BCPR | Natural Disaster

Natural Disaster Risk Reduction

Natural Disasters

The 21st Century has already been marked by escalating economic losses and human devastation caused by natural disasters. In 2006 alone, 426 disasters occurred in 108 countries, affecting 143 million people and causing USD 34.6 billion in economic losses. Disasters exact an enormous toll not only on lives, but also on livelihoods, homes, basic social services and community infrastructure. Moreover, the destruction typically has a disproportionate impact on the poorest and most vulnerable populations including women, children, youth and the elderly.

Disaster risks need to be effectively managed as an integral part of development. This entails understanding and identifying the risk factors that cause disasters such as the exposure and vulnerabilities of society to natural hazards. High-risk countries need the capacity to put in place effective measures to reduce these risks, such as early warning systems, building codes or disaster sensitive local development plans. The rush for growth can trigger haphazard urban development that increases the risk of large-scale fatalities during an earthquake. Trends such as increasing human settlement and investment in high-risk coastal areas are placing greater numbers of people and economic assets in danger of being affected by cyclones, storm surges and flooding, especially given the prospect of climate change.

UNDP supports national counterparts to develop both a disaster risk perspective and the human, financial, technical and legislative capacity; civil society preparedness; and coordination systems required to effectively manage and reduce risk.

Proposal

Learn more about UNDP programming in our Donor Proposal on Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery (pdf).

Find out more about UNDP response to Climate Change in our Fast Facts: Climate Change(pdf)

News

Read a speech by Jordan Ryan, Assistant Administrator and Director, Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, at the Launch of 2009 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction: Risk and Poverty in a Changing Climate, 28 May 2009

Promoting women as leaders of disaster recovery, 2008

Breaking new ground on disaster risk reduction in Indonesia, 2008

Communities take disaster risk reduction into their hands: Lessons from Bangladesh, 2008

Protecting communities from natural disasters in Armenia, 2008

Making disaster risk reduction a reality in Kyrgyzstan, 2008

Six months after Cyclone Nargis hits Myanmar

Read a speech by Kathleen Cravero on Changing the Way We Develop: Dealing with Disasters and Climate Change

PROGRAMMING HIGLIGHTS

POLICY

Women as Equal Partners: Gender Dimensions of Disaster Risk Management Programme, UNDP India, 2008

UNDP's Response to Climate Change: Reducing the Human Cost of Climate Change, UNDP, 2008 (word)

Reducing Disaster Risk: A Challenge for Development, UNDP, 2004

Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction

The Second Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, organized by the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction in Geneva, Switzerland, on 16-19 June, gathers the world’s risk reduction community to set the disaster reduction agenda for the coming two years and beyond.
To learn more about the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, click here.

Disaster risk reduction in Action

In 2008 the United Nations Development Programme provided technical support to more than 40 UNDP offices in disaster-prone countries including Armenia, Belize, China, Ecuador, Jordan, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Laos, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan. Read more...

Hurricane season

New York, 29 May - With the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season less than one week away, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) urges all countries in the Caribbean/Atlantic region to recognize and prepare for hurricane and tropical storm landfall on their shores. Read more...

Report evaluates disaster risk reduction efforts

Disaster risk reduction (DRR) is still the most effective and cost-efficient way of protecting developing countries from natural hazards and climate change, according to a new report from the UN’s International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) project. Read more..

For the full report, click here.

Videos

Learn about our work on disaster risk reduction and recovery. VIDEO

Learn more about the impact climate
change can have on women's lives.
VIDEO

Watch a video about helping women recover from natural disasters. VIDEO

Voices From Countries in Crisis

Myanmar - Sanaka Samarasinha, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, discusses UNDP's early recovery efforts in Myanmar (streaming audio or download mp3)

Armenia - Nino Antadze, Disaster Reduction Adviser, UNDP Armenia, talks about UNDP's disaster risk reduction efforts in Armenia (streaming audio or download mp3)

Haiti - Marc-Andre Franche from the Regional Bureau for Latin American and the Caribbean discusses the devastating impact of the recent hurricanes on the population of Haiti (English – streaming audio or mp3; French – streaming audio or mp3)

Honduras—Juan Carlos Benítez, Programme Specialist in UNDP Honduras, discusses disaster risk reduction initiatives in the country (Spanish – streaming audio or mp3)

Pakistan—Zubair Murshed, National Disaster Risk Reduction Advisor in UNDP Pakistan, shares his experience working in disaster-prone cities (streaming audio or mp3)

Asia —Caroline Borchard, BCPR Disaster Risk Reduction Advisor in Asia, discusses the role of women in disaster recovery (streaming audio or mp3)

disasters