| What
We Do |
| Risk
Reduction Tools |
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| DRI
Analysis Tool |
| The
pioneering Disaster
Risk Index (DRI) Analysis Tool measures the relative
vulnerability of countries to three key natural hazards —
earthquake, tropical cyclone and flood — and identifies
development factors that contribute to risk, and shows in quantitative
terms, just how the effects of disasters can be either reduced
or exacerbated by policy choices. Our hope is that the toolx will
both help generate renewed interest in this critical development
issue and help bring together stakeholders around more careful
and coherent planning to mitigate the impact of future disasters.
Click
here for more information |
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Multi-Hazard
Risk Reduction Methodologies |
| Development
and Institutionalization of Disaster Inventories in Asia |
| This
PA aims to pilot the implementation of a system of building disaster
inventories in selected locations in
Asia. In partnership with the UNDP
Country Offices, national academic institutions, national
disaster management agencies and the Network
for Social Studies on Disaster Prevention in Latin America (LA
RED), pilot disaster databases have been developed for a state
in India and have been
initiated in Nepal.
In the latter the National
Society for Earthquake Technology Nepal (NSET) has been contracted
to implement the initial phase of the information gathering. In
addition, in the countries where this methodology was already
introduced, DRU will focus on providing support for the development
of a plan of action for the institutionalization of this methodology
in the ongoing in country data collection exercise to ensure that
this is sustained in the countries where the initial investments
were made and to develop a complete package with both technical
and institutional support that can be introduced to adopted by
other countries worldwide. More
information |
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| Mainstreaming
Guidelines at the Local Level Partnership with Capacity 2015 |
| Huetar
Norte is a zone with a frequent occurrence of disasters derived
from socio-natural hazards (floods, drought, and volcanic eruption)
as well as development vulnerabilities. The people prone to this
risk are among the poorest part of the population, and this vulnerable
group is normally not well represented in the decisions for local
development plans. Therefore the project proposes to increase
participation and to develop proposals for mainstreaming the risk
reduction concerns of this vulnerable population into development
planning for this region. This initiative has been developed in
close collaboration with Capacity 2015 due to their profound knowledge
about local level development. Capacity 2015 will co-finance the
project with UNDP, and they will be a key player during the implementation
phase. This project serves as a pilot project for Capacity 2015,
and the expectation is to replicate this project in other regions/countries.
In addition UNDP Costa
Rica supports the project with some of their own financial
resources. Additionally, several other partners are contributing
to the project with non-financial resources.
More
information |
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| Quantification
of risk, vulnerability and impact of disasters (ISDR TF WG3 with
HABITAT) |
In
November 2003, BCPR approved this project in support of the activities
of the UN-ISDR/Working
Group 3. The project aims at promoting the application of
improved practices for risk-vulnerability-capacity-impact assessment
at the local and national level through the systematic identification
and documentation of tools and applications. These will be widely
disseminated in order to improve access by users to a broad range
of assessment tools. The project is being implemented by UN/HABITAT
and UN/ISDR
building on previous work developed in the framework of ISDR
WG3. This will continue during 2004. |
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| System
for Improved Use of Meteorological Information for Risk Reduction/Early
Warning (Radar) |
| Under
the framework of the Radar
Capacity Building Project, this project was approved in 2003,
when the DRU won an award following an ECHO request for proposals
under the DIPECHO
Programme. The project covers the Dominican
Republic, Haiti
and Jamaica
and was developed under the umbrella of the Caribbean
Risk Management Initiative (CRMI). The project's objective
is to enable national disaster reduction offices to work more
effectively with the national meteorological offices in alerting
vulnerable communities in case of hurricanes and floods. This
will help mitigate the impact of natural disasters and reduce
human and material losses. A full project team is on board and
key activities are already underway.
More
information |
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| Development
of a Disaster Risk Management Primer for Asia |
| In
collaboration with other donors and partners, this project will
support the design and development of a Disaster Risk Management
Primer for Asia. The activity's
overarching goal is to provide an appreciation for, and common
understanding of, disaster risk management applied across all
sectors and among all levels of current and potential participants
in the disaster reduction process. These participants include
politicians, policy-makers, technical specialists, government
personnel, NGO personnel, community leaders and others. The substance
and structure of Volumes I (Framework for Total Disaster Risk
Management), Volume II (Holistic Flood Risk Management) and Volume
III (Earthquakes) of the disaster risk management Primer were
outlined during the preparatory workshop that took place in August
2003.
