Untitled Document
ACTIVITIES
DMP is involved in providing a wide range of support for different field operations
in disaster and post conflict settings. The involvement in these operational
activities helps strengthen the links between normative frameworks and the practical
realities on the ground in crisis situations.
FIELD AND COUNTRY OPERATIONS SUPPORTED BY DMP
GLOBAL ACTIVITIES
NORMATIVE ACTIVITIES
FIELD AND COUNTRY OPERATIONS SUPPORTED BY DMP
DMP/UN-HABITAT, in collaboration with UN-ISDR, held a regional consultation
on Local Management and Disaster Reduction in the Caribbean Region in
September 2002 with a number of Central American and Caribbean states, namely
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras,
Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Dominican Republic and
Cuba. The main objective of the consultation was to develop disaster
mitigation and management capacity for local governments at municipality level.
By December 2003 the final document was produced, in collaboration with the
Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, and recommendations were
prepared
See press release:(english,spanish)
The project programme, conceived as an initial step in the implementation of
a regional programme to strengthen capacities for risk reduction at the local
level as an integral part of human settlements management in the Spanish-speaking
Caribbean basin, was achieved and a strategy for a two-year approach in consolidating
the process by building the needed structures was defined with objectives and
expected outputs. Identification of potential donors has been undertaken, and
the fund-raising will commence in early 2004.
The formulated methodology and strategy for Regional Consultations, based on
the success of the Cuban experience, was introduced in Mozambique during the
first DMP mission in March 2003. The objective is to develop a programme for
technical support and cooperation with municipalities for the formulation of
disaster reduction plans as part of overall municipal management. The process
is ongoing, and it is anticipated that the DMP will replicate the local consultation
among the selected municipalities in Mozambique in the biennium 2004-2005, subject
to funding availability. The same strategy will be applied in the Seychelles
and Madagascar with an objective of reducing the vulnerability of local communities
towards hazards through improving the skills of municipal authorities and local
organizations for disaster management.
The rehabilitation of the two road projects in southern Sudan has continued
throughout the biennium. The works on Kaya-Rumbek Road were concluded in December
2003 due to the shortcomings in funding, whereas the works on Narus-Napadal
road are progressing well and are expected to be completed within the current
grant period by December 2004.
In Liberia, at the request of the OCHA Humanitarian Coordinator in October
2003 DMP prepared inputs for the Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) in two selected
sectors, namely protection of land and property rights of displaced populations
and establishing a reconstruction strategy for the country. The CAP process
is still ongoing.
In Somalia, as part of the ongoing support of DMP in providing normative support
to field programmes, particularly in such important areas as gender mainstreaming
in post conflict contexts, DMP has assisted the Regional Office for Africa and
Arab States (ROAAS) in their Local Leadership Programme. The cooperation involves
conducting Training of Trainers in Somalia in gender, the production of a handbook
on Gender, and the Involvement of Women in Local Governance. The draft
was finalized in December 2003, and will be further tested during field
training in January and February 2004.
In further gender related activities, DMP and UN-ISDR (Africa) undertook a
joint initiative in late 2003 in conducting a regional gender and disaster management
review: Gender and Disaster Management Policy in Africa. The review is part
of a broader strategy of UNISDR and DMP/UN-HABITAT to bring greater focus to
gender issues through all disaster management activities. The outcome of the
review will be a series of recommendations to inform the development of disaster
management policy from a gendered perspective. The initial report and recommendations
were released at the end of December 2003. These recommendations will form the
basis of a conference on Women and Disaster Management in Africa to be held
in Nairobi in 2004.
In close collaboration with the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo
(UNMIK), UN-HABITAT projects in
Kosovo attend to four key areas: the rehabilitation of the municipal administration;
development of new spatial planning legislation; the regularization of housing
and property rights; and the restoration of property and land registries. The
Kosovo Programme also includes training of local government elected officials
in collaboration with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
and the European Union. In mid-2002 UN-HABITAT signed a Memorandum of Understanding
with UNMIK, which took over management of Housing Property Directorate (HPD)
and Housing Property Claims Commission (HPCC) in Kosovo. However, to continue
the provision of such support regionally, UN-HABITAT remains responsible for
the HPD in Serbia and Montenegro.
In November 2003 a new project was initiated in Kosovo“Governance
and Development Planning Programme”. Over the implementation period of
24 months, the project will ensure that participatory governance procedures
have been anchored at all levels of planning and management in the spatial planning
sector in Kosovo. DMP has also provided support for the development of a gender
strategy for UN-HABITAT’s activities in Kosovo.
UN-HABITAT has also been working in the region more broadly, through its assessment
of the housing sector in Serbia and Montenegro. This assessment has provided
the basis for greater support by UN-HABITAT in Serbia in the form of a Settlement
and Integration of Refugees Programme. The objectives of this programme are
to develop local and republic-wide capacities to deal with refugee integration
and to improve living conditions for refugees through promotion of sustainable
housing and social and economic integration.
Building cross-border linkages is of crucial importance to reduce ethnic tensions
and make headway towards long term peace and stablity in the region. In this
regard, a project identification was undertaken in 2003 both in Southern Serbia
and the Former Yugoslav Repubic of Macedonia (FYROM) to strengthen local capacities
to undertake strategic urban development planning at municipality levels. In
Croatia, UN-HABITAT finalized a project formulation at the end of 2003 that
looks at strengthening local governments for enhanced administration and development
capacity.
In Asia, The UNEP/UN-HABITAT vulnerability assessment tool was applied to
the Dongting Lake Basin in China. In addition, UNEP/UN-HABITAT Task Force on
Flood Response arranged for assessment of vulnerability to flood impacts and
damages in Rajshahi City in Bangladesh. The next phase of the task will include
the preparation of a vulnerability reduction plan.
Click here for
more Information on floods
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