Practitioner Guidelines on the Integration of Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation into Sector-Based Programs

Disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) are important elements of sustainable development and human security, and if not successfully implemented then disaster and climate change losses will continue to undermine human development and impede progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Accordingly, this guidance manual outlines the set of practical measures required to integrate DRR and CCA across two sectors – education and child protection – based on country experiences across Asia and the Pacific. It then examines the risks, enablers, blockers, inclusion of vulnerable groups and, most importantly, the possible interventions that can be included within projects across each of the five DRR and CCA categories: Early Warning System, Preparedness, Disaster Mitigation, Disaster Resilience and Adaptation.

Finally, this manual will put forward a number of recommendations across the education and child protection sectors that will all be underpinned by the Save the Children DRR and CCA strategic objective: to integrate DRR and CCA into program design across sectors and ensure this is effectively implemented.

The manual is designed to be used by professionals working at different levels: from field practitioners to sector-based managers – to program and program quality directors. It is not intended to provide a definitive conceptual framework so much as it is intended to provide the reader with an overview of the theory, and most importantly, give practical advice and examples on how to integrate DRR and CCA into Save the Children programs.