Rio+20: A voice from Brazil

"[Rio+20] is the opportunity for us to pull forces together and call for change. Governments were never so much in need of suggestions and advice on how to navigate past the 2015 milepost," writes Kelly Hawrylshyn, Plan UK's disaster risk reduction and resilience adviser in the pages of The Guardian. She highlights that children and women are particularly affected by the increasing number of disasters that are worsened by climate change, environmental degradation, urbanization, etc.

She emphasizes that in the years after 2015, when the millennium development goals and the Hyogo Framework for Action come to an end, risk management should play a key part in sustainable development plans. There is a call for a resilience framework which addresses changing risks, strengthens adaptive capacity and addresses the root causes of vulnerability by involving children and women in decision making and local action. She adds that investing in education for children living in disaster and climate risk affected areas is the most cost-effective way for a more resilient and sustainable future.