Commission staff working document - Accompanying document to the EU strategy for supporting disaster risk reduction in developing ocuntries - Summary of the impact assessment {COM(2009) 84 final} {SEC(2009) 217} {SEC(2009) 220}
Date: 2009-02-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: cooperation policy, developing countries, economic development, environmental risk prevention, humanitarian aid, impact study, natural disaster

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 23.2.2009 
SEC(2009) 218 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

Accompanying document to the 

EU STRATEGY FOR SUPPORTING DISASTER RISK REDUCTION IN 
DEVELOPING OCUNTRIES 

SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT  

{COM(2009) 84 final} 
{SEC(2009) 217} 
{SEC(2009) 220}

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1. 

SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

Disasters  undermine  development  and  endanger  the  achievement  of  the  Millennium 
Development  Goals  (MDGs).  Disasters  associated  with  natural  hazards  are  currently 
increasing both in frequency and intensity. Climate change may already be contributing to the 
increasing  number  and  intensity  of  recent  disasters.  Disasters  hit  developing  countries  and 
their populations hardest as they are the most vulnerable and have the least capacities to cope. 
Evidence has long suggested that disaster risk reduction (DRR) has a high ratio of benefits to 
costs.  

The  EU  is  the  world's  largest  donor  of  Official  Development  Assistance  and  Humanitarian 
Aid.  It  has  a  global  presence  and  wide  experience  with  individual  DRR  projects  and 
programmes,  but  is  lacking  a  strategic  framework  to  guide  its  DRR  support  in  developing 
countries in a coherent and coordinated manner. Given the risk disasters pose to development 
efforts and investments, the EU needs to assist developing countries in their DRR efforts, as 
well  as  make  its  own  development  assistance  both  more  disaster  resilient  and  ensure  that  it 
also reduces vulnerability to hazards.  

This  proportionate  impact  assessment  has  informed  the  Commission’s  adoption  of  a 
communication on an EU Strategy for supporting DRR in developing countries through both 
development cooperation and humanitarian aid, to help support the 2005 Hyogo Framework 
for Action1 and the achievement of the MDGs.  

Both the strategy and the impact assessment have been informed by and reflect the outcome 
of  an  open  debate  held  between  January  and  December  2008  with  key  civil  society 
organisations,  UN  agencies,  developing  countries,  international  financing  institutions,  EU 
Member States and the private sector. 

The impact assessment addresses the need for EU action and the potential added value of such 
action. It includes an assessment of three possible options:  

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

a ‘no policy change’ scenario,  

the  development  of  an  EC  strategy  for  supporting  DRR  in  developing  countries, 
guiding European Community instruments only, and  

the  development  of  an  EU  strategy  for  supporting  DRR  in  developing  countries, 
serving  as  an  overarching  and  comprehensive  framework  on  DRR  action  for  the  EC 
and the EU Member States. 

looking in particular at their potential political, economic, social and environmental impacts.  

While  each  of  the  policy  options  could  have  benefits  with  regard  to  DRR  in  developing 
countries,  the  impact  assessment  concludes  that  for  reasons  of  effectiveness,  coherence, 
consistency and proactiveness towards its partners’ needs, the Commission should favour the 
third option which would be the best option to meet real needs while at the same time being in 
line  with  existing  EU  commitments  on  DRR  and  international  and  EU  commitments  on  aid 
effectiveness.  In  particular,  an  EU  Strategy  for  supporting  DRR  in  developing  countries 
would aim to anticipate possible fragmentation and/or duplication of DRR efforts in the near 
future when the Commission and some ten Member States scale up support for DRR. It would 

1 

Adopted in 2005 at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction. 

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capitalise and build on existing strategic work done by the EC2 and Member States, as well as 
extensive experience of DRR programmes and projects in all developing country regions.  

The desirability of action at EU level is thus explained by the following factors: 

•  The  European  Consensus  on  Development  and  the  European  Consensus  on 
Humanitarian  Aid  both  commit  the  EU  to  progress  on  EU  policy  and  action  on 
DRR. An EU strategy will foster joint understanding of priorities and areas where 
EU instruments can obtain the greatest impact. 

•  The  EU  is  the  largest  aid  donor,  but  still needs  to  make  progress  with  regard  to 
effectiveness, efficiency and lower transaction costs. Closer EU collaboration on a 
common DRR framework will contribute to this and constitutes good policy and 
practice;  collective  EU  action  will  be  more  efficient  than  actions  taken  by 
individual Member States and actions will better complement each other. 

•  Making full strategic use of the various strengths of Commission and the Member 
States  with  regard  to  disaster  risk  reduction  is  fully  in  line  with  the  Paris 
Declaration  on  Aid  effectiveness  and  the  EU  Code  of  Conduct  and  Division  of 
Labour. 

•  EU  partner  countries  will  benefit  from  more  donor  coordination  (dealing  with 
fewer  donors,  more  consistent  messages)  and  possibly  more  significant  support 
for  DRR,  given  current  up-scaling  of  funding  and  less  duplication  and/or 
fragmentation of aid. 

2 

Commission communications on Reinforcing the Union's disaster response capacity (COM(2008)130); 
Building  a  Global  Climate  Change  Alliance  between  the  European  Union  and  poor  developing 
countries  most  vulnerable  to  climate  change  (COM(2007)540);  Reinforcing  EU  disaster  and  crisis 
response in third countries (COM(2005)153), the joint High Representative and Commission paper on 
Climate  and  international  security  (S113/08)  and  the  Commission  Staff  Working  Paper  on  Disaster 
Preparedness and Prevention (2003).  

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