A focus on the private sector is crucial, given that global disaster losses have swollen to an estimated US$520 billion a year owing to factors including climate change, rapid urbanization and the expected growth of risk-exposed assets. This growth in risky investments is often due to a lack of adequately costing disaster risk, coupled with high profit margins for investments in many areas exposed to earthquakes, tsunamis, storm surges, floods and other hazards.
“Mitigation is something that we decide. A disaster happens because we didn’t make the right choices,” said Mr. Aris Papadopoulos, former chief of construction materials group Titan America and founder of the Resilience Action Fund, who is an ARISE board member.
“The road to disaster is paved with a profit for people who benefit from non-resilient investment,” he added.
In the event of a disaster, the cascading impacts result in losses far beyond that of the principal investor. The resilience of businesses is critical – whether they are one-person operations or multinationals whose supply chain disruptions can sow global havoc – notably because the private sector is responsible for 75 percent of investment in infrastructure.
ARISE, which has 140 member organisations to date, also aims to help small- and medium-sized enterprises reduce their risk. Such firms account for over 80 percent of employment, meaning that their ability to withstand shocks is important to help communities get back on their feet fast.
At the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, in Mexico in May, ARISE issued a landmark seven-point plan for resilience.
It begins with a call for the “Build Back Better” principle to be the core of planning, development, recovery and reconstruction – from building codes to government tenders and contracts.
Second, it says it is vital to create incentives for businesses to invest in risk reduction and resilience in advance of disaster. Third, it calls for a more integrated approach to upgrading key infrastructure and to give local authorities more say over policy.
Fourth, it says that businesses need to be involved before, during and after disaster. Fifth, it argues that businesses and their public sector and civil society partners should promote the benefits of resilience to consumers, and sixth, extend education and professional training.
Finally, it underscores the need to harness the potential of data and technology to ensure effective implementation of resilience and risk reduction measures.
Reducing disaster risk is also a vital component of efforts to achieve the meet aims of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change, both adopted by the international community at the end of 2015.
“Climate adaption is a subset of resilience. And resilience is one of the best ways to address climate issues,” said Mr. Papadopoulos.
“A green investment that’s not resilient is in fact not green, nor is it sustainable,” he added.
Date:
11 Jul 2017
Sources:
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)
Themes:
Community-based DRR, Private Sector, Economics of DRR, Disaster Risk Management