The African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, the European Union (EU), the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) remain committed to pushing for the effective integration of Disaster Risk Management (DRM) into the global development agenda, and to cementing the strong links among DRM, poverty reduction, and climate change adaptation.
ACP countries are among the most vulnerable countries in the world. A close cooperation among the EU, the ACP Secretariat and the World Bank-GFDRR through the ACP-EU Natural Disaster Risk Reduction (NDRR) Program ensured a coordinated approach to build climate and disaster resilience in the ACP countries – at regional, sub-regional, national and local levels.
This objective was pursued in close synergy with different EU strategies, such as the Intra-ACP Cooperation 10th EDF Strategy Paper and Multiannual Indicative Program, the European Commission Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction in Developing Countries and its Implementation Plan, the EU Action Plan on Climate Change and Development, the Joint Communication on a Strategic Approach to Resilience in the EU’s External Action, and EU-ACP Regional Strategies and Partnerships. This objective was also pursued in synergy with EU Programs, such as the EU Global Climate Change Alliance Plus, and DG ECHO programs, the ACP Disaster Risk Reduction agenda, the UNISDR Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and GFDRR ongoing programs.
Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States
The Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), previously known as ACP Group of States, was created by the Georgetown Agreement in 1975. the OACPS consists of 79 member states and six regions, who are signatories of the Cotonou Agreement, which legally consolidates their partnership with the European Union. Among the OACPS objectives is the sustainable development of its member states and their gradual integration into the global economy. In this regard, as early as 2004, the OACPS took the initiative to pioneer action on disaster risk reduction and resilience. It achieved this by persuading the European Union to expand its scope from humanitarian assistance and response, to a more pro-active and holistic approach to prevent and manage disaster risks caused by natural hazards. The ACP-EU NDRR Program is part of a long-standing cooperation between the OACPS and the EU. It brings together disaster risk management and climate resilience entities from the members and regions of the OACPS, with specialised partners such as GFDRR, to address members of the OACPS’ vulnerabilities to exogenous shocks, through integrated measures on climate adaptation, resilience building, environmental sustainability & protection, and disaster risk management.
For more information: www.acp.int
EUROPEAN UNION
The European Union (EU) is the leading donor of development aid and climate finance. The EU finances the NDRR Program by a grant of €54.5 million to a single-donor Trust Fund, under the 10th European Development Fund. The EU is at the forefront of the international agenda on climate resilience, supporting developing countries in preparing for, withstanding and recovering from disaster events. The EU is fully engaged in supporting the implementation of the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. As one of the main priorities of the European Green Deal, the roadmap to transform the EU into a low-carbon and climate-resilient society, the European Commission launched in February 2021 the new and more ambitious EU Climate Change Adaptation Strategy. Reinforcing the call to strengthen the efforts on climate-proofing, resilience building, prevention and preparedness, the strategy calls for action in Europe but also beyond EU borders. This reaffirms that global challenges, such as climate resilience, require a global response. In its cooperation with the OACPS, the EU has placed at the core of its interventions the need to reduce vulnerability and to build the resilience of regions, countries, and communities.
For more information: www.europa.eu
GLOBAL FACILITY FOR DISASTER REDUCTION AND RECOVERY
The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) is a global partnership established in 2006 to support developing countries in understanding, managing, and ultimately reducing risks stemming from natural hazards and climate change. GFDRR’s mission is to facilitate implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement by ensuring that development policies, plans, and investments—including postdisaster reconstruction—are designed to minimize disaster risks and build the resilience of people and economies to climate change. GFDRR provides grant financing, technical assistance, training and knowledge sharing activities to mainstream disaster and climate risk management in policies and strategies.
For more information: www.gfdrr.org
The African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, the European Union (EU) and the World Bank (WB) established in 2011 the ACP-EU Natural Disaster Risk Reduction (NDRR) Program to support disaster risk reduction activities in ACP countries. Its operations were financed by an EU grant of €54.5 million to a single-donor Trust Fund managed by the WB-led Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR).
