Environmental Disaster Risk Reduction

The choices we make are creating new, emerging and larger risks. With increasing complexity and interaction between human, economic and political systems, risk becomes increasingly systemic. Hence, we need to reflect on the systemic nature of risk and on how we deal with it. We also need to improve our understanding of anthropogenic systems in nature to identify precursor signals and correlations to better prepare, anticipate and adapt to risks.

About Disaster Risk Reduction

Climate change, urban pressure and lack of disaster preparedness, are increasingly transforming natural hazards, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or tsunamis into disastrous events causing life and economic losses. The risk of disasters caused by natural hazards is rising. Disaster risk reduction (DRR) is the concept and practice of reducing disaster risks through systematic efforts to analyse and reduce the causal factors of disasters.

While the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 is the roadmap for DRR, other global agendas including the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Climate Agreement, the New Urban Agenda and the Biodiversity Agenda have targets that cannot be attained without considering DRR. There are clear links between those international instruments.

International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction

13 October is the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction and is an opportunity to acknowledge the progress being made toward reducing disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health. It is also a day to remind the world that disaster risk is man-made. More information and the yearly theme and events are available on the pages below.

Sendai Framework

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (Sendai Framework) is the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda and provides Member States with concrete actions to protect development gains from the risk of disaster. It was endorsed by the UN General Assembly following the 2015 Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR), and advocates for the “substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries.”

It also recognizes that the State has the primary role to reduce disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders including local government, the private sector and other stakeholders.

The Sendai Framework works hand in hand with the other 2030 Agenda agreements, including The Paris Agreement on Climate Change, The Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development, the New Urban Agenda, and ultimately the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Sendai Framework is the successor instrument to the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters and is the outcome of stakeholder consultations initiated in March 2012 and inter-governmental negotiations held from July 2014 to March 2015, which were supported by the UNDRR upon the request of the UN General Assembly.

The Early Warnings for All initiative

The Early Warnings for All initiative is a groundbreaking effort to ensure that everyone on Earth is protected from hazardous weather, water, or climate events through life-saving early warning systems by the end of 2027. The Early Warnings for All initiative is co-led by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), with support from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and other partners.

The Early Warnings for All initiative is built around four key pillars: disaster risk knowledge and management; detection, observation, monitoring, analysis, and forecasting; warning dissemination and communication; and preparedness and response capabilities. With human-induced climate change leading to more extreme weather conditions, the early warning systems are life-saving tools that have proven to be an effective way to adapt to climate change by providing a cost-effective and reliable way of protecting lives and livelihoods from natural hazards such as floods, heatwaves, storms, and tsunamis.

The Geneva Call for Disaster Risk Reduction

As an outcome of the 8th Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, held in Geneva from 2 to 6 June 2025, the Co-Chairs’ Summary was drafted as a guide and a rallying call to governments and stakeholders to accelerate the implementation of the Sendai Framework in the remaining five years until 2030. The Summary concludes with an eight-point call to action: The Geneva Call for Disaster Risk Reduction. While underlining the past ten years successes in the Sendai Framework implementation, it underscores the increasing cost of disasters and lists more concrete actions to be undertaken in the next five years to sustain progress towards achieving the expected outcome and goal of the Sendai Framework by 2030, thereby contributing to meeting the goals of the 2030 Agenda, and post-2030 considerations.

