Living with Risk
A global review of disaster
reduction initiatives
Preliminary version
Geneva, July 2002

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Prepared as an inter-agency effort coordinated by the ISDR Secretariat with special support from the Government ofJapan, the World Meteorological Organization and the Asian Disaster Reduction Center (Kobe, Japan)

Living with Risk
“In recent years the world has witnessed an interminable succession of disasters -- floods, storms, earthquakes, landslides, volcanic
eruptions and wildfires that have many thousands of claimed lives, caused material losses in the tens of billions of dollars, and inflicted aterrible toll on developing countries in particular, where disasters divert attention and resources needed desperately to escape poverty.
……… Living with risk shows that we are far from helpless in the face of natural hazards. Early warning and risk reduction measures havebeen important factors in helping to reduce significantly the number of people who lose their lives to disasters. New planning andforecasting tools are helping to mitigate the devastation regularly wrought by floods. We can and must build a world of resilient communities
and nations. I hope that this publication reaches the widest possible readership and rouses the international community to do its utmost to
better equip people everywhere for life in our hazard-filled planet.”
Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Earthquakes are inevitable, but death in an earthquake is not. Floods are a fact of life, but they need not wash away health,hope and livelihoods. Living with risk- a global review of disaster reduction initiatives is a publication to guide and inspire
practitioners in disaster and environmental management, and sustainable development, coordinated by the Inter-Agency
Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction of the United Nations. It focuses on the lessons fromthe past on how to reduce risk and vulnerability to hazards and on the challenges of tomorrow.
Disaster and risk reduction need to become essential parts of sustainable development. That is because vulnerability to natural,technological and ecological hazards are driven by social, economic and environmental activity. Natural hazards threaten everybody.
But to live with them is also an imperative that involves everybody, from villagers to heads of state, from bankers and lawyers
to farmers and foresters, from meteorologists to media chiefs. The annual toll of climate related disasters has doubled infive years, and increased impacts are expected from climate change. Human pressure on the environment has neverbeen greater. Living with risk outlines the challenges ahead in a race against time.
The ISDR Secretariat welcomes comments and sharing of experiences,which will be reflected in coming issues of this global review.

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Living with RiskNOTEThis edition of "Living with Risk. A global review of disaster reduction initiatives" is a preliminary version of a final publication, which will bepublished early 2003. The final revised version will consider comments received and will track further developments in risk and disaster reduction
thinking. It will also elaborate more on those regions not fully addressed in this preliminary issue. It will propose a systematic and continuing process
to monitor progress in this field. Comments, corrections and additional information are all welcomed and can be sent to the ISDR Secretariat by 30
September, 2002, for them to be considered. Related information is available on a reference database maintained by the ISDR Secretariat, and soon
available online at: www.unisdr.org
The final version will contain a full thematic index, yet not available.
Please send comments and feedback to the ISDR Secretariat: isdr@un.org or molinvaldes@un.org,
or by mail to the ISDR Secretariat (see address below).
This publication may be freely quoted or reprinted, but acknowledgement of the source is requested.
The ISDR Secretariat would like to encourage the full utilization of this review and would appreciate receiving a copyof any publication containing quotation or reprint of material from this report.
DISCLAIMER
The views expressed in this publication are those of the review team and do not necessarily reflect theviews of the United Nations Secretariat.
The designations employed and the presentation of the material do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on thepart of the UN Secretariat concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of itsauthorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Copyright © United Nations, 2002.
All rights reserved.
Geneva, Switzerland.

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