OBJECTIVE
The NDRR Program was grounded in the conviction that disaster risk reduction contributes to sustainable development and poverty eradication. It sought to prevent, mitigate and enhance preparedness to natural disasters at regional, sub-regional, national and local levels in ACP countries. The program had four priority areas:
- Mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction (DRR);
- Risk identification and assessment;
- Early warning systems (EWS) and communication on DRR; and
- Risk transfer and integration of DRR into post-disaster recovery.
EXPECTED RESULTS AND TARGETS
The main expected results of the NDRR Program were:
- Improved resilience of ACP countries to the impact of natural disasters;
- Enhanced preparedness of the population in disaster-prone areas; and
- Reduced response costs in the event of natural disasters.
The achievement of the results is measured against the following targets, which were all reached by December 2021.
- 30 ACP Countries have integrated DRR and Climate Change Adaptation in the national planning process;
- 20 countries have developed risk tools to guide vulnerability reduction;
- 3 river basis have enhanced flood risk management capacity;
- 6 sub-regional institutions have functioning DRR capacity;
- 20 countries have access to operational early warning systems for natural disasters;
- 15 countries have developed risk financing and insurance strategies;
- 20 countries have developed national capacity for post disaster needs assessments (PDNAs);
- 15 countries have undertaken multi-stakeholder PDNA and recovery planning;
- 5 countries have effective implementation of DRR in the recovery phase.
The ACP-EU NDRR Program’s operations fell into three components:
- Regional/Sub-Regional Projects (Window 1): to advance the national DRR agendas of ACP countries through regional/sub-regional cooperation;
- Country-Level Projects (Window 2): to drive DRR and climate change adaptation (CCA) policy development and implementation in ACP countries through need-based and demand-driven technical assistance, including provision of technical advisory capacity;
- Post-Disaster & Capacity Building Activities (Window 3): to improve the ability of ACP countries to respond to disasters efficiently and effectively by building ex-ante capacity to conduct post-disaster needs assessments, providing rapid technical assistance, and mainstreaming DRR in recovery planning.
GOVERNANCE
A Steering Committee (SC) - consisting of senior representatives from the ACP Secretariat, the European Commission, and the GFDRR Secretariat - advised and provided guidance on the overall direction of the ACP-EU NDRR Program. The SC was responsible for reviewing progress and achievements, reports and work program as well as considering priorities and general principles for the Program.
From 2011 until the Program’s wrap-up in 2021, a dedicated GFDRR team in Brussels coordinated the overall implementation of the Program, ensuring day-to-day coordination with the EU, the ACP Secretariat, and other partners. The team worked closely with the GFDRR Secretariat in Washington, and with the the WB Disaster Risk Management Regional teams in charge of Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific.
RESULT AREA 2
The ACP-EU NDRR Program was expanded in 2014 with an additional €20 million for regional activities, so as to support the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) coordination capacity of African Regional Economic Communities (ECCAS, ECOWAS, IGAD, and SADC). This supplemental contribution fell administratively under the ACP-EU NDRR Program, but the activities implemented with the project contributed to the achievement of the 2nd result area (R2) of the ACP-EU Program “Building Disaster Resilience to Natural Hazards in Sub-Saharan African Regions, Countries, and Communities.” Read more on Result Area 2 here.
The ACP-EU NDRR Program supported project proposals for technical assistance, capacity building and advisory/analytical work at the regional/sub-regional and country levels through Calls for Proposals (issued periodically) or ad-hoc requests submitted to GFDRR. In addition, the Program responded to requests from ACP countries in the aftermath of a disaster with post disaster needs assessments (PDNA), rapid-response technical assistance, capacity building and the development of sustainable recovery frameworks.
Activities were closely coordinated with the European Union (EU) Delegations to ensure complementarity and alignment with the country development priorities, as well as with EU strategies (namely the EU Strategy for Supporting DRR in Developing Countries) and, where relevant, those of other development partners.
