FAO is a key player in emergencies. Its focus is on food production and agriculture, reflecting its specialization and responsibility within the United Nations family. Assisting in preventing disaster-related emergencies, providing early warnings of food emergencies and helping in rehabilitation of food production systems are FAO's predominant roles in humanitarian aid. The main forms of FAO's intervention include needs assessments, provision of agricultural inputs and technical assistance for the planning and management of sustainable recovery and rehabilitation of rural production systems.
Disasters in developing countries are largely associated with natural hazards. Earth-quakes and volcanic eruptions are spectacular examples of natural hazards, but these geological events do not do as much damage or cost as much as climatic hazards. Hurricanes, floods and drought cause significant loss in rural production systems, including loss of life.
People live in dangerous places because resources are found in these
places. Coastlines have fish and shellfish, mangroves and other forests, but they are
susceptible to hurricanes. Floodplains provide alluvial soils and access to water, but
they are liable to flood. Arid and semi-arid areas offer rangeland resources for
pastoralists, but the risk of drought is high.
People know the risks involved. Their social and cultural traditions are frequently
designed to minimize these risks. Sharing resources, including land, and sharing
agricultural inputs, including labour, are ways of minimizing risk. Sometimes calamity is
too great and catastrophe overwhelms people. Their risk-minimizing strategies and their
coping mechanisms cease to be operational. Disaster strikes.
Disaster does not strike equally, and not all disasters result in emergencies. A drought
in the American Great Plains does not threaten mass starvation as does a drought in the
African Sahel. Developed countries have a series of support schemes, such as disaster
relief and crop insurance, that mitigate the impact of natural disasters; developing
countries usually do not. People in developing countries are more vulnerable to changes in
the environment. Vulnerability to emergencies attributable to natural disasters is largely
explained by poverty.
Over the past ten years a number of complex emergencies have arisen in which there has been civil strife or even war, and in some cases the State has collapsed. Although natural disasters have also frequently been present, they have not been the dominant factor in the emergency. In such circum-stances essential services are disrupted, infrastructure is destroyed, people flee from the land, and food production and marketing systems break down. Immediate hunger and longer-term dependence on food relief are the consequences unless prompt action is taken to create conditions in which affected populations can resume productive activity.
Global losses resulting from natural and man-made disasters were some US$10 000 million in the 1960s, rising to some US$93 000 million in the 1980s. With the increase in complex emergencies in the 1990s, costs are likely to be even higher. More important, the human cost is intolerably high. Tens of millions of people are displaced within their own countries or dispersed around the world as refugees. In 1996, as a result of complex emergencies, some 40 million people were depending on international assistance for their protection or survival. The number of lives lost to starvation-related causes may, however, be less than in previous decades, as emergency response and famine-prevention programmes have increased in magnitude and efficiency.
Aid flows reflect the increase in priority for humanitarian assistance.
Humanitarian assistance has doubled since 1990, against a fall in the value of total aid.
In 1994 humanitarian assistance, amounting to some US$6 000 million, accounted for
almost 10 percent of total global development assistance. The size of that bill has
prompted donors to emphasize the importance of pre-disaster, precautionary planning. It
has also drawn attention to the importance of rehabilitation programmes to move people
quickly from expensive humanitarian assistance towards food self-sufficiency.
FAO supports the principle that prevention is better than cure. The first line of defence
is action on the ground to develop production systems that are less vulnerable to
disaster. In the event that disaster happens, the global warnings that FAO provides and
the preparedness actions that it has supported up to that point should permit an early
response to food and agricultural emergencies. When an emergency does develop, the
consequences of not treating it promptly and efficiently will be chronic hunger and
dependency. When a cure is required, it should be specific to the conditions created by
the particular emergency situation, so that full recovery can take place in the shortest
possible time.
Intervention in emergencies can be best described in terms of a sequence of events, sometimes referred to as a disaster cycle, with eight distinct phases, each requiring different action. The phases are:
FAO is involved, together with national authorities and their internal and external partners, in all of these phases. Conscious of the high costs of emergency operations, FAO continuously seeks to prevent disaster-related emergencies, but should they occur, FAO seeks to mitigate their impact and to accelerate a recovery process that will lead to sustainable agricultural development.
