environment Archive

  • Haiti_Small

    Rebuilding a Sustainable Haiti: Symposium – June 4

    Posted on May 24, 2010 | No Comments

    Urgent as the immediate need for shelter and housing is, Haiti’s long-term economic and social welfare depends on a comprehensive approach to planning for a more sustainable future; the rebuilding process must seek to transform the country’s built environment, not just replace it. With the help of many foreign countries, NGOs, and its own rich diaspora community, the Haitian government has developed the outlines of a post-earthquake action plan, the Action Plan for the Reconstruction and National Development of Haiti.Using this plan and its corollary, the Post Disaster Needs Assessment as a starting point for discussion, the Institute for Urban Design is planning a major conference on June 4 focused on long-term and sustainable rebuilding in Haiti.

    IfUD will convene architects, planners, public health specialists, representatives from NGOs, and government officials from both Haiti and the United States to identify specific needs, and develop an action plan to address them. The conference is designed to leverage the incredible experience of the design and planning community in the Northeast, complementing local efforts to rebuild in an innovative and just way.

    Leading this important discussion is Leslie Voltaire, the planner heading the Haitian government’s Reconstruction Team and a UN Special Envoy to Haiti. He will be joined by a panelists with a wealth of experience in the worlds of development, infrastructure, land tenure, education, slum upgrading, and post-disaster planning. They include:

    Ami Desai, Foreign Policy Advisor, Clinton Foundation

    Patrice Nevil, Director of Infrastructure, Partners in Health

    Chris Williams, Washington DC Representative, UN-HABITAT

    Louis Herms Marcelin, Director, Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development Haiti (INURED)

    David Evans, Chief Technical Advisor, UN-HABITAT Sri Lanka

    Steven Lewis, President, National Organization of Minority Architects

    Event Info

    Friday, June 4, 2010
    Rose Auditorium, Cooper Union
    41 Cooper Square
    New York, New York
    1:00 PM – 6:00 PM

    For More Details: http://www.ifud.org/haiti/

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  • Haitian Reconstruction Fund

    Haitian Reconstruction Fund

    Posted on May 12, 2010 | No Comments

    by Atim Annette Oton

    Brazil became the first contributor to the Haitian Reconstruction Fund, managed by the World Bank. This is the first country to fulfill its promise of the $10 Billion promised to Haiti at the International Donors’ Conference.

    WASHINGTON, May 11 (Reuters) – Brazil became the first contributor to a reconstruction fund for Haiti on Tuesday and World Bank President Robert Zoellick urged other donor nations to make good on their aid pledges to help the Caribbean country rebuild from a devastating earthquake in January.

    Brazil, which commands a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti, said it had paid $55 million into the World Bank-supervised fund. In March, international donors pledged $10 billion over a decade to help impoverished Haiti rebuild. See details here:  Reuters.

    The Haitian Reconstruction Fund

    At the International Donors Conference, the Haitian Government reveled an Action Plan for the country. The fund is a means to finance the Rebuilding Plan of the Haitian government after the January 12 Earthquake. According to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, ”This plan represents a renewed commitment by the Haitian Government to define needs and priorities, to step up accountability and transparency, and to improve delivery of services.” The Fund will enable all partners, including bilateral donors, the Inter-American Development Bank and the United Nations to work in a coordinated, transparent and efficient manner taking into account the Government’s priorities.

    The Fund is in part based on Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) of Haiti in January that was carried out by a joint team of national and international experts, who were actively assisted by representatives of NGOs and the Haitian civil society The Haitian Reconstruction Fund is focused on macro-economic projections between now and 2015.

    The Fund is chaired by the Government of Haiti and is governed through a Steering Committee that also includes contributors to the Fund (countries and institutions, including Brazil) and partner entities such as the Inter- American Development Bank, the United Nations and the World Bank. The World Bank serves as the fiscal agent for the Trust Fund, transferring funds for the implementation of programs by a broad range of actors on the ground (such as government ministries, NGOs, the private sector, and UN agencies) at the request of the Fund’s Steering Committee.

    The Action Plan for National Recovery and Development includes actions which are defined in time, over an eighteen month timescale. It is based on four major areas of work which should enable the practical rebuilding of Haiti. The sectoral actions and initiatives are brought together according to the themes of regional, economic, social and institutional reconstruction. The fund will help Haiti achieve some of it specific action plans for each field are organised in the following way:

    • Territorial rebuilding: Reconstruction of the devastated zones and urban renovation, the road network, regional development hubs and urban renovation, preparation for the hurricaneseason and regional planning and local development.
    • Economic rebuilding: Relaunch of national production, restoration of economic and financial circuits, access to electricity.
    • Social rebuilding: Health, food safety, nutrition, water, sanitation, highly labour-intensive activities.
    • Institutional rebuilding: Democratic institutions, restart of public administration, justice and security. See More details here

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  • HAITI RECONSTRUCTION: Accessing Opportunities in the Medium to Long-Term

    HAITI RECONSTRUCTION: Accessing Opportunities in the Medium to Long-Term

    Posted on May 11, 2010 | No Comments

    by Atim Annette Oton

    On a sunny slightly chilly day in Brooklyn, at Borough Hall, the New York U.S. Export Assistance Center, in partnership with the Brooklyn International Trade Development Center, hosted a seminar  for companies interested in learning about accessing the medium to long-term reconstruction opportunities in Haiti. The seminar gave attendees:

    • An understanding of Haiti’s on-the-ground realities from a business perspective;
    • Insights into the process for bidding on procurement opportunities with the U.S. government and international development banks
    • Information on investment financing and political risk insurance;
    • Resources for infrastructure-related feasibility studies and technical assistance
    • Important contacts for accessing future opportunities; and
    • Real world experiences of companies who currently do business in Haiti.

