Launch of The Global Assessment Report on Disaster
Risk Reduction (GAR/DRR)

17 - 18 May 2009 in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain

In the context of international commitment to the implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), the United Nations has launched the 2009 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR/DRR) in the Kingdom of Bahrain. This is the first global report uncovering how disaster risk is intensively concentrated in a very small portion of the earth’s surface and unevenly distributed. Based on more than 30 years of disaster data, the report highlights three main risk drivers that will be magnified by climate change and proposes 20 recommendations to help make the world safer.

This report is a collaborative effort undertaken by UN agencies and partners, member states, the World Bank, regional inter-governmental and technical institutions, civil society networks, academic institutions and other ISDR System partners, like Global Risk Forum GRF Davos. The report gives an excellent overview on what has been achieved in DRR since the Kobe Conference in January 2005 and with its"20-point plan to reduce risk" the Report makes clear recommendations on what has to come next.

With regard to the five priorities for action of the Hyogo Framework for Action HFA, the Report identifies

- "significant progress" in priorities 1 (DRR as a national and local priority wiht a strong institutional basis for implementation) and 5 (prepardness).

- "consistent progress" in priority 2 (identifying, assessing and monitoring disaster risk)

- "weak progress" only in priorities 3 (using knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels) and 4 (reducing the underlying risk factors).

Through the outstanding high participation of many actors around the globe in its preparation, from governments, IO, NGO, Banks to private organizations, the Report corroborates itself  the general and wide acceptance of the HFA and the serious intention of all concerned actors to implement its priorities for action. The Secretary General stressed this factor even more by his acknowledgement that DRR is a "Number one" priority of the UN.

In the discussion during the Launch it became clear that in many aspects the findings overexeded the expectations of the Kobe Conference 2005. Nevertheless, it was equally made clear that in the midterm of the HFA-timespan from 2005-15, the Report marks the end of the first phase in which high attention was given to the system building.

The second phase shall now concentrate more on the involvement of the people at all levels with a special focus on the local level, the "Soft ware" as it was already called at the 208 IDRC in Davos. GRF contributes to this endeavour and is ready to help bridge vertical gaps to this regard as well as gaps between sectors. It equally supports the "20-point plan to reduce risk" proposed by the Report.

The Global Risk Forum GRF Davos was represented in this event by Dr. Marco Ferrari, who moderated the workshop “Progress in Reducing Disaster Risk” on May 18 and participated as panelist in the Plenary session on "Taking forward the recommendations of the GAR".

Visit the official website of the Global Assessment Report >>>