Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery

Disaster Risk Reduction,

Governance & Mainstreaming “

“There is now international acknowledgement that efforts to reduce disaster risks must be systematically integrated
into policies, plans and programmes for sustainable development and poverty reduction... Sustainable development,
poverty reduction, good governance and disaster risk reduction are mutually supportive objectives and in order to
meet the challenges ahead, accelerated efforts must be made.”
- Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015.

Governance is the umbrella under which disaster capacity is ultimately dependent upon the human,
risk reduction takes place. The existence of public social, physical, economic and environmental capital of
awareness, political will and sufficient capacity are a society.
key to making disaster risk reduction (DRR) an
underlying principle in all relevant development Principles of good governance include broad-
sectors. With its significant experience in DRR, participation, transparency, accountability, efficiency
democratic governance, and development, UNDP is and responsiveness. All are as important for DRR as
taking forward the practical and conceptual work they are for development at large. A central criterion of
on DRR governance and mainstreaming. good governance — namely, the principle of ensuring
that the voices of the poorest and the most vulnerable
DRR AND GOVERNANCE are heard in decisions about the allocation of resources
Natural hazards on their own do not result in disaster. affecting them — is essential for effective DRR and
Rather, it is the vulnerability of populations in countries sustainable disaster recovery.
that has a direct bearing on levels of disaster.
Supportive governance is necessary to ensure coping- Mainstreaming of DRR is a governance process
capacities in societies. Governance influences the way enabling the systematic integration of DRR concerns
in which national and sub-national actors (including into all relevant development spheres. In other words,
governments, parliamentarians, public servants, the responsive, accountable, transparent and efficient
media, the private sector, and civil society governance structures underwrite the environment
organizations) are willing and able to coordinate their where DRR can be institutionalized as an underlying
actions to manage and reduce disaster-related risk. principle of sustainable development. Therefore,
building resilient communities in disaster-prone
Sufficient public awareness to recognize and address countries requires that: a) underlying risk factors are
risk, coupled with the political will to set policy and continuously considered in all relevant sectors; and b)
allocate appropriate resources, is key. Equally critical risk reduction standards and measures are an integral
is the need for processes institutions with sufficient part of the planning and delivery of core development
managerial and coordination capacity to and manage services and processes, including education,
and integrate the efforts of relevant sectors and environment, and health.
account for vulnerable and poor communities. Such

What is Governance?
Governance, as defined by UNDP, is the exercise of political, economic and administrative
authority in the management of a country's affairs at all levels. It comprises mechanisms,
processes and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise
their legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences. Governance
encompasses, but also transcends, government. It encompasses all relevant groups, including
the private sector and civil society organizations.
MEETING THE CHALLENGE DRR into key development sectors and strategic
Despite the prevailing recognition that good development programming. For example, in
governance and DRR are mutually supportive Kyrgyzstan, UNDP has provided technical assistance in
objectives, the international community’s understanding integrating DRR into the ongoing decentralization
of the linkage is still at a nascent stage. As a first process. In Georgia, UNDP has successfully lobbied for
crucial step, UNDP undertook a global review of its the incorporation of DRR in the five-year regional
support to institutional and legislative systems for DRR development strategy for the Shida Kartli region. In
in 2007. The review discovered that “although India and Pakistan, UNDP has supported the training of
increasingly risk management and reduction is hundreds of engineers, masons and architects on
mentioned in governmental development policies, plans disaster resistant construction technology, while UNDP
and strategies…it is not treated as a truly multisectoral Mexico has strategically combined ecosystem recovery
concern.” Similarly, the summary report of the 2009 and DRR efforts.
Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction
concluded that “governance arrangements for disaster UNDP’s work on DRR, governance and mainstreaming
risk reduction in many countries do not facilitate the is coordinated under the Global Mainstreaming
integration of risk considerations into development. In Initiative (GMI), within UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis
general, the institutional and legislative arrangements Prevention and Recovery (BCPR). The purpose of this
for disaster risk reduction are weakly connected to initiative is to undertake work that is strongly country-
development sectors.” oriented, and that helps UNDP to advance its
understanding of and practice in the governance
Many disaster-prone countries have not embraced dimensions for DRR (including national level
mainstreaming DRR concerns into development organizational arrangements, policy, strategies and
practices as an underlying principle. The failure to legislation); and integration of DRR into development.
prioritize DRR and the resulting absence of its inclusion Furthermore, GMI supports the incorporation of risk
in country development policies, planning and reduction concerns as integral dimensions of policies,
implementation leads to new or heightened patterns of programmes and strategies from UNDP and its
disaster risk, and ultimately an increased risk of the partners, and has developed a practical framework
loss of lives and livelihoods. Working with giving clear guidance on how, systematically and
approximately 100 disaster-prone developing countries strategically, to mainstream DRR at the national level.
in a multiplicity of contexts, UNDP is in a unique
position to advance the agenda of these important
areas.

