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The Influence of International Agreements on Disaster Risk Reduction
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The Influence of International Agreements on Disaster Risk Reduction

Jonathan Raikes, Professor Timothy F. Smith, Claudia Baldwin, Daniel Henstra and Tim Smith
SSRN Electronic Journal
Elsevier
08/02/2022
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Abstract

disaster risk reduction transformation international agreements Sendai Framework Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Paris Agreement
Global frameworks established in 2015 – including the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Paris Agreement – provide a comprehensive foundation for states to develop holistic disaster risk management. However, the degree to which these frameworks are driving necessary changes to public policies and practices for disaster risk reduction remains questionable. This article explores the influence of these frameworks – referred to collectively herein as the 2030 Global Development Agenda – on flood and drought risk management in two federal states, Canada and Australia, from the perspective of government practitioners. Through two Delphi studies and semi-structured interviews, the research found that although international agreements are considered valuable to the maturation of disaster risk management principles and practices, their perceived utility in flood and drought risk management has been more limited. Government practitioners warn that using the 2030 Global Development Agenda to drive meaningful change to disaster risk management systems and structures risks further politicizing the field because of existing complex and deeply entrenched socio-political infrastructures. The findings highlight the fact that the ability of international agreements to facilitate transformative change toward more equitable, resilient, and sustainable disaster risk management is challenged not only by the institutional design of these agreements, but by resistant institutional structures that are embedded across levels of governance.

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