More
information |
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| Integrated
Vulnerability Assessment Methodology for Small Island States |
| In
order to exploit the synergies between adaptation to climate change
and disaster risk reduction a pilot activity will be undertaken
in 2004 to develop a methodology for assessing risk that makes
use of the climate change information and integrates this into
a risk assessment methodology which produces a futuristic and
more realistic modification of the hazard as a result of climate
change and modified vulnerability levels. During 2004 an integrated
team from DRU, UNEP
Grid and the OAS
will work on the detailed design of this activity. The project
will systematically consult with CDERA, the Mainstreaming
Adaptation to Climate Change Project MACC and the CDB
Disaster Mitigation Facility, The University
of the West Indies and others during the methodology design
phase as well as identify effective ways for collaboration and
opportunities for joint execution. This methodology will be tested
in St. Lucia. It is expected that after this pilot UNDP can support
the replication and adaptation of this methodology in other vulnerable
small island states not only in the Caribbean but the Pacific
as well.
More
information |
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| Guidelines
on Disaster Risk Reduction Governance and Poverty Africa |
| This
proposal concerns collaboration between UN-ISDR Africa and the
Regional Office for Africa of UNDP-BCPR’s Disaster Reduction
Unit in the publication of guides covering two areas that are
central to UNDP’s programming, namely “Disaster Risk
Reduction and Governance” and “Disaster Risk Reduction
and Poverty Reduction Strategies”. Each guide would aim
to present the pertinent issues in a clear and concise way as
a contribution to advocacy and knowledge sharing. UNDP-BCPR’s
contribution would be towards printing and translation costs.
This tool will also contribute to a larger DRU activity on mainstreaming
risk reduction into development.
More
information |
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| Impact
and Loss Assessment |
| Assessment
of Socio-Economic Impacts of Disasters in Asia |
| In
September 2003 BCPR approved a Preparatory Assistance to introduce
and adapt to countries in Asia a methodology for assessing the
socio-economic impact of hydrometeorological disasters which will
include a small number of pilot demonstration assessments as well
as the presentation of results to national planning and development
agencies. The project is being implemented by the UN
Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and with
technical support from the UN
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
Its overarching goal is to assure an appreciation of linkages
between disaster vulnerability and poverty in target countries
and a consequent integration of advanced economic impact assessment
methodologies into the national economic development planning.
More
information on Asia & the
Pacific and in Latin America
& the Caribbean |
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| Thematic
Guidelines for Integrating Risk Reduction Into UNDP Country Programmes |
| UNDP
Guidelines on ILS and LLRM |
| As
part of the Global ILS and LLRM projects, the DRU produces UNDP
guidelines for approaching the development of ILS and LLRM projects
at the country office level. The preparation of these products will
begin in 2004 but are scheduled for completion in 2005. |
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| New
Thematic Policies/ UNDP |
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| Integrated
Climate Risk Management Policy |
| DRU
works with the UNDP
Bureau for Development Policy (BDP) to develop a UNDP policy
on Integrated Climate Risk Management. This activity
is as a result of several awareness raising initiatives conducted
jointly by both UNDP agencies to promote increased understanding
of the synergies existing between the two themes and the need
for convergence to an integrated approach.
More
information |
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| El
Niño Policy |
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| Programme
Countries |
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UNDP
has been providing
programme countries with technical assistance and financial
support for the design and implementation of disaster reduction
strategies and capacity building programmes addressing a range
of relevant issues: the strengthening of administrative and legislative
systems; community-based disaster reduction; early warning systems;
national disaster reduction plans etc. |
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| Inter
Agency Cooperation for Volcanic Risk Reduction |
Within
the DRC, the 2-year
inter-agency project for disaster reduction in the Goma/North
Kivu area begins implementation in 2004. This project offers a
unique opportunity for the key UN agencies with responsibility
for specific aspects of disaster management (UNDP,
ISDR and
OCHA)
to collaborate on a concrete activity related to a multi-hazard
context (conflict and volcano) within the context of the recently
completed tripartite self-assessment. The agreed project envisages
the development of a disaster management framework in the context
of a post -conflict environment as a contribution to recovery.
The project is a tripartite endeavour between UNDP, ISDR and OCHA,
with UNDP providing seed funding for the initial six months. The
ISDR's contribution will focus in the public information and education
components and OCHA will oversee the updating of the contingency
planning process with local partners and the international community.
The project will be executed by UNOPS.
During 2004 the project will focus on resource mobilization, produce
an initial assessment of the volcanic hazard, initiate public
information and education activities, community preparedness activities
and launch a partnership with local counterparts, Ngos and civil
society for disaster risk reduction. |
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| ENSO
Risk Management Policies and Strategies |
| Both
Kenya and
Tanzania have suffered major disasters as a result of the
effects of El Niño. Work has begun to establish a dialogue
with the Kenya Government on the development of a disaster risk
management process that will be closely linked to the effects
of El Niño (drought and floods). It is intended to involve
Tanzania in assessing the El Niño risks it is exposed to
with a view to reinforcing the disaster risk reduction agenda
in that country following institutional developments that followed
the 1998 US Embassy bombing. This will proceed as part as part
of the DRU ICRM activity.
