Attachments
INTRODUCTION
2015 and 2016 have been landmark years in the development or renewal of global commitments relative to humanitarian aid, development and disaster risk reduction. After extensive consultation and negotiation processes, international consensus was reached in the form of frameworks for sustainable development (SDGs), disaster risk reduction (Sendai Framework), climate change mitigation (Paris Agreement) etc.
Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and Reduction (DRR) have been increasingly recognised as essential for reducing loss of lives and livelihoods worldwide. The updated body of global policy presents a comprehensive foundation on which national and local policies can be further developed.
The EU is an important actor in humanitarian aid and development. A key element of the EU Consensus on Humanitarian Aid is reducing risk and vulnerability through enhanced preparedness, where it states that “The EU is committed to promoting disaster risk reduction and disaster preparedness in developing countries through coherent and coordinated action at local, national and regional level.”
In 2012, a VOICE study offering an NGO perspective to the Consensus highlighted that "some Member States have made an effort to incorporate Disaster Risk Reduction into their policies and strategies. These policy efforts are important to recognize, but there seems to be a significant gap with regard to actual support in practice. Many other Member States have not demonstrated specific engagement with DRR. This confirms the general impression that finding the political will to focus on preparedness and prevention has always been challenging. It is therefore no surprise that there is little support to NGOs for DRR activities."
Few years later, VOICE commissioned this study in order to follow up from this previous one and particularly focus on the issue of Disaster Risk Reduction. Drawing on the experiences of NGO members of the VOICE network and its DRR Working Group, the study highlights DRR policies and programming of a selection of EU Member States and presents recommendations for the further elaboration of Member States’ policy work on disaster risk reduction.