Assistance for the development of a National Action Plan for Risk Management at World Heritage Properties in Chile

Chile, and specifically its World Heritage Sites, is known for its vulnerability regarding natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic activity) and human-induced hazards (burglaries, fires, and others). The events of April 2014 bear witness to this: a devastating fire affected a large part of the City of Valparaíso, and an earthquake shook the regions of Tarapacá and Arica, making itself felt at the Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpetre Works.

This vulnerability is the reason why a National Action Plan for Risk Management at World Heritage Sites is necessary. The Plan must allow for the development of strategies that lead to vulnerability reduction at these sites, and must provide site administrators the tools that they need for better preparedness and management regarding the risks of disaster that they face.

Specific objectives of the request

1. To provide general training for administrators of World Heritage Sites, institutions in charge and public officials, on disaster risk management at World Heritage Sites, according to international standards as described in the World Heritage Resource Manual on Risk Management.
2. To develop a Disaster Risk Management Plan for Chile’s World Heritage Sites. This implies to:
   1. Establish the objectives, breadth, audience, responsible agencies, and costs for the Plan.
   2. Identify and assessing disaster risks for each of Chilean World Heritage Sites.
   3. Develop prevention and mitigation programmes for each of Chilean World Heritage Sites.
   4. Develop a preparedness and response plan for emergency situations and possible response scenarios for emergency situations at each of Chilean World Heritage Sites.
   5. Develop a post-disaster recovery plan for each Chilean World Heritage Sites.

This request was funded thanks to a contribution by the Government of Germany.