Sustainable development, poverty reduction, good governance and disaster risk reduction are mutually supportive objectives, and in order to meet the challenges ahead, accelerated efforts must be made to build the necessary capacities at the community and national levels to manage and reduce risk. Such an approach is to be recognised as an important element for the achievement of internationally agreed development goals.
This paper seeks to promote a common understanding of what capacity development means for disaster risk reduction, including considerations or how it develops in both conceptual and practical terms. It is intended as a reference for the broader global community who work at the international, regional, national and sub-national levels in disaster risk reduction.