This May will see the publication of the next edition of the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR13) by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). An article on the UNISDR website reports on a recent meeting between UNISDR Chief Margareta Wahlström and the Editorial Advisory Board for the GAR13. Wahlström concluded that: “How the private sector and governments take on board the key findings of this report will influence trillions of dollars of investment in critical infrastructure in years to come.”

Wahlström also said, “UNISDR expects that GAR13 will have a profound effect on how disaster risk is managed by major corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises in the future. We are looking to achieve a paradigm shift from simple business continuity planning and disaster response to integrating disaster risk reduction into business planning in the same way as cybersecurity or financial audits.”