    The eye-opener and key to this seminar was the  Procurement processes and bidding on contracts with not only the U.S. government, but most importantly, the multilateral organizations – U.N., Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank. These three organizations hold the key to accessing work in Haiti that most small businesses – architects, in particular are not leveraging.

    So, if you are interested in work in Haiti, you must register with the UN, Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank

    Additionally, it is vital for businesses to read the Action Plan put together from the International Donors’ Conference Towards a New Future for Haiti. The Plan can be downloaded here. This plan states the vision:

    “ The Haitian Head of State defined the country’s long-term vision for development in the following terms:

    We will rebuild Haiti by turning the disaster on 12 January 2010 into an opportunity to make it an emerging country by 2030. 

    This restructuring will be marked by:

    • A fair, just, united and friendly society living in harmony with its environment and culture; a modern society characterised by the rule of law, freedom of association and expression and land management.

    • A society with a modern, diversified, strong, dynamic, competitive, open and inclusive economy based on the land.

    • A society in which people’s basic needs are met quantitatively and qualitatively.

    • A knowledge-based society with universal access to basic education, mastery of qualifications based on a relevant professional training system, and the capacity for scientific and technical innovation fed by a modern and efficient university system, in order to create the new type of citizen the country needs for reconstruction.

    • All of this, under the supervision of a responsible, unitary state guaranteeing the implementation of laws and the interests of the people with a strong commitment to de-concentration and decentralization.”

    The key to the reconstruction plan are the 3 stages vital to the process:

    • The emergency period, which must be used to improve accommodation for the homeless; to return pupils to school and students to university and vocational training centres; to prepare for the next hurricane season in the summer; to pursue efforts to restore a sense of normality to economic life, especially by creating large numbers of jobs through high-intensity work, by guaranteeing stability in the financial sector and access to credit for SMEs; and to continue to reorganise state structures. During this period, it will be necessary to work on development strategies and plans for selected new economic centres; to pursue action in favour of equipping reception zones for those who have been displaced by the earthquake; and to set up an electoral process to avoid constitutional gaps.
    • The implementation period (18 months), for projects to kick-start the future of Haiti and establish a framework of incentives and supervision for private investment on which Haiti’s economic growth will be founded. As foreseen by various analyses and assessments, private investment in the economy as well as in the social sector will form the backbone of the country’s reconstruction. Among the commitments of donors, support will be given to the private sector to provide it with the capacity required to fulfil this role.
    • The period (10 years) during which the reconstruction and recovery of Haiti will become a reality, in order to put the country back on the road to development, followed by another ten years to make it a real emerging country.

    The plan also details what the role of the Haitian Reconstruction Fund and indicates ways to find resources for projects in Haiti.

    Atim Annette Oton , co-Founder of  BDNN will continue to work on reports on Haiti.

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  • Crossing Cultures in the Face of Disaster

    Crossing Cultures in the Face of Disaster

    Posted on May 4, 2010 | 1 Comment

    by Bettina Byrd-Giles

    Intercultural consultants[1] often get calls from organizations who have invested a number of dollars and human resources in failed projects that cross cultural lines.  The investor is a benevolent organization that has been planning for natural disasters and extenuating human circumstances.  An international disaster is a chance to share its expertise and generosity with the world.  Its intentions are good, but the organization usually doesn’t share the blame for the failure of the project.  The blame is often placed upon the target country or cultural group for not having the ability to manage the donated resources.  This happens in the for-profit and not-for-profit worlds.  This article is an attempt to advise organizations on preparing for successful ventures across cultural and national lines.

    In the for-profit world, organizations or individuals are looking to do business with another culture for a fee.  A disaster gives them the opportunity to provide a product, service or idea that would transform the lives of the target culture.  From their view, the venture is mutually beneficial.  Somehow when negotiations to sell this product have gone awry, they can’t figure out what went wrong or blame the target culture.  The target culture is labeled as uneducated, unsophisticated or too greedy to understand the benefits of the product or service in question.

