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The Partnership for Risk Reduction is launching a Local Action for Disaster Risk Reduction and brings together 5 international organizations: United Cities and Local Governments, Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative, Local Governments for Sustainability, Metropolis and Citynet. The Partnership has been set up to assist local and regional authorities to develop a risk reduction policy.

More than 230 million people suffer from natural disasters every year.1 The costs generated by the natural disasters are also increasing. The total amount of the funds used for reconstruction after hurricane Katrina rose to 200 billion dollars while the Kobe earthquake recovery efforts amounted to about 160 billion dollars. In developing countries, the annual cost of the disasters can represents a major part of GDP.

Moreover, the consequences of these natural catastrophes are aggravated by global warming, population density in hazardous areas, the rise of poverty or the destruction of the environment. Unfortunately, the risk of disaster remains both one of the most threatening and also one of the least understood.

We can reduce or avoid the lethal consequences of natural disasters with enhanced risk management. Acting at the local level is the best way to help populations to protect themselves against the risks by reducing their vulnerability trough pre-existing knowledge and capacities building of local and regional authorities.

Therefore, the Partnership for Risk reduction (UCLG, EMI, ICLEI, Metropolis and Citynet) initiated a program of Local action for Disaster Risk Reduction to help cities and local communities to start the long-term process towards reducing the level of risk caused by natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods and destructive storms.

The Local Action for Disaster Risk Reduction has three main goals:

1-Worldwide launch awareness campaigns about risk reduction in the regions regularly affected by natural disasters.

2-Build capacitiy at the local level to foresee and manage risks by transferring technical know-how to local actors and decision-makers.

3-Build and develop a global platform for local authorities and their partners in order to build and promote a sustainable strategy for disaster risk reduction within the broader international context.

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