Selección de variables y parámetros del diseño de experimentos. Es común que un sistema se vea afectado por más de una variable de operación, de

Local governments operate on the front lines of disaster, dealing with localized hazards as well as less-frequent large-scale events. They also bear significant responsibility for implementing DRM policy and central government–initiated legislation, both directly through their own actions and by guiding, encouraging, and enforcing appropriate actions on the part of businesses and households.

In some respects, local governments are well placed to play these roles because they have firsthand knowledge of and experi- ence with disaster risk in the communities they serve. Drawing on this, with national government support, they can stimulate long-term gains in strengthened resilience both for themselves and for their neighbors and hence for the overall national good. However, local governments in hazard-prone areas may have resource and capacity limita- tions, are sometimes uncertain how much funding they will ultimately receive from the central government, and are less equipped to undertake detailed risk assessments or develop local DRM strategies. In these cases, in consultation with local communities and national experts, local governments can still

identify a few key initiatives that are consistent with national policies and targets and local needs and that integrate disaster risk concerns into spatial and development planning. Meanwhile, regional, provincial, citywide, and other administrative units that sit between national government and the lowest level of local government have an essential intermedi- ary role in linking and coordinating national development goals and objectives with locally identified priorities, including those related to DRM (Figure 13). They also provide

steady guidance of both public and private (property) development toward greater resilience, influencing ongoing investment in local development.

Drawing on local knowledge and expertise.

Local governments have direct access to a

Figure 13 Stimulating Resilience

through Subnational Policy and

Planning Processes

■ Local knowledge

and expertise

■ National government

capacity and information support ■ Twinning arrangements ■ Collaboration with neighboring local authorities ■ Political legacy aspirations Identification of key local government initiatives to ■ Assess risk ■ Reduce risk ■ Manage residual risk

Stimulating, Securing, and Sustaining Investment in a More Resilient Future 41 Local governments have direct access to a rich pool of knowledge, experience, capabilities, and perspectives on disaster risk within their local communities

rich pool of knowledge (including indigenous knowledge), experience, capabilities, and perspectives on disaster risk within their local communities. This pool provides a firm foundation for the development of local resilience initiatives. It can be drawn upon through a series of multi-stakeholder and multisector consultations, including discussions with marginalized groups and businesses. Consultations can be important not only as a learning process for local government but also for establishing common understanding, mutual assistance, and shared commitment to moving resilience initiatives forward (UNISDR n.d.). Subnational institutional arrangements for DRM provide access to a wide base of knowledge in many countries as well as to DRM committees typically comprising representatives from all departments of local government, providing a multidisciplinary body with broad collective expertise and experience.

Securing national government capacity and information support. National government

agencies can support subnational authorities in translating government objectives into initiatives to strengthen resilience by providing hazard information; by providing training and technical expertise in areas such as hazard mapping and risk assessment; by encouraging the development of local disaster databases; and by establishing financial incentives for subnational government progress in this area. For instance, under its Comprehensive Disaster Prevention and Reduction Plan (2011–2015), the Government of the People’s Republic of China intends to establish a disaster information clerk in every rural and urban community and to strengthen disaster reporting and verification systems and the dissemination of disaster information.

Collaborating with neighboring units of subnational government. Horizontal

consultation and collaboration among adjacent units of subnational government can play a vital role in the management of shared, cross-boundary hazards and vulnerabilities. Such initiatives can help ensure that individual units of government do not simply transfer disaster risk to their neighbors—by evicting squatters from hazard-prone areas, for instance, which can result in their relocation to hazard-prone locations in neighboring

jurisdictions, or by investing in upstream structural flood controls that increase the risk of flooding for downstream jurisdictions. Instead, they can pool resources, know-how, and expertise to address disaster risk for their mutual benefit. They can also help identify cross-boundary issues that may require support from a higher level of government.

Encouraging twinning arrangements.

Twinning options—linking hazard-prone cities, municipalities, or provinces with other localities that have relevant resilience expertise, technical solutions, or resources— whether locally or internationally, can help stimulate investment in resilience. For instance, twinning arrangements have already been successfully established to support post- disaster reconstruction efforts in the People’s Republic of China, following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. In that case, financial resources, personnel, and moral support were provided by other parts of the country (International Recovery Platform 2010). International twinning arrangements in a post-disaster context have been promoted more generally by Sister Cities International, under its Humanitarian Assistance Program. Twinning arrangements supporting innovation in ex ante risk reduction and the replication of successful risk reduction policies, instruments, and actions should also be encouraged.

Creating resilience legacies.The formulation of long-term development visions, coupled with aspirations to leave an enduring political legacy, can play a fundamental role in stimulating investment in resilience. The analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats underlying the development of a long- term vision provides an obvious opportunity to examine disaster risk concerns and develop a subnational government’s broad approach to the issue, in tandem with economic and social development considerations. In disaster- prone communities, successful initiatives to strengthen resilience can also constitute a substantial political legacy, benefitting a community for many years to come by, say, reducing loss of life; protecting homes, livelihoods, and community assets; and limiting indirect losses and the secondary effects of disasters. Nationally, such legacies might take the form of land use zoning, revised building codes, or resilient lifeline infrastructure.

National and Subnational