A Framework for Transforming the Relationship between Development and Disaster Risk

The document examines the tension between current development models and disaster risk reduction, arguing that many development patterns actually drive disaster risks. It posits that while resilience is often used to integrate development and disaster risk reduction, resilience alone is insufficient without addressing the underlying power structures and drivers of risk to ensure equitable outcomes for marginalized groups.

• Current development models often create or exacerbate disaster risks, such as when natural storm-surge protection is removed to allow for beachfront property development. Conversely, disasters can erase development progress, and existing disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies frequently fail to support social equity and sustainable development.
• Progress in disaster risk reduction is frequently obstructed because it fails to acknowledge that development processes can be the root causes of disasters. While resilience is increasingly used as a mechanism to integrate development and DRR, the concept is complex and varies across different fields of inquiry.
• Achieving equitable outcomes in development and DRR requires more than just resilience; it necessitates challenging existing power relations, vested interests, and dominant narratives that perpetuate poverty, inequality, and vulnerability, particularly for marginalized and poor groups.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2019). A Framework for Transforming the Relationship between Development and Disaster Risk. https://www.sei.org/publications/a-framework-for-transforming-the-relationship-between-development-and-disaster-risk/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. A Framework for Transforming the Relationship between Development and Disaster Risk. 2019. https://www.sei.org/publications/a-framework-for-transforming-the-relationship-between-development-and-disaster-risk/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=A Framework for Transforming the Relationship between Development and Disaster Risk |date=11 May 2019 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/a-framework-for-transforming-the-relationship-between-development-and-disaster-risk/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2019framework, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{A Framework for Transforming the Relationship between Development and Disaster Risk}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2019}, month = may, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/a-framework-for-transforming-the-relationship-between-development-and-disaster-risk/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }