Organization of American States Summits of the Americas
     
Follow-up and Implementation: Mandates
  

2
    
DISASTER MANAGEMENT: Technological Cooperation
 MANDATES

  1. The responsible authorities commit to evaluate gaps and develop an evidence-based action plan, rooted, inter alia, in a One Health approach to prevent, rapidly detect, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks, especially those resulting from threats to health between human beings, animals, plants and the environment and vector-borne transmission, and recognizing the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to human, animal, plant and environmental health, food safety, and global food security, encourage the integration of measures to improve awareness and understanding of AMR through communication, education, and training and to strengthen the evidence and knowledge base through surveillance and research. (Action Plan on Health and Resilience in the Americas, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).

  1. Fostering transparency in the management of infrastructure and public resources allocated to ensure resilience to disaster, including the aforementioned infrastructure platform, in order to improve the response to emergencies and prevention, mitigation, recovery and reconstruction projects, and, to that end, promoting coordination through the Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  1. To strengthen our institutional platforms for disaster risk management, in collaboration with subregional, regional, and international mechanisms, through strategies of mutual assistance and partnership, in order to facilitate joint research, the exchange of knowledge, information, best practices, lessons learned in this area, and technology transfer under mutually agreed terms. (Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, Cartagena, 2012).

  1. To strengthen regional and subregional instruments as well as existing initiatives in the area of disaster risk reduction and management and humanitarian assistance as well as coordination and cooperation mechanisms to generate synergies, underscoring the importance of coordination. (Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, Cartagena, 2012).

  1. To designate, where needed, and support, where already in existence, national and institutional focal points to promote more-efficient coordination among agencies of the inter-American system, international and regional organizations and entities, and subregional mechanisms, and to promote the use of on-line tools in this context, in order to bring a more rapid and effective response to disasters and catastrophes. (Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, Cartagena, 2012).

  1. Promote the development of telecommunications for humanitarian assistance; actively encourage greater use and interoperability of telecommunications and other technologies and information systems that allow the observation and monitoring of different natural phenomena; use early warning systems such as remote sensing imagery, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based data necessary to address and prevent emergencies; promote the compatibility of these systems in the planning and response to emergency operations among governments, specialized agencies, relevant international organizations, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and, in this spirit, consider signing and ratifying, ratifying, or acceding to, as soon as possible and as the case may be, the Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations; (Plan of Action Québec, 2001).

  1. Establish information networks with the involvement of the Inter American Committee on Natural Disaster Reduction (IACNDR) and other relevant regional and international organizations to exchange scientific and technological knowledge and experiences; encourage further regional and subregional action to reduce risks and improve response to natural disasters; promote joint research and development technologies and contribute to strengthen coordination of national prevention and response agencies in natural disasters; to achieve this, draw on the work of ECLAC on the improvement, up dating and implementation of its damage assessment methodology and continue to promote natural disaster mitigation and risk reduction awareness and preparedness; (Plan of Action Québec, 2001).

  1. Adopt and support, as appropriate, initiatives aimed at promoting capacity building at all levels, such as the transfer and development of technology for prevention – risk reduction, awareness, preparedness, mitigation – and response to natural and other disasters, as well as for the rehabilitation of affected areas; (Plan of Action Québec, 2001).

  1. Apply science and technology to mitigate the damages caused by the effects of "El Niño" and other natural hazards, such as volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods, and their impact on the economy and ecosystems, based on improved forecasting, prevention and response capacity, improved research and training methods to deal with natural hazards, and the application of science and technology to address the effects of climate variability on health, agriculture and water. In this context, cooperative research and exchange of information about "El Niño" and other natural hazards will be emphasized. (Plan of Action Santiago, 1998).

 

 
2
    
 
© Summits of the Americas