Assistance for "Natural disasters in Peru: from Damage Limitation to Risk Management and Prevention" Project

April 20, 2006

On the 20th of April (Thu), the Government of Japan and the United Nations (UN) decided to extend assistance totalling 1,576,484.62 US dollars (approximately 1.75 million yen), through the Trust Fund for Human Security to a project entitled "Natural disasters in Peru: from Damage Limitation to Risk Management and Prevention" that will be implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO).
In the rural communities in southern Andes region, Peru, where poverty levels remain high, people are exposed to serious effect of recurrent natural disasters such as drought, frost, earthquakes, mudslides and forest fires. This project aims at protecting and empowering people and communities in the region by supporting risk management efforts and raising awareness to disaster prevention. The following activities will be implemented:
- Training the communities to plan and undertake prevention and emergency response measures;
- Mitigating the effect of natural disasters by increasing the rain water capture capacity through reforesting and building mini dams in targeted areas;
- Enhancing food storage capacity in preparation for emergency situations;
- Designing a communication strategy for creating public awareness on disaster prevention among the communities;
- Sharing best practices and experiences in disaster preparedness among the districts.
This project is expected to minimize the impact of natural disaster by raising knowledge and awareness to disaster prevention among the locals through empowerment.

(Note)

The Trust Fund for Human Security was established in the United Nations Secretariat in March 1999 at the initiative of the Government of Japan. Since then, total contributions have reached approximately 31.5 billion yen (US$ 279.7 million). The Trust Fund has supported projects from more than 150 UN agencies, each one addressing various threats to human life, livelihood and dignity, from the perspective of human security.

(END)

Back to Index