Working with nature to reduce disaster risks in Madagascar

Posted on 27 February 2024

The concept of ECO-DRR, or Ecosystem-Based Disaster Risks Reduction, is simply defined as strengthening the resilience of ecosystems to mitigate the immediate consequences of natural hazards.

In other words, the preservation, restoration and sustainable management of ecosystems will help to reduce and/or mitigate disaster risks such as cyclones, floods, droughts and coastal erosion. This also has the positive consequence of strengthening the resilience of communities to cope with future climate shocks.

ECO-DRR, which links nature with risks and disasters reduction, is one of the nature-based solutions that contribute to the well-being of the most vulnerable communities to risks and disasters.

On February 27, 2024, stake holders involved in risks and disasters management, humanitarian aid, conservation and sustainable development met to learn more about the ECO-DRR concept. One of their objectives is also to understand its importance, in order to implement it in their emergency response to natural disasters, reconstruction and recovery.

For Voahirana Randriambola from WWF Madagascar, « We work closely with local communities, both in landscapes and seascapes. These communities are increasingly faced with hazards, particularly natural and climatic ones such as cyclones and coastal erosion. Protecting, managing and restoring ecosystems can help prevent these hazards from becoming disasters. In fact, environmental players and risks and disasters management players need to work together in a complementary way to help respond more effectively to risks and disasters. »

For the General Director of the national office for risks and disasters (Bureau National de Gestion des Risques et des Catastrophes – BNGRC), General Elack Olivier Andriakaja, stressed the importance of this meeting: « This initiative enables us to see how we can collaborate and find solutions together, thus supporting the implementation of the National Strategy for Risks and Disasters Management (SNGRC)."

This is a first step in the process of improving risks and disasters management, by demonstrating the value of nature through the restoration and sustainable management of ecosystems. The aim is to make communities more resilient in the face of climatic hazards.