@local.glob 3

This special issue has been prepared and produced in conjunction with: the International Recovery Platform (IRP) and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR).

Please click here to download @local.glob (pdf 1,777Kb)

Fighting poverty, environmental degradation and the devastating consequences of disasters caused by vulnerability to natural hazards are objectives that can only be accomplished if they are undertaken in an integrated manner: promoting sustainable development policies at different levels, by diverse stakeholders, within a multi-sectoral approach.

In other words, the responsibility for meeting and implementing the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 and achieving the Millennium Development Goals does not lie just at national and international level: it needs involvement, participation and commitment by local authorities, local social and economic stakeholders and the community as a whole.

Although a sustainable community cannot stop tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and drought from happening, it must be able to reduce the physical damage to its territory and its inhabitants and thereby minimize the social, economic and environmental impact. This special issue of @local.glob is dedicated to local, national and international decision-makers who are aware of the fact that sustainability and disaster reduction are not an unreachable utopia: they can be achieved with commitment and responsibility.