UNDP ROLE
As one of the largest operational development
agencies, with a pivotal role in co-ordinating the UN
system at country level, coupled with its wealth of
experience in DRR, governance and mainstreaming of
cross-cutting issues (for example, gender and
HIV/AIDS), UNDP has exceptional capacity and an
important responsibility to take forward the practical
and conceptual work on the links between DRR,
governance, mainstreaming and development. Within
UNDP’s crisis prevention and recovery practice area,
DRR is already an underlying principle for all activities
associated with disaster response, recovery,
preparedness and mitigation. Furthermore, UNDP
The GMI DRR mainstreaming framework is comprised of five
supports its national and local partners to incorporate interconnected spheres of engagement.
Key GMI activities include providing technical and Conducting DRR analysis
advisory services to UN country offices and Effective capacity development, advocacy and
government counterparts on mainstreaming and programming require thorough analysis. UNDP
governance for DRR; supporting UN strategic planning supports diverse analyses, such as sectoral policy
to better integrate DRR in risk-prone countries; and papers on a country’s existing disaster-related laws
building capacities to integrate DRR at the national (and suggested revisions thereof); disaster risk
level through the development of tools, such as management financing analysis, covering public sector
specialist training packages and practical case studies; spending for DRR, relief and response; and
integrating DRR into other UNDP priority areas (like assessment for identifying key gaps in DRR capacity,
energy and environment, poverty reduction and which provides the basis for incorporating relevant
democratic governance), as well as other central cross- DRR activities into budgeted projects of development
cutting issues, including climate change and gender; plans at the appropriate level.
promoting harmonization of global efforts on
mainstreaming and governance; and exploring the DRR advocacy, awareness and education
complex relationship between disasters and conflict. Public awareness and advocacy activities are central to
UNDP’s DRR work. With its national and local partners,
UNDP SUPPORT SERVICES UNDP supports the organization of seminars with
DRR governance and mainstreaming interventions parliamentarians, media and civil society about
have become an integral part of the majority of UNDP allocating funds for DRR and operationalizing local
DRR programmes and projects. Activities implemented disaster management agencies; the establishment of
by UNDP include: mechanisms to integrate training sessions on DRR as
part of official training programmes for senior and
Supporting DRR policy, legal and regulatory middle-level officials of national and provincial
framework development and reform governments and agencies; and the integration of DRR
Policies, laws and regulations provide the foundation knowledge within existing primary and secondary
upon which strategies can be built to integrate risk educational programmes like hazard-based media
reduction into development practice. UNDP provides programmes and private sector disaster risk public
technical assistance for the establishment of policy, awareness programmes.
legal and regulatory frameworks; the enforcement and
incentive/disincentive procedures based on DRR
legislation and policy; the preparation of national and
local action plans to mainstream decentralized DRR
into the development process; and the review, revision
and updating process established for DRR policy, legal
and regulatory framework improvement.

Integrating decentralized DRR into local-level

development Through teachings at school children can learn to take an active role
in disaster risk reduction (! UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe).
Some DRR tasks are best centralized, and others can
be devolved to the local level. Participation, monitoring Establishing DRR partnerships and networks
and mediation are best undertaken at the local level DRR is a complex cross-cutting issue that requires an
and in this way decentralization can – depending on the interdisciplinary and multi-level approach, bringing
context – effectively support DRR objectives. UNDP together knowledge, skills and resources of different
provides technical support for the integration of DRR stakeholders. UNDP provides assistance to
into the national decentralization framework; public establishing national and local platforms for disaster
awareness campaigns that are specific to local needs risk management; establishing partnership and
and are locally owned or managed; and the preparation knowledge-sharing networks for DRR in development;
of detailed and costed proposals to extend the mandate and developing innovative resource mobilization
and coverage of local disaster information centres. strategies, such as public-private partnerships.
UNDP IN ACTION

Indonesia
Indonesia broke new ground on DRR in 2007 with the passing of Disaster Management Law 24/2007,
affording Indonesian citizens individual rights to protection from and during disasters. This law
represents an achievement for the Indonesian Society for Disaster Management (MPBI), a national
organization supported by UNDP Indonesia. MPBI played a critical role in ensuring that the provisions of
the Disaster Management Law were concrete enough to make DRR a reality.

Most importantly, this law has ‘teeth’. It lists penalties in the form of substantial fines and jail sentences
applicable to individuals and organizations, including those of the government and private sector, for
failing to abide by the law. The law includes specific language on direct disaster protection and response
services in disasters, and outlines the rights of individuals to information, education and training on DRR.
The law also called for the establishment of a new national disaster management agency and for the
creation of provincial disaster management agencies, allowing for the active participation of community-
based organizations, non-governmental organizations and indigenous groups.

With the passing of this law, the government made DRR one of its nine national development priorities
and substantially increased funding for this issue. In 2008, USD 150 million was allocated for pre-disaster
mitigation, a significant increase from the USD 16 million approved the year before. UNDP continues to
support the Government of Indonesia through various programmes at national and provincial levels to
integrate the Disaster Management Law principles into community development activities and to address
the structural causes of disasters.

India
The process of integrating DRR considerations into Indian school curriculae began in 2003. The central
Board for Secondary Education was first to introduce DRR into the schools’ syllabi, in social sciences for
grades 8, 9 and 10. A committee of teachers, UNDP personnel and academics designed and developed the
contents of textbooks, which include chapters on hazards, the development of preparedness and
response plans, search and rescue, first-aid and mock drills in schools. This was accompanied by
training sessions for teachers to enhance their knowledge of disaster management and provide them with
skills to carry out the drills. Care was taken to ensure that the DRR information added to the syllabus was
gender-sensitive. The teacher training also included information on gender issues in DRR. As a next step,
DRR was incorporated into the secondary school curriculum.

At the local level, in the Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu, UNDP India has supported puppet shows as a
way of raising schoolchildren’s awareness. Gender-sensitive scripts carefully avoid reinforcement of
stereotypes, and teach audiences that both men and women can play important roles in DRR.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

www.undp.org/cpr/we_do/integrating_risk.shtml
www.preventionweb.net
www.undp.org/cpr/disred/documents/wedo/ils/ils_esummary.pdf

United Nations Development Programme | One United Nations Plaza New York NY 10017 USA |
www.undp.org | October 2010