Over the past several years, the Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment of the Organization of American States (OAS/USDE) and the Central American Center for Natural Disaster Prevention (CEPREDENAC) have supported disaster reduction activities in Central America (CA) related to the transportation sector.

More recently the OAS/USDE, with collaboration of other international institutions presented a series of regional workshops on Sustainable Cities and Trade Corridors: Vulnerability to Natural Hazards, Mandates and Future Actions, with one workshop taking place in CA with the participation of the Infrastructure Department of the Central America System for Economic Integration (SIECA). This workshop took place immediately prior to Hurricane Mitch in October 1998.

Prior to the CA workshop, OAS/USDE began working with SIECA, the Central American Committee on Transportation (COMITRAN) and the Materials and Methods Laboratory at the University of Costa Rica (UC/LANAMME) on a development assistance activity aimed at analyzing the vulnerability of the Central America Highway (CAH) to natural hazards as part of the presidential mandated SIECA/COMITRAN study of the feasibility of the CAH in the future.

The impact of Hurricane Mitch has made even more evident the need for a coordinated response to emergency situations and the vulnerability reduction of the transportation sector in CA in coordination with CEPREDENAC, COMITRAN, COCATRAM, the Inter-American Committee on Ports and the national transportation and civil defense mechanisms.

Moreover, the ministers of transportation working through their Western Hemisphere Transportation Initiative (WHTI) adopted as part of eight action items at its December, 1998 meeting, item three which states,:

"Recognizing that weather-related or other destruction of essential transportation infrastructure hampers post-disaster relief efforts, and that the rebuilding of such infrastructure is key to the economic recovery of countries in the region which experiences such disasters, we agree to develop a Western Hemisphere Transportation Disaster Response Plan to more effectively respond sub-regionally and regionally to weather-related and other disasters."

Because of these activities to date, there is identified a network of specialists, institutions and operational entities who can assume the preparation of vulnerability assessments and training activities, together with further developing regional emergency response mechanisms for air, sea, and surface transportation modes. This network includes institutional and technical coordination and administration capabilities, political forums appropriate to formally address country participation, consultative technical support to those political forums, processes with the private sector and technical capacity to undertake the relevant studies.

As a pilot approach to a draft hemispheric agreement, the goal is to provide WHTI with a draft agreement for CA for transportation disaster mutual aid and vulnerability reduction. The objective is to develop the specific components of such an agreement which will include participation of public and private sector entities at all levels, building on and coordinating with existing formal and informal emergency preparedness and response activities and vulnerability reduction actions in the transportation sector.

• Inventory and review existing transportation sector specific emergency preparedness and response mechanisms as well as vulnerability reduction actions in the region.
• Prepare and review with appropriate sector participants drafts of agreement documentation covering road, rail, sea and air transportation activities as covered by the agreement.
• Participate in appropriate regional meetings where related topics for the transportation sector will be discussed and incorporate relevant information into draft documentation.
• Prepare a final draft agreement.

Throughout the preparation with the draft agreement, close communication will be maintained with appropriate transportation entities in the participating countries and regional institutions, and technical activities being carried out by entities of USDOT, as well as with private sector organizations and associations. USDOT/OET will be kept informed on a quarterly basis of OAS/USDE activities, progress and problem resolution.

• Draft Transportation Disaster Mutual Aid and Vulnerability Reduction Agreement for Central America (two hundred copies in Spanish, 100 copies of in English)

November 1, 1999 to October 31, 2000

© 2000 Executive Committee of the Western Hemisphere Transport Initiative, and, Office of Summit Follow-Up, Organization of American States.
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