More
information on Africa |
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| Algeria |
| Following
the earthquake in May 2003 , UNDP seed funded a project to establish
a National Agency for Disaster Management and a national strategy
with technical support from the DRU. The project has already generated
interest from donors, the Swiss
Agency for Development Cooperating pledging a contribution
of US$200,000 and USAID providing parallel funding for the recruitment
of a disaster reduction specialist in the UNDP CO for nine months.
This project will continue implementation in 2004.
More
information |
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| Yemen |
| A
Disaster Management Programme was officially launched in Yemen
in 2004 with full implementation foreseen to start immediately
after its launch. A DMTP
Workshop was used to launch this project.
More
information
More
information on Arab States |
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| Asia
and the Pacific |
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| Afghanistan |
| A
disaster prone country with a very weak institutional framework,
emerging from years of conflict, Afghanistan has been a priority
for DRU since 2002. Following a recovery programme for the Nahreen
earthquake of 2002, a small capacity-building project was approved
which brought the disaster reduction concern to the agenda of
the multiple partners present in the country. A larger-scope project
was approved in 2003, which will build upon the previous one and
on the results of the Regional Initiative for Risk Reduction based
in Iran. The project will help the Government of Afghanistan to
reduce the impacts of drought, earthquakes and floods and in strengthening
the legal, policy and institutional arrangements for risk management.
Several programming missions have been planned to initiate start
up activities for this and all have been post-poned by the Country
Office .
More
information |
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| Cambodia |
| UNDP
Cambodia is engaged in an on-going capacity-building activity
with the Mekong
River Commission (MRC), currently headquartered in Phnom Penh.
In this respect, the DRU has assisted the CO with finalizing the
project document ‘Environmental
Governance and Flood Management and Mitigation in the Mekong Sub-basin’,
which aims at developing the capacities of National Mekong Commissions.
This approach offers significant promise to facilitate the work
of the MRC in respect to flood mapping and forecasting, and to
apply the work of the MRC at the national level in respect to
climate forecasts and early warning. On-going advise and technical
assistance was also provided to the CO initiative ‘Establishment
and Development of the National Committee for Disaster Management
(NCDM).
More
information |
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| China |
| The
DRU monitored the progress of the BCPR-funded project ‘Capacity
Development for China Disaster Reduction Actions’.
This project is well conceived within the country and both, the
UNDP China Office and
the responsible government authorities are exceptionally forward-thinking
and well-versed in concepts of disaster risk management. Based
on DRU advise, the CO is currently discussing with government
to re-focus the project on a single river basin, the Yangtze Basin,
in order to avoid overburdening of the project.
More
information |
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| Mongolia |
| The
UNDP CO has been
assisting the Government to reorganize its disaster management
functions and is now starting to emphasize risk reduction concerns.
The DRU advised the UNDP CO to expand its current Disaster Mitigation
Project to include additional initiative in order to be able to
comprehensively address disaster risks the country is exposed.
Priorities for which additional funding should be sought are:
incorporating climate variability and climate change forecasts
into National Planning Processes; addressing long-term sustainable
development concerns in the emergency response; and strengthening
earthquake preparedness and mitigation in Ulan Bator.
More
information |
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| Pakistan |
The
Preparatory
Assistance approved in mid 2002 had the overall objective
to undertake a comprehensive review of the existing capacity of
the governmental sector and civil society for disaster preparedness
and management, and the preparation of a full-scale project proposal
for technical cooperation. The proposal for the full project was
drafted in 2003 bringing the Preparatory Assistance phase to an
end. The CO in Pakistan
has already devoted some of its own resources towards funding
this project.
More information |
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| Sri
Lanka |
Following
the devastating floods in August 2003, with the support from the
RDRA, the Sri Lanka Disaster Counter-Measures Bill, prepared by
the Ministry of Social Welfare, got passed. This had been pending
for over two years, but once enacted, it will provide the much
needed legal basis for disaster risk management in Sri Lanka.
More information
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South
South Cooperation for Disaster Reduction in Asia |
The
role of volunteers in risk reduction is crucial. Drawn from various
specialised fields, they bring with them unconditional dedication
to the cause of work, optimally utilising the limited resources
and making important social contributions. Besides their individual
volunteer contributions, they also help mobilise the dormant potential
for volunteerism in the community leading to efficient community
based systems for disaster risk management. These attributes are
important in the fast changing, mutli-disciplinary, resource-strained
demanding field of disaster risk reduction. In India,
UNDP has promoted the DRM imperative through its thematic work
on ‘Vulnerability Reduction and Environmental Sustainability.’
