17 December 2013

Madrid

Risk Reduction Index (RRI)

What is the RRI?

Action-oriented research programme that aims to:

- shed light on how to improve risk management within most vulnerable countries across different regions of the world

- generate knowledge in the West Africa region that helps governments, civil society and other actors understand the underlying risks that render communities more vulnerable to natural hazards, so that they can be addressed from a more integrated perspective

Risk Reduction Index (RRI)

RRI Objectives:

• To inform and guide practitioners and policy-makers about

underlying risk drivers and how they influence or contribute to

the generation of risks within determined geographical areas.

• To offer recommendations that will improve risk management at

local, national and regional levels.

• To generate baseline data for measuring progress (or setbacks)

of how underlying risk drivers are addressed over time.

Risk Reduction Index (RRI)

Why the RRI?

Need for more integrated actions to effectively reduce the risk to disasters-- best achieved if underlying risk factors are addressed

UNISDR Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR 2009, 2011, 2013) highlighted the crucial importance for governments to address underlying risk factors and to integrate DRR into their development agendas

Provide evidence to strengthen focus on underlying risk factors, in line with Hyogo Framework for Action Priority (HFA) for Action #4 and findings from GAR 2009 & 2011

Risk Reduction Index (RRI)

(Source: GAR 2011, UNISDR)

GAR 2011 Findings – Challenges

A number of RTUs (at least two and up to three) are selected in each country to examine the conditions and capacities for DRR and CCA.

Table 1: RTU Selection Criteria

    

RTU Typology Risk Typology

Urban Areas (i.e. marginalized areas within large urban centres, metropolitan areas).

Exposure to high intensity, low recurrence threats with potential for intensive losses (i.e. earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or hurricanes that could produce severe losses in small areas).

Rural Areas (i.e. with subsistence agriculture and/or livestock).

 

Exposure to low-to-medium intensity, high recurrence hazards with potential for extensive losses (i.e. floods or landslides that regularly produce limited losses in large areas).

Urban Expansion Areas (i.e. service centres, centres for trade, production and tourism).

Exposure to low intensity, low recurrence hazards with potential for extensive losses (i.e. droughts that occasionally produce widespread losses).

RTUs

RRI in numbers:

• 4 Risk Drivers• 6 Countries• 700 Questionnaires• 16 Communities (RTUs)• 16 Community-level Workshops• 6 National Workshops

Some statistics

Cape Verde

Senegal

Gambia Ghana

Guinea

Niger

Cape VerdeGambiaGhanaGuineaNigerSenegal

Phase 2: West Africa

Risk Driver 1, Environment and natural resources

Floods and Droughts are the main environmental hazards in 6 countries

Urban Areas:

- Coastal erosion and deforestation

- Water contamination and water scarcity

Rural Areas:

- Soil erosion and desertification

- Changes in rainfall patterns

Main Findings

Risk Driver 2, Socioeconomic conditions

Unemployment and poverty are key issues across countries both in urban and rural areas

Low literacy levels also common across RTUs

Food insecurity in rural areas, vs. in-migration in urban areas also identified as key concerns

Urbanisation - in all countries, triggered by food insecurity and lowering agricultural production in rural areas increasing unemployment in capitals/major cities

Main Findings

Risk Driver 3, Land use and the built environment

In Urban and Urban Expansion areas, the key concerns relate to Housing and Infrastructure

• Building/Housing located in risk prone areas • Poor quality of construction materials• Poor drainage/water disposal systems• Inadequate planning, regulations, law enforcement

irregular settlements, flood risk, water contamination

Limited access to land and overcrowded conditions are also key issues in urban and urban expansion areas

Main Findings

Risk Driver 4, Governance

Same key issues identified across countries and 3 RTU types:

Limited financial and human capacity

Lack of accountability and corruption

Main Findings

Underlying Risk Drivers contribute to generation of risk

UnemploymentPoverty Illiteracy

+ Exposure + Migration and

UrbanisationUnsafe urban settlements

Low capacity and limited

enforcement of laws

FloodsLand

degradationCoastal erosion

Water contamination

Interconnectedness of Risk Drivers

• Findings point to rural vs. urban divide on Risk Drivers 1 and 3, whereas key issues are similar for Risk Drivers 2 and 4.

• Findings also demonstrate that urban expansion areas show similar characteristics to capital cities in terms of underlying risk factors.

• Finally, it is important to understand how key issues in rural areas are having a direct impact on underlying risk in urban areas—migration and urbanisation.

Underlying risk in West Africa:

Main Findings

Need to understand risk and build resilience at the local level

• Importance of engaging with communities—both raising awareness and promoting bottom-up processes

• Importance of engaging with decentralization processes to promote more effective risk management at local levels

• Way to build resilience is by assessing risk across all sectors (integrated, multi-sector approach)

Challenges Ahead

• Need to understand and build resilience locally, but coordinate regionally

• Opportunities for greater regional coordination in management of coastal zones and fisheries, drought, epidemics, and pests

• Need scale up knowledge and increase advocacy and action at the national level

Need for prospective action - Disaster Risk Management at the national and regional levels

Challenges Ahead

Our thanks to the Governments of Spain and Australia for supporting

the RRI

for more information, please visit:

www.daraint.org

Risk Reduction Index