PUTTING RESILIENCE AT THE HEART OF DEVELOPMENT
Investing in Prevention and Resilient Recovery

Message from
UNDP Administrator

Earthquakes, tsunami, and weather-related catastrophes made 2011 the most expensive
year ever for damage and loss from such events. The total cost is estimated at some
US$ 380 billion. That is nearly two-thirds more than the US$ 220 billion worth of damage
caused by disasters in 2005, the previous record year.
Disasters cause human suffering, environmental and economic harm, and set backprogress on eliminating poverty. If disaster risk isn’t well managed, the consequences are
manifold.
Disaster risk reduction is, therefore, an investment worth making by all countries. Every
dollar spent reducing people’s vulnerability to disasters saves around seven dollars ineconomic losses. Investing in prevention not only increases the resilience of countries tofuture disaster, but protects economic growth and other development achievements frombeing lost in a single catastrophic event.
Development partner support for disaster risk reduction remains low. Between 2000 and2009, donors provided US$ 363 billion to the world’s forty poorest countries. Just one percent of that was devoted to building resilience to disaster; yet that needs to be put at theheart of development strategies to avoid losing hard-won development gains.
UNDP currently works with some 59 governments around the world on disaster risk
reduction and recovery. A number of countries, through remarkable leadership andpolitical commitment, have been successful in reducing natural hazard-related losses.
The Government of Japan, a world leader in disaster prevention, is also a strong partnerin this process, sharing the experience gained from coping with exposure to disaster andbringing that, along with significant financial commitments, to support strengthening
resilience for developing countries worldwide.
This kind of strong partnership will help ensure that building resilience to disasterbecomes central to development in the coming years. I hope that this publication on
UNDP’s experience in supporting disaster risk management will become part of that
dialogue. I also look forward to more investment in disaster prevention and risk reduction.
That is critical to sustaining development worldwide.
June 2012

Helen Clark
UNDP Administrator

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Message from
Minister for Foreign Affairs of JapanI believe it is Japan’s mission with the international community to share our experiences
and lessons learned from an unprecedented disaster of the Great East Japan Earthquake
to express our gratitude for the warm assistance by people from all over the world. Aspart of such efforts to share experiences, the Government of Japan, together with theUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other partners, will hold the “World
Ministerial Conference on Disaster Reduction in Tohoku” at disaster stricken Tohoku
prefectures (Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi) this July. This conference aims to contribute tobuilding a resilient society through extensive discussions on various aspects of disaster,
including preparedness, emergency response, recovery and reconstruction, and newchallenges such as urbanization.
In order to build a resilient society, it is crucial to cooperate with the U.N. agencies withexpertise and abundant practical experience. Among others, we regard the UNDP as oursignificant partner for its core role in the UN system and extensive activities across theglobe. Japan and the UNDP have long been sharing expertise of, and assisting effortsin emergency response, recovery and reconstruction from world’s disasters with anemphasis on human security. Japan has provided assistance through the UNDP such as
the rehabilitation of the livelihoods for disaster victims of the earthquake and tsunami in
the Indian Ocean, emergency response to the earthquake in Haiti and early recovery fromfloods in Pakistan. As the UNDP has abundant experience and knowledge in recovery
and reconstruction, Japan expects the UNDP to continue to play its leading role inmainstreaming disaster risk reduction in development and improving the preparedness ofdeveloping countries for future disasters.
This brochure illustrates lessons and challenges learned from UNDP activities in disasterrisk reduction, recovery and reconstruction. I hope this brochure will help you understandthe role of the UN agencies including the UNDP and the role of the international
community in disaster risk reduction. Japan is determined to strengthen our cooperation
with the UNDP with a view to mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in development andinternational cooperation.
June 2012

Koichiro Gemba
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Japan

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More than a decade’s experience in disaster risk reduction
A disaster happens when a natural hazard – such as earthquake, flood, drought, cyclone and volcanic
eruption – affect a society. UNDP works on building resilient societies that are capable of minimizing
damages and swift recovery. This section illustrates UNDP’s experience in: (1) disaster prevention
and preparedness; (2) emergency response, recovery and reconstruction; (3) gender equality andempowerment in disasters; and (4) emerging risks such as climate change and urbanization.

