Chile launch of the 2011 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction

Discussions of the GAR and its findings and recommendations with senior representatives from the government, the United Nations and the scientific community:

- While mortality risk to weather-related disasters is declining, the risk of economic loss is rising rapidly across the globe. This is particularly true for wealthier countries, such as the UK, which in addition face new and emerging risks such as those experienced due to the volcanic ash clouds in 2010.
- The real scale and cost of losses due to disasters remains invisible. But the full spectrum of risk can be revealed, enabling countries to choose the most effective risk management strategies.
- Existing economic planning and development instruments are ideal vehicles for effective disaster risk reduction. Countries that are integrating risk considerations into their public investment and social welfare systems are beginning to see the effects of operating at scale rather than through standalone projects.
- The ability of a country and government to effectively govern risk will become one of the hallmarks of measuring effective performance of countries and governments overall.