A World Safe From Natural Disasters: The Journey of Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

[Foreword]: The 1990s has been declared the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR). The mid-point in this International Decade and the World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction provide a golden opportunity to showcase the progress of Latin America and the Caribbean in reducing the impact of disasters on life and property. It is also an appropriate time to suggest areas in need of additional attention at the national level during the second half of the Decade and beyond... The principal purpose of this publication is to remind policy makers and the international community that a modest but sustained investment in disaster reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean has saved, and will continue to save, in a non-dramatic but effective way, a large number of lives and avoid tragedies which would otherwise drain resources for humanitarian assistance. A second purpose is to share the optimism and enthusiasm of disaster professionals at witnessing a slow but steady evolution in the Region from the fatalistic acceptance of disasters to the determination to take steps to avoid them whenever possible or minimize their effects through long-term disaster reduction planning.