Better data to understand risk: The collection, analysis and application of risk information should underlie all resilience-building measures. Countries need to collect and share historical data, track disaster impacts, broken down by sex, age, disability and income, and conduct predictive analyses. The use of the disaster tracking system and the Sendai Framework Monitor should be scaled up.
Use technology to leapfrog progress: All countries and communities can benefit from the ethical use of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to accelerate disaster risk reduction. Technology access should be facilitated for developing countries and ‘last-mile’ communities in all countries.
Promote integrated risk governance and cooperation: The growing complexity of risk demands breaking institutional and policy silos and integrate plans across domains. To that end, a comprehensive risk management approach should be pursued to integrate the implementation of climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and social and environmental protection. International and regional cooperation needs to be enhanced to address transboundary and emerging risks, such as glacial lake outburst floods, sea-level rise and sand and dust storms, as well as extreme heat in line with the UN Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Extreme Heat.
Invest in prevention: Increasing funding for disaster risk reduction is crucial to generate benefits across the development, humanitarian and climate agendas. This includes funds from domestic public budgets and climate finance, also leveraging innovative mechanisms with the private sector. The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development is an opportunity to scale this up. International funding and technical assistance, as mutually agreed, should be enhanced for the most at-risk developing countries, as well as countries in fragile and conflict settings. Capacity building for disaster risk management can be reinforced through the Santiago network.
Risk-inform all investments: When disaster risks are ignored, even the most ambitious development projects are likely to fail. Public and private investments should be guided by a thorough understanding of disaster risk. For example, investment in the resilience of the education sector has a multiplier effect. Implementing the Comprehensive School Safety Framework will help protect children and youth from disasters.
Scale-up early warning systems: Despite their value in reducing disaster deaths, nearly half of the world still lacks Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS). Achieving ‘Early Warnings for All’ requires increased international support and national ownership. Moreover, investing in anticipatory action, social safety nets and combating inequality can minimise disaster impacts and expedite recovery.
Leave no one behind: All members of society can be leaders and agents for resilience. Governments and stakeholders should ensure full-scale implementation of the Sendai Gender Action Plan, the Global Children and Youth Call to Action and recommendations for accelerating disability inclusion.
Prepare to ‘Build Back Better’: The Priority Actions to Enhance Readiness for Resilient Recovery provide a guide for countries to better plan how they will Build Back Better after disasters. Moreover, recovery efforts should be inclusive to address social and cultural needs.

Disaster Preparedness, Prevention and Response

Disasters do not occur by accident – they are a result of the combined effects of hazards and vulnerable conditions. Disasters undermine hard-earned development gains and limit development achievements for future generations, with climate change expected to exacerbate the impacts of disasters globally.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) works to prevent and reduce the impacts of natural hazards, industrial accidents and conflicts on vulnerable communities and countries through sustainable natural resource management.

In the last decade, the role of ecosystems in disaster risk reduction (DRR) has received increased global attention. Sustainable ecosystem management for DRR is now recognized as a priority measure in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Ecosystem-Based Disaster Risk Reduction

The degradation of ecosystems – such as forests, wetlands, coastal and marine systems, and drylands – is now widely understood as a major driver of disaster risk and a key component of vulnerability to disasters. For example, deforested slopes can cause more landslides, while reclaimed wetlands can worsen flooding, disasters on vulnerable communities and countries.

Over the past decade, disasters linked to natural hazards have exacted a significant toll on human lives, livelihoods, assets and economies. To prevent and reduce the impacts of disasters on vulnerable communities and countries through improved ecosystem management, ecosystem-based, or Nature-based Solutions (NbS), can reduce disaster risk as well as provide co-benefits from ecosystem services, which will contribute to livelihoods but also to building local resilience to disasters and climate change.

Role of Geneva

Organizations are listed in alphabetical order and include:

CARE International

CARE International’s Geneva-based Secretariat coordinates CARE’s global advocacy on humanitarian crises and issues across the confederation.

Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP)

The Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) is an international foundation serving a global community of individuals and organisation, aiming at advancing peace, security and international cooperation.

Helvetas

Helvetas is committed to a just world in which all men and women determine the course of their lives in dignity and security, using environmental resources in a sustainable manner.

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an independent, neutral organization ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of war and armed violence. It takes action in response to emergencies and promotes respect for international humanitarian law and its implementation in national law.

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC)

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) is the world’s definitive source of data and analysis on internal displacement.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) operates worldwide, helping people affected by conflict and armed violence and promoting the laws that protect victims of war.

