Crisis and development are highly inter-related. Recurrent, large-scale disasters and frequent localized disasters erode development gains and limit a country’s prospects for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. UNDP is one of the largest global UN agencies working in the area of disaster risk reduction, supporting high risk countries to achieve their development goals by reducing disaster risks and losses.

Conflict, instability, and natural disasters have detrimental social and economic impacts on the regions’ peoples and resources. For some countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the interplay between conflict and natural disasters adds complexity to recovery and stretches national capacities and resources. Crisis (conflict, political instability, disaster or violence) can set development back significantly with negative impacts on the livelihoods of the poor. In some countries, limited access to opportunities and discord between new and evolving traditional social structures, particularly in the Pacific can lead to high levels of violence. Exposure to such levels of violence combined with limited access to decision making processes, has reduced the potential for women to play a significant role in building peaceful and secure communities.

There is evidence that the frequency and severity of disasters is increasing in the Asia-Pacific region and, combined with other types of crises such as violence and conflict, will have negative cumulative effects on development goals and poor communities. Although there is incremental progress in risk management in the region, including increase in political commitment and establishment of new institutional arrangements, recent recovery programmes strongly indicate the need for serious attention to this aspect. In order to meet these challenges, accelerated efforts must be made to build the necessary capacities at the community, national and regional levels to reduce risk and sustain recovery.

UNDP’s work on disaster risk reduction effort occurs at the national and sub-national levels, where UNDP assists the national and local governments in implementing disaster risk reduction activities. Over the past 10 years, UNDP has worked with national governments and communities in high disaster-risk countries. UNDP Country Offices have established working relationships with relevant counterparts, and have dedicated staff to anchor disaster risk reduction and peace building activities.

At the regional level, to contribute to the achievement of the UNDP Strategic Plan’s goals, the Crisis Prevention and Recovery practice in Asia-Pacific works to assist countries reduce risks to development and support post-crisis-recovery efforts. This means working with countries to scale up investment in disaster risk reduction through enhancing national institutional and legislative systems, replicating community-based disaster risk management, supporting better planning and implementation of disaster recovery, mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into development planning, support to building risk knowledge, urban risk management and, increasingly, climate risk adaptation.

What we do:

1. Improve skills on the use of conflict risk analysis and gender-responsive assessment tools and methods

• Gender responsive methods and tools for conflict risk analysis developed. This includes a review and documentation of lessons learnt to improve results on the ground.

• Training provided in conflict analysis, planning and impact assessment.

2. Promote economic recovery in post-conflict/disaster situations

• Work with national and regional civil society organisations to develop feasible post-crisis economic recovery activities.

• Develop programme tools and methods for sustainable livelihoods and economic recovery at the local level.

3. Support countries develop information systems for evidence-based decisions making

• Establish disaster loss database (going back 30 years) in high risk countries.

• Train staff in data analysis of disaster trends and patterns.

• Use data to undertake analysis on the link between disaster events and poverty patterns.

• Use data to analyze impact variations between frequently occurring small but extensive disasters (floods, landslides) and intensive disasters (tsunamis, major earthquakes).

• Apply risk assessment to enhance preparedness and early warning systems.

4. Provide rapid and timely technical and financial support to countries following sudden crisis. This support includes:

• Technical experts to undertake quick damage and loss assessments.

• Technical experts to help develop response to help people recover quickly.

• Technical experts in emergency coordination, procurement, human resources and post-disaster or post-conflict recovery.

• Financial support to enhance a coordinated and efficient response.

• Technical support to design, develop and implement post-relief recovery programme.