The Report is a collaborative effort of the ISDR system, in partnership

with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World

Bank, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World
Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the ProVention
Consortium, regional inter-governmental and technical institutions,
national governments, civil society networks, academic institutions
and many other ISDR system partners.
A number of parallel activity streams, undertaken over an 18-month
period, have contributed to the report:
„„A global disaster risk analysis was carried out involving a major
effort by a large number of scientific and technical institutions.
Major methodological innovations have allowed more accurate
characterization of the risks of mortality and economic losses for
natural hazards such as floods, tropical cyclones, earthquakes
and landslides, the identification of key risk drivers and trends,
and an initial characterization of economic resilience. Each of the
hazard updates that were the outcome of these characterization
efforts was reviewed by a panel of international scientists.
„„An analysis of disaster risk at the local level was similarly based
on a major coordinated effort by a large number of institutions
to compile, update and validate data from national disaster
databases in 12 countries. This analysis sheds light on patterns
and trends in the risk of disasters that affect large areas but
manifest as frequent but relatively low-intensity losses. In
addition, empirical research was conducted to examine disaster
The Kingdom of Bahrain, the
risk–poverty interactions at the local and household levels. World Bank’s Global Facility
„„Specialized international research institutes were commissioned for Disaster Reduction and
Recovery (GFDRR), the
to produce a series of issue papers that provided the basis for an United Nations Development
analysis of the underlying risk drivers that configure the disaster Programme (UNDP), the
risk–poverty nexus in both rural and urban contexts. United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), the
„„A review of progress towards the achievement of the HFA was Government of Norway, the
completed by 62 countries (as of February 2009), against Government of Switzerland,
the ProVention Consortium
22 core indicators and 5 benchmarks, using an on-line ‘HFA
and the Gesellschaft für
Monitor’ tool. Technische Zusammenarbeit
„„Thematic practice reviews were also produced on early warning (GTZ) contributed financial
resources that enabled the
systems, financial mechanisms, local and community-level successful development
approaches, urban disaster risk reduction, environmental of this first biennial Global
management, disaster risk reduction governance, climate change Assessment Report on
Disaster Risk Reduction.
adaptation and sustainable livelihoods.
For more information on the report’s key findings and recommendations
and for access to the background papers, please log onto:
www.preventionweb.net/gar09 (available 17 May 2009 onwards).
www.preventionweb.net/english/hyogo/gar/ (permanent url)
 2009 GAR-DRR

Key findings
Risk and poverty in a changing climate

About the Report
The first edition of the biennial Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk
Reduction, launched in the Kingdom of Bahrain on 17 May 2009, offers
government leaders and their advisers guidance on the essential actions
needed to achieve a safer world in the face of burgeoning natural hazards.
The Report’s recommendations are supported by extensive technical and
statistical analysis.
Prepared by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Risk
Reduction (UNISDR) Secretariat, the Report aims to focus international
attention on the challenges and opportunities posed by disaster risk and to
consolidate political and economic commitment to disaster risk reduction.
The Report’s central message is that
Launched in 2000, the ISDR brings together
disaster risk and poverty are strongly
linked and are in turn intertwined governments, regional institutions, international and
The Report identifies the factors that drive increasing exposure to risk,
including vulnerable rural livelihoods, poor urban governance and declining
ecosystems. It shows how climate change will magnify the uneven social and
territorial distribution of risk, increasing the immediate and longer-term
threats faced by the poor and further amplifying poverty.
Also argued in the Report is the urgent need for a paradigm shift in
approaches to prioritizing disaster risk reduction. Efforts to implement
the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) have so far failed to address the
drivers of risk and the way disasters translate into poverty. In short, efforts to
reduce disaster risk, reduce poverty and adapt to climate change are poorly
coordinated and not mutually reinforcing.
Innovative approaches and tools in areas such as urban governance,
ecosystem management, rural livelihoods, risk transfer, and community-
based development already exist and are being applied creatively in many
parts of the developing world.
The challenge identified by the report is to bring these tools and approaches
into the mainstream, thereby linking national policy and governance
frameworks for disaster risk reduction, poverty reduction and climate change
adaptation. ‘Acting smart’ in this way will not only facilitate the achievement
of the HFA: it will also contribute to
the achievement of the MDGs. The Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA),
The Report will feature strongly at the endorsed by 168 UN member states at the World

with the unquestionable reality of non-governmental agencies and other organizations Second Session of the Global Platform Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe,

global climate change. It follows across the world responsible for coping with natural for Disaster Risk Reduction, to be Japan, in 2005, commits all countries to make

that reducing disaster risk can also disasters. It provides a framework for coordinating held in Geneva on 16–19 June 2009. major efforts to reduce their disaster risk by 2015.

help reduce poverty, safeguard actions to address disaster risks at the local, The principal audience at the meeting
development and adapt to climate national, regional and global levels. will be national policy makers in disaster-prone areas, as well as the regional
change. Given the urgency posed by and international organizations that support risk-reducing and development
climate change, the report forcefully argues the case for taking action now. activities in these areas.