Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into development policy, planning and implementation in Asia

Disasters have an enormous impact on development. With every disaster, there is a significant impact on various sectors of development like agriculture, housing, health, education and infrastructure. This results in a serious social and economic setback to the development and poverty reduction priorities of the developing countries, and poses a threat for achieving the Millennium Development goals. To meet with this crisis, the scarce resources that are programmed for development are often diverted for relief and rehabilitation efforts. Thus development activity and disaster risk reduction representing two sides of the same coin have to be dealt with in unison, with mainstreaming disaster risk management into development policy, planning and implementation. On the other hand, the process of development, and the kind of development choices made in many countries, itself, creates disaster risks. With disaster risk reduction considerations not featuring into the project design of the development activities, increases the risks, thus increasing the negative impact of the disasters on the socio economic set up of the country. Thus development activity and disaster risk reduction representing two sides of the same coin have to be dealt with in unison, with mainstreaming disaster risk management into development policy, planning and implementation.