Report Commissioned by the Disaster Management Facility of The World Bank and the ProVention Consortium

The Disaster Management Facility (DMF) and the ProVention Consortium commissioned this study in response to growing concerns for the potential impact of climate variability and adaptation issues on international strategies and lending programs for infrastructure projects. The Disaster Management Facility provides proactive leadership in introducing disaster prevention and mitigation practices in development activities at the World Bank. The ProVention Consortium is an international coalition of public, private, non-governmental and academic organizations dedicated to increasing the safety of vulnerable communities and to reducing the impact of disasters in developing countries. Economic development is frequently disrupted by weather-related natural disasters. These extreme events can cause sharp increases in poverty and slow the pace of human development. This paper explores issues related to the vulnerability of infrastructure to weather-related natural events. It explores whether different types of critical infrastructure face different risks from changes in climate variability, and the impact of disasters on the poor