1.1 What disaster risk reduction is

Disaster risk reduction (DRR) is a cross-cutting approach that renews the way we think about development programming and emergency responses which:

• achieve lasting improvements in the lives of people most vulnerable to disasters;
• reduce the links between disasters and poverty.

Poverty and disasters reinforce each other. The poor are more vulnerable to disasters, and disasters in turn can cause increased poverty. The increasing international focus on disaster risk reduction as a cross-cutting approach recognises that, to break this cycle, development programming must address the risks posed by disasters to protect poor communities before and after disasters. In turn, emergency responses to disasters must take a long-term approach that seeks to reduce vulnerability to future disasters, not simply reinstate the same conditions that led to the disaster in the first place.

Disaster risk reduction encompasses all activities that help communities systematically “analyse and manage the causal factors of disasters, including through reduced exposure to hazards, lessened vulnerability of people and property, wise management of land and the environment, and improved preparedness for adverse events.” (UNISDR definition of DRR)

Disasters are increasing in frequency and severity due to the changing climate and continuously degrading ecosystems. Changing climate patterns, deforestation, changes in land use patterns, as well as demographic developments, socio-economic changes and conflict are some of the important factors that have caused hazards not only to become more frequent and to intensify, but also to cause new ones to emerge. They also configure and reshape the patterns and severity of vulnerability. For disaster risk reduction to be effective therefore, it should be both climate-smart and ecosystem-smart in its approach. The systematic incorporation of disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and ecosystem management as an innovative approach to reducing risks is called Integrated Risk Management (IRM).The changing vulnerabilities and hazards-together with changing, often weakening, coping mechanisms-lead to changes in the level of risk faced by poor communities. These must be addressed before, during and after disasters to stem increasing poverty and spiralling vulnerability.