Strengthening resilience to disasters through innovative approaches to risk assessment and business continuity planning.

A report assessing the United Kingdom's policies to reduce disaster losses was issued on 14 May 2013 by the European Commission, OECD and United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.

Accepted by Chloe Smith, the UK Minister for Political and Constitutional Reform, the report finds the UK has strengthened its resilience to disasters through innovative approaches to risk assessment, business continuity planning and risk governance. 

The UK is the first country to undergo a peer review to assess its progress in implementing the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), the world's first comprehensive agreement on disaster risk reduction, adopted in 2005 following the Indian Ocean tsunami.

The UK has shown through this review its capacities as a leading country in risk management, which can inspire other OECD countries and beyond to adopt innovative approaches.  The all-hazards approach is well aligned to the G20/OECD Methodological Framework for Disaster Risk Assessment and Risk Financing, and is a key reference for OECD best practice.

The review report will also be presented at the EU Civil Protection Forum in Brussels on the 16 May 2013 and to the Fourth Session of UNISDR’s biennial Global Platform for Disaster Reduction set to take place on 21-23 May 2013 in Geneva, Switzerland.

‌

Read the report

The UK volunteered to undergo the peer review and more countries are expected to follow suit as the importance of building disaster resilience gathers momentum worldwide.

Finland has volunteered to be the next European country to be peer reviewed in 2013.

More information:

For more information please contact Charles Baubion in the OECD Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate: +33 1 45 24 13 78, charles.baubion@oecd.org.