Geneva - Investing in nature can reduce the impact of natural disasters on people and the environment, according to IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), the oldest and biggest global environmental organisation.
It said in a report that environmental concerns need to be integrated into disaster risk reduction strategies at all levels.
"In the past two decades more than 200 million people have been affected every year by disasters, most of them occurring in parts of the world where communities are less prepared to face them," the IUCN said in a news release about the report. Panelists at a four-day meeting in Geneva in June of the UN’s Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction discussed links between climate change adaptation, poverty and disaster risk reduction.
Neville Ash, Head of IUCN’s Ecosystem Management Programme, said: “The steady rise in the number of natural disasters and in the number of people whose lives and property are affected by them is now increasingly recognised as a result of poor governance leading to environmental degradation.
“What we need to do now is make sure the disaster risk community puts ecosystem-based management at the heart of all preventive and disaster-relief policies.”
IUCN’s latest publication, "Healthy ecosystems for human security," looks at what constitutes a healthy ecosystem and how it helps to reduce disasters and poverty. Various case studies illustrate the cost-effectiveness of well-managed watersheds, forests and coastal habitats. The guide also provides practical advice for local and national authorities on how to bridge the gap between ecosystem-based management and disaster risk reduction policies.
From reforestation of the degraded slopes of the Tacaná volcano in Guatemala and Mexico, after the tropical storm Stan in 2005, to restoration of the Komagudu Yobe River’s water flow in Nigeria, IUCN projects have enabled local communities sustainably to manage natural resources and become less sensitive to extreme weather events.
Jeff McNeely, IUCN’s Chief Scientist, says: “Investing in ecosystems to reduce the risk of hazards and support livelihoods is key to building resilient communities.
“Disasters kill people but they also have immense environmental impact on affected areas. In order to reduce biodiversity loss, we need healthy and diverse ecosystems, which are more robust to extreme climate events.”
For more information or to set up interviews, please contact:
Borjana Pervan, IUCN Media Relations Officer, m +41 79 857 4072, email: borjana.pervan@iucn.org
IUCN’s publication “Healthy Ecosystems for Human Security” is available at: www.iucn.org/isdr/guidance_note
IUCN’s case studies on disaster risk reduction can be downloaded from: http://www.iucn.org/news_events/events/isdr/resources/#doc
About IUCN
IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges.
IUCN works on biodiversity, climate change, energy, human livelihoods and greening the world economy by supporting scientific research, managing field projects all over the world, and bringing governments, NGOs, the UN and companies together to develop policy, laws and best practice.
IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization, with more than 1,000 government and NGO members and almost 11,000 volunteer experts in some 160 countries. IUCN’s work is supported by over 1,000 staff in 60 offices and hundreds of partners in public, NGO and private sectors around the world.
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