The tropical Island Sri Lanka and the Maldives are both very exposed to natural hazards such as cyclones and coastal floodings. A strong trend towards urbanization can be observed in both countries. From an economic point of view, this can bring advantages, also for the living conditions of the population. The problem, however, is that agglomeration requires the rapid creation of living space. Those buildings are constructed rather provisionally than well engineered, which makes them very vulnerable to natural hazards. Furthermore, it can be expected that the frequency of these events will increase in the future due to climate change, so that building regulation frameworks become even more important.

You can find the research summary for Sri Lanka here and for the Maldives here. 

After the numerous fires in France, Portugal and Croatia this summer, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) asked Prof. Johann Georg Goldammer for an interview. He is Director of the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC) at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and a personal member of the DKKV. The interview covers a variety of topics, including trends in changing fire regimes, the impact of climate change on fire risks, vulnerabilities, or lessons learned from fires for prevention and collaboration.

The complete interview can be found here.

The German National Platform for Disaster Reduction (DKKV) together with the National Platform for Disaster Reduction (DRR) of Kyrgyz Republic and the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Kyrgyz Republic (MES) presented results of the joint project, which aimed to enhance the capacity of the national platform for DRR through stronger coordination and collaboration with the national, sub-national, local and international stakeholders. The German Federal Foreign Office and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development have funded the project approach. The outcome of the project presented that the National Platform for DRR, through intersectional synergies, could play a key role in coordinating disaster risk reduction and management on all levels in the future. More...

 Final Statement by the stakeholders of the closing event