Inclusion of ethnic groups in disaster risk management and financial protection in Colombia

Indigenous communities in La Guajira, Colombia, face structural barriers to Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and Financial Protection (FP), including limited knowledge and weak coordination between sectors.

Despite these challenges, they show strong interest in culturally appropriate approaches such as in-kind compensation and regional "risk pools" to address climate-related hazards. Strengthening coordination, adapting tools to local capacities, and ensuring participatory communication are key to enabling inclusive DRM and FP.

Rethinking disaster risk finance

Financial Protection (FP) against disaster risk has emerged as a key pillar of Disaster Risk Management (DRM) globally (UNDRR, 2015). FP refers to financial mechanisms designed to transfer or retain the economic risk from hazards, enabling faster planning, response, and recovery in emergencies and disasters (Parra & Casallas, 2022). Common FP mechanisms include risk reduction and disaster response funds (risk retention), as well as insurance and reinsurance (risk transfer). In Colombia, however, its implementation has followed a top-down approach, with limited participation from community stakeholders and low awareness of its mechanisms and benefits.

Social, economic, cultural, and political vulnerabilities - exacerbated by armed conflict, institutional corruption, and historical inequalities - limit its effectiveness.

To contribute to a socially inclusive approach to DRM and FP, we sought to understand the perspectives and practices of indigenous groups in the La Guajira region of Colombia. We aimed to explore how DRM and FP could better align with local realities while harmonising international and national sustainable development agendas.

Socioeconomic vulnerability and risk conditions

Our study focuses on the department of La Guajira, Colombia, a region highly exposed to climate-related hazards such as tropical cyclones, droughts, and floods. It faces critical poverty levels, gender inequality, and limited institutional capacities for DRM and FP.

According to the National Planning Department (DNP, 2019), La Guajira has the highest climate vulnerability index in the country. Public service coverage is low, labour informality is high, and a large proportion of the population lives in dispersed rural areas.

Environmental degradation due to desertification and sociopolitical factors such as migration from neighbouring countries, further limit access to comprehensive risk reduction measures. These conditions make La Guajira a priority territory for promoting sustainable development practices like FP.

Given its cultural diversity, we approached the region's FP practices under the Differential Risk Transfer framework, which is defined as the process of transferring the financial consequences of risk from one part to another, considering the characteristics of gender, ethnicity, disability and life cycle of an individual, family or community, in the activities related to the design/implementation of mechanisms that allow the access to social or financial benefits when a climate-related disaster strikes (Fernández et al, 2022). The Differential Risk Transfer framework recognises sociodemographic characteristics that exacerbate disaster vulnerability. Participants included representatives of the Wayuu Indigenous group from the municipalities of Riohacha, Maicao, Manaure, and Uribia.

Challenges in including ethnic groups in DRM and FP

Key challenges include a lack of awareness about the pros and cons of FP and institutional corruption that favours reactive over preventive approaches. Local stakeholders also highlighted:

• High turnover of DRM technical staff due to political changes.
• Low involvement of indigenous people in DRM processes.
• The high spatial dispersion of communities.
• Low trust in insurers due to past negative experiences.

These issues affect not only the indigenous communities, but also reflect broader structural problems in both government and the private sector.

Despite these challenges, ethnic groups expressed openness to pilot projects related to FP and flood risk insurance as part of DRM initiatives. Local stakeholders suggested promoting community participation in the design of plans, programs and projects, aiming to ensure progressive premium subsidies, technical support, and transparency. Instead of implementing top-down risk transfer packages, ethnic groups suggested in-kind compensation (food kits, seeds, culturally appropriate building materials) rather than monetary transfers.

Recommendations for including ethnic groups in DRM and FP

• The National Development Plan 2022-2026 was positively received for its focus on sustainability and indigenous inclusion. Adopting preventive, integrated approaches that align FP with local development and risk reduction plans can ensure coordinated action at different territorial levels.
• According to the Wayuu indigenous leaders, "risk pooling" -the spreading of financial risks evenly among a large number of contributors (World Bank, 2017)- among departments with similar risks can help to distribute financial burdens and strengthen local autonomy. Another option is for Colombia's Caribbean region to join the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF).
• While acknowledging the historical responsibility of industrialised nations in the climate crisis, ethnic groups advocated for co-financing models that respect territorial sovereignty while allowing international participation. Understanding vulnerability as holistically encompassing physical exposure, environmental conditions, and socioeconomic factors will make DRM more impactful.
• Build on current initiatives rather than working in isolation. Current efforts by ethnic groups with DRM authorities include co-designing and implementing municipal DRM plans, educational strategies, drills, green infrastructure for droughts and floods, and community DRM committees.
• Harmonise FP strategies with territorial DRM plans, emergency response, and municipal economic development plans to focus government resources and optimise community time and energy.
• Most Wayuu leaders were unaware of FP but recognised its potential to reduce socioeconomic vulnerability, especially for flood-related economic impacts. Using simplified terminology and practical case studies, financial literacy programs are essential to demonstrate FP's potential and limitations.
• Communities are willing to participate if their cultures, capacities, and realities are respected. Designing and implementing FP activities through the differential risk transfer approach can significantly improve their relevance by considering specific vulnerabilities and intersectionalities.
• Due to a lack of intersectoral coordination and planning instruments, the differential risk transfer approach can also provide methodological guidance for stakeholder coordination, sex-disaggregated data collection, vulnerability analysis, and integrating these inputs into local FP and DRM strategies.

Our recommendations are based on the capacities of local, national and international stakeholders involved in DRM and FP. Relevant actors in Colombia include international cooperation agencies like the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), local academic institutions such as the University of La Guajira, public sector agencies like the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management, and multilateral organisations such as the World Bank.

These organisations are recognised by both the ethnic populations and DRM authorities as key stakeholders that can facilitate the implementation of FP programs and projects, while strengthening the capacities of local actors such as DRM technicians, community-based organisations and NGOs.

Acknowledgements

To the interviewees from the municipalities of Maicao, Manaure, Riohacha, and Uribia in La Guajira for sharing their knowledge, experiences, and aspirations for a safer territory.

This blog post is based on two previous studies:

• Community perspectives on climate disaster risk finance instruments in Colombia
• Design of a socially inclusive climate risk transfer mechanism: a case study in La Guajira, Colombia

Camilo Fernández Lopera is a disaster risk management specialist with a focus on disaster risk finance. He has 11 years of experience in disaster vulnerability analyses that include gender and ethnicity. He has worked across multilateral, public, private, and academic sectors. Camilo holds a master's degree in Social Dynamics and Natural Risks and a PhD in Climate Risk Transfer.