Built Environment Resilience in Latin America and the Caribbean (BERLAC)

This article presents the results of a pioneering project which was a three-year initiative aimed at enhancing disaster resilience by adopting a holistic and community-driven approach. Recognising the urgent need for effective disaster risk reduction (DRR) measures, UNESCO, with support from the Japanese Government, developed and implemented the Built Environment Resilience Latin America and the Caribbean (BERLAC) project. This pioneering three-year initiative aims to enhance disaster resilience by adopting a holistic and community-driven approach. Rather than relying solely on standardised approaches, BERLAC emphasises the integration of international technical expertise with context-specific solutions, promoting resilience strategies that are sustainable and locally embedded.

Structured around four interconnected components—securing safer housing, enhancing school safety, retrofitting existing structures, and fostering risk-informed policy development—BERLAC not only strengthens local resilience but also establishes a scalable and adaptable model capable of bridging policy and practice. By actively engaging communities and stakeholders at all levels, BERLAC emphasises capacity building, knowledge transfer, and participatory planning processes. This paper details BERLAC's methodologies, presents key findings from its implementation, and explores the policy implications derived from its successes and challenges, thereby contributing valuable insights to the global discourse on DRR and resilience strategies.