Following the training in the ECLAC Methodology in Disaster Assessment that was undertaken in Suriname in late August, early-September 2006, senior ECLAC officials followed this up by the actual Disaster Assessment Mission of the flooding that occurred in the interior following the heavy rains of May 2006. The main objective of the mission was to assess the impact of these floods on the sustainable livelihoods of the affected population in the Sipaliwini District as requested by the Ministry of Regional Development of the Government of Suriname and was financed by the United Nations Development Programme.
The ECLAC team consisted of Rudolf Buitelaar (energy, water, transport and communications), Asha Kambon (housing, education and health), Erik Blommestein (tourism, commerce and trade), Michael Hendrickson (agriculture, macroeconomics and microfinance). This team was supported by a team of local counterparts, mainly from the Ministry of Regional Development and used the ECLAC methodology for the assessment of natural disasters as a guideline.
Two of the affected areas were visited between 4-6 November 2006, the Tapanahony river near Drietabbetje by Asha Kambon and Michael Hendrickson; and the upper Suriname river between Djumu and Atjoni by Rudolf Buitelaar and Erik Blommestein. The remainder of the mission was spent in the capital, Paramaribo to contact sources of information and obtain data and insights.
Detailed attention had to be paid to the vulnerability context of the affected population, however, the paucity of official social statistics proved to be a major hindrance since very little official data exists on the conditions in the interior. This was particularly evident in the education sector, where the precise number of private and public schools that had been affected was particularly difficult to capture, as records of the situation prior to the flooding were unavailable.
The mission was a particularly demanding one as it required officials to spend time in the interior without access to the usual amenities of running water and electricity. The mode of transport from one village to another was by dug out canoe and by foot. Focus groups were conducted among selected groups from the affected population and these were facilitated by the national counterparts who were assigned to the ECLAC team. The counterparts also acted as translator as most of the affected population spoke only their indigenous language.
Following the actual assessments and data gathering, a presentation of the main findings was made to the Minister of Regional Development and the government officials, including the Director of the National Crisis Center for Disaster Response (NCCR), the District Commissioner of Siwalipini and the UNDP representative. Members of the media were also present.
The presentation gave insight on the ECLAC Methodology for the impact of disasters on sustainable livelihoods and also provided qualitative and quantitative information on the effects of the disaster on the affected areas and the social and economic consequences of the disaster. Also included were proposals and possible measures and interventions necessary for the recovery process in the affected areas. Among the many recommendations were the following: