As the occurrence of natural disasters increases due to climate change, there is an urgent need to prioritize proactive disaster risk reduction. Healthy ecosystems and natural environments are increasingly being recognized as important to prevent and mitigate the worst disaster outcomes. This ecosystem approach to disaster risk reduction is still in development worldwide.
This report documents the importance of biodiversity in disaster risk reduction and makes a case for the implementation of common approaches that contribute to both conservation and risk reduction. Assessments of regional experiences on Eco-DRR also highlight the opportunities and entry-points to scale-up integrated approaches.
Part 1 of the report provides a conceptual background on the importance of biodiversity in disaster risk reduction, and opportunities to mainstream Eco-DRR as a crosscutting issue into policy and practice. Part 2 of the report provides a summary of individual regional assessments on the role of biodiversity in disaster risk reduction.