|
| CPR Newsletter: Securing development, peace and justice for all | |
|
Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction
In recent years, the scale of disasters and related losses has increased rapidly. It is estimated that economic losses average approximately USD 90 billion per year. Disasters exact an enormous toll on lives and livelihoods, homes, basic services and infrastructure and have a disproportionate impact on the poorest and the most vulnerable populations. The process of development can have a major impact on reducing or creating disaster risks. However, development plans and policies pay scant attention to the underlying causes of disaster risks. The UN system and its partners recognize the need to move away from a reactive approach to disasters towards integrated approaches that identify and address the many complexities of risks. Governments and development agencies face increasing pressure to mainstream cross-cutting issues into their development processes. Practical solutions are required to address the linkages between co-existing challenges to risk reduction. These include the need to understand: how disaster risk reduction (DRR) relates to adopting broader human-rights based approaches across different governance systems; how vulnerabilities are often gendered; how DRR efforts to address food insecurity can be better harmonized; and how to deal more effectively with the complex relationship between disasters and conflict and political insecurity. UNDP, with support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), coordinates a ‘Global Initiative for Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction’. Its main goal is to strengthen the capacity of governments to include DRR into national development planning and programming frameworks, such as Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. It also supports UNDP country offices with integrating DRR into UNDP’s practice areas—poverty reduction, democratic governance and environment—and UN Country Teams with integrating disaster risk assessments into programming processes such as the Common Country Assessments and United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks. Led by UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, this programme seeks to: 1) develop tools and strengthen human resource capacity for mainstreaming risk reduction in selected ‘focus’ countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean; 2) harmonize national institutional approaches and policies for mainstreaming DRR; and 3) develop practical approaches to advocate for the integration of DRR at global and national level policies.
|
Quick
Links... Newsletter
Home Send
us Your Feedback! What do you
think of this article? If you have suggestions on impelementing these
best practices, recommendations for related reading, or other ideas, let
us know.
|