ReliefWeb

1 Introduction

1.1 Background

This paper has been compiled by UNISDR Asia-Pacific, with a view to making use of the opportunities presented by the post-2015 consultations taking place with governments, civil society, and a number of stakeholder groups including parliamentarians, Inter-Governmental organisations, Media and the Private sector to highlight the importance of addressing vulnerable groups and gender issues more systematically in development planning and implementation in the Asia-Pacific region. Even though the past decades have generated comprehensive research on issues of vulnerability and gender, and there have been many institutions, investments, and projects to address these issues, the outcomes and changes in the Asia-Pacific region (and globally) have been far from optimum, well below expectations.

The paper takes stock of the current context and aims to bring greater clarity to the issues under this thematic area of concern. It proposes to inform the post-2015 consultations by presenting what needs to be done to integrate vulnerability and gender issues more effectively into development practice, and suggesting how it could be done. It is targeted at national and local governments, bilateral and multilateral agencies and civil society organisations, national and international. It focuses on disaster risk reduction and argues that failure to build resilience to disasters caused by natural hazards will undermine sustainable development goals, and that building such resilience requires that the situation of the poor and the vulnerable is taken into account, bearing in mind that poverty and vulnerability are mutually reinforcing.