Sustainable Development

Disasters can derail hard-earn development plans and progress.

Natural hazards, such as earthquakes, cyclones, floods and drought, pose significant threats to achieving and sustaining development plans and goals. The direct damage costs of disasters alone have risen from US$ 75.5 billion in the 1960s to roughly a trillion dollars in the past decade. These increasing figures has long-term social, economic and environmental costs to the people and communities that are affected disasters. As around 85 percent of people around the world exposed to natural hazards live in developing countries, reducing disaster risks in order to achieve sustainable development is of central importance.

UNISDR advocates for DRR as an instrument for sustainable development.

We advocate for the importance and necessity of linking disaster risk reduction with sustainable development initiatives. Our focal point for this area of work is Ms. Elina Palm (palm@un.org). The following are key international initiatives we work with:

UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20)

The MDGs, declared by 189 Head of States at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000, reflect a global commitment to the poor worldwide. Reducing disaster risk and increasing resilience to natural hazards in different development sectors can have multiplier effects and accelerate achievement of the MDGs. Learn more about the link between MDGs and DRR from our archive webpage. We are also part of the MDG Task Force of the United Nations Development Group.

Visit our Rio+20 and DRR webpage

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

The MDGs, declared by 189 Head of States at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000, reflect a global commitment to the poor worldwide. Reducing disaster risk and increasing resilience to natural hazards in different development sectors can have multiplier effects and accelerate achievement of the MDGs. Learn more about the link between MDGs and DRR from our archive webpage. We are also part of the MDG Task Force of the United Nations Development Group.

Visit the MDG website

Parliamentarians

Political leaders and legislators hold the primary responsibility protecting the lives and livelihoods of their country's citizens from disasters. We organize meetings with parliamentarians to increase their understanding of the links between disasters risk reduction and the MDGs. We also develop advocacy kits to equip members of parliaments with baseline critical priorities and practical steps to make disaster risk reduction an instrument for achieving the MDGs.

Visit our parliamentarian webpage