Description of the project "Research Capacity Building in Nature-Induced Disaster Mitigation in Central America 2008–2010"

Background

A natural disaster is the consequence of a natural hazard, e.g., volcanic eruption, earthquake, landslide, flood, drought or hurricane, which affects human activities. Human vulnerability, exacerbated by the lack of planning or lack of appropriate emergency management, leads to human, environmental, and financial losses. The resulting loss depends on the capacity of the population to support or resist the disaster, its resilience. A natural hazard will not result in a natural disaster in areas without vulnerability, e.g., floods in uninhabited areas. The study of natural disasters is, thus, a combined study of natural hazards and societal vulnerability, resilience, and planning. Research and research studies are traditionally carried in disciplines whereas capacity building in natural-disaster science must be multidisciplinary.

Because of the special geological, hydrological, and meteorological conditions, Central America and a large part of the Caribbean are frequently hit by rapid-onset natural disasters. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hydro-meteorological events, landslides, mudflows and coastal degradation are considered to induce the most severe disasters in Central America. The disasters are often interrelated. The economic and social impact of these disasters on the societies is severe and the vulnerability has increased because of, e.g., accelerating urbanization and deterioration of the socioeconomic conditions of the poorest.

Through the present project, Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency; the Spanish acronym is Asdi) contributes to prevention and mitigation of natural disasters in Central America through training of specialists, disciplinary and multidisciplinary research, and a research network coordinated and administered by CSUCA (Central American University Council).

The Objectives

The main objectives of the project are:

1. to strengthen research capacities in various disciplines and subjects related to prevention and mitigation of natural disasters in eight public Central American universities. The research capacity building shall be strengthened through research studies and improvement of research environment at the participating universities;
2. to institutionalize research in the participating universities with the objective of creating a scientific base for mitigation and prevention of natural disasters;
3. to establish and coordinate a regional research network for research on mitigation of natural disasters in Central America. The eight universities shall participate in this network, which will be open also for other stakeholders. The network shall coordinate research cooperation and disseminate research results.

The purpose of this web site is to provide information about (i) research capacity building in natural disaster mitigation in Central America 2008–2010 in cooperation with Swedish universities, and (ii) details about the process to be followed by interested researchers and applicants to the research studies.