Issue # 1 – September 2013 insightsinDRM A Practitioner’s Perspective on Disaster Risk Management in Latin America & the Caribbean Open Data for Resilience in the Caribbean 82613 “In my role as a GIS analyst, I’ve been able to visualize and piloting multi-sector investment strategies to address disaster all the primary roads using SLING and identify the flood and climate change risk. The Latin American and Caribbean Disaster impacts from Hurricane Tomas (2010) to assess where new Risk and Urban Development (LCSDU) team of the World Bank roads should be built. By using Quantum GIS (QGIS), I am is supporting Caribbean governments in the use and application able to update the data sets to prepare a culvert database, of OpenDRI2 tools and technologies to improve geospatial data management and risk analysis, as well as to harmonize national and specifically to look at flood risk. The GeoNode is also regional data sharing and management practices. These tools, such helping us to manage the data so we don’t have to spend as GeoNode, OpenStreetMap (OSM), Quantum GIS, Open Data Tool money over and over again by collecting the same data. Kit (ODK), are designed to promote collaboration and link the use This is helping us to focus our efforts and budget on using of geospatial data to specific decision-making processes such as risk the data to build resilience.” analysis. The GeoNode is the primary web-based tool currently being —Lance Octave used by ministries of physical planning (among others) to store, share Ministry of Infrastructure, Port Services & Transport, Saint Lucia and visualize spatial data. The GeoNode makes it simple to share data among multiple users, which allows various government entities to Challenge access data they were not able to access previously, or did not know Data is essential to inform decisions aimed at reducing disaster risk. existed (See map 1). In the Caribbean – considered one of the most vulnerable regions in the world – governments face two fundamental decisions when In collaboration with it comes to disaster risk reduction: where and how to build. regional development Answers to both these questions should rely on disaster risk partners3, open data analyses to inform where and how to build safer, less vulnerable policies and open source structures. Risk analyses can also be used to take corrective tools are increasing the measures to reduce risk of existing structures in order to protect access, harmonization citizens and investments against damage and economic losses and use of geospatial caused by natural hazards. Without access to quality geospatial1 data across the Caribbean data, it is impossible to do good risk analyses. Overview of the Advanced Training on region. Agencies like the Spatial Data Management Caribbean Community Unfortunately, geospatial data in Caribbean countries is not readily Climate Change Center are already exploring ways to connect available, as it is stored by different ministries and agencies that to national GeoNodes by creating a regional node to access data separately manage and collect data in various forms (e.g. paper for regional climate risk analyses. With the University of West or digital files). This makes it challenging for ministries of physical Indies in Trinidad and Tobago, among others, a series of regional www.worldbank.org/lcrdrm planning and works to access, process and visualize data to fulfill workshops and trainings are underway that aim to improve the their respective responsibilities to adequately conduct risk analyses capacity of physical planners and engineers (end-users of data), for territorial planning, site-selection and construction design. and software developers (technologists) to customize and apply Coupled with the fact that data is often collected using inconsistent these tools to improve workflow and increase data access for day- mapping standards and lacking metadata, it is difficult to locate to-day decision-making processes. the source, and assess the quality of the data – let alone share the data with other users and decision-makers. This often results Future capacity-building activities aim to improve governments’ in high-transaction costs that demand more resources to collect, abilities to integrate risk information into the physical-planning validate, transform and use data, leading to insufficient generation and construction processes to better inform decisions on where and use of risk information for decision making, particularly when to build, how to design infrastructure, and how to develop their it comes to identifying and prioritizing investments. limited land resources. Since 2011 in Grenada4, a community of practice and online forum – Caribbean Open Data Management Intervention Community5 – has grown to more than 150 members of data In order to foster a culture of informed decision-making, governments and risk management practitioners – creating a network that is across the Caribbean region are implementing new technologies and promoting a culture of open data and informed-decision making data-management practices, engaging in regional communities, in their own countries, agencies and communities. insightsinDRM A Practitioner’s Perspective on Disaster Risk Management in Latin America & the Caribbean Why open-source? Proprietary software and tools are expensive, and the cost of the licenses is prohibitive – often prompting practitioners to use unlicensed software in budget- strapped countries. Open-source software and tools are free to download, use and modify, and there is a rapidly growing open- source community embracing these tools and providing support to the user community through a virtual community of practice.  