Hyogo Framework for Action 2005 - 2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters

Every year, more than 200 million people are affected by droughts, floods, cyclones, earthquakes, wildlandfires, and other hazards. Increased population densities, environmental degradation, and global warming adding to poverty make the impacts of natural hazards worse.

The past few years have reminded us that natural hazards can affect anyone, anywhere. From the Indian Ocean tsunami to the South Asia earthquake, from the devastation caused by hurricanes and cyclones in the United States, the Caribbean and the Pacific, to heavy flooding across Europe and Asia, hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives, and millions their livelihoods, to disasters caused by natural hazards.

While many know the human misery and crippling economic losses resulting from disasters, what few realize is that this devastation can be prevented through disaster risk reduction initiatives.

Governments around the world have committed to take action to reduce disaster risk, and have adopted a guideline to reduce vulnerabilities to natural hazards, called the Hyogo Framework for
Action (Hyogo Framework).

The Hyogo Framework assists the efforts of nations and communities to become more resilient to, and cope better with the hazards that threaten their development gains. Collaboration is at the heart of the Hyogo Framework: disasters can affect everyone, and are therefore everybody's business.

Disaster risk reduction should be part of every-day decision-making: from how people educate their children to how they plan their cities.

Each decision can make us either more vulnerable, or more resilient.

The Hyogo Framework for Action, its strategic goals and the five priorities for action are:

1. Make disaster risk reduction (DRR) a priority
2. Know the risks and take action
3. Build understanding and awareness
4. Reduce risk
5. Be prepared and ready to act

This brochure also outlines who is responsible for implementing disater risk reduction (DRR) and the HFA at all levels: state, regional and international organizations.

Click here to download full document.

Source: http://www.unisdr.org