This working paper argues that disasters are not isolated events but processes deeply rooted in historical, social, economic, and political conditions such as poverty, inequality, exclusion, and governance deficits. The analysis highlights Latin America and the Caribbean as one of the most disaster-prone regions globally, with hydrometeorological events dominating but geological, technological, and biological hazards also contributing significantly. Using case studies and forensic research, the paper shows how disasters often reveal underlying structural weaknesses and development failings.

The document is structured into four sections: a conceptual overview of disaster risk, climate change adaptation, and resilience in LAC; an analysis of underlying risk drivers, especially those linked to human intervention in the environment; case-based evidence from forensic disaster risk research highlighting how risk is constructed and governed; and finally, a review of governance approaches to disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA), assessing past shortcomings and outlining potential pathways to integrate them into sustainable development policy.