    This is sometimes true in a nonprofit situation as well.  Although there isn’t a profit motive, non-profits encounter similar scenarios.  They gather items and basic necessities en masse that are ready and waiting to be delivered to the target culture.  Frequently, they are a collective of organizations founded and funded by benevolent individuals.  The leaders of these organizations build PR campaigns around sharing their resources.  Though these non profits are not profit driven, they are often run on a corporate model.  Success is determined by achieving certain goals derived by metrics.  They have reports to file and audits that determine how their funds were used.  There is a pressure to be successful and deliver promises.  If for some reason the donated goods or funds are not utilized properly from the perspective of the donors, the blame is often shifted to recipients.  The target culture is often portrayed as corrupt, inhumane or unintelligent.

    Though this RARELY happens, if intercultural consultants were included in the planning process, perhaps money and time would not be wasted.  Both the donors and target culture could reduce the chances of a public relations nightmare.  Part of the strategic planning process would not only include inventory and logistics but a plan to navigate cultural differences.  Logistics usually includes an orientation to the target country such as State Department briefings, hiring translators, learning about foods and brief information about the people.  Sometimes limited information about culture is included.  However, navigating culture and creating the right climate to insure the desired results is often missing.

    For the purpose of this article, culture is defined as a group of interacting people who have “agreed” upon a certain set of rules, concepts or beliefs to live by.  Culture is very subjective.  It is nearly impossible for outsiders seeking to offer assistance to learn everything they need to know about a culture.  Even individuals who have lived among a culture for years learn new things.  However, by understanding some basic value structures– one’s own culture and the culture one is trying to address– can be helpful.  Also relying on members of the target culture to help one navigate the culture is absolutely imperative. The following template includes general suggestions for crossing cultures.

    1. Hire an intercultural consultant. Interculturalists can help develop strategies for crossing cultural boundaries.  They are experts in facilitating interaction across cultures and providing general information that can anticipate potential clashes.
    2. Engage team in cultural training.  If there is time, send the team through intercultural training and cultural adaptation training.  This type of training helps participants understand norms, values and communication styles across cultures.  It also helps simulate a totally new cultural context.  This is especially if there is going to be a lengthy stay.  Though not all cultural blunders can be anticipated, some cross-cultural experiences are universal.
    3. Orient team to the target culture through research.  Learn as much about the target culture as possible through reading, documentaries and talking to cultural informants–members of the culture.  Read materials by experts the target culture.  Narratives and first-hand accounts by members of the culture are also helpful.  
    4. Seek out members of the target culture.  Members of the culture can give you first hand experiences and information about being a member of the culture.  In the book, Three Cups of Tea, a mountaineer who vows to build a school in a volatile area on the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan, allows a local Pakistani to negotiate the building materials, hire the staff, etc.   Make sure you listen to them once you seek their advice and guidance. Try to get as comprehensive a view as possible by finding individuals from different regions and subgroups within the target culture.
    5. Appreciate cultural differences without stereotyping.  Though cultural information is important and usually accurate, it may not apply to everyone that is a member of the culture.  Listen to what people say about their culture and consider diverse opinions.
    6. Build Relationships.  Though your organization has a service to offer, members of the target culture need to know that you have a genuine interest in them.  In addition to impressive credentials, many cultures are concerned with the type of people with whom they are working.  Who you are and your intentions have to be evaluated.  This may take more time than Western sensibilities allow. Perhaps there is an association with a similar mission with whom you can collaborate and begin to build a relationship.  Offer to help and listen to what they believe their needs are.

    Bettina Byrd-Giles is an intercultural consultant with the Byrd’s Nest, LLC http://thebyrdsnestllc.com.

    [1] Intercultural consultants are individuals who facilitate interactions across cultures.

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  • SEED: Social Economic Environmental Design®

    SEED: Social Economic Environmental Design®

    Posted on April 11, 2010 | 1 Comment

    by Kimberly Dowdell

    A multi-year effort to establish a new social impact standard for design projects has resulted in SEED: Social Economic  Environmental Design®. The SEED® Evaluator was publicly launched at a national conference, Structures for Inclusion 10, on March 27 and 28, 2010 at Howard University in Washington, D.C., with an attendance of 230. The SEED® Evaluator provides a new design standard defined by the “triple bottom line” of impacts: social, economic and environmental through an on-line tool to guide, evaluate and certify the social, economic and environmental impact of design projects.

    “SEED is a lot more than a stamp of approval,” said Lisa Abendroth, who teaches design and is a leader of the SEED project. “It’s a tool for developing design projects, evaluating them as they progress, and assessing them when completed. So it will be of critical value to designers and architects who want to ensure they are developing socially responsible projects.”  The SEED Network mission is: “To advance the right of every person to live in a socially, economically and environmentally healthy community.” The SEED planning, evaluation and certification process is intended to help designers embody this principle in their projects. “SEED gives people a clear process to follow in pursuing socially responsible design,” said Abendroth. “It will make their lives a lot easier, we believe, and at the end of the process, their projects will be certified by a well-respected, independent organization. This will be helpful not only in justifying design projects to the communities, but especially for projects dependent on getting outside funding.”

    WEBSITES:

    SEED: www.seednetwork.org
    SEED Evaluator Instructions: www.seednetwork.org/evaluator/instructions.php
    SFI Conference: www.designcorps.org

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