Understanding Risk Conference: The Peruvian experience

During the week of May 16th more than 650 experts on Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation from 100 countries gathered in Italy for the 4th global forum “Understanding Risk”. Every two years this Conference offers an invaluable opportunity for practitioners to share advances, both theoretical and practical, and promote successful DRM experiences, tools and products.

This year the Peruvian experience with incorporating disaster and climate risk management into public investment projects was highlighted in a Focus Days event organized by the ADPC and GIDRM, Disaster and Climate Risk-Sensitive Planning for Public Investment Decisions: Learning from Two Public-Sector Experiences of Peru and Lao PDR. The session was led by Dr. Allan Lavell, 2015 Sasakawa Award winner.

Mainstreaming risk management into development policies and plans is an aspiration for many experts and practitioners, but the presentations from Peru and Lao PDR remind us that it is one we can put into practice. Participants from other countries benefited from detailed descriptions of two public-sector risk management processes and reflections on the dynamic, context-specific nature of risk, as well as best practice tips on local, holistic risk analysis that considers future climate and decision making informed by cost-benefit analysis. Peruvian participants stressed the importance of regional mechanisms, such as the Latin American network on risk management and climate change in public investment (GRICCIP), for peer learning and knowledge exchange by DRM practitioners.