NEW ORLEANS - Reducing the vulnerability of Latin America and the Caribbean to the threat of natural disasters should be considered a priority investment in the region, which is exposed to an accelerating rate to catastrophes caused by hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts and floods.

That was one of the conclusions of a study prepared by the Inter-American Development Bank and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The work was presented today during a seminar titled Confronting Natural Disasters: A Matter of Development. The governments of Finland and Sweden sponsored the study and the seminar.

IDB President Enrique V. Iglesias, speaking at the inauguration of the forum, said it was no coincidence that during 1998 some 95 percent of the victims of natural disasters lived in developing countries.

"Of our 26 borrowing country members [of the IDB] more than half have been exposed to these phenomena [natural disasters] on a recurring basis," Iglesias said. "Prevention to avoid that these effects become even worse is a central goal of our task."

ECLAC Secretary General José Antonio Ocampo emphasized the need to include prevention and mitigation measures in development plans to avoid the costs of replacing infrastructure and service lost during each disaster.

"While these (preventive measures) require important investments, they represent only a fraction of what the cost would be without these steps," he said.

According to the IDB-ECLAC study, 150 million people, or one in three inhabitants of the region, are exposed to natural disasters. In the past 27 years, 100,000 persons have died in natural disasters that inflicted more than $50 billion in damage.

Nevertheless, the statistics in the study represent only the tip of the iceberg, since they are based on data gathered at the request of affected countries. Statistics on hundreds of lesser disasters that take place every year are rarely tabulated.

There seems to be an acceleration in the occurrence of natural disasters. Between 1900 and 1989, the region experienced an average of 10.8 major natural disasters annually. Between 1990 and 1998, the annual average jumped to 35.7.

Among the social, economic and political factors that increase the vulnerability of Latin America and the Caribbean are poverty; the concentration of the population in high-risk areas; environmental degradation brought on by abuse of natural resources; accelerated demographic growth; the low quality of infrastructure, housing, and services; and the low level of preparation to confront emergencies.

The IDB-ECLAC document serves as the basis for seminar sessions organized by the State and Civil Society Division of the IDB’s Sustainable Development Department.

For two days hundreds of delegates from governments, international agencies, and numerous civil society organizations and academic institutions will discuss the causes of vulnerability among the countries of the region and will identify policies and actions to diminish the impact of natural disasters.

Many disasters are inevitable, but their damage can be reduced significantly. "Natural disasters clearly are a problem of development," the study said. "First, because in developing countries some natural phenomena tend to have greater consequences than in developed countries. Second, diverse factors associated with the low level of development result the amplification of the consequences. Third, because the impact of the natural phenomena on the possibilities of long-range development is substantially greater in less developed countries."

The document explores why Latin America and the Caribbean are so vulnerable. "Without a doubt, the main factor is the development standard followed by a majority of the countries, with high levels of poverty, socioeconomic exclusion and environmental degradation," the study said.

One of the innovative elements in the study was its examination of the relationship between democratic government and the reduction of vulnerability.

Weakness of political institutions and the democratic system are in many cases important causes of vulnerability to natural disasters because of inefficiency in public policy, the study said.

On Sunday Iglesias will present an IDB action plan to integrate prevention and the management of global risk with national and regional development strategies.

For more details see a background paper prepared by the IDB on Bank activities to assist countries of Latin America and the Caribbean that are exposed to natural disasters. See IDB Website at www.iadb.org and click on Annual Meeting and Press.