UNDP calls for better readiness in disaster prevention
china.org.cn / chinagate.cn by Chen Boyuan, October 27, 2014 Adjust font size:
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Xu Haoliang (2 R), UN assistant secretary-general and UNDP assistant administrator, inspects post-quake reconstruction progress in Deyang, Sichuan Province. UNDP funded several infrastructure reconstruction projects after a major earthquake hit Sichuan on May 12, 2012. [Photo by Chen Boyuan / China.org.cn] |
In addition, natural gas and solar power would eliminate smoke – an immediate health improvement for rural residents and more broadly speaking, they would reduce carbon emissions, improve air quality and help with forestry conservation, according to Xu, showing how far the ripple effect could benefit rural households and how such efforts would contribute to resilience buildup.
Raising people's ability to mitigate risks should not be postponed until a country has reached a certain development stage, said the UN official, implying that developing countries should actually pay more attention to resilience buildup, because people in developing countries are more vulnerable to disasters.
The 2014 HDR showed that Nordic countries, as well as Republic of Korea and Costa Rica, were able to provide universal basic social services when their per capita GDP was lower than that of India or Pakistan today.
HDR does not merely address human vulnerability caused by natural disasters. Social factors, such as food prices or unemployment due to a financial crisis will also have negative impact on social protection.
