Learning from recovery after hurricane Mitch: experience from Nicaragua

This document reviews how Nicaragua has recovered from Hurricane Mitch over the past ten years. The focus is on how relevant the assumptions and claims that were made in the initial recovery planning have been in light of subsequent development.

The findings suggest that the links between recovery and vulnerability reduction cannot be found in the search for the 'right' project modalities, and that building back better is a matter of recognising that pre-existing organisational capacities and processes are the greatest factors determining whose vulnerability is likely to be reduced and where sustainable change is likely to emerge.