document/publisher for use rights.
Resource Identifier:
FI13042192

dpSobek Membership

Aggregations:
Disaster Risk Reduction