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The Japan Program, JICA, the World Bank and the Government of Brazil: A Journey Towards Resilience

November 28-December 02, 2022
Florianopolis, Brazil

Understanding Risk Global Forum 

Throughout January 2011, flooding and landslides in the mountainous areas of Rio de Janeiro caused extensive damage. The World Bank and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) quickly came together to support the Government of Brazil in developing its Disaster Risk Management (DRM) agenda. As a result of these efforts, the Government of Brazil approved its first national DRM law in 2012. The regulatory framework was drafted through a collaborative engagement from national and international players. The World Bank contributed with international specialists as well as deployed a dedicated Senior DRM Specialist to the Country Office in mid-2011. At the same time JICA was designing its strategy to support Brazil.

Around 2012-2013, the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) allocated a USD 1.2 million Trust Fund grant from the Japan-World Bank Program for Mainstreaming DRM in Developing Countries (the Japan Program) to mainstream DRM in various sectors, and at the same time JICA initiated the GIDES project to support the dissemination of mitigation measures against sediment related disasters. While the GIDES project tackled the urban agenda as well as capacity building for landslide risk mapping, the World Bank’s Team was designing several DRM components in loans to promote the integration of that DRM agenda into the development finance allocated to Brazil. From sector specific components such as the Sao Paulo Sustainable Transport Project to environmental assessment and support form risk mapping and DRM Capacity Building in Parana, Bahia, Rio Grande do Sul, Espirito Santo States, among others, the World Bank was able to develop a genuine and comprehensive DRM agenda.

Over the last decade, the hard foundational work developed by the Japan Program, the World Bank, and JICA, has paid dividends today. The GIDES project has become the framework for municipal disaster risk mapping as well as being widely used by geological services and civil defense. The World Bank is prepared to sign a USD $100 million loan to promote urban resilience in southern Brazil in addition to preparing another loan for USD $140 million to the city of Porto Alegre to mitigate floods and improve urban development

These initiatives and the decade of progress were discussed further at the Understanding Risk Forum in Brazil from November 28 – December 2, 2022. Brazil’s DRM agenda is evolving significantly, and support from the Japan Program and the World Bank will be critical moving forward.

EVENT DETAILS

  • DATE/TIME: November 28 – December 2, 2022