A territorial approach to risk prevention and management in the Dominican Republic

From October 27 until November 21, 2014 in the Dominican Republic, an action was held with the aim of strengthening the capacity of local institutions to be prepared to respond to adverse events. This action was carried out thanks to the important synergy among the ART Initiative of PNUD, FELCOS Umbria (Fund of Local Authorities for Decentralized Cooperation and Sustainable Human Development), DGODT (General Directorate for Land Use Planning and Development) of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development, FEDOMU (Dominican Federation of Municipalities) and FPMCI (Milan Province Fund for International Cooperation).

In particular, the aim of the action was the training of city councils on spatial analysis for the emergency management. This analysis allows to verify if the territory presents the minimum conditions for the emergency management during the first 24/48 hours, in case of disaster. It mainly focuses on the evaluation of the "strategic buildings", "emergency zones" and road infrastructure.

FELCOS Umbria is a regional network that articulates and mobilizes resources, knowledge and good local practices to support the interchange of experiences and knowledge between territories and to establish mutually beneficial partnerships, in favor of local development processes. In this case, FELCOS has mobilized Umbrian local stakeholders, in the specific, ANCI Umbria (Association of Italian Municipalities) and Region of Umbria, who after the earthquake in 1997 caused damages to his territory, launched in Italy a unique experience on this topic.

The action was carried out thanks to the support of the project “Pull down the Line”, funded by the European Union, and came from a mission of FELCOS Umbria and Region of Umbria in the Dominican Republic, having the aim of identifying local needs in territorial planning and with a specific focus on risk prevention and management. During the mission, after several meetings with the Dajabón city council and local stakeholders, as well as with the DGODT and ART/UNDP, emerged the need to train the technicians of Local Institutions on urban vulnerability in case of adverse events, an integrated aspect of the DGODT strategy for this issue.

The action took place in three phases. The first phase focused on an intensive training course, entitled "Territorial analysis for emergency management: methodologies and tools", which was taught by Architect Alfiero Moretti, Head of Region of Umbria, who has an extensive experience on this issue, and also by the Anci Umbria technicians: Francesca Procacci, Riccardo Ricci, Lorenzo Sensi y Alessandra Ronconi.

The second phase dealt with the practical application of the methodology of analysis in a high urban concentration neighborhood of Santo Domingo (National District municipality, neighborhoods of Villa Consuelo, Mejoramiento Social, María Auxiliadora y Domingo Sabio) and in the city of Dajabón. The practical phase had a duration of three weeks, with the participation of 4 ANCI Umbria technicians, other technicians from the municipalities involved and the structures responsible for emergency management.

The action was concluded with the final event for the delivery of the methodology application results. Among the participants in the event, there were: Architect Diego Zurli, expert Head of Region of Umbria, Silvio Ranieri, General Secretary of ANCI Umbria and a representative of FELCOS Umbria.

Several technicians, national and local representatives took part in the event, including: FEDOMU, DGODT, National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), National Center for Disaster Prevention, Civil Defense, Geological Survey and Geological Society, National Fire Academy, as well as several municipalities, including the Dajabón and Gran Santo Domingo National District.

This action also allowed to establish a new partnership between the Dominican and Umbrian territories for the interchange of knowledge, innovations and good practices on risk prevention and management, strengthening the respective processes of governance and local development.

Due to the success of the action and the interest shown by national and local stakeholders, the ART Initiative, DGODT and FELCOS Umbria are developing a second phase of the action to deepen the subject and follow up the results achieved.

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