Local capacity strengthening for emergency preparation and response in the Bolivian Chaco region
After more than a year of work (February 2006 – April 2007) the DIPECHO Project “Local capacity strengthening for emergency preparation and response in the Bolivian Chaco region” concluded its activities, benefiting 1,900 families in five municipalities of the Bolivian Chaco region: Monteagudo, Villa Vaca Guzmán and Huacaya (department of Chuquisaca), Lagunillas (Santa Cruz) and Villa Montes (Tarija).
The Project was financed by the Department of Humanitarian Aid of the European Commission through its DIPECHO program, and implemented by CARE International in Bolivia in alliance with associations of municipalities of the Bolivian Chaco region (MANCOR, MMCH, MANCHACO) and municipal governments, and in coordination with Civil Defense. It contributed to capacity-building for emergency preparation and response with local actors and public and private institutions in the Bolivian Chaco region. This was accomplished through a process of promoting organization for preparation for emergency situations, incorporating the focus of risk management in development planning and training, and equipping volunteer groups.
Other targets included work with professors to include the theme in educational activities, risk analysis, and the facilitating watershed management activities, the creation of demonstrative works, and the dissemination and exchange of experiences.
Best practices
◙ Strategic alliance with municipal governments and base organizations
◙ Respect for institutionalized processes of participative municipal planning and for the organized structure of the communities
◙ Combination of planning and organization activities with communal practices (reforestation, trail maintenance, and others) and on the level of capital cities (contingency plans, drills, and others)
◙ Involvement with local actors in the identification, prioritization, execution, and supervision of mitigation works
◙ Execution of mitigation works of diverse costs and dimensions that allow understanding of various alternatives
◙ Promotion of investment of municipal economic resources in actions of preparation and mitigation against disasters
◙ Use of participative training methodologies
◙ Use of techniques of reflection and exchange of experiences through theater productions, puppet shows, poetry, music, and recreational activities
◙ Basic equipment of schools for the founding of libraries
◙ Alliances with NGOs that work in the zone for work on the theme of micro-watersheds
Achievements
◙ 5 municipalities, 17 communities, and 1900 families trained for disaster and/or emergency preparation
◙ 5 municipalities include municipal development plans and budget allocations for risk management
◙ 591 public officials know and understand the legal framework and regulations for risk management trained for emergency preparation and response
◙ 232 trained professors incorporate elements of risk management in school activities
◙ 120 secondary-level students carry out educational practices in risk management
◙ Office of Civil Defense ManChaBol strengthened through inter-institutional coordination, training, and equipment
◙ Demonstrative works implemented in 5 communities and forest and water management seminars led by Emergency Committees in 9 communities
◙ 4 volunteer groups trained and equipped to attend emergency situations
◙ Incorporation of risk analysis in 2 micro-watershed management experiences
◙ Dissemination of educational and reference material about the legal framework of risk management and emergency and/or disaster preparedness on a municipal level and in the education sector
Local capacity strengthening for emergency preparation and response in the Bolivian Chaco region 
