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Bright ideas for Disaster Risk Reduction Day
For International Day of Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 (#IDDR2015), Concern Worldwide is teaming up with the Commissioners for Irish Lights. Together, we’re raising awareness of the importance of Disaster Risk Reduction in our respective areas of operation by sharing knowledge of how we reduce risks in order to make people's lives safer and better.
What is Disaster Risk Reduction?
Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is about protecting the lives, livelihoods and assets of communities and individuals from the impact of hazards. Hazards are potentially damaging physical events, phenomena or human activities which may cause the loss of life, injury, loss of assets, physical damage, environmental degradation, and social and economic disruption.
When a hazard actually happens and community capacity to cope and recover from it is overwhelmed, we call it a disaster. If we can anticipate incoming disasters and reduce the vulnerability of people living in risk we can insulate communities from risk and avoid the need for emergency responses.
Addressing the underlying causes of disasters and vulnerability is inherently suited to the sustainable development process, enshrined recently through the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. DRR is the ideal link between our humanitarian and development work.
Collaboration with the Commissioners for Irish Lights
The theme of this year’s International Day of Disaster Risk Reduction is the use of traditional, indigenous and local knowledge in helping to safeguard communities from hazards. Whether fishermen off the coast of Ireland or farmers in Burundi, this approach is already a key component to how both Concern and the Commissioners for Irish Lights operate. Whether on land or on sea, we work towards the same objectives: the protect lives and livelihoods from hazards by establishing systems of prevention using our expertise.
Find out more about our collaboration by watching our video.
