Can we imagine a world in which earthquakes shake buildings but not economies, in which cyclones bring drama but not tragedy and in which floods drench landscapes without washing away hope? Can more be done to lessen the effects of volcanoes, fires, hurricanes, tsunamis (huge waves), landslides and technological accidents?

‘Living with Risk: a global review of disaster reduction initiatives’, a major report from the UN’s International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), builds on the experience of engineers, bankers, insurance companies, scientists, meteorologists, social workers, doctors, emergency experts and local communities to assess disaster risk reduction. Reviewing lessons learned during the UN’s International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR, 1990-99), it evaluates current initiatives and outlines the scope for improvement.

During the IDNDR, 4 777 natural disasters killed 880 000 people, affected the homes, health and livelihoods of 1.88 billion people and caused economic losses of around $685 billion. The 84 great natural disasters recorded in the 1990s were three times as many as those that occurred in the 1960s. Though the overall death toll is falling, the number of hazardous events and populations affected continues to grow. Major loss events recorded by the insurance industry reached a new record of 850 in 2000.

The IDNDR saw some progress in avoiding needless deaths. In 1991, 140 000 Bangladeshis perished when a tropical cyclone coincided with a tidal surge. Since then, weather forecasters, planners and volunteers have worked out swift and cheap ways of warning those most at risk and getting them to newly-built storm shelters. However, lessons learned in one region are not necessarily applied in others, especially in developing countries where 90 per cent of disaster fatalities occur.

The report highlights the following critical areas of attention in disaster reduction:

• Millennium development targets cannot be reached unless the heavy human and economic toll of disasters is reduced.
• There is a noticeable discrepancy between the (often extravagant) emergency assistance triggered by well-publicised mega-disasters and much smaller commitments to support local attempts at disaster risk reduction.
• Less dramatic disasters continue to cripple communities long after the camera crews and the relief agencies have moved on.
• A lack of coherent disaster statistics means the impact of disasters in developing countries is often underestimated.

There is increasing recognition of how risk and vulnerability reduction cannot be considered in isolation from sustainable development. It argues, however, that as long as the only message that crisis-struck nations receive from the international community is to prepare a consolidated relief appeal, there will be no incentive for the 24 (out of 49) disaster-prone, least-developed countries to commit themselves to sustained disaster risk management practices.

What is needed is a shift from managing disasters to managing risk, without underestimating the need for appropriate response capacities in case of disasters. The report calls for:

• increased public awareness of and participation in disaster reduction practices
• risk assessment, warning mechanisms and public safety to be built into development planning
• international organisations and the UN to provide greater assistance to improve national and local capacities for disaster reduction
• the expansion of partnerships between politicians, scientists, NGOs, academics and the private sector
• the development of measurable targets and indicators to convince sceptics that disaster risks can be reduced.

Source(s):
‘Living with Risk: a global review of disaster reduction initiatives’, International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), preliminary version, 2002 (final version available for sale from the UN Sales Publications from mid-2003) Full document.
‘Usoi Landslide Dam and Lake Sarez: an assessment of hazard and risk in the Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan’, UN/ISDR, Geneva, 2000
‘Review of the Impact of the RADIUS Project’, UN/ISDR, Geneva, 2002

Funded by: Government of Japan, World Meteorological Organization, Asian Disaster Reduction Center, ISDR Trust Fund donors

id21 Research Highlight: 3 April 2003

Further Information:
Helena Molin Valdes
UN/ISDR
Palais des Nations CH-1211
Geneva 10
Switzerland

Tel: +41 (0)22 917 2776
Fax: +41 (0)22 917 0563
Contact the contributor: molinvaldes@un.org

UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

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'A science or an art? Evaluating responses to humanitarian emergencies'

'Coping with catastrophe: enhancing community capacity to respond'

'The failure to fight famine: is policy to blame?'