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As a result of climate change, natural disasters are expected to be amplified in frequency and impact.The largest human cost to lives and livelihoods will be borne by populations already disadvantaged by poverty. In 2011, the cost of disaster loss was over 300 billion USDwhich is more than double the total given by donor countries to support economic development and welfare. It is then clear that investing in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into development programming is important not only for cost-effectiveness but it is the only way to protect lives and livelihoods and ensure sustainable development.
The 4th Session for the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is taking place from May 19th to May 23rd in Geneva and will discuss the next international framework for reducing disaster risk worldwide. The Global Platform is highly important for the international community to agree a strong successor framework that builds on the achievements of the Hyogo Framework for Action, and to ensure clear links between discussions on post-2015 frameworks to enable sustainable development through reduced disaster loss.While progress has been made on integrating DRR in humanitarian action, now the development community has a crucial role to play in raising awareness and practice of disaster risk reduction to protect lives and livelihoods in the global south.
VOICE, a network of 82 European NGOs active in humanitarian aid worldwide, has released a series of papers on Disaster Risk Reduction to highlight the importance of DRR in development policies, in preparation for the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in May 2013.
The latest paper of the VOICE series on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) entitled ‘DRR and development post-2015’ looks at how post-2015 frameworks now under discussion can contribute to improved risk reduction. This paper contains recommendations and puts forwardkey elements that need to be taken into account in the discussion to ensure real improvement in risk management at local level.
2015 is a key year for the global development agenda. The processes towards developing renewed post-2015 frameworks represent an opportunity to raise awareness of the link between disaster risk and poverty, and to better 'disaster-proof' development to ensure development outcomes are sustainable and investments are not lost. Clear links between the next generation of frameworks, reflecting the interconnectedness that exists between disaster-risk reduction, climate change adaptation and poverty reduction, will be essential.
This paper was prepared by the VOICE DRR Working Group and is the fourth of a series of six working towards the Global Platform, providing an introduction to key discussions around Disaster Risk Reduction. The previous papers explore how DRR can be supported by a focus on real risk factors, better funding, coordination with other sectors and innovative partnerships; they can be found here.
More information: http://www.ngovoice.org/
