GAR 2015 Main Report

137

7.5 Information but not

communication

Risk information is being generated and disseminated on a large scale, but how far it reaches and whether it changes risk perceptions and awareness levels is not well understood.

Since the declaration of the IDNDR, there has been explosive growth in the production and dissemination of information on disaster risks and disaster risk reduction ( GAR 13 paper

UNISDR, 2014c

UNISDR. 2014c,HFA Thematic Review: Research Area 2, Priority for Action 3 - Core Indicator 1: Relevant information on disasters is available and accessible at all levels, to all stakeholders (through networks, development of information sharing systems etc.). Background Paper prepared for the 2015 Global.
Click here to view this GAR paper.

). However, it is unclear to what extent this has contributed to increasing awareness of disaster risk.

As the disaster risk management sector has grown and become structured around different communities of practice, such as emergency management, community-based disaster risk management, insurance and risk financing,2 the volume of information produced and exchanged has increased exponentially, facilitated by the expansion of the Internet since the early 1990s. PreventionWeb now records 6,587 organizations that have promoted disaster risk reduction through their websites, including 1,093 media and news organizations, mediated regionally and thematically by dedicated information portals and online documentation centres such as CRID in Latin America, PreventionWeb itself, Pacific Disaster Net and others ( GAR 13 paper

UNISDR, 2014c

A large number of formal and informal networks now provide channels for information sharing and dissemination inside the sector. In addition, whereas there were only a handful of specialized training programmes on disaster risk reduction in 1990, there are now over 100 dedicated master’s programmes servicing the sector across all regions ( GAR 13 paper

Holloway, 2014

Holloway, Ailsa. 2014,Strategic mobilization of higher education institutions in disaster risk reduction capacity-building: Experience of Periperi U, Input Paper prepared for the 2015 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. Geneva, Switzerland: UNISDR..
Click here to view this GAR paper.

Therefore, there is evidence of exponential growth in the production and exchange of information on disaster risk management. What is unclear, however, is how much of that information

actually seeps and spills out of the sector into other social, economic and political domains. And it is even less clear how much of this information has truly generated changes and transformation in development practices. As mentioned in Chapter 1, some of the key activities proposed in the HFA regarding risk information, for example, “Institutions dealing with urban development should provide information to the public on disaster reduction options prior to constructions, land purchase or land sale”, were incisive and could have directly influenced and transformed the operation of land markets and valuations of disaster risk. However, there is little evidence that this key activity was ever acted on.

In contrast, far more progress has been made in disseminating information through public awareness programmes. According to the HFA Monitor, the number of countries with national disaster information systems and mechanisms for proactive information dissemination has increased over the last two reporting cycles (2009-2013), with important regional differences. In Africa, lack of capacity, funding and Internet connectivity are all cited as barriers, and many countries face issues of sustainability. In Asia, some lowincome countries would appear to have more advanced systems than high-income countries.

However, in most countries ( GAR 13 paper

UNISDR, 2014c

;

SCI, 2014

SCI (Save the Children International). 2014,The cultural dimension of Disaster Risk Reduction, Background Paper prepared for the 2015 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. Geneva, Switzerland: UNISDR..
Click here to view this GAR paper.

) the existence of a web site is often taken as evidence for the existence of a disaster information system. Increases in the number of websites offering risk information or the number of experts attending regional and international conferences certainly gives the impression of expanding risk awareness, but as indicated in the introduction to this part of the report, this may simply strengthen the hyper-reality of the sector. Little information is available on the extent to which households, businesses and government institutions from outside the sector visit these web sites or whether the information available is actionable.

	137 7.5 Information but not communication Risk information is being generated and disseminated on a large scale, but how far it reaches and whether it changes risk perceptions and awareness levels is not well understood. Since the declaration of the IDNDR, there has been explosive growth in the production and dissemination of information on disaster risks and disaster risk reduction (UNISDR, 2014c x UNISDR. 2014c,HFA Thematic Review: Research Area 2, Priority for Action 3 - Core Indicator 1: Relevant information on disasters is available and accessible at all levels, to all stakeholders (through networks, development of information sharing systems etc.). Background Paper prepared for the 2015 Global. Click here to view this GAR paper. ). However, it is unclear to what extent this has contributed to increasing awareness of disaster risk. As the disaster risk management sector has grown and become structured around different communities of practice, such as emergency management, community-based disaster risk management, insurance and risk financing,2 the volume of information produced and exchanged has increased exponentially, facilitated by the expansion of the Internet since the early 1990s. PreventionWeb now records 6,587 organizations that have promoted disaster risk reduction through their websites, including 1,093 media and news organizations, mediated regionally and thematically by dedicated information portals and online documentation centres such as CRID in Latin America, PreventionWeb itself, Pacific Disaster Net and others (UNISDR, 2014c x UNISDR. 2014c,HFA Thematic Review: Research Area 2, Priority for Action 3 - Core Indicator 1: Relevant information on disasters is available and accessible at all levels, to all stakeholders (through networks, development of information sharing systems etc.). Background Paper prepared for the 2015 Global. Click here to view this GAR paper. ). A large number of formal and informal networks now provide channels for information sharing and dissemination inside the sector. In addition, whereas there were only a handful of specialized training programmes on disaster risk reduction in 1990, there are now over 100 dedicated master’s programmes servicing the sector across all regions (Holloway, 2014 x Holloway, Ailsa. 2014,Strategic mobilization of higher education institutions in disaster risk reduction capacity-building: Experience of Periperi U, Input Paper prepared for the 2015 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. Geneva, Switzerland: UNISDR.. Click here to view this GAR paper. ). Therefore, there is evidence of exponential growth in the production and exchange of information on disaster risk management. What is unclear, however, is how much of that information actually seeps and spills out of the sector into other social, economic and political domains. And it is even less clear how much of this information has truly generated changes and transformation in development practices. As mentioned in Chapter 1, some of the key activities proposed in the HFA regarding risk information, for example, “Institutions dealing with urban development should provide information to the public on disaster reduction options prior to constructions, land purchase or land sale”, were incisive and could have directly influenced and transformed the operation of land markets and valuations of disaster risk. However, there is little evidence that this key activity was ever acted on. In contrast, far more progress has been made in disseminating information through public awareness programmes. According to the HFA Monitor, the number of countries with national disaster information systems and mechanisms for proactive information dissemination has increased over the last two reporting cycles (2009-2013), with important regional differences. In Africa, lack of capacity, funding and Internet connectivity are all cited as barriers, and many countries face issues of sustainability. In Asia, some lowincome countries would appear to have more advanced systems than high-income countries. However, in most countries (UNISDR, 2014c x UNISDR. 2014c,HFA Thematic Review: Research Area 2, Priority for Action 3 - Core Indicator 1: Relevant information on disasters is available and accessible at all levels, to all stakeholders (through networks, development of information sharing systems etc.). Background Paper prepared for the 2015 Global. Click here to view this GAR paper. ; SCI, 2014 x SCI (Save the Children International). 2014,The cultural dimension of Disaster Risk Reduction, Background Paper prepared for the 2015 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. Geneva, Switzerland: UNISDR.. Click here to view this GAR paper. ) the existence of a web site is often taken as evidence for the existence of a disaster information system. Increases in the number of websites offering risk information or the number of experts attending regional and international conferences certainly gives the impression of expanding risk awareness, but as indicated in the introduction to this part of the report, this may simply strengthen the hyper-reality of the sector. Little information is available on the extent to which households, businesses and government institutions from outside the sector visit these web sites or whether the information available is actionable.	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