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Commission Implementing Decision on the financing of emergency humanitarian actions in Peru from the general budget of the European Union (ECHO/PER/BUD/2011/01000)

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THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No.1257/96 of 20 June 1996 concerning humanitarian aid 1 , and in particular Article 2(a) and Article 13 thereof;

Whereas:

(1) The worst rains in 18 years were registered in late January and early February 2011 and continued until mid April, severely affecting the Department of Ucayali, situated in the tropical zone in the Central East of the country. Overflowing of the rivers Ucayali, Tambo, Negro, Urubamba, Aguaitía and Irazola severely affected the 4 provinces of the department. Water levels rose to 20 metres as opposed to four metres in normal flooding;

(2) At least 58,037 people have been affected by heavy rains and floods, mostly indigenous population. The Department of Ucayali registers high levels of poverty. At least 1,042 houses have been completely destroyed and 13,884 have been partially destroyed. The worst affected province is Atayala, where 1,782 families have lost their livelihoods, assets and belongings.

(3) At least 43,571 hectares of crops have been devastated and approximately 50,000 hectares severely affected, 1,000 breeding animals and poultry have died, and more than 28,593 (mainly poultry) have been seriously affected.

(4) The agricultural cycle is disrupted with most or all crops lost, thereby causing a critical blow to household economy and local food security, leading people previously mostly engaged in subsistence farming to engage in fishing, which barely provides enough resources for household consumption; due to the isolation of the affected communities, selling fish for cash for purchasing other food supplies such as rice is rarely an option.

(5) Unseasonal rains and low temperatures in early July have exacerbated the situation.

(6) Despite the Regional Government's efforts to address the emergency situation, the magnitude of the floods in Ucayali Department has widely surpassed the institutional capacity of Peru to respond to the situation at different levels. A needs assessment mission was conducted by the European Commission on 4-6 July highlighting significant weaknesses in local response capacities, resulting in almost inexistent local support. The needs assessments confirmed emergency needs in terms of livelihoods, food and nutrition, shelter, non food items and disaster preparedness. The Regional Government of Ucayali has formally requested support from the FAO and from NGO COOPI on 11 July 2011.

(7) Assistance is needed to support those most vulnerable populations who lost all or most of their crops and who do not have livelihood alternatives, and are therefore most exposed to immediate life-threat, particularly targeting indigenous ethnic groups who have been the most affected by the flooding.

(8) The provision of early recovery support is critical in the coming months before the end of the next planting season (August-October);

(9) To reach populations in need, humanitarian aid should be channelled through nongovernmental Organisations (NGOs) and international organisations including United Nations (UN) agencies. Therefore the European Commission should implement the budget by direct centralised management or by joint management;

(10) Humanitarian aid actions financed by this Decision should be of a maximum duration of 6 months;

(11) It is estimated that an amount of EUR 2,000,000 from budget article 23 02 01 of the general budget of the European Union is necessary to provide humanitarian assistance to up to 8,000 people, taking into account the available budget, other donors' contributions and other factors. The activities covered by this Decision may be financed in full in accordance with Article 253 of the Implementing Rules of the Financial Regulation;

(12) The present Decision constitutes a financing Decision within the meaning of Article 75 of the Financial Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/20022, Article 90 of the detailed rules for the implementation of the Financial Regulation determined by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/20023 and Article 15 of the internal rules on the implementation of the general budget of the European Union4.

(13) Pursuant to Article 13 of Council Regulation (EC) N° 1257/96, the opinion of the Humanitarian Aid Committee is not required.

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

  1. In accordance with the objectives and general principles of humanitarian aid, the Commission hereby approves a total amount of EUR 2,000,000 for the financing of general budget of the European Union.

  2. In accordance with Article 2(a) of Council Regulation No.1257/96, the principal objective of this Decision is provide humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable people affected by floods in Ucayali Department, Peru. The humanitarian actions shall be implemented in the pursuance of the following specific objective: – - To improve the humanitarian situation of vulnerable populations affected by floods in Ucayali Department, by integrated relief and immediate recovery support and disaster preparedness mainstreaming

The full amount of this Decision is allocated to this specific objective.