7.5 Million Euros for Prevention of and Repair from Natural Disasters

Representatives from the European Union and the Dominican government, through the ONFED, signed a financial agreement for 7.5 million Euros in the form of a support budget for the prevention of and rehabilitation from natural disasters.

…signed the 7.5 million Euro support budget agreement that is meant to be used to reduce risks in the face of natural disasters and for rehabilitation and reconstruction of places impacted by the disasters.

Alicia Escuin, in charge of the European Commission delegation in the country, and Onofre Rojas, national organizer from the European Development Funds signed the 7.5 million Euro support budget agreement that is meant to be used to reduce risks in the face of natural disasters and for rehabilitation and reconstruction of places impacted by the disasters. This financial situation went into effect following the tropical storm Noel that hit the Dominican Republic in November 2007. At this same time, the mobilization of funds from the European Union also began through ECHO, the humanitarian branch of the European Commission and its member states.

In this special case, the release of 7.5 million Euros will be distributed in the form of a support budget to the Ministry of Public Finance which is in charge of managing the money according to national strategic priorities of risk reduction in the face of natural disasters and government response mechanisms.

The Support Budget is a new approach of European cooperation which consists of identifying and executing specific programs and projects. The European Union (EU) places funds at the disposition of the country´s national budget to be utilized according to its own sustainable development projects and through its own systems and procedures. All disbursements are conditioned on the fulfillment of a set of previously established indicators. The European Union considers that this is a modern approach, respectful of national sovereignty. It gives support to the democratically elected government to carry out the systemic changes that allow for sustainable development. Its success depends, to a large measure, on the commitment of the government and the vigilance of its citizens who are always the end beneficiaries of the EU cooperation.

This new initiative of the sector-specific support budget to be used for natural disaster relief is a complement to other EU efforts already underway. On the one hand, the EU finances the Dominican Republic´s Disaster Prevention and Preparation Program (7 million Euros), coordinated by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) which emphasizes strengthening the country´s national capacity while working with counterparts such as the Civil Defense, the National Emergency Committee, the Red Cross and the Ministries of Public Health and Environment, among others.

On the other hand, the decisions concerning emergency humanitarian aid and community projects in preparation for natural disasters are coordinated by ECHO, the humanitarian branch of the European Commission which has an official regional office in Santo Domingo. For example, this past September 1st , the European Commission took a decision to dedicate 2 million Euros to help with the emergency situation that resulted from hurricane Gustav that hit the Caribbean in late August and early September of this year.