RISK RELATIONSHIPS AND CASCADING EFFECTS in CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURES: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE HYOGO FRAMEWORK

Introduction Disaster preparedness and management are crucial capabilities against which government performance will be benchmarked in the 21 st century. This is in part due to experts' predictions that for various reasons ranging from rapid urbanization (including increasing rate of coastal settlement), aging population and global economic growth to environmental degradation and climate change, the impact, if not the rate, of natural disasters will continue to increase globally in the coming years Increasing and complex interdependence of nations across economic, social, cultural, political and technological realms compound this prospect as nations are not only vulnerable to disasters that they are directly exposed to, but also to indirect consequences of disasters experienced elsewhere. This brings to the fore three significant and interrelated implications: first, it is crucial to recognize the importance of investing in and developing disaster preparedness and management skills as nations are responsible both to their populace and the global community. Second, countries cannot afford to be indifferent to each other's disaster preparedness and management capabilities; and third, disaster risk reduction efforts require global awareness as well as international collaboration and coordination. In recognition of these implications, in 2005 the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) spearheaded development and adoption of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA). The HFA provides a 10-year global blueprint that aims to increase awareness of and commitment to disaster risk reduction approaches and set priorities to improve resilience across countries and communities. In light of the discussions and agreements achieved during the initiating world conference, HFA identified 5 priority areas for action. States, regional and international organizations and other actors concerned with disaster risk reduction were invited to consider and implement key activities within each of these areas. These activities, known as the 22 core indicators, provide guidance to countries as they invest to reduce disaster risk. Biannual global assessment reports (GARs) have helped contribute to this goal by evaluating progress of participating countries and identifying emerging disaster risk reduction issues and needs. The next scheduled assessment, GAR 2015, will inform modifications to the successive framework to HFA. Expectations for the successor framework to HFA are the same as if not higher than those of the original HFA: it will need to accurately identify the most salient disaster risks and the associated challenges (defining the problems), develop relevant strategies for tackling them (developing solutions), provide clear and targeted guidance to those countries …