Linking disaster risk reduction, environment management and development practices and practitioners in Asia Pacific region: a review of opportunities for integration

This study tries to identify available resources that link environmental management with disasters and risk reduction efforts, in order to create a multi-disciplinary community of practitioners in this region that is concerned with closing the gap among sectors with a view to increasing effectiveness of risk reduction.

Taking action on disaster risk reduction (disaster risk reduction) and environment in Asia-Pacific is limited by the lack of a clear and comprehensive picture of existing plans, ongoing and completed projects in the region is lacking. Also missing is full comprehension of strategic entry points and platforms for integrating environment and risk reduction dimensions.

The study has the following specific objectives:
- Compile a list of available resources that link environmental issues and management with disasters and risk reduction efforts in the Asia-Pacific region;
- Build a body of knowledge and expertise on mainstreaming (synthesize knowledge);
- Provide a practical and common basis for practitioners from various sectors to discuss and agree on concrete plans and activities to advance mainstreaming;
- Recommend strategic entry points and platforms for mainstreaming at the regional level; and
- Build on relevant outcomes of the UN/ISDR Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction, in the regional context

The study focuses on the interfaces between these three areas: (i) Disaster-Environment convergence; (ii) Development-Disaster convergence; and (iii) Disaster-Environment-Development convergence.

The study is the stocktaking paper of the Disasters Environment Working Group for Asia (DEWGA), which is an informal group composed of six founding institutions from the Asia region (IUCN, CARE, WWF, SEI, Kyoto University, ADPC, and supported by UNEP and UNISDR Asia and Pacific), committed to increase the synergy between the two sectors and promote effective integration of environmental management concerns into disaster risk reduction programs and vice versa.