Land use planning for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation: operationalizing policy and legislation at local levels (input paper submitted for GAR 2015)

[Extract] DRR and climate change adaptation are enhanced by good practice land-use planning at local and regional levels. The responsibility of urban and regional planners to actively engage in DRR through land-use planning processes and mechanisms developed as a need during the IDNDR and was identified as a priority action in the HFA. In a rapidly urbanising world where population growth has remained high, greater numbers of people than ever before in human history are moving to towns and cities, many of which are sited in hazard prone areas where new residents lack local knowledge. Furthermore EM-DAT (2013) and IPCC (2013, 2012) predict increases of climate driven natural disasters as a consequence of climate change. Since 1900 there has been an increase in the numbers of natural disasters with an even greater increase in the economic costs of these events. The numbers of people affected by natural disasters have increased comparably, but numbers of deaths have diminished, most probably as a consequence of better warnings and communication combined with the emergency management focus on raising awareness, preparation and mitigation of risk