Author: Neil Walker

After the devastating 2017 hurricane season, the U.S. Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center supported the congressionally mandated economic and disaster recovery plan, Transformation and Innovation in the Wake of Devastation: An Economic and Disaster Recovery Plan for Puerto Rico. This report contributes to the overall plan with a focus on the communications and information technology (IT) sector.

Researchers provide an introduction to the sector (brief history, key assets, prestorm conditions and challenges, and governance); assess damage and needs of the sector; and present 33 courses of action (COAs) for the recovery, rebuilding, and enhancement of the sector with an emphasis on developing and sustaining a resilient, state-of-the-art communications network and furthering the vision for the digital transformation of Puerto Rico.

Developed in consultation with a wide variety of stakeholders, including governmental entities, commercial providers, citizens, and municipalities, the COAs address many different (and sometimes competing) needs and also support and benefit COAs in other critical sectors, such as health and social services. The relationships among the communications and IT COAs are outlined. The estimated cost for these COAs is $3.2 billion. Potential sources of funding are also included in the report.

Puerto Rico must develop and implement a state-of-the art, survivable, resilient communications infrastructure

This infrastructure is essential for continuity of essential government functions and the provision of public safety services and must be well maintained and fully resourced.

It must provide commercial telecommunication services, including voice and data services, to residents and the private sector and support affordable access to broadband internet service and emerging technologies throughout Puerto Rico.

It is crucial for furthering the economic and social vitality of Puerto Rico and should thus host applications and web services that foster government and private-sector innovation, increase economic opportunity, and improve the quality of life for the residents of Puerto Rico.

This report details 33 specific COAs addressing the needs for recovery of the Communications/IT sector in ways that are sustainable and resilient; describes how they build on and support one another; and explains how COAs will further the economic development of Puerto Rico and the wellbeing of its residents.

Download full report at https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2599.html

Infrastructure forms the backbone of Saint Lucia’s society, delivering services that provide for the daily needs of its citizens while supporting a strong tourism-based economy that brings hundreds of thousands of visitors to the island each year. However, the island faces economic vulnerabilities due to its small size and reliance on imports, while its geography leaves it exposed to natural hazards such as flooding and landslides that threaten lives and livelihoods. As a result of climate change, the intensity of tropical storms and hurricanes affecting the island is likely to increase. Human-caused disasters, as exemplified by the current COVID-19 pandemic, can have also have devastating impacts on development and economic outcomes.

At the same time, Saint Lucia possesses a wealth of resources that can be harnessed to support sustainable growth and increase the country’s resilience to extreme weather events. The island’s natural beauty, favourable renewable energy conditions, and agricultural potential provide it with opportunities to develop a sustainable and self-sufficient economy. Recognising this, decisionmakers in government and the private sector have a responsibility to deepen the understanding of these challenges and opportunities, and to best position infrastructure as a driver of sustainable development. For example, by modelling future energy and water needs, policy-makers can take appropriate long-term actions to counter fossil fuel dependency and minimise water shortages. Utilising a range of available spatial data on natural hazards can help prioritise risk-reduction initiatives across physical and natural assets and inform the building of new development projects. An understanding of the interactions and impacts between infrastructure sectors can help identify efficient and cost-effective actions to achieve strategic national targets and objectives.

This report establishes the first milestone in a partnership between the Government of Saint Lucia (GoSL), the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), and the University of Oxford-led Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortium (ITRC). The purpose of the report is to establish a vision for the island’s future infrastructure aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change. Long-term demand for infrastructure services in Saint Lucia is projected to increase as it pursues economic ambitions to grow its tourism and agriculture sectors.

Since the tragedy of the 2015 earthquakes, Nepal has undergone a political and structural transformation in how it approaches disaster risk governance. This has resulted in the decentralization of authority to the lowest levels of government in an effort to build resilience from the ground up.

Disaster risk reduction (DRR) is most effective when the people who are most impacted by disasters have a say in setting policy priorities. Not only does this help ensure buy-in at the local level, but strategies and plans become informed by the realities on the ground.

In the case of Nepal, the devastating earthquakes of 2015, coupled with the country’s transition to a federal system of government under a new constitution, created the conditions for a disaster risk governance system that is responsive to local needs.

The constitution devolved power and resources to local governments and mandated the mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation across the three tiers of governments in Nepal: local, provincial, and federal.

At the 2019 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Government of Nepal announced that the disaster management funds are being allocated to all the 753 local governments in the country.

Two examples of a “bottom-up” approach to disaster risk governance at the local level can be found in the municipality of Palungtar in the Gorkha district and Indrawati in the Sindhupalchowk district. In both municipalities, local governments took the lead in developing their own multi-hazard disaster risk reduction plans. With the support of UN agencies, Nepal’s local leaders, who are democratically elected, have also made disaster prevention a focus of their time in office.

“Palungtar municipality is currently leading the development and implementation of DRR mechanisms while strengthening ward offices as frontline institutions. UNDP has supported us in creating an enabling environment through a DRR strategic action plan. I, as the Mayor of this municipality, will exercise my administrative and political authority in reducing disaster risk, benefiting our people,” said Mr. Deepak Babu Kandel, Mayor of Palungtar municipality.

At the provincial level, the government of the Sudurpashchim Pradesh province recently developed and endorsed its own DRR Policy and Strategic Action Plan following an inclusive consultative process.

Led by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Executive Committee, and aided by the UN and international NGOs, the consultations stretched for over a year and included district governments, provincial ministries, humanitarian partners, and stakeholders. Efforts were also made to bring the consultations to various locations to ensure the participation of a wide range of stakeholders from across the province.

The new plan is currently in being implemented and the provincial government just completed a resource mobilization analysis to fund the plan from various sectors.

The progress at the municipality and provincial levels was made possible by overarching guidance and support from the federal level. Specifically, this was done under the umbrella of Nepal’s National Policy and Strategic Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management 2018-2030, which in turn was developed in response to the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2017.

While the Ministry of Home Affairs remains the DRR policy hub in Nepal, another outcome of the Act of 2017 has been the establishment of the new National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) in 2019 to operationalize disaster risk management.

“One of our key functions is to coordinate all three levels of governance for ensuring a whole-of-government approach to effectively reduce disaster risk, build resilience and manage complex response,” said Mr. Anil Pokhrel, Chief Executive of NDRRMA.

Indeed, strengthening coordination among the various levels of government, sectors, and stakeholders is a challenge that many countries face, especially in light of concurrent disasters with cascading impacts. As a Least Developed Country, Nepal has made several progressive steps in pursuit of a 25-year long-term development vision to transform the country into a developed nation by the year 2043. However, disasters like the Gorkha earthquake, recurrent floods and the emergence of new disasters like windstorms have the potential to roll back the country’s development gains.