Reducing the impact of disaster through prevention measures
Development and disaster risk are intrinsically linked. Disasters can put development achievements at risk. At thesame time, development choices made by individuals, communities and nations can generate new disaster risks or
exacerbate existing ones. For example, the expansion of infrastructure, including bridges, railway lines and roads,
can create barriers across valleys within which cities are located. As a result, excess rainfall can no longer soak away
quickly and problems of flooding can become severe. However, there are many examples of communities andnations reducing the risk of disasters or alleviating their impact through prevention measures.

■ Mozambique: Preparedness
The case of Mozambique, the second most disaster prone country inAfrica shows how institutional strengthening and capacity building
initiatives have saved lives in the long term.
Mozambique has dealt with over 45 natural hazards since 1976,
including devastating floods, droughts and cyclones. UNDP supports
the government at the policy, programming, and operational level
to develop disaster risk management strategies, risk mappingand early warning systems. In 2010, with the help of UNDP, thegovernment established a regional emergency operations centre at© UNDP MozambiqueCaia, in the high-risk Central Region. The centre’s training exercises
and practice simulations of flood, cyclone and earthquake responses have noticeably improved the emergency
preparedness of the region and resulted in a significant reduction of the disaster death toll over the last decade.
Between 2001 and 2010, the total number of disaster affected people in Mozambique was reduced by almost 45
percent compared to the previous decade. Floods in 2000 left 800 people dead and over a half a million affected, while
flooding of similar magnitude in 2007, after six years of disaster preparedness initiatives, left 29 people killed and70,000 displaced. Flood related mortality in 2010 was less than 25 percent of the ten-year average and although 16,000
people were affected by flooding in 2010, this represented a decrease of more than 90 percent.

■ South Asia: Earthquake Risk Reduction and Preparedness
UNDP is also supporting disaster preparedness on a regional level. The Asia-Pacific region sees more than 70 percentof the world’s seismic events, with an average of 15 significant earthquakes per year. The 2005 Kashmir earthquake inPakistan which killed more than 75,000 people highlighted the low level of quality of construction in South Asia. In
2007, UNDP, with support from the Government of Japan, initiated the Earthquake Risk Reduction and Preparedness(ERRP) project, to help selected cities in five Asian countries (Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan) to
introduce earthquake risk reduction and preparedness measures and to promote knowledge and experiences sharing
in the region.
A compendium of digital earthquake risk maps with structural assessment of more than 35,000 public buildings that
prompted local municipalities to establish permanent posts specialized on earthquake preparedness was developed.
The training of more than 3,000 construction specialists and the simulation of powerful earthquakes on buildings,
which was conducted by the Asian Disaster Reduction Center in Japan, has increased public awareness about theimportance of building safety measures. As a result, at the policy level, all five countries have made changes to theexisting national building codes and guidelines which can significantly reduce the loss of lives and livelihoods whenproperly enforced.
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More than a decade’s experience in disaster risk reduction ■■■Emergency response and recovery from disasters
Resilient societies to disasters are societies which are able to smoothly respond, recover, and reconstruct when adisaster happens. UNDP, while working on all phases of disasters, focuses on capacity building to initiate recovery as
early as possible, minimizing the gap between emergency and development.

■ Bangladesh: Emergency Response
Bangladesh is also an extremely disaster prone country. Floods, cyclones,
riverbank erosion, droughts, salt water intrusion and tidal surges are just someof the 219 hazards that occurred there between 1980 and 2008. In recent
years, however, the Government of Bangladesh has also been able to reduce
the risk to disasters, as well as to minimise the human cost by supporting
government departments, first responders, civil society and volunteer
organizations improve their ability to manage disasters.
Beginning in 1994, UNDP has supported the government to better plan,
coordinate, finance and implement disaster management mechanisms that
underpin a national disaster management and risk reduction system.
Capacities of over 60,000 government officials, as well as volunteers from civilsociety have now been built to act as disaster managers and first responders.
In addition, structural improvements have been made, such as the building of
emergency shelters to protect coastal residents from cyclones and exposed© UNDP Bangladesh
areas from flooding. Following Cyclone Sidr in 2007, more than 15,000 corefamily shelters in coastal districts were built. Around 4,000 flood-resilient shelters were built following flooding thatsame year. The structure of these shelters conforms to international disaster risk reduction standards, meaning thatthey will withstand future disaster shocks.
The measures taken by the Government of Bangladesh have led to a dramatic reduction in the loss of life from natural
disasters. Historically, deaths from single events reached hundreds of thousands. But with the exception of two
unusually violent cyclones in 1970 and 1991, the recent trend has been steadily downwards— from 37,000 deaths
recorded in 1970-1979 to 9,600 in 2000-2009.

