* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The world cannot afford to continue its current trajectory in which countries create more new risks than they can prevent
Mami Mizutori is the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR); Dr Raditya Jati is Deputy for System and Strategy at BNPB Indonesia and the Head of National Secretariat for the th Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR)
Indonesia knows only too well the human and economic cost of disasters - from earthquakes and volcano eruptions to tsunamis and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. These catastrophic events cost the country and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region on average 1.6 per cent of GDP a year, more than any other part of the world.
The result is that Indonesia also knows the value of investing in preventative strategies to reduce the risk and impact of increasingly frequent hazards before they become devastating disasters. And with the world heading for 1.5 medium- to large-scale disasters a day by 2030, more countries face a similar threat unless governments and society collectively rethink how we view, finance and manage disaster risk reduction.
It is appropriate, then, that the first international in-person meeting for disaster risk reduction organised by the UN was recently hosted by Indonesia in Bali, on the back of a pandemic that has derailed progress towards greater resilience and compounded every threat we face, from climate change and food security to poverty and gender inequality.
The Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction was a moment for decisionmakers to confront the lack of progress under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction at the midway point, and the opportunities to accelerate its implementation by 2030.
This was no easy task, and it began with the admission that the global community must do more to address climate and all other disaster risks, guided by the principles of human rights embedded within the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
If we are to avert the unaffordable cost of 1.5 disasters a day, the Global Platform’s outcome, the Bali Agenda for Resilience, must inspire a new “Think Resilience” approach, starting with the ways in which public, financial and development sectors view risk and invest in prevention.
First, public and financial sectors must be risk-proofed. It is far less costly to invest in resilient infrastructure, policies and systems in advance than to rebuild after a disaster.
For example, over the last four years, the Indonesian government has launched multiple disaster risk financing initiatives, such as the State Asset Insurance Program (ABMN) and the Disaster Pooling Fund. Now, more than 5,000 public buildings are insured while also reserving $204 million in its pooling fund.
Yet, globally, disaster risk reduction accounted for less than five per cent of disaster-related international financing between 2010 and 2019, and a very miniscule portion of the global development assistance. Countries that face the highest disaster-related mortality receive only a negligible share of funding for disaster risk reduction per capita, meaning those with the greatest vulnerability are left paying the highest price.
G20 countries must meet the climate finance commitments they have made to support risk reduction and adaptation efforts in developing countries, which are disproportionally impacted by climate change.
Second, decisionmakers must prioritise the most affected communities and vulnerable groups, and ensure that prevention strategies are co-designed with them to address their specific needs.
For example, early warning systems are essential to ensure that risk reduction reaches the last mile and that no one is left behind, empowering at-risk communities so that they can act in sufficient time and in an appropriate manner once a warning is received.
Indonesia has now deployed 117 early warning sites covering vulnerable areas while still preserving local wisdom and social capital, and a Sister Village program, connecting villages at risk from volcanic eruption at Mount Merapi to nearby partner villages with less risk that support with shelters and logistics.
Third, we must use our COVID-19 recovery as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build back better for the sake of future generations. With less than eight years to achieve the Sendai Framework, the world cannot afford to continue its current trajectory in which countries create more new risks than they can prevent.
Instead, decisionmakers must recognise the urgency of a radical rethink, to move from risk to resilience, and start investing in our own survival.
