The Risk Reduction Index aims to help governments, civil society and other actors understand the underlying risks that render communities more vulnerable to natural hazards, so that they can be addressed from a more integrated perspective. DARA's second RRI focuses on West Africa where underlying risk drivers continue to increase communities’ vulnerability to natural hazards, decrease their resilience overall, and potentially diminish important development gains that have been made. The RRI has identified links between underlying risk factors and increased vulnerability, raising awareness around the need for greater risk management initiatives. More at www.daraint.org

1. 17 December 2013
Madrid

2. Risk Reduction Index (RRI)
What is the RRI?
Action-oriented research programme that aims to:
-shed light on how to improve risk management within most
vulnerable countries across different regions of the world
Risk Reduction Index (RRI)
-generate knowledge in the West Africa region that helps
governments, civil society and other actors understand the
underlying risks that render communities more vulnerable to
natural hazards, so that they can be addressed from a more
integrated perspective

3. Risk Reduction Index (RRI)
RRI Objectives:
• To inform and guide practitioners and policy-makers about
underlying risk drivers and how they influence or contribute to the
generation of risks within determined geographical areas.
• To offer recommendations that will improve risk management at
local, national and regional levels.
• To generate baseline data for measuring progress (or setbacks)
of how underlying risk drivers are addressed over time.

4. Risk Reduction Index (RRI)
Why the RRI?
 Need for more integrated actions to effectively reduce the risk to disasters-- best
achieved if underlying risk factors are addressed
 UNISDR Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR 2009,
2011, 2013) highlighted the crucial importance for governments to address
underlying risk factors and to integrate DRR into their development agendas
 Provide evidence to strengthen focus on underlying risk factors, in line with
Hyogo Framework for Action Priority (HFA) for Action #4 and findings from GAR
2009 & 2011

5. GAR 2011 Findings – Challenges
(Source: GAR 2011, UNISDR)

7. RTUs
A number of RTUs (at least two and up to three) are selected in each
country to examine the conditions and capacities for DRR and CCA.
Table 1: RTU Selection Criteria
RTU Typology
Risk Typology
Exposure to high intensity, low recurrence
Urban Areas (i.e. marginalized areas within large threats with potential for intensive losses (i.e.
urban centres, metropolitan areas).
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or hurricanes
that could produce severe losses in small areas).
Rural Areas (i.e. with subsistence agriculture
and/or livestock).
Urban Expansion Areas (i.e. service centres,
centres for trade, production and tourism).
Exposure to low-to-medium intensity, high
recurrence hazards with potential for extensive
losses (i.e. floods or landslides that regularly
produce limited losses in large areas).
Exposure to low intensity, low recurrence
hazards with potential for extensive losses (i.e.
droughts that occasionally produce widespread
losses).

8. Some statistics
RRI in numbers:
•
•
•
•
•
•
4
6
700
16
16
6
Risk Drivers
Countries
Questionnaires
Communities (RTUs)
Community-level Workshops
National Workshops

9. Phase 2: West Africa
Cape Verde
Senegal
Gambia
Guinea
Cape Verde
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Niger
Senegal
Niger
Ghana

10. Main Findings
Risk Driver 1, Environment and natural resources
Floods and Droughts are the main environmental hazards in 6
countries
Urban Areas:
Rural Areas:
- Coastal erosion and
deforestation
- Soil erosion and
desertification
- Water contamination and
water scarcity
- Changes in rainfall
patterns

11. Main Findings
Risk Driver 2, Socioeconomic conditions
Unemployment and poverty are key issues across countries
both in urban and rural areas
Low literacy levels also common across RTUs
Food insecurity in rural areas, vs. in-migration in urban areas
also identified as key concerns
Urbanisation - in all countries, triggered by food insecurity and
lowering agricultural production in rural areas
increasing
unemployment in capitals/major cities

12. Main Findings
Risk Driver 3, Land use and the built environment
In Urban and Urban Expansion areas, the key concerns relate
to Housing and Infrastructure
• Building/Housing located in risk prone areas
• Poor quality of construction materials
• Poor drainage/water disposal systems
• Inadequate planning, regulations, law enforcement
irregular settlements, flood risk, water contamination
Limited access to land and overcrowded conditions are also
key issues in urban and urban expansion areas

13. Main Findings
Risk Driver 4, Governance
Same key issues identified across countries and 3 RTU
types:
 Limited financial and human capacity
 Lack of accountability and corruption

14. Interconnectedness of Risk Drivers
Underlying Risk Drivers contribute to generation of risk
Unemployment
Poverty
Illiteracy
Low capacity and
limited
enforcement of
laws
+ Exposure
+ Migration and
Urbanisation
Unsafe urban
settlements
Floods
Land
degradation
Coastal erosion
Water
contamination

15. Main Findings
Underlying risk in West Africa:
• Findings point to rural vs. urban divide on Risk Drivers 1 and 3,
whereas key issues are similar for Risk Drivers 2 and 4.
• Findings also demonstrate that urban expansion areas show similar
characteristics to capital cities in terms of underlying risk factors.
• Finally, it is important to understand how key issues in rural areas are
having a direct impact on underlying risk in urban areas—migration
and urbanisation.

17. Challenges Ahead
Need to understand risk and build resilience at the
local level
• Importance of engaging with communities—both raising
awareness and promoting bottom-up processes
• Importance of engaging with decentralization processes to
promote more effective risk management at local levels
• Way to build resilience is by assessing risk across all
sectors (integrated, multi-sector approach)

18. Challenges Ahead
Need for prospective action - Disaster Risk Management
at the national and regional levels
• Need to understand and build resilience locally, but
coordinate regionally
• Opportunities for greater regional coordination in
management of coastal zones and fisheries, drought,
epidemics, and pests
• Need scale up knowledge and increase advocacy and
action at the national level

20. Risk Reduction Index
Our thanks to the Governments of
Spain and Australia for supporting
the RRI
for more information, please visit:
www.daraint.org