FAO provides technical assistance to its member countries to strengthen their capacity to prevent or mitigate natural disasters such as windstorms, hurricanes and cyclones, floods, landslides, wild fires, tropical deforestation and drought. Such assistance covers actions such as establishment of shelterbelt plantations, forestation and forest management, watershed management, range-land management, fire control, control of soil erosion, establishment of fuelwood plantations, sand dune stabilization, utilization of alternative fuels, adoption of drought-tolerant field and tree crops, introduction of early-maturing varieties, adoption of cultural practices for soil moisture retention, crop diversification and construction of flood control dikes.
The Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS) is aimed at reducing
variability and improving sustainable productivity of staple production in low-income
food-deficit countries. Through better water control, sustainable intensification of crop
production, diversification of production and removal of socio-economic constraints, the
SPFS will alleviate the impact of disasters.
FAO assists its member countries in minimizing the adverse effects of disasters through
precautionary actions and by ensuring timely, appropriate and efficient organization and
delivery of emergency response following the impact of a disaster.
Prevention and control of pest and disease emergencies is a significant technical service
offered by FAO. Through the Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant
Pests and Diseases (EMPRES), FAO tackles outbreaks of livestock diseases such as
rinderpest and contagious bovine pleuro-pneumonia and mounts eradication and containment
programmes for screwworm. Through the Emergency Centre for Locust Operations, EMPRES also
monitors the presence of locust swarms, as well as the threat of large-scale crop
destruction by flocks of birds, and arranges for preventive actions when required.
FAO's assistance includes the development of institutional frameworks at regional,
national and local levels for managing risk and coping with emergencies, the development
of regional and national early warning and food information systems, the establishment and
management of food security reserves and the formulation of preparedness plans which
describe the response mechanisms to be used in the event of a disaster.
FAO operates the Global Information and Early Warning System for Food and Agriculture
(GIEWS), based on satellite imagery, field reports and market information. Six times each
year it publishes Food Outlook in five languages, giving a global overview of
current agricultural production and stocks. Foodcrops and Shortages, published in
four languages, is also distributed six times a year, detailing individual country
situations. Food Supply Situation and Crop Prospects in Sub-Saharan Africa, in
English and French, is published quarterly, highlighting needs for donor assistance in the
most vulnerable continent. Sahel Weather and Crop Situation is produced monthly
during the Sahelian growing season, providing the latest information on weather and crop
conditions for the nine member countries of the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought
Control in the Sahel (CILSS).
FAO is also responsible for fielding, together with the World Food Programme (WFP), the
FAO/WFP crop and food supply assessment missions. These missions, which review the overall
food supply outlook and evaluate the seriousness and extent of food shortages within
countries, are based on on-the-ground observation. Special alerts, usually based on crop
and food supply assessment mission reports, are released on an ad hoc basis. GIEWS reports
are available on FAO's home page on the Internet.
Persons directly affected by disasters, along with displaced people and refugees in complex emergencies, require food relief. But such relief should be accompanied by agricultural relief - provided through seeds and tools programmes of FAO and other partners - to move people quickly from expensive humanitarian assistance programmes towards food self-reliance as soon as possible.
FAO's work in post-disaster and complex emergency situations emphasizes
rehabilitation and recovery. The reconstruction of food and agricultural production
systems, including the supporting transport and market networks, is the reconstruction of
rural livelihood systems - essential if people are to regain development opportunity.
Once an emergency situation has been declared, the first step in mobilizing humanitarian
assistance is the assessment of needs. The assessment reports produced by the FAO/WFP
missions referred to above provide estimates of critical food shortages within countries
requiring international assistance, as well as of localized surpluses which may be
available for local purchases. These reports have a high profile in donor pledging
processes and are a critical input into any humanitarian appeal from the UN system.
Emergency food relief is provided through WFP and bilateral donors. However, approval of
WFP emergency operations above a certain threshold requires the consent of the
Director-General of FAO as well as of the Executive Director of WFP. Within FAO, the
analysis on which the Director-General's decision is based is prepared by GIEWS.
Provision of emergency agricultural relief and early recovery assistance is the
responsibility of FAO's Special Relief Operations Service. This service has four main
functions:
The Special Relief Operations Service makes arrangements for quick,
comprehensive assessments of the essential inputs needed to restore production following a
disaster. National needs for inputs to produce food in the aftermath of a disaster are
assessed by the FAO/WFP crop and food supply assessment missions. Each assessment is
carefully checked by the appropriate technical services of FAO.
