Sustainable Development

Effective strategies for reducing disaster risks and adapting to climatic and other change processes are central to achieving sustainable development goals. As the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) documented in 2005, disaster losses are a central factor undermining global efforts to reduce poverty and meet the Millennium Development Goals. Furthermore, most disasters are climate related. As the WCDR conference proceedings state:

“Two-thirds of the recorded disasters since 1994 were floods and storms. These included record rainfall episodes, extraordinary floods, and unprecedented storms distributed across each of the five continents. The severity of Hurricane Mitch alone eliminated more than 10 years of development gains in some parts of Central America.

It was equally a period of extremely severe and protracted droughts, at times accompanied by record-setting temperatures in many parts of the world. The years 1998, 2002 and 2003 globally averaged were the warmest on record. Exceptional heat waves in Asia and Europe killed thousands. Such natural conditions combined with human behaviour as unprecedented and often uncontrollable wildfires occurred on all five continents.

The period witnessed one of the past century’s most intense El Niño episodes in 1997-1998, resulting in the widespread droughts, flooding and other weather changes. These events had a heavy impact on agriculture and food security, health and infrastructure. Losses have been estimated at 20,000 lives and $35 billion in material damages.”  (WCDR, 2005 p.21)

In the years following the WCDR events such as Hurricane Katrina, the accumulation of scientific evidence on the impacts of climate change documented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and detailed economic calculations (such as those in the Stern Report) have clearly documented the fundamental importance of disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation as central to poverty alleviation and economic development.

References

Stern, N. (2006), Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change. H.M. Treasury, United Kingdom. PDF version. http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007), Climate Change 2007: The physical science basis. Summary for Policymakers. IPCC Secretariat, Geneva.

WCDR (2005), Proceedings of the Conference: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters. World Conference on Disaster Reduction, 18-22 January 2005, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan. United Nations, Geneva.