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Long-term solutions. It is tragic to think that some of the loss of life and property caused by disasters in the region, including Hurricane Mitch and last summer’s drought, could have been avoided through preventive measures and better management and use of natural resources.

“Hurricane Mitch and this drought are opening the eyes of many public officials in the affected countries, because the consequences of these disasters are more severe than ever before,” says Ricardo Quiroga. “However, the basic solutions lie in the medium and long term. The drought in Central America is not so much a problem of a lack of water, but of distribution of water between areas of great abundance and others of scarcity. Basic management tools are needed to allow for rational resource allocation. The Bank’s water resources strategy very clearly acknowledges that integrated resource management at the watershed level will make it possible to avoid disastrous impacts from floods, while improving management of the various uses of water.”

Still, the region’s countries must pass and implement modern laws on natural resource use and management, according to Quiroga. Another major problem to be resolved is regulation of land ownership and the lack of real land, water, and financial markets that produce true development opportunities for rural inhabitants. What has been put forward so far in terms of legislation and regulations is insufficient. In the best cases, a number of laws are still in the proposal stage, or are awaiting parliamentary debate. “The good thing is that there are new proposals, public awareness is heightened, and there are many good initiatives that tackle the root problems of rural poverty,” says Quiroga.

Information management is another area in which the region is lacking. Knowledge about the causes and effects of this crisis is extremely limited. There is no systematic monitoring of climatic and hydrometeorological conditions, or of the various interrelationships among processes that determine the impact of a drought. It is difficult to make decisions and anticipate disasters accurately. “To some extent, the problem is one of a lack of resources,” says Quiroga, “Hydrometeorological information is still not fully appreciated, and there are no mechanisms for recovering the associated costs.” In general, hydrological and meteorological services are very weak. An innovative approach must be found to ensure the sustainability of producing and disseminating this information at the regional level.

IDB initiatives. The Bank is working with the region’s countries to implement a vision of rural development that mounts a frontal assault on the determining factors of poverty, which is the root cause of social vulnerability. To tackle the problems that lead to desertification and natural resource degradation, mainly of soil, water, and forests, the IDB is financing natural resource management programs in priority watersheds in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador. As Quiroga notes, “In any event, the problems are similar: eroded soil becomes less productive, producers’ capacity to generate income decreases, social conflict increases owing to the scarcity of water or access to it, and vulnerability to natural disasters grows.”

In general, the programs seek to raise the income levels and quality of life of small-scale hillside farmers who grow mainly basic grains, through practices that improve soil productivity, make water use more efficient, and promote crop diversification. At the same time, the goal in these watersheds is to reduce physical vulnerability and provide environmental services that benefit the whole population.

The involvement of communities, grassroots organizations, and local governments in the process of developing and implementing activities is an important part of these initiatives. Decentralized decision making and participatory land-use planning are aspects of local ownership of these projects, and the results so far are encouraging. Quiroga says that the Bank’s operations have already yielded excellent results in the Chixoy watershed in Guatemala, the El Cajón watershed in Honduras, and the Upper Lempa River Basin in El Salvador. In Nicaragua, a second operation under the Socioenvironmental and Forestry Development Program (POSAF) has just been approved, based on the excellent results of the first phase. Producers take action on their own farms not only because it is good for the environment, but because the rational use of soil, water, and forest resources leads to higher income and a better quality of life.

In late 2000, the Sixth Regional Meeting on the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification was held in San Salvador to prepare scientific and technical reports, with support from the IDB and the Danish Technical Cooperation Trust Fund. Those reports confirm that broad areas of the region are threatened by desertification and the impact of drought, mainly because of human intervention. Now that this has been recognized, each country in the region has committed to preparing a national action plan to combat desertification and drought. “The IDB is in an excellent position to help with the eventual implementation of those plans,” says Quiroga.

The tragedies that might have been prevented have served as a warning that critical long-term decisions must be made. The process of rebuilding in the areas affected by Hurricane Mitch includes integrated actions to regulate and manage river basins. If those actions are carried out successfully, the impact of many of these natural disasters could be controlled. In the best-case scenario, human intervention will help cushion the blow of nature’s fury rather than intensify its disastrous effects.

Date posted: October 2001