Disaster Risk Reduction and Adaptation Working Group

Concept

The Disaster Risk Reduction and Adaptation Working Group (DRRA-WG) brings together the GEO Work Proragmme, DRR and climate change experts nominated from GEO Members, Participating Organizations (POs), Associates, and other relevant stakeholders to promote the integration of Earth Intelligence into disaster management and climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. The DRRA-WG promotes the scaling up of EO use in the context of global policy frameworks, such as the Sendai Framework and the Paris Agreement, aligning and promoting activities with GEO’s Post-2025 Strategy.

With disasters increasing in frequency and intensifying due to climate change, and countries facing challenges in utilizing Earth observations effectively, the DRRA-WG addresses critical gaps by highlighting accessible Earth observation tools, data, and best practices for countries to enhance their climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction policies and implementation, such as those under the UN Secretary-General’s Early Warnings for All initiative.

The escalating frequency of extreme events and the narrowing window for impactful climate action underscore the urgency of the DRRA-WG’s mandate. Climate change amplifies disaster risks, making cohesive strategies for adaptation and resilience-building indispensable. The working group’s efforts are pivotal in translating international goals into actionable plans, equipping countries to improve EO integration, strengthen policy coherence, and reduce vulnerabilities.

Key outcomes of the DRRA-WG include providing inputs for policy-related documents to increase the adoption of EO tools and knowledge in disaster and climate planning. Considering the previous role of GEO’s former Working Groups on DRR, climate change, and capacity building, the new DRRA-WG conducts activities to enhance stakeholder capacity through knowledge-sharing, and to improve coordination within GEO to be aligned with global policy frameworks.

Objectives

The DRRA-WG aims to foster connections among GEO Members, POs, and GWP across all Focus Areas to enhance the uptake of EO through climate adaptation and mitigation planning efforts and disaster preparedness, prevention, mitigation, and recovery:

Support Multilateral DRR and Climate Change Frameworks:

By aligning and synergizing its efforts with relevant POs, such as the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the DRRA-WG facilitates GEO Work Proragmme contributions to policy formation and implementation related to DRR and adaptation. In doing so, the WG fosters partnerships with relevant national, regional, and international organizations, ensuring that their EO practices support these goals and initiatives through publications and events, including during relevant conferences. This is not only to support national EO applications but also to strengthen GEO’s impact on international policies and practices in DRR and climate change. For example, the DRRA-WG brings together relevant Members and organizations to develop coordinated approaches for EO-related events and negotiations. The WG also provides support for the formulation and implementation of GEO’s supplemental materials for National Adaptation Plans. Other Flagship reports the WG plans to contribute to include UNDRR’s Global Assessment Reports on DRR and the State of the Climate Report by WMO.

Knowledge Sharing:

The DRRA-WG aims to work with GEO Members and POs to share GEO’s knowledge and best practices, helping stakeholders integrate EO into the early warning value chain, e.g., through climate and disaster risk assessment. For example, building on the WG’s previous work of providing technical inputs to the UNFCCC Technology Executive Committee-GEO Policy Brief, the WG will expand the technical content to be elaborated in learning modules that UNDRR is creating and rolling out in EW4All-implementing countries. This will help policymakers in developing countries learn about EO solutions from GWP, which were already highlighted by the Policy Brief. The DRRA-WG will also aim to increase GEO’s coordinated contribution to climate-biodiversity nexus areas by identifying relevant GWP activities to coordinate and integrate their efforts and to highlight GEO’s harmonized efforts at the Conferences of Parties.

Build Capacity and Promote Synergies with Other Working Groups:

The DRRA-WG also plans to conduct a series of activities to enhance the capacity of vulnerable countries by promoting access to training resources and expanding its collaborative network. The WG will engage with policymakers, technical staff members, and local stakeholders, starting in Latin America and the Caribbean (LACI), in assessing climate impacts, vulnerability, and risks, and catalyzing partnerships to inform decisions. For example, the WG is co-developing geospatial decision-support tools and providing capacity-building support in Jamaica, developing a climate change vulnerability and risk atlas in El Salvador, assessing climate impacts on compound disasters in the La Plata Basin, and training Indigenous Peoples and local communities in the Amazon region on EO climate-informed decision-support tools.

Promote Synergies with Other Working Groups:

The DRRA-WG works closely with other GEO Working Groups, aligning activities to leverage shared expertise, avoid duplication, and optimize resource use. This integration enables a comprehensive approach to disaster resilience and climate adaptation by connecting data and insights from various GEO Focus Areas, such as Climate, Health, and Ecosystems. The DRRA-WG leads the organization of cross-WG coordination meetings at GEO Symposia and other GEO events as necessary.