Project Update - GIDRM IV

We are pleased to share the latest project updates and insights from the Global Initiative on Disaster Risk Management (GIDRM), keeping fellow practitioners informed about our ongoing efforts to transform development processes to minimise risk creation. Drawing on experiences from previous phases, the GIDRM IV cooperates with partners in Colombia, Georgia, Pakistan, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region to understand risks and apply approaches to fully integrate disaster and climate risks in decision-making processes.

In today’s world, risk-informed development has never been more crucial. The increasing frequency and intensity of disasters, fuelled by climate change, underscore the rapid need for more effective risk management. More than one disaster per day is predicted by the United Nations, unless human action on risk reduction is taken (UN, 2022). These disasters not only threaten lives and livelihoods but also hinder our progress in achieving sustainable development. Without immediate action, disasters will continue to push societies to the brink of poverty and pull back economic, social, and cultural gains. Our work is intricately linked to the goals of the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the Sustainable Development Goals, providing a blueprint for enhancing resilience. Our activities focus on building a shared understanding of risk, strengthening disaster risk governance, and improving risk prevention and mitigation to support risk-informed development (RID).

“If we accept that disasters are neither natural nor inevitable, then we must work to prevent or at least reduce their impact.”
— (UNDRR, GAR 2024)

By integrating DRM systematic thinking into key BMZ topics and engaging with partner structures, we are mainstreaming DRM in sectoral processes and promoting cross-sectional thinking. We remain committed to fostering collaboration, sharing knowledge, and driving meaningful action. Being a collective effort, your partnership and engagement are pivotal to our journey. With foresight and shared will to transform development, together we can create a safe and more resilient world for all.

Happy reading
GIDRM Team

Resilient Together: The EE4RID process

According to the World Risk Report 2024, “14.5 million deaths due to climate change are expected by 2050. The main causes will be droughts, floods and diseases”—this calls for immediate action and innovative methods. This surge in risk does not only endanger lives but also livelihoods, ecosystems, and hard-won development gains. The Enabling Environment for Risk-Informed Development (EE4RID) framework is designed to integrate climate and disaster risks into the fabric of development planning, ensuring progress is resilient to risks posed by natural and human-made hazards. Being a comprehensive approach, the EE4RID institutionalises systematic risk thinking across sectors and governance levels. At its core, the framework ensures alignment of policy, regulatory, financial, and cultural dimensions to create an enabling environment where risks are taken on board to strengthen cooperation with local, national, and regional stakeholders.

Amidst the excitement of the EURO 2024 football championship this June in Germany, our team conducted a workshop with Resilience Solutions, a specialist consultancy offering tailor-made research, capacity strengthening and technical advisory services to address climate and disaster resilience. In a collaborative effort, the EE4RID methodology was adapted to GIDRM project implementation and the geographical focus in the partner countries and regions was confirmed.

©GIDRM/GIZ

The EE4RID framework represents a significant step forward in the effort to integrate DRM into development planning in our partner contexts. Through its implementation, governments, organisations, and communities can take the next step towards building a resilient future where progress is not only achieved but also safeguarded against future threats and challenges.

Colombia

Comprehensive risk management

On a warm sunny July day in Santiago de Cali, Colombia, experts and representatives from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) gathered for a regional workshop on integrated climate and disaster risk management. Organised by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the mayor’s office and key partners, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Adaptation Fund, the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and GIZ, the event underscored the region's need for coherent strategies to address the dual challenges of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

According to UNDRR's global risk model, LAC countries are the world's most vulnerable to climate hazards, facing a constant barrage of droughts, heavy rains, landslides, hurricanes, and the complex El Niño/La Niña phenomenon. Considering the ensuing risks, the focus of the workshop was to develop a comprehensive disaster and climate risk management (CRM) approach and exchange best practices within national contexts. By bringing representatives from ministries and institutions, a conducive environment served discussions on shared challenges, opportunities, and strategies. Participants explored ways to enhance coherence, improve institutional coordination and align regional and national strategies for DRR with CCA efforts. A significant focus was placed on overcoming barriers to accessing funding, ensuring that plans and actions to mitigate risks are adequately resourced.

©GIDRM/GIZ

By building on lessons shared and connections forged during the workshop, stakeholders are better equipped to enhance the resilience of their regions and manage the risk landscape in the face of climate change. As LAC continues to confront these challenges, the integrated approaches discussed during the workshop represent a stepping stone for a safer future for the region.

Conversápolis: Advancing Sustainable Urban Development

Organised by GIZ through GIDRM and the Bogota 2.0 Initiative, Conversápolis brought together stakeholders from across Colombia in May 2024 to inspire change and support the development of resilient and sustainable cities. The focus was on assisting new local governments in developing their development plans by equipping decision-makers to integrate sustainability into their strategies. This year’s event facilitated a rich exchange of ideas among participants, which included sectoral heads from the capital district, representatives from various secretariats, District Institute for Risk Management and Climate Change (IDIGER), the mayor's office, local communities, the private sector, academia, and the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD).

