Policy brief: Disaster displacement and disaster risk reduction (2025)

This policy brief was developed to inform discussions at the 2025 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP25) in Geneva. It highlights the increasing urgency of addressing disaster displacement—people forced to move due to hazards such as floods, droughts, storms, and earthquakes. The brief calls for integrating human mobility concerns into national and global disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies, especially under the Sendai Framework. It emphasizes that disaster displacement is multi-causal, worsened by climate change, and requires cross-sectoral collaboration across humanitarian, climate, migration, and development fields.

Disaster displacement has grown in scale and complexity, affecting millions each year, particularly in least developed countries and small island developing states. Despite this, monitoring and policy integration remain limited. The brief finds that while 78% of national DRR strategies reference human mobility, many lack detailed actions or consistent terminology. It promotes tools like the Disaster Displacement Scorecard Addendum and early warning systems to improve preparedness. A rights-based, inclusive approach—incorporating gender, youth, Indigenous knowledge, and community participation—is identified as essential for effective and equitable disaster displacement responses.