Window 1 - Regional/Sub-Regional DRR Initiatives
The priority of Window 1 initiatives was to strengthen the capacities of relevant regional and sub-regional institutions involved in disaster risk reduction (DRR) and expand their knowledge and expertise with a view to facilitate an increased dialogue among ACP countries.
Strengthening the regional and sub-regional cooperation helped generate economies of scale in risk reduction strategies and created an enabling environment to advance ACP countries national disaster risk reduction agendas. The support under this Window included:
- Mapping and identifying trans-boundary risks;
- Developing regional early warning systems;
- Improving flood risk management in river basins;
- Developing risk pooling and insurance;
- Enhancing knowledge exchange;
- Enhancing learning and capacity building in DRR, and;
- Supporting other multi-country initiatives that promote not only cost-effective risk reduction, but also contribute to enhanced regional integration.
Window 2 - Mainstreaming DRR and CCA in ACP Countries’ Development
The mainstreaming approach was a key component to assure a sustainable integration of DRR and climate change adaptation (CCA) into development policies and strategies. Support for mainstreaming helped ACP countries to pursue a proactive approach to DRR and interlinked CCA as an integral element of their sustainable development agenda. Assistance that leveraged greater synergies between DRR and CCA initiatives were considered in priority.
The program supported ACP countries in implementing need-based DRR actions such as:
- Ensuring better hazard mapping and disaster risk assessments;
- Contributing to national DRR policy and institutional development;
- Building comprehensive DRR capacity;
- Strengthening early warning systems (EWS);
- Developing regional and territorial plans that reduce risks;
- Establishing norms and guidelines for protecting critical infrastructure from disaster impacts, and;
- Supporting feasibility studies on the introduction of national risk financing and risk transfer instruments to protect GDP loss.
The aim was to provide need-based and demand-driven technical assistance for DRR policy development and its implementation including provision of technical advisory capacity in ACP countries.
Window 3: DRR in Recovery & Capacity Building
The Window 3 included a fast-track mechanism supporting ACP countries in the aftermath of a disaster with rapid technical assistance to develop a recovery framework including a build back better approach.
The support under this Window included:
- Developing ex-ante capacities in ACP countries for Post-Disaster Needs Assessments (PDNAs);
- Support for PDNAs, that assessed damages, losses and needs following a disaster. PDNAs enabled drawing up a recovery framework which integrate DRR principles, as well as leveraging additional support;
- Contributions to just-in time knowledge and good practice advisory support to disaster-stricken Governments, and;
- Matched funds for the implementation of the DRR components recommended by PDNA.
Emphasis was placed on supporting disaster-affected low-income countries in fast-tracking the necessary post disaster assessments, which ensured that risk reduction measures were prominently placed in multi-sector recovery and reconstruction plans, and to leverage the existing trilateral agreement between the United Nations, the European Commission and the World Bank on Post Crisis Assessments and Recovery Planning.
Henriette B. Mampuya is an Operations Officer in the GFDRR Brussels team and is responsible for the oversight of the implementation of the ACP-EU NDRR Program. She is also focal point for Africa within the ACP-EU NDRR Program and coordinates the Program’s Communication.
Email: hmampuya@worldbank.org
Rossella Della Monica is a Disaster Risk Management Specialist in the GFDRR Brussels team and is also responsible for the oversight of the implementation of the ACP-EU NDRR Program and focal point for the Caribbean.
Email: rdellamonica@worldbank.org
Hugo Wesley is a Disaster Risk Management Analyst in the GFDRR Brussels team and is the ACP-EU NDRR Program focal point for the Pacific and post-disaster response. Hugo also supports the team on Communications and website maintenance.
Email: hwesley@worldbank.org
Isabelle Forge is a consultant on the GFDRR Brussels team and focal point for Monitoring and Evaluation of the ACP-EU NDRR Program.
Email: iforge@worldbank.org