Building disaster preparedness and response capacity of Costa Rican press
Natural disasters are common occurrences in Costa Rica, with minor earthquakes taking place daily and strong tremors happening several times a year. According to national statistics, the 49 events that occurred between 1980 and 2010 killed 312 people, affected another 1 647 964 and produced damages amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. Such events are major national news items. However, local media in disaster areas are unable to fully inform either the affected population or the national media. A blueprint for emergency response, the Manual for journalists on ethical coverage of emergencies and disasters, has been created but is yet to be complimented by location-specific information and to reach broader media audiences, especially in the provinces. This project will therefore train local media to provide clear information reflecting specific priorities during major disasters, using the Manual as a basis.
The project was carried out as originally envisaged but with a change of order: first organizing a seminar with experts and specialists, then creating (with their input) the guidebook on disaster preparedness. The National Syndicate of Journalists (Sindicato Nacional de Periodistas SNP) organized the seminar on 30 and 31 January 2015 with the title Ethic Responsibility of the communicator in an integral approach to disasters. 56 participants were inscribed what shows the great interest among media workers. Invited speakers were the National Commission of risks and emergencies, the National Meteorological Institute, City of San José, the Seismological Network of University Costa Rica. The Syndicate prepared a very informative documentation of this seminar. The Guidebook on disaster preparedness covers the role of journalists before a disaster, management of adequate information, security of journalists, classification of disasters. The content production of the guidebook was delayed and the contract could not be extended in time. At the end, UNESCO could not pay for printing the guidebook or organizing a press meeting to present and distribute the guidebook.