The Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

Address by Mr. Andrew Bradley, ASG of the ACP Secretariat:
Global Facility For Disaster Reduction And Recovery Seminar

20 - 21 February 2007 , World Bank, Washington DC

Session : Regional Cooperation In Disaster Risk Reduction

Title : Acp-Eu Natural Disaster Facility (Ndf): Perspectives

Introduction :

It is a great honour and privilege for the ACP Secretariat to participate in this important seminar on the “Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery”, and in particular the session on “Regional Cooperation in Disaster Risk Reduction”, organized by the World Bank and other Donors.

ACP Group:

The ACP Group of States, the largest organised entity for developing countries with a membership of 79 covering the African continent, Caribbean and Pacific regions, and with an estimated population of over 700 million, has as one of its core objectives the alleviation of poverty. This objective, coupled with the promotion of sustainable development, is also at the heart of our Cotonou Partnership with the European Union, which interlocks 105 countries and represents the most advanced and innovative North-South formalised development cooperation arrangement.

Challenge:

ACP States face a key challenge to effectively address the long-term impact of natural disasters through developing and strengthening national and regional disaster risk reduction, recovery and management activities. The high loss of human lives and the catastrophic effects upon the socio-economic infra-structure caused by series of disasters in ACP States clearly indicate the increasingly destructive consequences of natural disasters. In this regard, it is also important to pay particular attention to the specific requirements of Small Island Developing States that suffer, to a great extent, the adverse consequences of climate change, such as violent storms and rising sea levels. The ACP Group therefore recognized that disaster risk reduction, recovery and management to mitigate the negative impact of natural disasters in ACP States should be mainstreamed into national, regional and all-ACP development strategies. Only through the pooling of resources, knowledge, infra-structures and capabilities will our countries be in a position to effectively manage disaster risks.

ACP States and Regions are committed, with the necessary support of the international community, to improve national and regional disaster mitigation, preparedness and early warning capacity, increase public awareness about disaster reduction, stimulate inter-disciplinary and inter-sectoral partnerships, mainstream risk management into the national planning process, address issues relating to insurance and re-insurance arrangements, and strengthen capacities to predict and respond to emergency situations, including those affecting human settlements stemming from natural and environmental disasters.

Disasters in ACP States pose a major obstacle to our sustainable development aspirations, especially in view of States’ insufficient capacities to predict, monitor, deal with and mitigate disasters. Reducing the vulnerability of our people to hazards is a key element of poverty reduction strategies, including efforts to protect past development gains. To this end, financial and technical assistance are needed to strengthen the capacities of ACP States, including observation and early warning systems, assessments, prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.

Response from the ACP Group:

Devastation caused by locusts, famine, drought, hurricanes, cyclones, flooding, landslides, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis in ACP States, the Hyogo Framework for Action and the Mauritius Strategy for the further implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for Small Island Developing States, compelled the ACP Group to take concrete action. To this end, the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, 1 st Meeting of ACP Ministers of Environment and the ACP Council of Ministers endorsed during 2004 the decision to create an ACP-EU Natural Disaster Facility, which, on the long-term, will provide comprehensive mechanisms to assist ACP States and Regions with:

• Disaster risk reduction, preparedness and mitigation;
• Response, recovery and long-term reconstruction and rehabilitation; and
• Operating effective early warning systems that are people-focused, and completing vulnerability assessments and mapping.

Objectives and long-term focus of the ACP-EU Natural Disaster Facility:

The objective of the ACP Natural Disaster Facility, funded by the European Union through the European Development Fund with seed-funding amounting to Euro 12 million, is to eventually provide the populations in ACP States with the capacity to improve their involvement in activities relating to disaster risk reduction and management, including preparedness and mitigation and post-disaster reconstruction and rehabilitation.

The Facility is to operate as a flexible instrument that promotes preventive initiatives, disseminates information, and develops and strengthens research and management skills in ACP States. The involvement and participation of Non-State Actors, including public-private partnerships, are essential for its long-term success. The first phase of the Facility, which is to be implemented during the first semester of 2007, has a regional focus and aims to:

• Facilitate inter-ACP regional sharing of experiences and best practices;
• Strengthen information and public awareness through media and Non-State Actor involvement for dissemination and implementation;
• Promote community empowerment through capacity building and enhancing community resilience by building knowledge bases;
• Reinforce partnerships and cooperation on disaster risk reduction policy and strategy;
• Incorporate disaster research in science policy for applied research and practice;
• Incorporate disaster risk reduction and recovery into curricula at all levels of education;
• Undertake initiatives at the grass root levels which utilize indigenous and traditional knowledge bases; and
• Develop communication strategies for disaster reduction, including on-line and on-site education curricula for practitioners and field workers.

The Natural Disaster Facility will assist ACP States and Regions to adopt policies and strategic plans for disaster risk reduction and management that explicitly integrates disaster risk reduction and recovery into sectoral developmental policies and programs. The long-term objective is therefore to promote a coordinated all-ACP multi-stakeholder and multi-sector platform for disaster risk reduction that is recognized and supported by each Government that will allow for:

(a) The promotion of a culture of disaster risk management, based on national building blocks for effective regional cooperation;

(b) Early warning mechanisms, monitoring potential disasters, risk recognition and management;

• Improved risk reduction and recovery strategies;
• Strengthening intra-ACP cooperation and political dialogue grounded on the solidarity and unity of the Group; and
• Greater collaboration, coordination and complementarity at the national, regional, continental and international levels.

Conclusion:

All these activities manifest the commitment of the ACP Group in addressing the critical issue of disaster risk reduction, recovery and management. The ACP Group urges its principle partner, the European Union, to involve one of the joint institutions with the ACP Group, the Centre for the Development of Enterprises, and in particular its PROINVEST Programme in the disaster risk management activities in ACP States and Regions. The PROINVEST Programme was launched by the European Commission on behalf of ACP States and channels investments, and facilitates technology transfers by assisting the formation of inter-enterprise partnerships and improving the appropriate infra-structure and investment conditions.

The Political Affairs and Human Development Department at the ACP Secretariat is well-placed to facilitate increased collaboration between the World Bank and the ACP-EU institutions in order to raise the profile of disaster risk reduction initiatives, public–private sector collaboration and long-term sustainable development.

The Group acknowledges the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, and it is convinced that closer cooperation and collaboration in the area of disaster risk management could contribute to the ultimate goals of poverty alleviation and the promotion of sustainable development, and by implication addressing the Millennium Development Goals. Further, we are also convinced that our close cooperation and collaboration with the World Bank and other Donors will result in policies and programmes that are in the interest of all parties involved, and most importantly, our peoples.

I thank you for your attention.