Disaster Risk Management – Natural Ressource Management – Rural Development – Environmental Conventions – Poverty Reduction – Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD)

Abstract: The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean often suffer under the devastation caused by hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, droughts, landslides and volcanic eruptions. In the last ten years, natural disasters killed more than 45,000 people, affected 40 million people and caused over 20 billion US $ in direct damages. With a few notable exceptions, the region has not implemented sustainable strategies that reflect an understanding of its vulnerabilities and that identify actions to overcome them. A detailed analysis of what transforms a natural event into a human and economical disaster reveals that this is closely related to the measures of a regions development approach. Especially in rural areas and drylands threatened by desertification and soil degradation, the vulnerability to natural disasters and risks are increased by the lack of a sustainable natural ressource management that considers the complexity of demographical, economical, ecological, political and cultural factors. Disaster risk management as an integrated instrument for regional and national development strategies has to analyze these factors as well as to focus on the special needs of the rural poor and the collaboration with administration and organisations at different political levels. By explaining the experiences from rural development activities in Peru, it can be illustrated, that development cooperation must contribute to offe