Enfoque colaborativo de la gestión de datos sobre pérdidas por catástrofes en Mozambique

En memoria de Katarina Mouakkid Soltesova, Oficial de Gestión de Programas, Oficina Regional para África.

As climate change picks up speed globally, natural hazards increasingly threaten to impact local communities. To minimize this risk in the long run, tracking such disaster losses is of critical importance. To this end, funded by the European Union and led by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), 510, the data and digital initiative of the Netherlands Red Cross, cofacilitated a workshop to train government and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) authorities in Mozambique in the collection and application of disaster loss data.

¿Qué son los datos sobre pérdidas por catástrofes y por qué los necesitamos?

When a natural hazard occurs, unmanaged risks can have severe, far-reaching consequences. Hereby, the term “loss and damage” refers to a disaster’s negative consequences, such as the destruction of infrastructure, habitats or stocks of goods, or the loss of livelihood opportunities. In the context of climate change, a distinction is made between an event’s tangible impact which can be expressed in monetary terms, such as the costs of infrastructure destroyed, and its intangible impact which cannot be expressed in this way, such as casualties or the impact of the disaster on (mental) health.

Information can be collected to measure a disaster’s impact, such as the number of people affected, the number of buildings destroyed, or economic losses. This is referred to as disaster loss data. To expand the availability and usage of disaster loss data, UNDRR is promoting a global initiative to build national disaster loss databases based on open-source software, named DesInventarque se armoniza con la Marco de Sendai para la Reducción del Riesgo de Desastres. Uno de los principales objetivos de las bases de datos sobre pérdidas por catástrofes es identificar las tendencias de las catástrofes, como la mayor frecuencia o gravedad de los peligros en determinadas zonas o el aumento de la población en riesgo. A partir de estos parámetros, puede medirse el efecto de las intervenciones de RRD en la disminución de pérdidas y daños, y pueden tomarse iniciativas para proteger a la población antes de futuras catástrofes.

This methodology also helps to measure the path towards a society’s resilience. A society resistant to natural hazards can absorb their impact, adapt to their changing frequency and severity due to climate change, and autonomously manage risks associated with potential future disasters. However, when information on loss and damage over time is not available, obstacles to understanding the progress towards societal resilience remain. Although data is being collected by an increasing number of stakeholders, this often remains inadequate to understand trends due to a lack of commonly agreed definitions, systematic data collection, legislation and funding to set up and maintain databases, and data sharing among stakeholders.

Mozambique: La recopilación de datos sobre pérdidas por catástrofes, una labor de equipo

A estos problemas también se enfrentaban las autoridades gubernamentales mozambiqueñas y la Cruz Roja de Mozambique. Aunque todos ellos han estado recopilando datos sobre pérdidas por catástrofes, buscaban formas más estandarizadas de mantenerlos y compartirlos entre ellos. El taller de junio de 2023, coorganizado por UNDRR y el Instituto Nacional de Gestión de Desastres de Mozambique (INGD) y apoyado por 510, contó con la asistencia de representantes de diversas entidades relevantes y tenía como objetivo fomentar la creación de sinergias, el intercambio sistemático de datos entre sectores y la identificación de cuellos de botella en la colaboración de las partes interesadas. En el taller se trataron temas importantes que iban desde los conceptos en torno a los ecosistemas de datos hasta las herramientas para utilizar los datos sobre pérdidas por catástrofes con fines de acción anticipatoria.

The Mozambique Red Cross Society demonstrated its Early Action Protocol (EAP) for tropical cyclones as part of the workshop. Once the national meteorological office specifies the magnitude of the impending cyclone and the threshold of the EAP is reached, the release of materials, such as shelter tools, is triggered. The Mozambique Red Cross Society’s leadership then initiates further actions, followed by information being shared with the IFRC, provinces, volunteers and local banks for fund release. Early actions such as strengthening houses and water purification are undertaken, and communities are trained in preparedness and response activities, such as covering roofs in the event of extreme rainfall. The Mozambique Red Cross Society further coordinates with the government on cash deliveries to affected communities.

In 2020, 510 supported the Mozambique Red Cross Society with activating an EAP amid Tropical Cyclone Chalane. The EAP’s initial trigger threshold was solely based on windspeed, which presented challenges during this particular event as the forecasted windspeed fell just below this trigger threshold. To address this issue, 510 and IFRC co-developed a methodology through which impact can be calculated using the following formula: Impact = Hazard × Vulnerability. This impact estimation does not just rely on the severity level of the hazard itself, but also considers communities’ vulnerabilities to extreme weather events, allowing for more flexible conditions to activate the EAP.

During the workshop, the “Data Guardian Game” enabled participants to grasp the role of data in decision-making for anticipatory action. After introducing a hypothetical flood scenario, participants were asked to decide whether to activate an EAP, based on information from different agencies. The participants opted for different reactions such as allocating funds to national agencies, or fortifying houses based on a vulnerability map. This diverse outcome highlighted the importance of consulting various data sources and considering resource limitations when implementing anticipatory action.

While data sharing between the government and the Mozambique Red Cross Society can still be improved, the workshop helped participants identify pathways to better align in the future. It has been a bright example of how bringing multiple stakeholders together has the potential to increase the data available on disasters and disaster loss to a broader range of entities, which can lead to a country’s enhanced preparedness for, and resilience to, potential future disasters.

Más información: 

En particular, otro componente del proyecto dirigido por UNDRR fue un ejercicio de simulación celebrado en mayo de 2023, que 510 apoyó con la puesta a prueba de protocolos de acción anticipatoria. El ejercicio permitió a las autoridades simular evaluaciones de daños en respuesta al ciclón Ana, que azotó Malawi en enero de 2022. La disponibilidad de imágenes por satélite de alta resolución en caso de catástrofe grave permite a 510 utilizar su Portal automatizado de evaluación de daños (ADA) which collects and presents information on disasters where ADA was deployed. The goal of the dashboard is to demonstrate how an immediate assessment of satellite imagery of floods can be used to obtain a broad overview and determine the most affected areas. Combined with data on the areas’ pre-disaster vulnerabilities, responding teams are instructed on exact locations to be mapped in more detail with drone footage.

En el marco de este proyecto se ha publicado recientemente un informe que contiene un análisis de los ecosistemas de datos de impacto existentes en Malawi, Mozambique y Zambia, y ofrece recomendaciones para mejorar los datos de impacto. Puede encontrar el informe en UNDRR.org.