A/HRC/28/76 63. In Mexico, as part of the national strategy to respond to humanitarian crises, the General Civil Protection Act has been adopted to provide for the establishment of a national mechanism for disasters from the viewpoint of integrated risk management, known as the national system of civil protection (Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil). 64. In Japan, various measures have been taken to improve: its guidelines on nuclear emergency preparedness and emergency response; the scope and extent of basic and detailed health management surveys; dose limits of radiation; access to accurate information on radiation and its health effects; transparency and accountability of the nuclear industry and regulatory authority; and the participation of affected communities in decision-making processes. 65. In addition to the above good practices, it is equally important that national laws for disaster risk reduction be enacted to make provisions for the concrete allocation of funds to disaster risk reduction. Evidence abounds of the immediate and direct effects that natural disasters and conflicts have on the economy of communities and countries, in addition to their long-term impact. In most disasters, the bulk of immediate damage comes from destroyed assets (stock), such as buildings, infrastructure, inventories and growing crops. Disasters also generate short- and long-term losses in economic activity and income (flow) in affected areas, as people and companies lose their means of production and access to markets. Economic activity picks up gradually during the years of reconstruction, starting with emergency response and humanitarian assistance. Capital assets can be regenerated through reconstruction investment, which generates income as work progresses. Such natural disasters as storms and droughts have, according to one study, a moderate but negative, permanent impact on income growth.42 66. The above-mentioned examples would indicate that Africa and Latin America have improved their multilevel and multisectoral work on emergency preparedness and humanitarian response, the result of the effects they have had to face in the conflicts and disasters experienced in recent decades. B. Participation of the community and the persons affected 67. Humanitarian assistance is developed in a comprehensive framework where legal, social, political, ethical and cultural relations need to be taken into account. In the legal framework, the State is the duty-bearer while people and communities are rights-holders, not just the recipients of aid. This issue is a central theme in education, formal and informal processes linked to disaster prevention and reduction, rehabilitation and reconstruction. Some initiatives could be put in place in this regard: (a) Community participation programmes, which should be accessible to and inclusive of rural, indigenous and displaced communities, women and girls and persons with disabilities; actions in the field of risk microzonation should consider community involvement and identify the specific characteristics of the affected community; (b) Specific school safety plans should be developed and include other forms of institutions, such as special schools; 42 Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific 2011, “Assessing economic impact of natural disasters: A mix of stock-and-flow indicators” (see www.unescap.org/stat/data/syb2011/IIEnvironment/Natural-disasters.asp). 17