INCORPARATING A RISK REDUCTION APPROACH TO INFRAESTRUCTURE PROJECTS
The initial basic question to be posed by any project developer or promoter from the very outset of the studies phase should be:
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INCORATING A RISK REDUCTION APPROACH TO INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AND THEIR LIFE CYCLE
Could this area be affected by one or several natural hazards?
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The preliminary answer to this question - should be based on all the available information that could be gathered on:
i.
History of risky events in the area.
ii.
Reports on the frequency and occurrence of disasters in the past, reported infrastructural damages, reconstruction or repair work.
iii.
Hazards and vulnerabilities assessments of the selected project area.
iv.
Available risk assessment s and risk and hazards maps.
v.
Survey maps, aerial or satellite images, both historic and recent.
vi.
Socio-economic impact assessments of past disasters in the area.
vii.
Compilation of past experiences and lessons learned.
To answer this question, available information from different technical, scientific and emergency response agencies, even community experience, will have to be examined. Annex 1 contains a reference list of existing information in Ecuador to guide this research. Even though the level of detail in such information might not be suitable for the project needs, it could provide a general overview of the implementation area. Given Ecuador’s geographical conditions, in any given project area, at least one of the afore-mentioned natural hazards will be present and, therefore, they should always be taken into account. If no natural hazards were to be identified in the potential project’s area on the basis of the information gathered, in theory, there would be a zero risk level. This should be further explained in the technical report in order to support decision-making processes. However, careful attention should be given to the fact that the lack of information should not be construed as a hazards-free environment.