Map 1: Click on the country to see the active national and regional GeoNodes across the region. Outcome The raw survey data, as well as results of the ongoing assessment, Across the region, spatial data managers and practitioners are can be seen on Dominode – the national data sharing and beginning to observe the benefits of an open data philosophy and management platform that is being used to house the data as input open-source technologies. National and regional GeoNodes are for risk analysis. Similarly in Belize, the entire network of primary improving everyday workflows, providing access to all ministries and secondary roads are being surveyed and relevant attribute data and agencies to view, download and use geospatial data to inform are being collected to be used to prioritize investments based on decisions. In Saint Lucia, a national movement of GeoNode users a multi-criteria evaluation – a decision making tool that integrates is promoting the Saint Lucia Integrated National GeoNode (SLING)6, economic, social, environmental, cultural and physical factors. The which is enabling the Ministry of Infrastructure, Port Services and prioritization process will help in making decisions on where to Transport to access spatial data of buildings and roads to evaluate invest scarce financial resources in order to most efficiently reduce conditions, schedule maintenance and overlay hazard information, vulnerability and create climate resilience. such as floods and landslides, to consider sites for new construction; By improving access to geospatial data management, governments in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Physical Planning Unit are better able to conduct risk analyses to inform decisions that move is using hazard data to create maps to assess the risk of floods the Caribbean towards building disaster and climate resilience. and tsunamis in two of the most populated areas in Kingston and Georgetown; and Haiti is hosting exposure, hazard and risk analysis information that was created after the Earthquake of 2010 in a Endnotes GeoNode platform Haitidata.org. The platform is now being handed 1 Geospatial data refers data that has positional attribute, including data collected using remote sensing techniques or data collected in the field. over to Haitian national cartographic and GIS agency (CNIGS) with 2 Open Data for Resilience Initiative (OpenDRI) began in 2011 by the Global emphasis in its sustainable use and keeping the platform open. Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery. https://www.gfdrr.org/opendri 3 Namely the Caribbean Community Climate Change Center (CCCC), In Dominica, the Ministries of Physical Planning and Social Services Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF), MONA GeoInformatics Institute, Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Secretariat (OECS), The are conducting their annual shelter assessment to determine if the Nature Conservancy (TNC), University of West Indies (UWI). shelters are structurally suitable during hurricane events, as well as 4 The Eastern Caribbean Regional Open-Source Geospatial Data Sharing and to plan for rehabilitation and retrofitting. For the first time, this Management Workshop (10/2011). http://go.worldbank.org/FGTJ7ON9D0 national-wide collection is using this opportunity to georeference 5 This community is open all practitioners to improve OpenDRI in the all the emergency shelters, collect more in-depth building attribute Caribbean. (https://collaboration.worldbank.org/groups/caribbean-open- data-management). data, and site-specific information providing important indications 6 SLING was launched in March 2012 within the Ministry of Physical of the hazard situation. This data will be used to determine the Development, Housing and Urban Renewal (http://go.worldbank.org/ vulnerability of the structures to a given hazard, namely hurricanes. W6IM9NBVZ0). Contacts: Bishwa Pandey, Sr. Data Management Specialist, Disaster Risk Management and Urban Development, Latin America and the Caribbean (bpandey@worldbank.org) Bradley Lyon, Knowledge Management Specialist, Disaster Risk Management and Urban Development, Latin America and the Caribbean (blyon@worldbank.org) ACP-EU Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Program An Innitiative of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group, funded by the European Union and managed by GFDRR