©GIDRM/GIZ

A key highlight of the event was a workshop on human mobility, climate change, and disaster risk management, which aimed at promoting the interaction of topics in the district development plan and analysing the complexities of risk management in the face of these challenges. The workshop provided a platform for in-depth discussions on the unique challenges faced by cities like Bogotá where migration, climate change and disaster risk intersect. The Tocaimita neighbourhood in the Usme district of Bogotá, served as a case study for developing a participatory action plan. Conversápolis 2024 emphasized the importance of community participation in the urban planning processes. By involving local communities in the discussions, the event ensured that the strategies developed were not only technically sound but also responsive to the needs and realities of the people living in the affected areas. Another critical insight was the need for a coordinated approach to urban planning, particularly in integrating DRM with other development planning instruments. By continuing to support capacity building, knowledge exchange, and collaborative action, GIDRM through Conversápolis is helping to inspire a new generation of urban leaders committed to changing the world from their cities.

Advancing Eco-Disaster Risk Reduction through Nature-Based Solutions

In a significant step toward promoting sustainable development, a workshop on Eco-Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR) was held in Santa Marta, bringing together key environmental and academic stakeholders. Eco-DRR is an approach that emphasizes the sustainable management, conservation, and restoration of ecosystems to mitigate disaster risks. By treating ecosystems like wetlands, forests, and coastal areas as natural infrastructure, Eco-DRR aims at reducing the exposure of communities to hazards while boosting socio-economic resilience. The event was organized by the GIDRM and the City Climate Finance Gap Fund, with support from the International Climate Initiative (IKI) project SolNatura. Participants included representatives from the Secretariat of the District Administrative Department of Environmental Sustainability (DADSA) of Santa Marta, the University of Magdalena, and the National Disaster Risk Management Unit (UNGRD).

During the workshop, UNGRD presented key concepts on Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and Eco-DRR, which sparked a lively debate about the need for comprehensive data and clear responsibilities. DADSA showcased a forest project supported by the City Climate Finance Gap Fund, which highlighted practical applications of Eco-DRR principles and demonstrated how NbS can be integrated into local development strategies to address both environmental and socio-economic challenges. Continuing the discussion from an event in Medellín in March 2024, the workshop underscored the commitment to fostering sustainable and resilient development in Colombia and across the region.

For further information, please contact marie-christin.rufert@giz.de

Georgia

Working in tandem with political counterparts

From policy development and resource allocation to long-term commitment and milestones, political partners are indispensable in mainstreaming DRM into broader development goals. In Georgia, the GIDRM works in tandem with the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Finance, the National Environmental Agency, and the German Embassy. The GIDRM met with financial and infrastructure management leaders from around 60 municipalities and their political counterparts to integrate RID principles into investment projects right from the budget planning phase of local entities.

Through collaborative work, participants explored municipal practices to identify gaps in managing risks related to infrastructure projects, spatial planning and local economic development. Together with Promoting Good Financial Governance (GFG) project, the focus is on the creation of municipal risk assessment groups, increasing budget allocation for preventive measures, and creating comprehensive training modules for municipal staff.

Besides financial governance, we work with Promoting Sustainable Cities in Georgia (SUD) project to analyse vulnerabilities in the city of Zugdidi. Working with representatives from the local mayor's office, city council and other stakeholders, the GIDRM team held consultative sessions to embed risk-informed decision-making into city systems considering the impacts of climate change and growing urbanization.

Tourism is a vital sector for Georgia. With its diverse geography, rich cultural heritage and landmarks ranging from the Caucasus Mountains to the Black Sea coast, the country is very susceptible to a variety of natural hazards. To combat associated challenges, the GIDRM is conducting the EE4RID analysis with Resilience Solutions by developing an initial risk profile, gap analysis for the tourism sector and analysis for planning resilient tourist trails. These processes will be streamlined to be used together with the GIZ project Vocational Education and Training in Georgia’s Growth Sectors (VET) aiming to make the tourism industry more resilient and sustainable.

For further information, please contact akaki.rukhadze@giz.de

Southern African Development Community – SADC

Enabling risk integration in the nexus sectors energy, water, natural resources, and climate

The African Union’s adoption of the Programme of Action (PoA) for implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (SFDRR) aims to improve DRR in the region. However, the SFDRR Mid-Term Review highlighted that despite the need for proactive and resilient measures, the high costs and economic impacts of disasters have led to a focus on responsive rather than preventive DRR expenditures. In the Southern African region, disasters and climate extremes result in loss of life and the destruction of critical infrastructure annually, thus setting back the regional economic and social developmental gains (SADC, 2023). The shocks of an increase in severe climate-related events (IPCC), particularly the ongoing impacts of El Niño, showcase the cascading and systemic nature of risks across sectors. An El Niño-induced drought already accounts for losses of 2.7 million hectares of farmland and 4.9 million livestock which has pushed 50 million people into food insecurity, while insufficient water supply for hydropower generation has increased financial pressure on the regional economies (SADC, 2024). While the key relevance of preventing new and reducing existing risks through integrated and inclusive DRR measures across sectors is widely recognized, implementation is barely sufficient. Efforts like the development of SADC’s Mainstreaming DRR Guidelines recognize the relevance of looking critically at each program, activity, and project, not only from the perspective of reducing existing risks but also minimising its potential contribution to the creation of new risks.

