Guidelines for planning equitable disaster resilient development

Development decisions that lack sufficient planning can put people and property in harm’s way, for example through the construction of coastal property in an area vulnerable to storm surges. Disasters, on the other hand, can destroy years of development investments by ruining critical infrastructure and limiting the accessibility of critical services, such as emergency relief, as well as education and health care. Furthermore, post-disaster recovery often focuses on short-term risks, at the expense of addressing long-term risks.

As a result, vulnerability becomes ingrained and an accelerated cycle of development creating disaster risk is repeated. This guideline highlights why transformation of current unsustainable development models is needed to achieve development outcomes that are equitable and sustainable and that lead to resilience for all.

The aim of these guidelines is to support the alignment of development and disaster risk reduction (DRR) processes so that they contribute to sustainable, resilient and equitable development outcomes. They are designed to encourage critical reflection on development decision-making processes and the implications of decision-making outcomes for risk creation and risk reduction and to foster equitable resilience today and in the future. The guidelines can also be the basis for trainings where there is ample time to read through the conceptual guidance, to consider the questions, and to discuss relevancies to specific situations.