UN Volunteers
have played a major role in the successful implementation of the
DRM programme, by supporting the State Governments in facilitating
and coordinating relief, rehabilitation and preparedness efforts.
Till 2003, more than 350 UN Volunteers were involved in the DRM
programme implemented by UNDP in partnership with the National
and State Governments.
In
the above context, a programme is being jointly developed by UNV
and UNDP’s Bureau of Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR)
on South-South Cooperation for Disaster Risk Management in South
Asia. It aims to share experiences gained by UNDP/UNV India team
in disaster risk management among UNDP COs in five countries:
India, Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh,
Pakistan and Nepal.
Given their comparable socio-economic and hazard profiles, the
sharing of valuable experience can contribute significantly towards
effective disaster risk management in South Asia.
More
information on Asia and the Pacific |
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| Europe
and the CIS |
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| Albania |
2003 was a year of
achievement for the DfID
funded project ALB/01/005
"Disaster Management and Emergency Preparedness".
A monitoring visit conducted by DfID in March 2003 concluded
that the project’s key added value has been "rather
than attempting to be overly operational -thus risking replication
of roles of other agencies, its focus has been primarily on
bringing national institutions together to maximise their potential.
The programme approach has remained focused on capacity building
vs. provision of technical hardware." In a little over
a year, the Programme has secured government ownership of the
process and products. Risk assessments have been carried out
at the national level (an output rated as "extremely impressive"
by the DfID mission), data for GIS-layers, maps and other baseline
information is available. On the legislation side, four decrees
on crisis management and institutional setting have been drafted
and approved by the Council of Ministers.
More
information
Albanian
Risk Assessment Summary Report - Full
material in english - PDF - 15.2 MB
|
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Armenia |
Following
the national launching of the RDR,
where the country ranks quite high in the relative vulnerability
index, Armenia
has expressed a renewed interest in capacity building for disaster
risk reduction. It will also be one of the focus countries for
the IASC/DMT review and the CO has a long standing relation with
the Ministry of Emergency Situations. |
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| Tajikistan |
UNDP
Tajikistan started a Preparatory Assistance Project on Disaster
Risk Reduction in January 2003, with support from BCPR. The goal
is to develop a comprehensive national programme. The preparatory
stage included the implementation of two pilot projects in flood-prone
areas, which started in July 2003 and include construction works
and training at the community level, in partnership with the Red
Crescent Society and the local authorities through "Jamoat
Development Communities" (groups of eight to ten villages).
This programme will be added to the DRU portfolio of projects
for resource mobilization support and will serve as a platform
for in-country tripartite (UNDP/UNOCHA/ISDR) collaboration in
disaster reduction.
More
information
More
information on Europe and the CIS |
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| Latin
America and the Caribbean |
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| Caribbean
CDM institutional strengthening |
Through the Barbados
CO, a partnership has been developed with USAID/OFDA
for the development of a Comprehensive Risk Management Strategy
for the English Speaking Caribean through the Caribbean
Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA). Funding for
the Caribbean
Risk Management Initiative (CMRI) was also approved
by BCPR in August 2003 . This latter programme is the result
of the Preparatory Assistance implemented by UNDP–Cuba.
The CRMI builds on the work already carried out in bringing
together the Climate Change and Adaptation communities with
the Disaster Risk Reduction communities throughout the Spanish,
French and English speaking Caribbean.
More
information
|
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| Cuba |
Following
the successful implementation of the housing reconstruction project
approved in the aftermath of hurricanes Michelle, Isidore and
Lilly , UNDP approved in 2003 a capacity building project to strengthen
the capacities of the National Housing Institute in the implementation
of an integrated risk reduction strategy for habitat at the local
level. This project promotes the concept of local level risk management
and will be piloted in selected high-risk areas, to be replicated
at the national level. The experiences of this project will feed
into the Global Local Level Risk Management and Caribbean
Risk Management initiatives. |
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| Andean
Sub-region |
At the request of
the Secretary
General of the Andean Community of Nations, in 2003 BCPR
approved a Preparatory Assistance for the development of an
Andean
Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction to support CAPRADE
in the development of a regional policy framework for future
initiatives in the sub-region. This resulted from the expressed
political will of member States of the Andean Community to reduce
disaster risk, through the establishment of the Andean Committee
for the Prevention and Attention to Risks and Disasters. Substantial
support will be required in 2004 for the smooth implementation
of this initiative. This activity will facilitate the elaboration
of an Andean strategy in disaster risk reduction similar to
the Central America Initiative. This strategy will provide a
well needed framework for collaborative efforts among the Andean
countries and the coherence of future initiatives.
More
information on Latinamerica and the Caribbean
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