■ Ecuador: Resilient Recovery
In Ecuador, UNDP has supported the transformative process of resilient
recovery, supporting a community to adapt their livelihoods to theenvironmental conditions of the volcanic area under the leadership of thelocal government.
In 1999, after a long period of dormancy, Tungurahua Volcano began a violent
eruptive phase. To this day, the volcano continues to spew large quantities ofash into the air, much of which falls onto local villages, disrupting livelihoods
and endangering lives for people living in the surrounding canton. Amongits effects, ash deteriorates grazing pasture, damages agricultural land andsuffocates crops, including fruit trees and has become a serious threat to theireconomic well-being.
UNDP supported the Municipality of the surrounding canton of Cevallos to© UNDP Ecuador
help villagers to diversify livelihoods and reduce reliance on fruit production.
Farmers were given the opportunity to learn new skills and were supported as they diversified to such activities asraising small animals, meat processing, production of animal feed, shoe making, and marmalade and jelly making. The
establishment of 22 new local producers’ organizations has allowed 500 families to start guinea pig production, and aswine production and meat processing plant were constructed.
By diversifying to new ways of earning a living, the villagers were able to increase their resilience to the continuing
eruptions of the volcano, and expected migration of the population to look for economic alternatives was avoided.
4Gender equality and the empowerment of women in disasters
When disasters strike, they often exacerbate existing socio-economic inequity: some groups suffer disproportionately
more than others. Meanwhile, the potential contributions that women can offer to mitigate disaster impacts areoften overlooked, and female leadership in decision making processes to build community resilience to disasters isfrequently disregarded. It is important to take into account the specific needs of women and vulnerable people indisaster risk reduction, response, and recovery and ensure their equal opportunities to participate in these processes.
UNDP is committed to women's empowerment and will actively contribute to the application of the resolution
on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women in Natural Disasters, adopted at the 56th session of theCommission of the Status of Women.

■ Colombia: Empowerment of women in disasters
In mountainside city of Manizales in central
Colombia, landslides constitute the main
hazard to the city’s population. Manizales
is exposed to seismic activity and torrential
downpours, located on high steep slopes
with a relatively thin layer of top soil. The riskof landslides is exacerbated by the increasing
numbers of settlements on vulnerable
land. UNDP supported a local government
initiative that addressed this problem by
empowering women on disaster reduction.
200 female heads of households havebecome municipal staff as “guardians of themountainsides” and risk managers in theirown community, promoting risk awareness,monitoring and identifying areas at risk ofcollapse, maintaining the infrastructure built
to stabilise the mountainside, such as bycleaning drains and repairing retaining walls,
and sharing information so that new families
do not settle into high-risk areas.

© UNDP Colombia

This initiative has resulted in a reduction of human, economic, and environmental losses. Through this intervention,
the monitoring and the maintenance of 49 high-risk mountainside areas have been established, and community’saccess to information on potential hazards has been improved. UNDP has also supported the systematization anddissemination of this initiative to other municipalities with similar problems.

A resolution to promote gender-sensitive disaster risk management
On 9 March 2012, the final day of the 56th session of
the Commission on the Status of Women, the resolution
submitted by the Government of Japan, “Gender Equality
and the Empowerment of Women in Natural Disasters”
was adopted by consensus of member states. The
resolution recognizes women’s vital role in disaster risk
reduction, response and recovery and promotes women’s
participation in all phases of disaster. It also points out
the importance of providing support for employment
opportunities for women in recovery phase. The resolution
urges governments and other parties to review national
policies, strategies and plans and take actions to integrate
gender perspective in policies, planning, and funding fordisaster risk reduction, response and recovery.

5© UNDP Dominican RepublicMore than a decade’s experience in disaster risk reduction ■■■Emerging risks: climate change and urbanisation
Climate change combined with rapid urbanisation will increasingly continue to cause or contribute to the occurrenceof disasters in coming decades. Climate change will alter the severity and frequency of climate-related hazards.
UNDP’s Climate Risk Management approach looks at how climate change will impact on development sectors such as
agriculture, water resources, food security, health, the environment and livelihoods. The focus is on enabling national
governments and communities to scale up their mitigation and climate adaptation efforts, while integrating disasterrisk reduction into climate change management at national and local levels.

