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Contents 1 Disaster Risk Reduction (or DRR) 2 Definition 3 Context 4 Major International Conferences & Workshops 4.1 World Conference on Disaster Reduction - Jan, 2005 4.2 International Disaster Reduction Conference - Aug, 2006 4.3 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction - Jun, 2007 5 Major International Agreements & Funding Loci 5.1 Hyogo Framework for Action (2005-2015) 5.2 Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) 6 Leaders in the Sector 7 See Also 8 External Links 9 Major Publications

This term is used for a large and growing body of work, bridging the humanitarian/ relief and development sectors, risk management, climate change, amongst many others.

“Disaster risk reduction” or “DRR” is a generic term to refer to a wide sector of work on disaster mitigation/ prevention/ risk reduction/ preparedness/ vulnerabilities. The common terminology of the UNISDR & UNDP for disaster risk reduction (DRR) 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.” (UNISDR: Living With Risk: A Global Review of Disaster Reduction Initiatives, 2004; pg. 17).

“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”

- “A Needless Toll of Natural Disasters”, Op-Ed, Boston Globe, 23 March 2006 - by Eric Schwartz (UN Secretary General’s Deputy Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery)

The World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) was held in Kobe, Japan in January 2005, only days after the major Asian Tsunami. 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 major 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 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction will hold its first session from 5-7 June 2007 in Geneva, Switzerland.

A major outcome of the WCDR was the "Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters (HFA)"

The 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.

Some of the leaders in the sector include:

• UNISDR, formerly IDNDR - Terry Jeggle
• ProVention Consortium - Bruno Haghebaert
• IFRC (The Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies) - Antony Spalton
• The Emergency Capacity Building (ECB) Project - Warner Passanisi
• UNDP - Joanne Burke (CADRI), Andrew Maskrey, Maxx Dilley, & Fenella Frost (BCPR)
• The World Bank - Margaret Arnold (Hazards Management Unit)
• The BOND UK DRR Working Group
• The InterAction Risk Reduction Working Group - Susan Romanski (Mercy Corps) & Rebecca Schurer (American Red Cross)
• TearFund - Marcus Oxley
• ActionAid - Roger Yates & Yasmin McDonnell

• UNISDR
• World Conference on Disaster Reduction
• Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction [1]
• Global Disaster Information Network [2]
• Natural Disasters
• Disaster management
• Risk management
• Vulnerability
• Emergency Capacity Building

• UNISDR
• The ProVention Consortium
• IFRC (The Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies)
• IFRC International Day for Risk Reduction, 11 October 2007
• The Emergency Capacity Building (ECB) Project
• UNDP/CADRI
• UNDP/BCPR
• UNDP DRR links
• The World Bank, Hazards Management Unit
• The BOND UK DRR Working Group - a major coalition of UK NGOs who have been very successful at lobbying the UK government through DFID
• The InterAction Risk Reduction Working Group
• TearFund
• ActionAid
• Natural Disaster Hotspots - World Bank
• The amazing HEWS web (Humanitarian Early Warning Service) - a global multi-hazard watch service to support humanitarian preparedness; a service of the IASC SWG on Preparedness and Contingency Planning

• 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