Population, Poverty, and Vulnerability: Mitigating the Effects of Natural Disasters

Mitch is considered to be the most powerful hurricane to have hit Central America and the Caribbean in the last two centuries as well as one of the most destructive natural disasters of recent times. Its passage exposed the underlying vulnerability of this region and threatened the very fabric of the societies affected. Not only did it test these societies’ capacity to face critical issues, but it also brought into question their social, economic, and political structures. Mitch, however, was not an isolated incident. Central America and the Caribbean are perennially exposed to natural hazards of a physical, geological, or meteorological nature. Table 1 portrays the deaths resulting from the region’s recent vulnerabilities and various natural hazards. During the last 30 years, Central American natural disasters have caused more than 56 million deaths and $22.45 billion dollars of economic damage. Such destruction has contributed to the deterioration of the region’s living conditions as well as to a reduction in its rates of economic growth (ECLAC & CCAD, 2002). Natural hazards become disasters because Central America is extremely vulnerable. Social factors (high levels of poverty), economic factors (failure to consider natural disasters in the location and characteristics of economic activity), and environmental factors (inappropriate land use on steep slopes, deforestation, erosion, inappropriate location of settlements, and occupation of watersheds) all compound this vulnerability (SICA, 1999). Given this blend of natural and social conditions in the region, the recurrence of Mitch-type events can be expected in Central America and the Caribbean. Unfortunately, global attention to such threats tends to wane quickly, with international assistance focusing principally on issues of short-term recuperation rather than on mediumand long-range prevention. A critical lesson from past disasters has not yet been put into practice: more effective contributions require a longrange preventive approach directed to structural issues rather than short-term remedial actions. Within this perspective of longer-range prevention, policymakers need to pay greater attention to the role of population dynamics. It would seem obvious that demographic factors such as settlement POPULATION, POVERTY, AND VULNERABILITY: MITIGATING THE EFFECTS OF NATURAL DISASTERS