This technical paper investigates potential avenues for reducing economic losses resulting from natural hazards, and discusses ex ante and ex post issues affecting disaster risk management. It also assesses how both types of measures can be jointly used to reduce the economic impact of disasters...

This report includes the proceedings of the Seminar on Climate Change and Severe Weather Events in the Caribbean and Asia, held in Barbados at the Grand Barbados Beach Resort on July 24-25, 2003. The seminar provided a forum in which experts from the Southeast Asian and Caribbean regions...

This study refers to disaster risk management at the local level. The topic was selected by the members of the Natural Disasters Network of the Regional Policy Dialogue, and was presented during its 3rd Meeting, on March 6 and 7, 2003. The goal of this document is to achieve a better knowledge...

This report was commissioned by the Natural Disasters Network of the Regional Policy Dialogue. This report constitutes Phase 2 of this project. While the first phase of the study discusses the components of a national system, the second focuses on instruments for financing reconstruction after a...

This technical paper provides us with an in-depth explanation of how losses due to catastrophes are insured and who absorbs the costs of compensating the insured assets. In the absence of an effective insurance market, the government often becomes the de facto financier of postdisaster...

The intended goal of this paper is to expand the IDB's current disaster policy in the area of human-driven disasters. This paper explores and expands on the definition and scope of "human-driven" disasters in order to strengthen the policy in its present area of "unexpected" disasters. This...

The objective of this program is to facilitate access to relevant information on disaster risk and risk management by national decision-makers, thus making possible the identification and proposal of effective policies and actions.Abstract: Los desastres son eventos socioambientales cuya...

This technical paper analyzes the potential practical application of financial instruments for natural hazard risk finance and transfer in Latin America. The study first presents an overview of the role of financing and risk transfer in disaster risk management. It then investigates the sources...

While the occurrence of natural events can not be prevented, there is a possibility to reduce the vulnerability of populations through risk management. The IDB Action Plan for natural disaster risk reduction of 2000 included recommendations in two important areas: (i) planning with the purpose...

This report describes the application in 12 countries of a system of four indicators that measure the potential impact of natural hazards, the key element of those countries' vulnerability, and their capacity to manage risks. The development of this set of indicators relies on two decades of...