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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI13042640/00001
Notes
- Summary:
- This document is a systematization of the establishment of a Municipal Information System Network/Red de Sistemas de Información (RED-SIM) in Eastern Guatemala to integrate Environmental and Disaster Risk Management (EDRM) into development planning. While Eastern Guatemala faces a number of natural hazards, these are particularly compounded by the region’s various ecological, socioeconomic, and institutional vulnerabilities. Ecologically, unsustainable agricultural practices have led to severe soil erosion in about 70% of the area, producing massive landslides and flooding. There are also intimate ties between ecological devastation and the extreme socioeconomic vulnerability of the local population. In the two departments of concern, Chiquimula and Jutiapa, poverty rates are staggering, with 63% of the population in the former, and 87% in the latter, falling under the categories of either poor or extremely poor. The poorest typically are forced by the lack of alternative livelihoods to engage in subsistence farming on the most eroded lands, or the steepest slopes, often exposing themselves to the threat of disaster. A lack of institutional capacity has ensured that none of these vulnerabilities are being addressed. Few local governments had plans for addressing environmental concerns, personnel dedicated to environmental policy, equipment, economic resources, formal means to exchange information between various government institutions or levels of government, or even the socioeconomic, environmental, or disaster risk information needed to craft appropriate policy responses. This document presents the measures taken to address municipal administrations’ lack of capacity in implementing the EDRM approach. It outlines how institutional coordination was enhanced, how awareness-raising and training in EDRM was conducted, and the role of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the Municipal Information System (RED-SIM) in facilitating planning and implementation processes. The RED-SIM was particularly critical to the recording and use of socioeconomic, environmental, and risk information in development planning by municipal governments. The factors that played a critical role in Eastern Guatemala’s successful steps towards effective EDRM include strategic alliances, clearly defined responsibilities for stakeholders, a strong leading institution to provide tangible objectives, flexibility in terms of incorporating new partners, and community ownership facilitated by the inclusion of locals in decision-making. ( ,, )
- Subject:
- General Risk Management
- Citation/Reference:
- Gallrapp, D., Lux, M., Ordonez, W. (2005). The municipal information system network as a basic tool for environmental and disaster risk management. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ).
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- Florida International University
- Rights Management:
- Refer to main document/publisher for use rights.
- Resource Identifier:
- FI13042640
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