Pós-desastres e pós-conflitos

Rebuilding on Their Own

Published in Wednesday February 27th, 2013 In Opinion

Since 2007, Gratz has owned a home in New Orleans, and she was giving me what amounted to a tutorial on her next book subject: the rebuilding of the city post-Katrina. “Look at this,” she said, gesturing to storefronts. “This is one of the longest shopping streets in the country. There are residential and commercial buildings, and local stores and chain stores. Very little was done for streets like this because the big money went to the tourism districts,” she said. “This grew back organically.” Which, she believes, is the way it always happens.

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Routed by Katrina, Stuck in Quagmire of Rules

Published in Friday February 22nd, 2013 In In the media

As people in the Northeast set off on the road back from Hurricane Sandy, there are those here who are keen to offer warnings that recovery can be far more difficult than they imagine. Mr. Joseph sees his own story as a cautionary tale, though he admits he is unsure what he would have, or should have, done differently.

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In NY, Hoboken Mayor Seeks Storm Protection More Suitable for High-Rise Buildings

Published in Thursday February 14th, 2013 In In the media

Places long accustomed to the routine beatings of hurricanes have shaped this country’s traditional response to them: evacuate during the storm, then elevate the buildings or retreat inland to protect against the next onslaught.

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Haiti’s road to reconstruction blocked by land tenure disputes

Published in Tuesday January 29th, 2013 In In the media

A practically non-existent land registry, fraudulent land titles, unclear processes for land transfer, and a tangle of bureaucracy have halted the road project and similar major international investments.

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Recovery Remains Spotty 3 Months After Hurricane in the US

Published in Tuesday January 22nd, 2013 In In the media

Hurricane Sandy slammed into New York and New Jersey nearly three months ago, and the grueling recovery effort continues with work being done to repair, rebuild and reopen shattered homes and businesses. But the process has been uneven, and there is ample evidence that many people are still struggling in the aftermath of one of the most vicious storms to hit the region. Following are snapshots of how some people and places are faring on the road back.

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Colombia renews pledges to its displaced people

Published in Monday January 21st, 2013 In In the media

For years, left-wing guerillas, extreme right-wing paramilitary militias and the government have been fighting for control. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, and millions have been displaced in the course of the fighting. Now, things are supposed to change.

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Don’t Skimp on Sandy Aid

Published in Tuesday January 15th, 2013 In Opinion

New York Times Editorial
Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey made an impassioned pitch on Monday to his fellow Republicans in the House of Representatives to vote on Tuesday for almost $50 billion in Hurricane Sandy disaster relief. “New Jersey does not expect anything more than what was done for Louisiana and Alabama and Mississippi in Katrina, and what was done in Joplin, Mo., what was done in the floods in Iowa. We don’t expect anything more than that, but we will not accept anything less,” Mr. Christie said.
It is now more than 11 weeks after the hurricane severely damaged a huge swath of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, yet these states are still waiting for enough federal aid to repair and rebuild housing, businesses and transportation systems that were destroyed by the storm.

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Haiti’s earthquake generated a $9bn response – where did the money go?

Published in Monday January 14th, 2013 In In the media

Saturday marked the third anniversary of the tragic earthquake in Haiti that claimed between 230,000 and 300,000 lives. The grim landmark has prompted much discussion about the struggles surrounding reconstruction and also some hope about what may come next.
Most observers agree that the international response to the quake was overwhelming. Haiti received an unprecedented amount of support: more than $9bn (£5.6bn) in public and private donations. Official bilateral and multilateral donors pledged $13bn and, according to the UN Office of the Special Envoy for Haiti, almost 50% of these pledges ($6bn) have been disbursed. Private donations are estimated at $3bn.

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Avoiding reality: Land, institutions and humanitarian action in post-earthquake Haiti

Published in Wednesday January 9th, 2013

The international aid response to the earthquake in Haiti is often spoken of as being unprecedented in its scale and in the nature of the challenges it faced. This paper in HPG’s “livelihoods and institutions” series suggests that most of the issues faced in Haiti were in fact common, if present to an unusual degree. This makes the aid response in Haiti a useful case study for understanding how aid agencies cope when emergency needs occur in the real, and highly imperfect, world.

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With disasters on the rise, relief is the problem

Published in Tuesday January 8th, 2013 In In the media

The popular perception that natural disasters are on the rise has now been confirmed. Private insurers are preparing for rough weather, and governments would do well to heed calls for more precautionary measures.
Munich Re, the world’s largest re-insurer, had little good news to report in its January 3 wrap-up of disasters in 2012. Hurricane Sandy, droughts in the American Midwest, an Italian earthquake, a series of Midwest tornadoes and Typhoon Bopha in the Philippines were just five of the more than 900 events worldwide that caused $160 billion-worth of damage (122 billion euros) to the worldwide economy.

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