United Nations organizations support to community-driven recovery, risk knowledge and governance enhances disaster and climate resilience in Costa Rica
Costa Rica is highly vulnerable to hydrometeorological hazards such as floods, hurricanes, storms, droughts and water scarcity[1], which are exacerbated by climate change. In 2023, Costa Rica was both affected by heavy rains a
Costa Rica is highly vulnerable to hydrometeorological hazards such as floods, hurricanes, storms, droughts and water scarcity[1], which are exacerbated by climate change. In 2023, Costa Rica was both affected by heavy rains and by drought. Due to its location in between two tectonic plates, it is also prone to tectonic and volcanic activity. Based on a co-creation exercise with UN organizations operating in Costa Rica, led by the United Nations Resident Coordinator, the resilience of people, communities, institutions and the territory has been made a strategic priority of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2023-2027. The results group for this priority is co-chaired by IOM and UNDP, and links to the inter-agency coordination group on Disaster Risk Management chaired by UNDP, the United Nations Emergency Team (UNETE). The United Nations organizations in Costa Rica are adopting an integrated approach to looking at climate and disaster risks and place importance on being attentive to the particular vulnerabilities of certain groups such as migrant populations, people with disabilities, indigenous people, etc.
A pronounced local leadership on emergency response, recovery, and resilience building is evident in Costa Rica. After the canton of Acosta was devastated by Storm Nate in October 2017, the roughly 20,000 inhabitants of that mountain community were cut off for days, without water, electricity or access to food or medicine. As the rest of the country had also been affected, the Acosta community prioritised self-help and formed a solid local network that first focused on bringing food and medicine to those who were most affected by the storm and, once the emergency was over, mounted a community-led recovery process. At the beginning of 2018, more than 400 people, including community leaders, representatives of institutions, farmers, students, young people, and older adults, decided that the path to recovery should be oriented towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
A Cantonal Development Plan was elaborated that focuses on recovering and rebuilding in a sustainable manner and on providing opportunities to all - especially to those most affected by climate and hazard events. A key component of the plan was the development of resilient infrastructure, while at the same time ensuring environmental protection. Experiences like Acosta's inspired 32 municipalities (out of 82) to join a Network of Cantons Promoting the Sustainable Development Goals. This programme is led by the Ministry of Planning, the Municipal Development and Consulting Institute, with the support of the United Nations. Cantons are provided advice and toolboxes to articulate the Sustainable Development Goals at the local level, as well as a platform to share good practices with other participating local governments. This network has become a space for close cooperation between local governments and national government institutions, and international partners to identify solutions to the challenges of sustainable development in each community. Supporting communities to implement the Sustainable Development Goals at the local level is a priority commitment of the United Nations entities in Costa Rica. The support to the network also links with Child-Friendly Cantons and Senior-Friendly Cities initiatives that UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization are promoting to strengthen the capacities of the cantons in addressing the needs of these groups.
The United Nations development system is supporting the localized approach to recovery and resilience building in Costa Rica through programmatic activities such as UNDP's recently completed multi-year programme for strengthening the capacities of Rural Aqueduct Associations (ASADAs) that was implemented with the leadership of the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (AyA), with financing from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). In Costa Rica, more than 15,000 volunteer community water managers are engaged to secure the water supply to nearly 30% of the population. Often in steep, mountainous terrain, water pipes need to be installed above ground and sometimes across rivers. To make infrastructure more resilient, PVC pipes were replaced by polyethylene tubes, which are thicker, more flexible and more resistant. Hydrants were installed to attend to possible fires, meteorological stations were installed for better water availability forecasts and supporting existing watershed Early Warning systems. Communities were encouraged to take better care of their environment. Meters were installed in each home and users were subsequently charged by consumption, which reduced the overall water consumption. Capacity building for geolocating the water infrastructure was undertaken in order to facilitate monitoring and recovery operations in the future.
Inter-agency contributions to disaster risk reduction and resilience building in 2023 further include IOM's inputs on human mobility and climate change, and UNDRR's partnership with Costa Rica's National Commission for Risk Prevention and Emergency Response (CNE) and other national partners in carrying out a systemic risk assessment with the aim to inform risk governance and support efforts to ensure critical infrastructure resilience. More than 100 senior government officials, technical staff and practitioners worked together throughout 2023 to quantify risks associated with key hazards - such as floods and seismic events - across different sectors, including livelihoods, water and sanitation, energy and road infrastructure, schools, and health centres. This work helped the Government of Cost Rica to identify ways to safeguard public infrastructure and public services from future disaster risk. As a result of this thorough analysis, some 60% of Costa Rica's critical road corridors, and a similar proportion of its bridges, were found to be vulnerable to flood risk - just one example of crucial information that will inform decisions about mitigation investments. Recommendations were formulated for enhancing the governance of strategic infrastructure such as electricity, hydrocarbons, roads and bridges, railroads, water and sanitation, health, education, and postal services. The integration of systemic risk analysis and the principles of infrastructure resilience into risk governance marks the inception of a transformative new stage in risk-informed and multistakeholder disaster risk reduction, empowering decision-makers with invaluable insights, fostering a paradigm shift towards risk-informed investment and robust multisectoral engagement.
In September 2023, Costa Rica invited an inter-agency mission (with expert support from UNDP, IOM, UNOPS, UNHCR, UNDRR, UNFPA, UNICEF, and UNESCO) through the Capacity for Disaster Reduction Initiative (CADRI) to undertake a capacity assessment mission in Costa Rica. The aim of the mission was to provide actionable recommendations to assist the government in advancing its overall risk management agenda, with a particular focus on further enhancing cross-sectoral recovery efforts in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. The recommendations will serve as inputs for the development of the National Framework for Disaster Recovery, which is in the process of development under the leadership of the CNE with support from UNDP. The results and recommendations of the CADRI mission will further be reviewed by the United Nations Country Team with a view to identifying other actions where UN organizations may provide support to the national authorities in its disaster risk reduction and resilience building efforts.
[1] United Nations Costa Rica (2022) Common Country Analysis