■ Himalayan Region: Risk of glacial lake outburst floods
In the Himalayas, where melting glaciers pose a serious
threat to the 210 million people living in the region, UNDP
supports the governments of Nepal, Bhutan, India andPakistan to reduce the risk of glacial lake floods. In areas at
risk, disaster risk reduction strategies are integrated withclimate change adaptation strategies. In the Kingdom of
Bhutan, while harnessing Himalayan meltwater throughhydroelectric dams, providing much needed energy tomillions, the Government has also partnered with UN
agencies—including UNDP—to avert the risk of glacial
flooding from lake Thorthormi, in the country’s northcentral region. In addition, Bhutan is also installing early
warning systems along rivers to ensure its people andinfrastructures are prepared for glacial flood.

© Royal Government of Bhutan

Recognizing the immense disaster risks faced by urban centers, UNDP has implemented several urban risk
management projects with a clear focus on local action. Risk in urban areas is a combination of two factors: first,
location and exposure to hazards; and second, increased vulnerability due to poor local governance, environmental
degradation, and the overstretching of resources.

■ Jordan: Urbanization and economic development zone planning
In Aqaba, a fast growing city and a US$21 billion investment special
economic zone in southern Jordan which is particularly exposed
to seismic risks, UNDP strengthened the disaster risk reduction
capacity of local authorities and provided them with technicalsupport and planning tools to ensure safer living conditions inurban areas.
A seismic risk assessment was conducted to assist city authorities to
identify seismic risks and zones when planning and allocating landfor development and investment initiatives. A disaster risk reduction
unit (DRR Unit) was established, and more than 200 officials weretrained to improve the capacities of Aqaba Special Economic Zone
Authority to plan, coordinate and implement disaster risk reduction
responses more efficiently. The DRR Unit is now serving as the focal
point for multi-stakeholder coordination and action to integrate
disaster risk reduction into all policies and development planning.
In addition, over 25,000 university students have been reached in alarge scale awareness campaign and evacuation drills.
The initiative, replicated in other cities of the country, helped to
improve the capacities of local authorities to protect trade, tourism,
and culture in the multi-billion dollar economic development zoneof Aqaba.

© UNDP Jordan

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Challenges and next steps to build resilient societies
Even though the number of disasters and their catastrophic consequences increase, few governments arewell prepared to undertake the recovery efforts necessary to bring affected areas and communities backto normal in the aftermath of a disaster. Recovery failures set back years of development, increase poverty
and inequality and the vulnerability to future disasters. This section highlights some of the challenges welearned from the experiences and suggests next steps we should take in order to build resilient societies
and mainstream disaster risk reduction in development.

Investments in preparedness for recovery
Increase in recurrence and intensity of disasters in the 21st
century was marked by escalation of their costs – both humanand financial costs. The nearly 4,000 recorded disasters from2000 to 2009 killed more than 780,000 people and affected
the lives of more than 2 billion people. Economic losses
from disasters grew from an estimated US$ 75.5 billion in the
1960s to US$ 659.9 billion in the 1990s and US$ 960 billion by
2009. Disaster risk reduction is an investment worth making
by all countries; yet, there have been limited and inadequate
investments in developing capacities for managing disaster
preparedness and recovery. Case studies revealed thatgovernment commitment and ownership and investment in© UNDP Dominican Republic
local capacity development as well as systematic exchange of
local expertise played a key role for successful intervention. Considering that recovery processes are more efficient,effective and less costly when preparedness and planning are strategically pursued before disasters, building
capacities for long term recovery stands as a key priority.

Institutional capacities and policies to support recovery planning
Policy guidance and regulatory, coordination, institutional and planning aspects of recovery are absent orinadequately conceived in the majority of high risk countries. The failure to prioritize or include disaster risk
reduction in development policies, strategies and plans ultimately leads to an increased risk of the loss of lives andlivelihoods. Thus, it is critical to take these governance challenges into consideration for the realization of resilient
societies. For example, legal and other frameworks for receiving emergency assistance and providing coordinatedand inclusive recovery and reconstruction is essential to put policies and plans into practice. It is equally important
to strengthen capacities for pre-disaster recovery planning and management of recovery processes among
governments and regional bodies. Recovery processes should not only repair the damages but also transformthe society making it more resilient to disasters and avoiding the increase of inequalities. The process also needs
to restore coping mechanisms, empower communities and address the root causes and vulnerabilities that makesocieties disaster-prone.

