Integrating disaster risk reduction towards sustainable development

Our planet is under stress from the impacts of hazards, like earthquakes, floods and storms. These have major impacts on vulnerable, generally less-developed societies and make achieving sustainable development exceedingly difficult. A relatively new international research program, Integrated Research on Disaster Risk is now underway towards meeting its legacy of an enhanced capacity around the world to address hazards and make informed decisions on actions to reduce their impacts leading to societies shifting their focus from response-recovery towards prevention-mitigation, building resilience and reducing risks, learning from experience and avoiding past mistakes.

► The number of disasters is increasing and putting the planet further under stress.
► These make achieving sustainable development exceedingly difficult.
► An integrated research on disaster risk approach is needed.
► Societies need to shift from response-recovery to prevention-mitigation.