17 January 2006

International experts agree that disaster risk reduction is not sufficiently prioritised by the world’s governments. Evidence for this will be presented at a disaster forum, hosted by the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) and ActionAid International in London on Wednesday 18 January, 2006.

This forum will feature experts from the international disaster community, including representatives from research, government and policy to practitioners on the ground, NGO’s and businesses.  These experts will outline how disasters are affecting progress towards the Millennium Development Goals which aim to alleviate world poverty.

The forum coincides with the first anniversary of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 - the global action plan aimed at disaster risk reduction over the next ten years. The forum will outline challenges, discuss what has been done to move the agenda forward and provide suggestions for how the framework can achieve its goals successfully.

The forum, entitled From Caribbean hurricanes to Indian floods: experience and lessons learned for disaster reduction is jointly organised by the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) and ActionAid International.

Helena Molin Valdés, Deputy Director, UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction secretariat states: "Much progress has been made since the launch of the framework last year. Many more countries and communities now understand that it is not enough to simply respond to disasters, but necessary to attack the root causes of people’s vulnerability. More than 40 countries have improved their policies for disaster risk reduction since the launch of the framework; these include Bangladesh, Cuba, Indonesia, Ethiopia and India." 

However, Valdes warns that:  "These policy changes are largely reactive, triggered by recent disasters. With the current trends in disaster impact increasing each decade due to growing social, economic and environmental vulnerability, exacerbated by global warming, more governments need to invest in poverty reduction, which strongly incorporates disaster risk reduction. This is vital to the reduction of vulnerability to disasters, in terms of both loss of life and economy."

Jim Drummond, Director, UN Conflict and Humanitarian Division, DFID states:  "This past year has seen some dreadful disasters which have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, ruined millions of livelihoods and caused billions of pounds worth of damage. It is increasingly recognised that the poor, mainly in developing countries, suffer most when these events occur. Disasters are holding back progress with the Millennium Development Goals. The international community must do more to minimise the impact and reduce the vulnerability of poor people to these events".

Drummond will also discuss progress with DFID’s new disaster risk reduction policy and implementation plan that will be launched in the coming weeks. So far world governments and development organisations have under-invested in disaster reduction and this new plan will address key factors to reduce the vulnerability of the poor to disasters.

Roger Yates, Head of Emergencies, ActionAid said: "It makes economic sense to put money in early. For every £1 spent on disaster preparedness, £10 can be saved on disaster recovery. Not only do disasters cost lives and destroy communities, they wreck havoc on people’s livelihoods and leave a lasting impact on physical structure and people’s psychological well-being. This is preventable and it is criminal negligence not to act."