Coordination Arrangements
When multiple national and international organizations
initiate and promote recovery activities in affected-countries,
coordination and information sharing become essential to
avoid duplications and gaps and to optimise the resources
for sustainable recovery. In general, mechanisms for disasterrecovery tend to rely on ad hoc measures and are often
uncoordinated. Information exchange and coordination
mechanisms established during emergency response must be
maintained and enhanced to support dialogue and consensusbuilding among national and local governments, civil society
organizations, private sector, donors and other institutions.
Good coordination capitalizes on a large number of recovery
initiatives at the local, regional and national level and allows
multiple stakeholders to work together effectively.
7© UNDP Tajikistan

Challenges and next steps to build resilient societies ■■■Partners in Recovery

NATIONAL
Central government

LOCAL
COMMUNITY

Local government
Sectoral institutions

Affected population

Private sector

Community organizations

NGOs

Micro enterprises

Religious institutions

Ministries
Public institutions
Private sector

REGIONAL･
GLOBAL
Regional/Sub-Regional
institutions
Technical institutions/platforms
Financial institutions

Professional institutions

International
cooperation agencies

Media

International organizations

Universities
NGOs

At community and local level
Disaster prone populations with weak local recovery mechanisms cope with disasters through spontaneous recovery
processes that often reconstruct pre-existing vulnerabilities and increase risks of future disasters. Resilient disasterrecovery at community level should strengthen local governance systems and empower community beneficiaries
and other stakeholders such as civil society, media, local experts and community representatives to participate
and manage post-disaster recovery. It should also enable inclusive and integrated planning and decision-making
across local and national levels, improve access to funds for reconstruction, and involve community-to-community
exchange of knowledge.
To better support resilience to disasters at local level, UNDP is enhancing synergies between two areas ofprogrammatic expertise: one in Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery provided by the Bureau for Crisis Prevention
and Recovery (BCPR) and another one to empower local authorities and stakeholders provided by ART (Articulating
Territorial and Thematic Networks for Human Development) Initiative. With the combination of both programmes,
disaster risk reduction and recovery is integrated into local development planning and the exchange of experiences
between communities, cities and regions, through more than 600 partnerships established worldwide.

■ Transfer of best practices in disaster risk managementwith decentralized cooperation platform
Every winter season, Cuba is exposed to hurricanes, and very frequently hit
by them. To reduce the levels of negative effect, the country has developed
one of the most efficient early warning systems in the world and reduced
drastically the risk of mortality compared with neighboring countries withsimilar grades of exposure to hurricanes. UNDP, combining two areas ofexpertise - Disaster Risk Reduction (through BCPR) and decentralization(through ART Initiative) - supported a process of consolidation of the
Cuban experience within the country and its transfer overseas.

© UNDP Cuba

In 2005, 59 risk reduction management centres were established in the most affected municipalities of Cuba
helping to access critical information on local disaster risks and extending the early warning system in remote andisolated settlements. To share this practice with other small island developing states (SIDS), the experience has
been documented and systematized to make it replicable to other SIDS and the transfer of knowledge has beensystematically facilitated by UNDP since 2005. Countries like Haiti, Honduras, Granada, Trinidad and Tobago, and more
recently Fiji and the Pacific Islands with the support of the Government of Japan have been benefited through SouthSouth cooperation. Living in an island no longer means to live in isolation.

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At national level
Countries that have integrated disaster risk
reduction in their national development plans
and systematically invested in capacities for
preparedness and adequate legislations haveemerged stronger after each disaster. Successful
countries also ensure that communities participate
in their own reconstruction, and engage withprivate sector and civil society. Even countries with
low incomes such as Bangladesh, Mozambique,
Cuba and many small island developing states
have achieved significant reduction in loss of
lives due to sustained preparedness and trainingof communities, investments in early warning
systems and increased speed and efficiency of their
response.

© UNDP Jordan

At national level, it is crucial to build resilient societies which are capable of managing emergency response anda swift recovery. When countries are engaging in preparedness, it is vital to integrate disaster risk reduction at alllevels. After disasters, having a common vision of recovery, assessing capacities of relevant actors, and establishingpartnerships with the private sector will enable a resilient recovery. Media and academia will also play an importantrole to create opinions and monitor the process.