©GIDRM/GIZ

The GIDRM held the Enabling Environment for Risk Informed Development (EE4RID) Kick-off workshop to facilitate risk integration in energy, climate and natural resource management projects within the GIZ Botswana/ SADC Nexus Cluster. GIDRM’s ongoing focus in the SADC is placed on the BMZ thematic area of Conserving nature and natural resources, protecting life on Earth. To this end, the project collaborates with four ongoing GIZ projects: (1) Growing Greener (GG) - for restoration and sustainable use of agro-pastoralist systems in open arid landscapes across Southern Africa while fostering sustainable rural development; (2) Climate-Natural Resource Management (CNRM) project, for systematic integration of climate change in the transboundary management of natural resources; (3) Transboundary Water Management (TWM) project, which works towards the sustainable management of transboundary water resources in the SADC Region, and (4) Project Development Programme (PDP), which promotes the economic development in the partner countries and long-term economic relations between the partner countries and Germany to strengthen global climate protection, with a focus on the energy sector. Here, the GIDRM aims to risk-inform the promotion of renewable energies and storage, smart grids, green hydrogen, and energy efficiency.

The workshop provided a platform for over 26 officials from 12 Southern African organisations to explore how DRM approaches can be strengthened, identifying key entry points to sectors for implementing risk-informed development measures and discussing how the EE4RID framework could be replicated in the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area (GMTFCA) within the Limpopo River Basin (LIMCOM). By focusing efforts on the GMTFCA, an area severely impacted by droughts, our initiative cooperates with partners to ensure that planning processes across different sectors in the region are risk-informed.

For further information, please contact karl-heinz.gaudrysada@giz.de

Pakistan

Promoting risk-informed development

Pakistan is the fifth most populous country in the world and plays a significant geopolitical role, given its central location in South Asia. At the same time, the country is facing several challenges. Severely affected by climate change, extreme weather events threaten the livelihoods of large portions of the population and strain social protection systems. The region is becoming a climate change “hotspot” and warming faster than the global average, leading to an increased number of flooding events and water scarcity at the same time. It would not be wrong to call Pakistan’s economy a “gamble on Indus” because of the crucial role the Indus River System (IRS) plays in water provision to drive Pakistan’s economy forward. For instance, Pakistan’s textile and fashion industry accounts for around 60% of total exports and 8.5% of gross domestic product. The demographic map of Pakistan (below) shows the population density along the IRS, which is crucial in providing water resources for driving the national economy. As climate change disrupts weather patterns, leading to irregular rainfall and increased temperatures with peaks exceeding 45° C, these intense conditions are challenging for cotton crops, causing issues such as flower and fruit shedding and resulting in significant yield losses.

© Haris Mushtaq, GIDRM/GIZ

Transforming development to minimise risk creation should therefore be prioritized in all German development cooperation efforts in the country. Based on more than 60 years of development cooperation between both countries, the current portfolio focuses on the key areas:

• Climate change and just energy transition
• Social protection and local governance (in particular, the support for Afghan refugees and host communities)
• Sustainable economic development and vocational education and training.

The GIDRM is supporting the integration of risk considerations across all three core areas of cooperation. Together with the Energy and Climate Change Cluster (which includes the projects Strengthening climate adaptation and resilience (SAR), Supporting the implementation of the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and Introduction of innovative climate risk financing solutions in Pakistan (CRF) of GIZ Pakistan), we aim to support the National Planning Commission to facilitate the operationalization of their new handbook on Climate Risk Screening for Policy Planning and the updated Manual of Development Projects 2024. In addition, we will be working together on strengthening the resilience of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) from mango and potato value chains. Selected SMEs will receive capacity-building measures that include a comprehensive understanding of risks to better integrate climate and disaster risk considerations in their daily operations and long-term strategy processes. A similar approach will be taken with the beneficiaries of the TextiLES and the project Promoting employment by strengthening the role of women (WE). To support SMEs in the textile sector, existing training programs will be enriched with modules to recognize the potential implications of a changing environment on their businesses.

In addition, the GIDRM supports strengthening the linkages between climate change adaptation, disaster risk management and social protection within the Adaptive Social Protection (ASP) Project in Pakistan. The ASP kickstarted its cooperation with the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Historically, the focus of disaster management departments in Pakistan has been very response-oriented, with limited investments in prevention and mitigation measures. Under the umbrella of the ASP project, the PDMA of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is developing their own Disaster Risk Reduction Policy at the provincial level. GIDRM will support this process by highlighting the role of risk-informed development, risk reduction and prevention in the respective policy.

For further information, please contact mareike.bentfeld@giz.de