Introduction

The Hemispheric Conference on Disaster Reduction took place on December 4-6, 2001 in San José, Costa Rica.

The meeting was an opportunity for people from various sectors, including health, education, agriculture, social service, finance, and civil society (including NGOs and the private sector) to meet with experts on land use management and technical information related to reducing the impact of natural hazards onto communities.

This "meeting of the minds" allowed for a brainstorm of new ideas for possible courses of action over the next few years. The open format of the meeting was intended to allow for the greatest possible participation. The plenary sessions and work groups had simultaneous translations for English and Spanish.

The purpose of the conference was to discuss and develop joint efforts to meet the mandates of the Quebec Summit on Risk Management for countries in the Americas.

You can view the Plan of Action that led to the Hemispheric Conference at http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/ar/summit/act.htm