International Organisation for the Least Developed Countries (IOLDCs)

The International Organisation for the Least Developed Countries (IOLDCs) strongly emphasizes on the need to eliminate the constrains and obstacles caused by the chronic conflict situations in the crisis-affected LDCs, which severely affects sustainable development in these countries.

International Organization for Migration (IOM)

IOM’s comprehensive approach to disaster preparedness and risk reduction empowers communities and governments to mitigate the impacts of disasters and build resilience.

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

ITU works on addressing climate change through information and communication technologies (ICTs). Work includes supporting the growth of satellite surveillance and monitoring services from space for, for example, more accurate weather forecasting and prediction of extreme weather events linked to climate change, and particularly for predicting the strength, path and location of landfall of tropical storms.

As part of the Early Warning for All Intiative together with IFRC, UNDRR and WMO, ITU is leading the “Warning Dissemination and Communication” pillar of the EW4A initiative to look at last-mile connectivity and to ensure that warnings reach the people at risk in time to take action.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

IUCN’s Ecosystem-based approaches to disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR) activities at the global level are coordinated by the IUCN Ecosystem Management Programme, and supported by the expertise of CEM members.

Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction (PEDRR)

The Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction (PEDRR) seeks to promote and scale-up implementation of ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction and ensure it is mainstreamed in development planning at global, national and local levels.

Platform on Disaster Displacement

The Platform on Disaster Displacement is a State-led initiative working towards better protection for people displaced across borders in the context of disasters and climate change.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child. UNICEF programmes focus on the most disadvantaged children, including those living in fragile contexts, those with disabilities, those who are affected by rapid urbanization and those affected by environmental degradation.

Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR)

The Human Rights Council resolution 41/21 afirms that the effects and impacts of weather and climate extreme events directly and indirectly threaten the full and effective enjoyment of a range of human rights by people throughout the world, including the rights to life, safe drinking water and sanitation, food, health, housing, self-determination, culture, work and development.

Over the past years, the Human Rights Council took on resolutions and discussions on specific aspects of climate change, while Special Rapporteurs contributed with reports on specific thematic angles within their mandates. The Human Rights Council has contributed to raising awareness of the links between human rights and climate change by successive and targeted clarifications of the ways climate change affects human rights, including through the adoption of a series of resolutions related to climate change and human rights. The OHCHR also published a factsheet on the “Frequently asked questions on human rights and climate change”

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Joint Environment Unit (JEU)

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Joint Environment Unit (JEU) responds to environmental dimensions of emergencies by coordinating international efforts and mobilizing partners to support countries that have requested assistance.

United Nations Environment Programme Resilience to Disasters and Conflicts Global Support Branch

UNEP’s Resilience to Disasters and Conflicts Global Support Branch conducts field-based assessments, works to reduce the risk of disaster, and promotes environmental cooperation for peacebuilding.

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) brings governments, partners and communities together to reduce disaster risk and losses to ensure a safer, more sustainable future.

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is the part of the United Nations Secretariat responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies.

World Food Programme (WFP)

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian organization saving lives and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.

World Health Organization (WHO)

Health systems at all levels have a central role in managing the risks and reducing the consequences of emergencies and disasters from all-hazard. The health sector is leaders in managing infectious risks and responding to outbreaks. However, it also has a critical role in preventing and minimizing the health consequences of emergencies due to natural, technological and societal hazards. While many countries have strengthened capacities to reduce the health risks of emergencies through the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) and health system strengthening, many communities remain highly vulnerable. WHO developed the “Health emergency and disaster risk management framework” (Health EDRM) to support ministries of health and other stakeholderS.

World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

The World Meteorological Organization‘s Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes (1970 – 2019) report is the most comprehensive review of mortality and economic losses from weather, water and climate extremes to date. It assesses the entire 50-year period as well as by individual decade.