Strengthening Governance for Disaster Prevention: The Enhancing Risk Management Capabilities Guidelines

Assistant Professor Kristoffer Albris has contributed to the journal ‘International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction’ with the article ‘Strengthening Governance for Disaster Prevention: The Enhancing Risk Management Capabilities Guidelines’.

The article is co-written with Kristian Cedervall Lauta from the UCPH Faculty of Law and the Copenhagen Center for Disaster Research (COPE) as well as Emmanuel Rajucd from the UCPH Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences, COPE and Centre for Disaster Studies at the North-West University in South Africa.

In the article the authors discuss Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in the 21st Century by focussing on the list of recommendations presented in the Enhancing Risk Management Capabilities Guidelines which are built around the SHIELD model, encompassing a set of strategic recommendations across six identified key themes: (1) Sharing Knowledge; (2) Harmonizing Capacities; (3) Institutionalizing Coordination; (4) Engaging Stakeholders; (5) Leveraging Investments; and finally, (6) Developing Communication.

The paper presents each of these recommendations, and discusses why they should be seen as central aspects of the future of DRM in which governance is central. In addition, the paper reflects on the process of crafting the guidelines, and the issues inherent in attempting to propose suggestions and recommendations across a range of complex topics in the domain of disaster management. The guidelines have been produced as part of the H2020-project ESPREssO (Enhancing Synergies for disaster prevention in the European Union).

Get access to the article here.