How to turn a calamity into an opportunity
to put development on the fast track? People in Colombia's "coffee
axis" - the country's main coffee growing region - appear to have
found the answer. Only three and a half years after a devastating earthquake,
they have rebuilt 90 per cent of the homes and other buildings destroyed
or damaged.
People's satisfaction with their new
neighbourhoods, schools, fire stations and mayors' offices is evident.
No one is surprised when children in some rural schools take off their
shoes before entering. "It's so we won't spoil the floor, because
it is so pretty," said Natalia Maria Castro, age 10, a student at
the Guatemala Rural School, proudly.
The January 1999 quake was Colombia's largest ever, affecting 28 municipalities, causing 1,185 deaths and injuring 8,000. Damages totalled US$1.8 billion, more than a third of the region's annual economic output, with 100,852 buildings damaged, including more than half the homes in the region. Making things worse, falling coffee prices on international markets pushed up poverty rates.
The region received national and international support in response to the emergency. UNDP mobilized quickly and set up an office in the region. Then-president Andrés Pastrana created the Fund for the Reconstruction of the Coffee Axis (FOREC), which worked closely with local community groups on the basis of participation, transparency, efficiency and decentralization.
FOREC formed alliances for transferring support for recovery to the local level, empowering citizens and transforming reconstruction into a collective learning experience. The initiative provided training to help local communities decide how to set up new public facilities, community centres, schools and health centres.
The FOREC management model received the UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction in 2000 and has proven its worth since then.
"The earthquake recovery management model has shown its effectiveness," said UNDP Resident Representative Cesar Miquel. "The model will be useful in Colombia and other countries, even for dealing with issues such as development, poverty, and national reconciliation," he said.
"The approach demonstrated that local participation, control, and citizens' initiative can produce transparent, efficient management," said Mr. Miquel. "The work was done well, with dignity and beauty. The human being was always considered".
The challenge for the future is to maintain the impetus and capitalize on lessons learned. To do that UNDP is working with Colombian authorities to strengthen local institutions and create a consensus on local development priorities.
For further information, please contact Amparo Díaz,amparo.diaz@undp.org, UNDP Colombia, or Ana Gerez,ana.gerez@undp.org, UNDP Communications Office.