DRR Concepts

 

​​​​​​​​​​A disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, whic​h exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources.

​Disaster risk = Hazard x Exposure x Vulnerability/Coping capacities

​Please refer to the UNDRR Terminology​ for the definition of the terms above.​

​​​Risk st​aircase

​The Risk Staircase Model depicts the approach to systematically reduce risk based on the Integrated Risk Management (IRM) approach. It illustrates the different strategies and related measures to systematically reduce risk in order of their effectiveness. The starting point for managing risk is prevention, followed by the reduction of risk, and on to preparedness for response and risk-sharing mechanisms in order to achieve an acceptable level of residual risk. 

Hover your mouse cursor over the elements of the risk staircase for more information. If you cannot read all information in the pop-up boxes, try zooming-out your screen (e.g. to​ 75%).​


Avoid new Risk / Prevent Risk

Avoid new Risk:
Risk prevention refers to regulation and practices which avoid the creation of new hazards, vulnerability factors or exposure.

Examples for risk prevention include:

  • Land use planning/spatial planning and supporting the enforcement of land-use regulations in order to avoid using hazard-prone areas for settlement
  • Laws and regulations for (new) investments
  • Laws and regulations to avoid the overuse of natural resources
  • Protection of natural resources and infrastructure by communities
  • Climate Change mitigation
Prevent - Mitigate impact / Reduce risk

Reduce Risk

Risk reduction entails measures of disaster prevention with the aim of completely avoiding the potential adverse impacts of hazardous events, and mitigation measures which attempt to limit and reduce the adverse impacts. These two categories and interventions often overlap.

Prevent impact

Measures that avoid potential adverse impacts of existing hazards, vulnerability factors and exposure through actions taken in advance of a hazardous event.

Mitigate impact

Measures that reduce the adverse impacts of existing hazards, vulnerability factors or exposure.

Examples for risk reduction include:

  • Enforcement of buidling codes for hazard-resistant constructions and infrastructure;
  • Structural measures, such as flood protection dams, rock-fall protection nets, or reforestation;
  • Integrated approaches such as natural resource management and integrated watershed management (including e.g. structural measures such as dams and terraces or vegetative measures such as agroforestry, source protection through no-use zones, etc.);
  • Awareness building, education and training among the population and stakeholders on the risk context.
Prepare and Respond

Prepare and Respond

Preparedness refers to the knowledge, capacities and organisation of people, communities and authorities, as well as systems (e.g. information and communication systems, critical infrastructure) to effectively anticipate hazards, respond to and recover from the impact of disasters. Response refers to actions taken during or immediately after a disaster in order to save lives, ensure public safety and meet the basic needs of the people affected.

Examples for preparedness measures include:

  • Strengthening crisis management structures (e.g. urban search and rescue teams) and equipment stockpiles
  • The organisation, education and training of emergency services and community members;
  • Building up and running early warning, alerting and emergency information systems;
  • Strengthening national meteorological and hydrological services that are responsible for, among other things, the early warning of high-impact weather and climate events;
  • Building up capacities to monitor losses and damage caused by natural disaters in order to quantify local risks and improve emergency structures;
  • Developing and implementing contingency and evacuation plans;
  • Developing and Early Action / Anticipatory Action schemes based on forecast information.
Transfer and Share

Transfer and Share

Transfer and share is the process of shifting the financial or other impacts of particular hazards from one party to another.

Examples of risk transfer include:

a) formal mechanisms such as

  • (Micro-) Insurance and reinsurance
  • Catatrophe bonds
  • Contingent credit facilities
  • Reserve of reinsurance funds

b) informal mechanisms at community level such as

  • community seed/grain banks, stock piling
  • solidarity networks of community, family
  • emergency funds (monetary or in-kind)
Bear

Bear

A zero-risk society is not possible, so the objective of DRR is to keep the remaining risk at a level that is acceptable. The level of acceptable risk depends on social, economic, political, cultural and environmental conditions of societies, communities and individuals.

Deal with Risk

Deal with Risk

Residual risk is the risk that remains even if effective disaster risk prevention and reduction measures are in place and needs to be dealt with through measures of preparedness and response as well as risk transfer and sharing.

The presence of residual risk implies a continuing need to develop and support effective capacities for emergency services, preparedness, response and recovery, together with socioeconomic policies such as safety nets and risk transfer mechanisms, as part of a holistic approach.

Know your risk

Know your risks

To determine the risk profile for a location, area or country, the nature and extent of risk is assessed by analysing potential hazards (multi-hazard approach) and evaluating existing conditions of physical, social, economic, institutional and environmental vulnerability and the available coping capacities. Risk evaluation includes the perception of risks, the weighting of natural risks vis-à-vis other risks, such as health or economic risks, and the willingness to invest in greater safety. This process is known as a risk dialogue and includes all stakeholders concerned, including the local population and authorities (governance issue). Geographic information systems (GIS) and open data platforms are used to provide sound information for decision-making.

Enabling environment

Enabling environment

SDC supports the development of an enabling environment and recognises it as a precondition for effective disaster risk reduction.

Developing an enabling environment for DRR consists of developing:

  1. Legal and policy frameworks related to disaster risk management: Supportive and holistic LNOB/Gender/people at risk-sensitive legal and policy frameworks and their implementation and enforcement
  2. Institutional strenghtening: including coordination bodies, distinct capacities, roles and responsibilities of key entities (government, non-state actors including academia, civil society, the private sector)
  3. Capacity strengthening: of all stakeholders so they can play their roles in managing risks in a holistic, LNOB/Gender/people at risk-sensitive manner
  4. Empowerment and social dialogue on risk: people (including the most vulnerable) receive information on risk and risk management options, including education for sustainable development, act, and voice their perceptions and aspirations around risk management, and get access to related services
  5. Innovation: Development, testing and apply (innovative) solutions and adapt to given contexts as prove of concept for further dissemination

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For possible indicators along the risk staircase see the Indicator toolbox by the Swiss NGO DRR Platform.

DRR Actio​​​​ns within the Integ​rated Risk Management c​ycle

The Integrated Risk Management (IRM) cycle is a fundamental guiding concept for the international DRR community and governments to identify and plan DRR measures. The approach links and coordinates humanitarian concerns and development issues expressed in appropriate DRR interventions and projects. The systematic approach of IRM identifies and assesses the risks (what can happen?), evaluates and prioritises them (what is allowed to happen?) and takes appropriate measures to reduce them (what should be done?). 

The cycle cov​ers measures for prevention and preparedness. Response aims at limiting the extent of losses. After an event, both reconstruction and rehabilitation measures have to be undertaken. Those should be based on event analyses and lessons learnt in order to avoid repeating failures from the past and to reduce possible future losses. Recovery efforts must avoid creating new risks and exacerbating existing ones (‘build back better’). 

Successful integrated disaster risk management considers prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery as complementary mechanisms that need to be combined in an appropriate way and involve all actors and affected people.