Protecting development gains: Reducing disaster vulnerability and building resilience in Asia and the Pacific

Posted on: 10 July 2011
By: mackene
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The UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) and the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) have released the Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2010. The report notes that the region generated one quarter of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP), but also accounted for 85% of deaths and 38% of global economic losses due to natural disasters over the last 30 years. The report analyzes the socioeconomic impact of disasters, and suggests ways of reducing vulnerability to disasters in order to protect development gains. The report includes sections on: disaster risk in Asia and the Pacific, including a chapter on the impact of climate change on disaster risk; the socioeconomic impacts of disasters; socioeconomic perspectives of reducing vulnerabilities, including chapters on the implications of disasters and climate change for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and scaling up climate change adaptation in Asia and the Pacific; making the recovery resilient; capitalizing on new technology; and cooperating across the region.

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Impact study on developing local capacity to reduce vulnerability and poverty: Disaster risk reduction in central Vietnam

Posted on: 10 July 2011
By: mackene
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Filed under: News

This report presents findings of a study commissioned by Development Workshop France (DWF) with support from the Building and Social Housing Foundation to assess the impact of the DWF project in Vietnam to promote the prevention of typhoon damage to housing and public buildings over the last ten years. Conducted in five communities in central Vietnam, the study shows that DWF principles of safer construction have achieved social and official appropriation based on their effective mitigation of the impact of typhoons and this has led to widespread adoption.

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