Risk assessment, an integral part of sustainable development-Annan

Accra, Oct. 6, GNA - Mr. Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General, on Monday urged nations on the occasion of the International Day for Disaster Reduction to consider risk assessment and management as an integral part of all sustainable development projects and policies. He said there was the need to "remind ourselves that we can and must reduce the number of impact of disasters by building sustainable communities that have the long-term capacity to live with risk." Better decisions, improved planning, effective risk management, innovation in development and environmental protections activities are the human activities that can reduce the vulnerability of communities".

A statement issued from the UN Information Centre in Accra to commemorate the Day, which falls on October 8, under the theme: "turning the tide on disaster towards sustainable development," said the vulnerability of communities was growing due to human activities.

It said such a situation had lead to increased poverty, greater urban density, environmental degradation and climate change. The statement said the theme for the Day reminded nations that during the international Year of Freshwater, the task was not just to preserve water resources to sustain life, but also to reduce the capacity of water to take life away.

More than 90 per cent of all disasters occurring around the world today are related to water- either too little of it, in the case of droughts, or too much of it, in the case of floods, landslides, cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons, the statement concluded.