■ Indonesia: mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in development plans
Indonesia, ranked as the second country
in the world with highest risk of natural
disaster, provides a good example of how
preparedness for recovery can substantiallyreduce the human, economic, and social
impacts of disasters.
In the years following the 2004 Indian Ocean
Earthquake and Tsunami, when Indonesia
lost 126,732 lives and economic losses of
US$ 4.45 billion, the Government mademajor policy and institutional changes toaddress disaster risks. Key among them
was the establishment of national andregional disaster management agencies© UNDP Indonesia
in 2007 mandated to coordinate relevant
ministries and sectors’ work on disaster risk
reduction. UNDP has been closely engaged with the National Disaster Management Agency in integrating disaster risk
reduction into development plans and in making institutions work for disaster risk reduction. The Agency developed
nation-wide action plans on disaster risk reduction and disaster risk management. In 2008, a national platform was set
up to coordinate and monitor disaster risk reduction activities and share knowledge among practitioners and experts.
Indonesia became one of the first countries in the region to develop comprehensive guidelines and tools for assessing
damages, losses and needs for post-disaster recovery.
Today Indonesia is among the South-East Asian countries with full policy and institutional capacity for large scaledisaster recovery. The result of this investment in preparedness and recovery was demonstrated when a powerful 7.6
magnitude earthquake hit the Aceh province in the northern tip of Indonesia on 10 January 2012 with no damage
or casualties—a very different situation compared to seven years earlier when Aceh alone had claimed more than70 percent of the 230,000 lives to the earthquake and tsunami that hit across South East Asia. The preparedness
activities and quick relay of early warning by the Aceh Government helped to evacuate people out of harm’s way, thus
preventing any loss of lives.

9Challenges and next steps to build resilient societies ■■■■ Tajikistan: National planning and monthly reporting
In Tajikistan, one of the most disaster prone countries inCentral Asia, where natural hazards like earthquakes, floods,
mudflows and landslides are a recurrent problem, UNDP
has worked with the government since 2003 at a national
level to better develop emergency response, recovery andreconstruction capacities.
This has included the establishment of the Information
Management and Analytical Center which is currently
conducting disaster risk assessment throughout thecountry. This will be used in national and local development
planning, especially to establish risk-sensitive land use
planning.

© UNDP Tajikistan

UNDP Tajikistan, in partnership with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, produces monthly reports
on monitoring and early warning systems providing information and succinct analysis on the evolution of natural,
economic, food and energy-related factors, and other risks in Tajikistan.

At regional and international level
International and regional intergovernmental organizations
can play a key role in augmenting national and local
capacities for resilient recovery, and promoting bestpractices and exchange of experiences. For example, efforts
of organizations such as the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) has led to the ASEAN agreement on
Disaster Management and Emergency Response ensuring
cooperation between member countries to strengthen
disaster management capacities and support disaster
preparedness and response.
© UNDP Pakistan■ Regional Strengthening and Disaster Risk Reductionin Major Cities in the Andean Community
Conflict, poverty, droughts and a lack of social services inmany rural areas in the Andean Region are causing rapid
urban migration. The cities in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador,
Peru and Venezuela now face an increased risk of disasters,as poor people occupy cheap marginal land in informal
settlements. This land is often on steep slopes or by rivers
that flood frequently, making these new urban migrants
more vulnerable to earthquakes, landslides, floods and fires.
In order to reduce the risk of catastrophe in the fivecapital cities of the Andean Region, UNDP is helping
local governments to analyze and identify areas that are© UNDP Venezuela
most at risk of disaster; develop strategies for reducing
the risks; and collaborate amongst one another to provide mutual technical support and knowledge exchange. The
network established between the participating cities has allowed them to learn from each other’s experiences, accesssustainable solutions and provide each other technical support. Regional pools of technicians to deal with disasters
have been formed. This initiative has also reinforced the ability of the five capital cities to understand and manage risk.

10©UNDP, June 2012 Cover photos (clockwise from top right) UN Photo/Marco Domino, FAO/Giulio Napolitano, IRIN/Edward Parsons, IRIN/Abdul Majeed Goraya, Salman Saeed/UNDP Bangladesh

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