Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management in Iraq

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Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management in Iraq
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Presentation Content

• Vulnerabilities to Natural/Manmade Hazards
• National Preparedness
• The Hyogo Framework for Action
• Priority Areas for Disaster Risk Reduction
• Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management

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Vulnerability in Iraq

• Natural Threats

• Human Induced

• Earthquakes
• Floods
• Land Slides
• Sand Storms
• Drought
• Depletion of Natural Resources
• Health epidemics

• IDPs and refugees
• Transport and industrial accidents
• Toxic environmental pollution
• Terrorism/civil unrest
• High risk structural collapses
• Landmines/UXO

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Current National Preparedness

• Historically, Iraq has followed an emergency
  response approach rather than preparing for
  disaster before they occur. Disaster risk
  reduction functions are not centralized within
  one GOI agency. Rather, placed within line
  Ministries and the Office of the Prime Minister.
• Under the PMO, the National Operations Center
  responds to terrorism and civil unrest incidents.
  
• The Ministry of Environment addresses chemical
  and biological threats in addition to sharing
  responsibility for landmine and unexploded
  ordnance with the Ministry of Defense.
• The Ministry of Displaced and Migrants addresses
  the resettlement of returning refugees and the
  welfare of the internally displaced.
• The Ministries of Agriculture and Water Resources
  share responsibility for responding to seasonal
  impacts of water scarcity on agriculture and
  animal husbandry production.

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Current National Preparedness

• The Ministry of Health is creating protocols and
  capacities to respond to emerging threats of new
  health epidemics in addition to building
  capacities to respond to conditions involving
  mass casualties.
• At the Governorate level (currently in nine of 18
  governorates) A Governorate Emergency Cell is
  operational, under the leadership of the
  Governor, to address humanitarian emergencies in
  accordance with a Master Plan for response
  functions. The GECs are complimented by a
  linkage to a Protection Assurance Committee,
  supported by DRC/UNHCR, offering legal assistance
  to returnees and others.
• Civil society institutions appear to be plentiful
  and offer diverse services to urban and rural
  populations. Linkage to disaster risk reduction
  appears limited in number to agencies such as the
  Iraq Red Crescent Society and the Iraqi Mine and
  UXO Clearance Organization.

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Current National Preparedness Mechanisms

• The Government of Iraq maintains scientific
  institutions within line Ministries established
  to support preparedness for seasonal and
  unanticipated natural disaster episodes
  including
• Iraq Meteorological Department
• Geological Survey Department of Iraq
• Parliamentary Scientific Committee

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The Hyogo Framework for Action

• Define the elements and obligations of
  signatories
• Create an enabling environment where disaster
  risk reduction is a national priority to mitigate
  the consequences of natural and human induced
  hazards.
• Develop a national disaster management structure
  in Iraq with legislative/financial/inter-ministeri
  al authority to create an enabling environment
  for the growth of a disaster resilient society.
• Develop institutional aptitudes to raise
  technical and operational capacities of key
  national, governorate, region and local
  stakeholders to undertake hazard and risk
  assessments
• Develop coordinated disaster risk reduction and
  preparedness plans at national, governorate,
  regional and local levels
• Develop and implement disaster risk reduction
  strategies and programmes at national,
  governorate, regional, local and community
  levels, particularly in hazard-prone priority
  areas
• Incorporate disaster risk assessment and
  reduction strategies in sectoral development
  plans and programmes of line ministries.

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Priority Areas for Disaster Risk Reduction

• Reform of national disaster management agencies,
  from response oriented to adoption of an all-risk
  reduction focus and the establishment of stronger
  coordination mechanisms
• Development of national-level policies to produce
  an enabling environment for disaster risk
  reduction to grow among stakeholders from the
  public and private sectors and civil society.
• Raise public awareness of hazard threats while
  incorporating disaster preparedness into a focus
  on safe behavior and practices, a well-resourced
  and prepared response systems with a focus on
  national and local capacity, and ensuring that
  recovery includes efforts to reduce underlying
  risk factors.
• Development of strong bi-lateral relationships
  between regional and international disaster risk
  reduction stakeholders.

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Priority Areas for Disaster Risk Reduction

• Expand use of climate data to encourage more
  effective water management, agricultural planning
  and health care and effective early warning
  systems for threats including famine, drought,
  floods and severe storms.
• Appropriate structural interventions to reduce
  risk (i.e. maintenance of wetlands, improved
  maintenance and repair of physical
  infrastructure).
• Building resilience, promoting innovation,
  knowledge and education i.e. disaster proofing
  livelihoods, use of science and technology to
  support the livelihoods of populations at risk,
  promotion of risk awareness through education at
  all levels and improving information on the
  likely impacts of climate change.

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Priority Areas for Disaster Risk Reduction

• Strengthening preparedness, effective response
  mechanisms and sustainable recovery i.e.
  community level disaster preparedness
  incorporates a focus on safe behavior,
  well-resources and prepared response systems with
  a focus on national and local capacity, and
  ensuring that recovery activities include efforts
  to reduce the underlying risk factors.

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Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management

• Creation of a culture of disaster risk
  preparedness by incorporating disaster risk
  reduction into policies, budgeting, planning and
  programming related to sustainable development,
  relief, recovery and rehabilitation activities.
• Reduced loss of lives/livelihood to natural and
  human-induced disasters as an outcome of the
  creation of proactive mechanisms and a strategic
  agency responsible for policy formulation,
  planning, information sharing and the
  coordination and implementation of cross sectoral
  disaster risk reduction programmes at the
  national, governorate, regional and community
  levels.