Project identification and formulation

Project identification and selection must take into account hazard-related risks and national mitigation policies and strategies. There are two contexts to consider:

a) Possible interaction between proposed projects in all sectors, and known hazards in the project areas. The chief aim of such projects is improvement in the sector concerned. But because a project is in a known hazard area, it must:

· Be protected from the hazard
· Not increase the vulnerability of the population to the hazard
· Not worsen the existing hazard or create a new one.

b) Possible need for “freestanding” disaster mitigation projects to reduce the risk of disaster or enhance national preparedness. The chief aim of such projects is to improve some aspect of disaster management - for example to prepare national and local-level preparedness plans, or to equip and train officials and community leaders for effective disaster response.

Freestanding disaster mitigation projects aim at reducing the risk of disaster by reducing or eliminating the hazard or society’s vulnerability to it, or by increasing the capacities of organizations, officials, and communities to prepare for and respond to the hazard. Such projects can be placed within one organizational sector, for example a Ministry of Health or Interior. However, the “multi-sectoral” impact of disasters makes it more appropriate to place the project in more than one sector, or under the domain of a lead entity responsible for coordinating multiple sectors.

Typical freestanding disaster mitigation projects are:

a) Institution-building projects which strengthen the capacity of governmental institutions to incorporate disaster management considerations in the planning process, or to undertake risk assessment.

b) Projects to prepare national or sub-national disaster preparedness plans, develop warning and response mechanisms, and ensure the necessary training.

c) Projects to introduce or strengthen particular kinds of protective measures, such as controlling floods or introducing cyclone- or earthquake-resistant construction.

d) Projects to strengthen famine early warning systems, and the links between these systems and disaster management bodies, in countries prone to drought, crop failure, and uncertain food supply.

Projects which have one or more aspects of disaster mitigation as their principal objective should normally be designed by - or at least be developed in consultation with - UNDRO.