Disaster Preparedness and DRR make the difference



The INFORM initiative for Central America: Sub-national tools for the management of humanitarian crisis and disaster risk



	Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador


Name of the agency or partner The Index for Risk Management (INFORM) initiative for Central America (http://sara.un-ocha.org/inform-lac). Regional and national actors involved in the initiative are the Executive Secretariat of the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (SECONRED) in Guatemala, the Permanent Commission for Contingencies Response (COPECO) in Honduras, the Secretariat of Vulnerability Issues and National Civil Defense Directorate (SAV-DGPC) in El Salvador, the Coordination Centre for the Prevention of Natural Disasters in Central America (CEPREDENAC), OCHA, UNICEF and UNDP. Name of the beneficiary community Regional, national, and local institutions involved in the humanitarian and development sectors, risk related data generation, and planning and implementation of disaster risk management strategies. Other stakeholders involved in the practice Other national institutions that have been involved in the implementation of the INFORM subnational models, include: In Guatemala: General Secretariat of Planning (SEGEPLAN), Secretariat of Food Security and Nutrition (SESAN), Secretariat of Executive Coordination of the Presidency of Guatemala (SCEP), National Institute of Statistics (INE), Institute for Municipal Development (INFOM), Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and food (MAGA). In Honduras: The National Plan Executive Management Office (DEPN), National Commission for Housing and Human Settlements (Convivienda), National Institute of Statistics (INE), Ministry of Education (MinEdu); Association of Municipalities of Honduras (AMHON), Ministry of Environment (MiAmbiente), Secretariat of Development and Social Inclusion (SEDIS), Secretary of Health (SESAL). In El Salvador: Ministry of Health (MINSAL); Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN); Ministry of Education (MINEDU); Ministry of Justice and Public Safety (MJSP); General Directorate of Statistics and Census (DIGESTYC); Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG); The Ministry of Public Works, Transport, Housing and Urban Development (MOP); and the Secretariat for Technical Planning of the Office of the President (SETEPLAN). Area of intervention where the practice/evidence is implemented Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador Information on how it relates to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (through a priority, target, principle etc.) The action contributes to the achievement of the Sendai Framework Priority 1: Understanding disaster risk and the Global target G: Substantially increase the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information and assessments to the people by 2030. What are the relevant activities (related to DRR) for this evidence? The INFORM sub-national risk index shows a detailed picture of humanitarian crisis and disaster risk and its components within a single country. The sub-national index is an open-source tool and uses the same methodology and development process as the global INFORM model (http://www.inform-index.org/), but is sub-national in resolution. The tool considers multiple natural and human hazards, including climate related hazards as floods, droughts, tropical cyclones and storm surge. Also, depending on a country context, it considers environmental conditions, such as deforestation and land degradation. INFORM Honduras and INFORM Guatemala identify risks, hazards, vulnerabilities and response capacities at the municipal level. Each municipal index simplifies information about crisis risk and is comprised of a set of indicators representing the three risk dimensions: hazard and exposure, vulnerability, and lack of coping capacity. INFORM Honduras includes the 298 municipalities of Honduras and is comprised of 35 indicators. INFORM Guatemala contains the 340 municipalities of Guatemala and is composed of 29 indicators. Description of the impact of the evidence. Has it been proven? What is the notable change that has been caused by implementing the practice/evidence? The INFORM sub-national tool is used by national and local government institutions, international cooperation and civil society organizations, and development and disaster risk reduction sectors to address weaknesses in different areas identified by the tool and facilitate analysis for response and adaptation to humanitarian crisis risks associated with multiple hazards, including climate related hazards. It is used to inform decision making and planning processes to prevent, prepare for, and respond to humanitarian crises and disasters, and to adapt and build resilience, among others. For instance, INFORM Guatemala and INFORM Honduras have been established by the national disaster risk management institutions as the basic tool for the prioritization of actions in risk management and are used by national and local decision makers for the update of local development plans. Also, the tool is used for specific analysis of climate related hazards, such as drought and flood risk analysis. For instance, INFORM Honduras has been used by the Permanent Contingency Committee (COPECO) for a drought risk analysis to support the identification and prioritization of the most affected municipalities and the preparation of a response plan in reply to the drought emergency affecting the so-called dry corridor in 2018. Results of INFORM were used for the cross verification of data gathered by a monitoring survey and vulnerability index in order to assess the risk of a humanitarian crisis in the dry corridor. What is the role of the beneficiaries and the community in this practice? And how have they been involved in this evidence? The coordination between national institutions, partnership and permanent consultation with relevant stakeholders on the analysis and understanding of humanitarian crisis and disaster risk is a key element of the implementation of the INFORM. National INFORM committees or working groups have been established in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, which are coordinated by the national disaster risk management institutions in each country. The implementation of the INFORM subnational models has involved a comprehensive interinstitutional consultation and participation process and provided an opportunity to develop and strengthen institutional procedures for sharing information required for risk identification, analysis and assessment. Also, the initiative has provided support and guidance to increase the understanding of risk at national and local level and to increase the use of risk information in decision making, involving a wide range of national and local actors.