Latest news on Disaster Risk Reduction

This working paper documents Ethiopia’s lessons from the study ‘Lesson learning from national climate compatible development planning’, which captured and shared institutional experiences of climate compatible development. This publication highlights results from this study in three thematic areas: building a knowledge...

The African Drought Conference (ADC) on "Enhancing resilience to drought events on the African continent" concluded the 22nd August 2016 in Windhoek, Namibia, after adopting the Windhoek Declaration. The conference built on 11th Session of the Conference Of Parties (COP-11) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification,...

This document provides an estimate of the cost of the 2014 drought to economic sectors of considerable importance in the region, which are significantly affected by decreased precipitation. These include the agricultural sector, which generates a significant portion of production in rural areas, and in particular provides employment to the most economically...

The World Risk Report 2016 analyses the role that infrastructure plays in shaping a country’s disaster risk. The World Risk Index, calculated by the University of Stuttgart, is an integral part of the report as it ranks 171 countries according to their risk of becoming a victim of a disaster as a result of natural hazards such as...

This is the progress report by the Glasgow Airport Limited (GLAL) on its climate change adaptations. The report sets out the Airport's progress in adapting to the current and future predicted effects of climate change. For GLAL the most significant climate change risks arise from projected longer term changes to temperature...

Italy is once more facing up to its failure to protect people from seismic disaster. Experts estimate that some 70% of Italy's buildings are not built to anti-seismic standards with codes routinely not applied to older buildings when they are refurbished, and not respected at all when new ones are built, despite eight devestating earthquakes in past...

Newfound enthusiasm for the latest technologies, such as drones and smartphones, to improve the way aid is provided to people in disasters may be overblown, experts warned on Thursday. Technology is no substitute for sound infrastructure - from transport to telecoms and power networks - that must be built with disaster risks in mind and properly maintained.

Given the devastation earthquakes cause, seismologists and public officials have long wanted to predict earthquakes. While the focus was on minimizing loss, the public has been interested more in prediction than in mitigation. So what can seismologists do when it comes to predicting earthquakes? Is the goal to predict an occurrence, ground motion, or...

Scientists have agreed eight priorities to harness the power of research and technology to boost implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 in Asia. The Minister of State for Home Affairs, India hailed the outcome document as a clear demonstration of how the science community can contribute to implementation of the...

For generations nomadic Mongolian herders have been able to survive in one of the harshest climates in the world, but rising temperatures, desertification and increasingly erratic weather now threaten their livelihood. Workshops help prepare for future challenges related to climate change, including better use of technology to improve safety and provide...