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This paper was prepared as an input to the fourth Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR). The GAR reports biannually on global progress, trends, and challenges in the field of disaster risk reduction (DRR). It also serves as an instrument to monitor and document progress made by signatory countries towards the implementation of the DRR priorities and actions agreed under the 2005 Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA). The preparation of the GAR is coordinated and supervised by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including UN agencies, governments, academic and research institutions, donors, technical organizations, civil society, and experts in various fields of specialization.1 The GAR will be published prior to the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in 2015, in which governments will adopt a successor agreement to the HFA. Coming at the end of the HFA’s 10 year cycle, GAR15 will: explore the landscape of global disaster risk at the end of the HFA; analyze how much the HFA has contributed to reducing disaster risk; and identify risk reduction challenges which have yet to be resolved. GAR15 will therefore provide an evidence base to support the design of the HFA’s successor agreement. This paper aims to contribute to these goals by exploring progress and documenting good practice related to the implementation of “policies and plans to reduce the vulnerability of populations most at risk.”2 Therefore, the paper begins by unpacking the idea of “vulnerability” and describing who is most at risk to natural hazards and how that risk may shift in the decades to come due to climate change. From there, the paper discusses approaches that improve the resilience of those most at risk, and describes examples of ongoing or completed projects that demonstrate what works. Based on these findings, the paper concludes with recommendations for principles and commitments to be included in the successor agreement to the HFA. This paper does not present any new research, but rather synthesizes recent World Bank analyses of strategies to build resilience and of national policies and operational platforms meant to assist the poor in managing disaster and climate risk. The goal is to highlight practical ways of funnelling disaster and climate risk financing directly to those most in need and to empower poor communities to drive their own risk management efforts based on their development goals. Such financing options for the poor include social funds, social protection systems and safety nets, community-driven development projects, and similar mechanisms that target households and communities directly.

Building Social Resilience: Protecting and Empowering Those Most At Risk

Resource Key: KJSN2EV6

Document Type: Report

Creator:

Author:

  • World Bank

Creators Name: {mb_resource_zotero_creatorsname}

Place: Washington D.C.

Institution: GFDRR (Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery), World Bank

Date: 2015

Language:

This paper was prepared as an input to the fourth Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR). The GAR reports biannually on global progress, trends, and challenges in the field of disaster risk reduction (DRR). It also serves as an instrument to monitor and document progress made by signatory countries towards the implementation of the DRR priorities and actions agreed under the 2005 Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA). The preparation of the GAR is coordinated and supervised by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including UN agencies, governments, academic and research institutions, donors, technical organizations, civil society, and experts in various fields of specialization.1 The GAR will be published prior to the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in 2015, in which governments will adopt a successor agreement to the HFA. Coming at the end of the HFA’s 10 year cycle, GAR15 will: explore the landscape of global disaster risk at the end of the HFA; analyze how much the HFA has contributed to reducing disaster risk; and identify risk reduction challenges which have yet to be resolved. GAR15 will therefore provide an evidence base to support the design of the HFA’s successor agreement. This paper aims to contribute to these goals by exploring progress and documenting good practice related to the implementation of “policies and plans to reduce the vulnerability of populations most at risk.”2 Therefore, the paper begins by unpacking the idea of “vulnerability” and describing who is most at risk to natural hazards and how that risk may shift in the decades to come due to climate change. From there, the paper discusses approaches that improve the resilience of those most at risk, and describes examples of ongoing or completed projects that demonstrate what works. Based on these findings, the paper concludes with recommendations for principles and commitments to be included in the successor agreement to the HFA. This paper does not present any new research, but rather synthesizes recent World Bank analyses of strategies to build resilience and of national policies and operational platforms meant to assist the poor in managing disaster and climate risk. The goal is to highlight practical ways of funnelling disaster and climate risk financing directly to those most in need and to empower poor communities to drive their own risk management efforts based on their development goals. Such financing options for the poor include social funds, social protection systems and safety nets, community-driven development projects, and similar mechanisms that target households and communities directly.

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