The essential inputs for restoring production are provided mainly through grants from
members to the concerned governments, either directly or through non-governmental
organi-zations (NGOs) or multilateral organizations, including FAO. From 1991 to 1996 the
Special Relief Operations Service formulated and managed over 300 projects with a total
value of some US$169 million. Of these projects 40 percent were in Africa south of the
Sahara, 29 percent in North Africa and the Near East and 15 percent in Asia. While the
average annual value of relief projects amounted to around US$28 million, in some years
the figure was considerably higher. For example, in the food crisis years of 1993 and 1994
the annual value reached US$38 million and US$35 million, respectively. In 1997 the amount
is expected to reach a record high, having already amounted to US$36 million in the first
half of the year. (A sizeable portion of this amount is accounted for by the agricultural
relief and rehabilitation programme in Iraq.)
The major bilateral donor has been the Netherlands, with substantial monies also coming
from Sweden. Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States have all contributed
significantly to relief efforts. The major multilateral donor has been the United Nations
Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA); substantial contributions have also been made by
the European Community (EC) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR).
FAO uses its own procurement services to purchase inputs because it can demonstrably
obtain inputs quickly and at a lower cost. If inputs are available locally or in the
subregion, they can be purchased by the FAO representation in the country or, if large
amounts are involved, through the fielding of a procurement mission from headquarters.
Such operations normally commence within one week of confirmation that funds will be
provided.
In mid-1996 a new Field Programme Circular was sent to all FAO Representatives outlining FAO's role and procedures to ensure a rapid and coherent response to any emergency originating from natural or man-made disasters affecting the food and agriculture sectors. FAO may field an Emergency Coordinator, for up to one year, to coordinate monitoring and assessment activities, provision of agricultural inputs, and planning for recovery and rehabilitation of rural production systems if the nature of the emergency so requires.
Several in-house technical guides have been prepared by the relevant
technical services in FAO, for prevention, preparedness, early warning, needs assessment
and relief and rehabilitation activities before, during and after a disaster. These guides
are currently being drawn together in an FAO emergency preparedness and response manual
for use by FAO staff, field experts and consultants in all phases of an emergency.
In order to enhance FAO's institutional capacity to respond to increasing demands for
humanitarian assistance, the FAO Emergency Coordination Group, reporting directly to FAO's
Deputy Director-General, has been reorganized and strengthened. FAO is prepared and ready
to carry out its unique role in all phases of a food and agricultural emergency.
FAO has a long tradition of partnership with others involved in
humanitarian assistance.
The United Nations system has modified the way it handles emergency assistance. By
decentralizing and restructuring specialist services to member countries, UN agencies,
including FAO, can more accurately assess humanitarian assistance requirements and shorten
response times in emergencies.
The increase in emergency situations, especially complex emergencies, saw the creation of
the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs in 1992. FAO sits on the
Inter-agency Standing Committee (IASC), which is chaired by the Emergency Relief
Coordinator, and participates in the UN Humanitarian Early Warning System and ReliefWeb,
as well as in DHA missions that pull together UN inter-agency consolidated appeals.
In the preparation of such appeals, FAO is responsible for agricultural relief needs
assessment and, in cooperation with WFP, for food needs assessment. FAO is also
responsible for the formulation of inter-ventions aimed at immediate relief and
agricultural rehabilitation efforts for inclusion in the appeals.
FAO has formal agreements with WFP outlining respective roles and responsibilities. The
Organization collaborates actively with UNHCR for the supply of agricultural inputs to
refugees.
Beyond the immediate United Nations family, FAO has strong partnerships with the World
Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the regional
financing institutions in agricultural rehabilitation and reconstruction.
FAO implements projects directly or with assistance from NGOs. NGOs are both providers and
users of GIEWS information. Save the Children Fund (United Kingdom) has entered into a
formal relationship with FAO for the development of risk maps as a support to the early
warning analysis conducted by GIEWS. However, NGO partnerships have generally been
informal.
FAO is constantly monitoring events, planning precautionary interventions and issuing warnings. When disaster strikes, FAO acts to mobilize global resources rapidly for emergency operations and for short-term rehabilitation and early recovery inter-ventions. As conditions return to normal, FAO acts to restore rural production and to set farmers on the road to sustainable recovery as quickly as possible.