All-of-society engagement to finance the gap in Disaster Risk Reduction Investment

Disasters are induced by natural hazards such as cyclones, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. As such, it remains a challenge for us to predict the occurrence and the magnitude of hazards with accuracy. Sometimes, abnormal natural phenomena occur on a scale beyond our previous experiences. 

We do not have to wait for such phenomena to start our action. The latest science enables us to understand and assess the risks and take preventive action to reduce the negative impact of disasters to lives and livelihoods. Special attention needs to be paid to the vulnerable populations to protect them from falling into the vicious cycle of poverty triggered by disasters. 

In countries with rapid population growth, disaster risk is increasing because of the unregulated urban development without due considerations for disaster risk. Climate change may further aggravate the negative consequences of disasters with higher frequency and magnitude of extreme hydro-meteorological events. While preparedness measures such as provision of evacuation facilities can reduce human casualties, if society itself remains exposed to disaster risk, every small windstorm or earthquake can deprive the means of livelihood and damage critical infrastructure, bringing economic and social activities to a halt. Governments in developing countries need to invest in proactive DRR to fundamentally reduce the risk. 

SFDRR has gained global recognition of important concepts such as pre-disaster investment in DRR and Build Back Better (BBB).

Session objectives

The objective of this side event is to accelerate the implementation of specific measures to boost investment for disaster risk reduction, through sharing various methodologies and best practices to resolve bottlenecks through dialog with diverse stakeholders, including the national disaster management organizations of Member States. 

Challenges remain in filling the financial gap necessary for investment and mobilizing resources for disaster risk reduction. Specific attention will be paid on addressing this gap. How we can facilitate the optimal decision by all-of-society is the key question of this session.

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