Vil Nou Pi Bèl: reinforcing the resilience of the inhabitants in the city of Jérémie in Haïti

Objectives of Vil Nou Pi Bèl

The project, “Vil Nou Pi Bèl – for an inclusive, sustainable and resilient city to cope with natural disasters” involves a number of different activities carried out over a period of 3 years.  Groupe URD is in charge of knowledge management and will be carrying out iterative evaluations with feedback sessions, studies, experience sharing workshops and conferences, both in France and in Haiti

The project will aim to: reinforce local governance, encourage a participatory and inclusive approach to Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and regional development; improve housing, services and facilities in the city; and boost the local economy.

Jérémie’s geographical position in the Caribbean Basin makes it extremely vulnerable to natural hazards (earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis and torrential rain causing floods and landslides). Lack of environmental management increases the impact of climatic phenomena. Chronic poverty, made worse by frequent disasters, prevents the poorest people from developing a minimal level of resilience to protect them from harm and improve their economic and social situation. There is also insufficient urban planning in Jérémie and territorial management is not appropriate given the current level of population growth. These issues will make Jérémie a very interesting case study.

Groupe URD, a learning partner in the Vil Nou Pi Bèl project

Groupe URD was involved as a learning partner in the Vil Nou Pi Bèl project. We provided regular support in monitoring and evaluation to ensure that the project was of good quality, and in operational decision-making to help steer the project.

One of the priority activities was reinforcing local organisations on issues such as project and financial management, conflict management, environmental issues and disaster risk management. This involved assessing local CSOs, and running training sessions and participatory workshops to exchange practices.

A study and a training course on the renovation of historical buildings led to the drawing up of a technical dossier on this subject.

Via evaluations (EIMS), operational research, training courses, events, awareness-raising campaigns and multi-actor coordination meetings, Groupe URD ensured that the project was adaptable to the evolving context and emerging needs.

Having previously conducted a number of evaluations in this region, Groupe URD is very familiar with the area and the challenges affecting resilience.

This project/programme is co-financed by the French Development Agency.