CHAPTER 2 Essential 1: Institutional and Administrative Framework
Risk reduction planning should make the operations of all actors run more smoothly in the emergency and recovery phases.
27
Establish a legislative framework for resilience and disaster risk reduction • Identify the obligations, constraints and opportunities that current urban planning and regulations, national laws and regulatory devices impose on the city administration; improve local regulations with resilience criteria. • Generate municipal ordinances that support disaster risk reduction in all sectors (public and private). • Update environmental, building and planning standards and bylaws to support risk reduction and anchor them in recent risk assessments. • Ensure a degree of flexibility in regulations for low-income areas, without compromising safety.
Coordinate all emergency services within the city • Generate a collaborative strategy to integrate and coordinate all existing units responsible for emergency response, relief and recovery, even if under the jurisdiction of multiple authorities. • Use formal protocols to maintain recognition of individual organisations and services (fire departments, ambulance services, health services, police, NGOs and others), increase inter-operability among these units (language, tools, communication) and generate scenarios for coordinated drills.
Create alliances and networks beyond the city • Seek and promote alliances, incorporating a cluster approach among neighbouring municipalities with similar or interdependent risks, to strengthen partnerships, improve decentralized action, plan for common territorial risks and multiply resources. • Develop partnerships with local, national or international universities, NGOs or scientific-technical bodies that can provide data, expertise and research. • Consider an exchange programme with cities in other countries that face similar risk patterns or challenges. • Participate in regional and international fora and in the global campaign “Making Cities Resilient,” to promote initiatives, exchange experiences and increase local-national-international cooperation.