Disaster risk reduction

From HFA-PEDIA

1 Introduction
- 1.1 Basic elements
2 Basic concepts
3 Related documents
- 3.1 Other
4 Pages of interest

Introduction

Disaster risk reduction is a conceptual framework of elements considered with the possibilities to minimise vulnerabilities and disaster risks throughout a society, to avoid (prevention) or to limit (mitigation and preparedness) the adverse impacts of hazards, within the broad context of sustainable development. (Source: ISDR)

Disaster risk reduction comprises a range of activities undertaken to minimize vulnerabilities and disaster risk throughout a society, to avoid or to limit the adverse impact of hazards, within the broad context of sustainable development.

According to a 2007 IADB publication, Risk is not only associated with the occurrence of intense physical phenomena, but also with the vulnerability conditions that favor or facilitate disasters when these phenomena occur. Vulnerability is intimately related to social processes in disaster prone areas and is also usually related to the fragility, susceptibility or lack of resilience of the population when faced with various hazards. In other words, disasters are socio-environmental by nature and their occurrence is the result of socially created risk. This means that in order to reduce disaster risk, society must embark in a decision-making processes. This process is not only required during the reconstruction phase immediately following a disaster, but should also be a part of overall national public policy formulation and development planning. This, in turn, requires institutional strengthening and investments in reducing vulnerability. (Source: Cardona, 2007 - Indicators of Disaster Risk and Risk Management - Program for Latin America and the Caribbean, Summary Report - Updated 2007. Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), Sustainable Development Department; written by Omar D. Cardona)

Basic elements

Hazard, exposure and vulnerability: Disaster risk arises from the combination of natural hazards, human activities’ exposure to hazards, and the populations’ vulnerability to hazard events.

Crosscutting issue: Disaster risk affects all sectors, actors, populations, economic infrastructure and social fabric. It is intimately connected to development. To be effective, disaster risk reduction must involve the populations at risk and therefore all of the local and provincial entities that serve these populations.

Variety of scope: Disaster risk reduction initiatives might take a hazard focus, e.g. to reduce earthquake losses, or a social focus, e.g. to reduce the vulnerability of informal settlements. They may focus on a geographical/geopolitical setting, such as a high mountain region, or a sector or an infrastructure type such as schools. They may involve significant technology, or extensive community engagement.

Multiple factors to consider: Individual disaster risk reduction initiatives usually involve multiple factors - physical, financial, economic, social, environmental. For example, the risk of earthquake damage to a bridge will not only dictate the physical structure and hence the financial obligations tied to the bridge (such as loans or concessions for operations), but will also influence the neighbouring environments and the economic and social well-being of the various populations who use the bridge.

Disaster risks are subject to change: Disaster risks vary according to dynamic factors such as population change, increased urbanization and poverty, and environmental exploitation are increasing the exposure and vulnerabilities of people, while climate change will increase many hazard types. In addition, our knowledge of the risks is changing owing to improved information about hazards, exposures and vulnerabilities both from ongoing data collection and research and from empirical evidence following disasters.

Social influences: Priorities for attention of a particular state or community are shaped and continually redefined by the changing perceptions of government, opinion makers, media and community and the values and beliefs of a society, affecting views on what events and actions are hazardous, how hazardous they are, which groups are most at risk, and the relative public and private responsibility for risk reduction activities.

(Source: Indicators of Progress: Guidance on Measuring the Reduction of Disaster Risks and the Implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action; UNISDR, 2008)

Disaster risk reduction agenda: a brief introduction to where it came from and how it operates

It is increasingly recognised that while humanitarian action to respond to disasters will always be of vital importance, the global community faces another critical challenge: how to better anticipate, reduce and manage disaster risk by integrating risk reduction measures into sustainable development planning and policies.

Disaster risk reduction employs measures at all levels to curb disaster losses, through reducing exposure to different hazards, and enhancing coping and adaptive capacities of vulnerable populations. Thus, effective disaster risk reduction practices take a systematic approach to reduce the human, social, economic and environmental vulnerability to natural hazards. Prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, rehabilitation and recovery are crucial entry points for risk reduction, with the aim of building resilience to future hazards.

The shift in focus in recent decades from disaster response to disaster risk reduction has been motivated by the mounting toll of disasters: even as deaths from disasters have been declining, their cost in lost livelihoods and economic assets has been tremendous. Given increasing concerns about disaster impacts and the need to promote capacity and knowledge to deal with disaster events, the UN General Assembly declared 1990-1999 the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR).

The Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action for a Safer World, conceived at the first World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction in Yokohama in 1994, stressed that every country had the sovereign and primary responsibility to protect its people, infrastructure and national, social and economic assets from the impact of disasters.

The successor to the IDNDR is the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), founded in 2000 by the UN General Assembly. The ISDR — a coalition of Governments, UN agencies, regional organizations and civil society organizations — was established to sustain a strong and focused international agenda for the implementation of disaster risk reduction.

The Second World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, 18-22 January 2005, further promoted the need to invest in preventive action to deal with current disaster trends. The Conference recognised progress to date but it was clear that much remains to be done. In response, Governments and agencies agreed on the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters, which identifies three goals and five priorities for action. Priority 4, “Reduce the underlying risk factors” calls on States to integrate disaster risk reduction strategies with climate change adaptation.

International action to implement the Hyogo Framework is being supported by the strengthening of the ISDR System, which includes the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. A dedicated fund is also being strengthened to support international action for disaster risk reduction.

Basic concepts

Coping capacity

The means by which people or organizations use available resources and abilities to face adverse consequences that could lead to a disaster. In general, this involves managing resources, both in normal times as well as during crises or adverse conditions. The strengthening of coping capacities usually builds resilience to withstand the effects of natural and human-induced hazards. (Source: ISDR)

Mitigation

Structural and non-structural measures undertaken to limit the adverse impact of natural hazards, environmental degradation and technological hazards. (Source: ISDR)

Disaster mitigation activities relate to environmental management, land use and urban planning and the engineering protection of critical facilities. Specific examples include reforestation to avoid landslides and the re-establishment of corals to limit the damage of tsunamis. Other examples of good practice in disaster mitigation include the training of masons to develop earthquake-resilient buildings and community partnerships to enhance the understanding of risk. A drought reduction strategy may be to build water reservoirs and improve agricultural practices to conserve water.

Risk

The probability of harmful consequences, or expected loss of lives, people injured, property, livelihoods, economic activity disrupted (or environment damaged) resulting from interactions between natural or human induced hazards and vulnerable conditions. (Source: ISDR)

Risk Assessment

A methodology to determine the nature and extent of risk by analysing potential hazards and evaluating existing conditions of vulnerability that could pose a potential threat or harm to people, property, livelihoods and the environment on which they depend. The process of conducting a risk assessment is based on a review of both the technical features of hazards such as their location, intensity, frequency and probability; and also the analysis of the physical, social, economic and environmental dimensions of vulnerability and exposure, while taking particular account of the coping capabilities pertinent to the risk scenarios. (Source: ISDR)

Vulnerability

The conditions determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors or processes, which increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazards. (Source: ISDR)

For more terminology, see the UN/ISDR Terminology of Disaster Risk Reduction