South West Indian Ocean risk assessment and financing initiative: Summary report

This report summarises progress made in advancing analytical work to improve the understanding of regional and national disaster risks and risk financing solutions for Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Zanzibar. The risk profiles along with key findings were published in this report that provides detailed quantitative risk data for each island nation.

In general, the risk analysis revealed that tropical cyclones and extreme non-tropical cyclone rainfall are the main drivers of disaster risk in the participating South West Indian Ocean (SWIO) Island States. The increasing trend in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather related events across the entire SWIO region, and the exacerbating effects of climate variability and change, pose additional challenges to the financial and fiscal sustainability of the region’s governments. These governments are confronted with increasing contingent liabilities resulting from the potential materialization of external shocks, particularly those triggered by weather and climate related hazards. The risk analysis provides the technical underpinnings for developing a regional framework for natural disaster risk financing, as well as comprehensive national disaster risk financing and insurance strategies that can help protect the countries’ development and social gains.

This report is a result of work completed through the South West Indian Ocean Risk Assessment and Financing Initiative (SWIO-RAFI), co-financed by the ADRF Initiative and the ACP-EU Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Program.