Water and Risk: Developing Sustainable and Resilient Communities

The report advocates for Sweden to shift its approach to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) from a humanitarian-led response model to one integrated with sustainable development and resilience building. It highlights that disaster risk is driven more by increasing vulnerability and 'risk blindness' than by natural hazards alone. The authors recommend that the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Sida move DRR activities out of purely humanitarian departments to address underlying structural causes of risk, particularly in urban areas and among the most vulnerable populations.

• Disaster risk is primarily driven by an increase in human vulnerability rather than an increase in natural hazards, often resulting from 'risk blindness' during rapid economic development and an over-reliance on structural security measures.
• Global DRR efforts are disproportionately dominated by the humanitarian sector, which focuses on short-term response rather than long-term risk reduction; in 2009, 68% of DRR financing came from humanitarian funds.
• Sweden lacks a comprehensive foreign policy on DRR and resilience aligned with sustainable development, as its current approach is limited to the Government’s Humanitarian Aid Policy.
• Urban disaster risks are increasing exponentially due to unplanned urban development, the growth of at-risk populations in marginal areas, and the interdependence of complex urban systems.
• The most vulnerable populations, particularly in developing countries, suffer the highest toll from disasters, with over 95% of deaths occurring in these regions.
• Effective DRR requires a shift toward 'building resilience'—the ability to anticipate and adapt to disturbances—and integrating these goals into the Post-2015 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

APA

Å., J. (2014). Water and Risk: Developing Sustainable and Resilient Communities. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Johannessen-etal-2014-Water-and-Risk.pdf

Chicago

Å., Johannessen,. Water and Risk: Developing Sustainable and Resilient Communities. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2014. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Johannessen-etal-2014-Water-and-Risk.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Å. |first1=Johannessen, |title=Water and Risk: Developing Sustainable and Resilient Communities |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2014 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Johannessen-etal-2014-Water-and-Risk.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{2014water, author = {Å., Johannessen,}, title = {{Water and Risk: Developing Sustainable and Resilient Communities}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2014}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Johannessen-etal-2014-Water-and-Risk.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }