RIDASICC initiative presented in congress of sanitary and environmental engineering

During the XXXII Central American Congress of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering/VIII National Congress of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering “Water and Sanitation, Preparedness Actions for Emergencies and Disasters in the Americas” initiative was presented “Strengthening capacities for the incorporation of disaster risk reduction and sustainable and inclusive adaptation to climate change in public investment in the member countries of the Council of Ministers of Treasury or Finance of Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic (COSEFIN) of the Central American Integration System (SICA) (RIDASICC)”.

In the forum How to reduce the risks of disasters and climate change in the provision of drinking water and sanitation services?, officials from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and project consultants shared the conceptual and methodological proposal of the RIDASICC initiative, the findings on climate change impact channels on drinking water and sanitation infrastructure, as well as an experience in the SICA region. A panel was also held to discuss and reflect on the challenges and opportunities to integrate risk reduction and sustainable and inclusive adaptation to climate change in the formulation and evaluation of water and sanitation infrastructure projects.

Professionals in the fields of sanitary engineering, environmental engineering, hydrology and other related sciences, members of the Guatemalan Association of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering (AGISA) and the Inter-American Association of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering (AIDIS) participated in the event. The Congress was held virtually on June 16 and 17, 2022 to address the issues of risk management, emergencies and disasters, climate change, sanitary and environmental engineering, and technologies for timely and effective application in the water and sanitation sector.

RIDASICC Project

Aware of the risks faced by public goods and services provided by public investment projects and the strategic opportunity to take measures in their formulation to improve disaster risk reduction and sustainable and inclusive adaptation to climate change during the useful life (from several decades) of this infrastructure, seven Treasury or Finance Ministries and three Planning Ministries/Secretariats responsible for the National Public Investment Systems (SNIP) in the SICA countries, ECLAC and the Executive Secretariat of COSEFIN implement a multisectoral and multinational initiative with this finality. So this alliance of institutions establishes the RIDASICC project.

The RIDASICC project combines actions at the national level focused on strengthening the capacities of the SNIPs, including ministries of the prioritized sectors and specialized institutions, with actions at the regional level to strengthen the capacities of SICA entities, including COSEFIN, the Sectorial Council of Ministers of Transport for Central America of the Central American Economic Integration Secretariat (COMITRAN/SIECA) and the Coordination Center for Disaster Prevention in Central America and the Dominican Republic (CEPREDENAC). Focused on capacity building, the project has interconnected training components “learn-by-doing”, strengthening of methodological guides and generation of toolboxes, pilot projects and strengthening of geographic information systems required for the formulation and evaluation of development projects. public investment.