Disaster risk reduction

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is a term used for a large and growing body of work, bridging amongst many others humanitarian relief, development aid sectors, risk management, climate change, and emergency preparedness.

Definition
Disaster risk reduction refer to a wide sector of work on disaster management including: mitigation, prevention, risk reduction, preparedness, and vulnerabilities. The common definition of the UNISDR & UNDP for disaster risk reduction is: The conceptual framework of elements considered with the possibilities to minimize vulnerabilities and disaster risks throughout a society, to avoid (prevention) or to limit (mitigation and preparedness) the adverse impacts of hazards, within the broad context of sustainable development.

Context
Only 4% of the estimated $10 billion in annual humanitarian assistance is devoted to prevention and yet every dollar spent on risk reduction saves between $5 and $10 in economic losses from disasters.

Major International Conferences & Workshops

 * The World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) was held in Kobe, Japan in January 2005, only days after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. The Conference was to take stock of progress in disaster risk reduction accomplished since the Yokohama Conference of 1994 and to make plans for the next ten years.  The key outcome of this conference was the Hyogo Framework for Action.
 * The International Disaster Reduction Conference (IDRC) was held in Davos, Switzerland in August 2006.
 * The UNISDR Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction held its first session from 5-7 June 2007 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Major International Agreements & Funding Loci

 * The key outcome of the WCDR was the Hyogo Framework for Action : building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters (HFA).
 * The UNISDR Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) is a major initiative launched in September 2006 through a partnership between the World Bank and ISDR to support national, regional and global capacities in reducing disaster risk, particularly in low and middle-income countries. A progress report on GFDRR accomplishments to date in support of the implementation of Hyogo Framework for Action is now available here.

Sector leaders
Some of the leaders in the sector include:
 * UNISDR, formerly IDNDR - Salvano Briceño
 * ProVention Consortium - Margaret Arnold
 * The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - Antony Spalton
 * The Emergency Capacity Building (ECB) Project.
 * UNDP - Joanne Burke (CADRI), Andrew Maskrey, Maxx Dilley, & Fenella Frost (BCPR)
 * The World Bank - Saroj Kumar Jha (GFDRR-Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery)
 * The BOND UK DRR Working Group
 * Christian Aid - Sarah Moss http://christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/prevention/index.aspx
 * The InterAction Risk Reduction Working Group - Susan Romanski Mercy Corps & Rebecca Schurer (American Red Cross)
 * Tearfund - Marcus Oxley
 * ActionAid - Roger Yates & Yasmin McDonnell
 * Department for International Development (DFID), UK  - Olivia Coghlan
 * Global Risk Identification Program (GRIP) - Carlos Villacis

Major Publications

 * Disaster prevention: a role for business? - ProVention & Maplecroft
 * Tools for Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction: Guidance Notes for Development Organisations - Charlotte Benson and John Twigg with Tiziana Rossetto, IFRC & ProVention
 * Natural Disaster Hotspots Case Studies - World Bank
 * World Disasters Report 2006, IFRC