Mainstreaming DRM into the World Bank Development ... - GFDRR

Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management into World Bank Development Agenda
A Quantitative Review
INTRODUCTION
1. The World Bank is responding to the growing demand from its clients for assistance after natural disasters
and support to prepare for future disasters. Between fiscal years 2006 and 2011, the World Bank committed an
estimated $10.8 billion to projects or project elements related to disasters 1 , most often in urban, water, agriculture or rural
development sectors. This is based on the knowledge that - if done right - preventative measures not only save lives, they
are cost effective too. The demand from governments for assistance in Disaster Risk Management (DRM) – and their
increasing ownership of the issue - is illustrated by the increasing integration of DRM into Poverty Reduction Strategy
Papers (PRSPs) and other national development strategies.
2. The purpose of this note is to provide a quantitative assessment of DRM mainstreaming between 2006 and
2011. This is the first phase of a two-phase evaluation of mainstreaming of DRM in the World Bank. Phase two of this
evaluation will involve a qualitative assessment of mainstreaming as well as an internal and external survey and
interviews. The result will be the first ever 360 degree assessment of DRM mainstreaming within the World Bank. The
report will be delivered in 2012.
UPSTREAM REVIEW
3. GFDRR provides expert feedback and advice to regional and country teams at different stages of the
development of all new Country Assistance Strategies (CASs – see box 1). This review process is recognized as a
cornerstone of the DRM mainstreaming agenda in the World Bank, and an important precursor to investment decisionmaking.
Box 1: The World Bank Country Assistance Strategy
A Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) is a tool used by World Bank management and the Board of Executive Directors to review
and guide country programs and judge the impact of its work. The starting point for the CAS is the country’s own vision for its
development goals, as articulated in a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper or another country-owned strategy process. The CAS is
prepared in collaboration with the government and in consultation with civil society, development partners, and other stakeholders.
The objective of the CAS is to identify the key areas in which WBG support can best assist the country to achieve its sustainable
development and poverty reduction goals.
Source: World Bank Operations Policy and Country Services department
4. To monitor progress in mainstreaming, GFDRR has reviewed World Bank CASs active in 2006 and 2011. In
total, strategies for 78 countries have been reviewed to determine the ‘level’ of strategic commitment to DRM. The
different levels of strategic commitment were rated by applying different scores (see table 1).
1 Source: GFDRR Disasters Portfolio Database (data as of June 30, 2011)

Table 1: Levels of Strategic Commitment to DRM or CCA
Level Strategic Commitment to DRM and CCA Score
0 No reference to natural disasters and climate change 0
1 Natural disasters or Climate Change recognized as a challenge/threat to development 17
2 DRM or CCA is a cross-cutting issue 33
3 DRM or CCA considered a strategic priority 50
Total 100
MAIN FINDINGS
5. The World Bank has made progress in mainstreaming DRM and CCA at the strategic level. This is
reflected by the significant increase in the number of CASs which address disaster and climate risks between 2006
and 2011 (see table 2). On average, 7 out of every 10 CASs now at a minimum recognize natural disasters as a challenge
or a risk to sustainable development, compared with 4 out of every 10 in 2006. In addition, 4 out of every 10 CASs now
recognize climate change as a challenge or risk, whereas this less was than 1 out of 10 CASs in 2006.
Table 2: Levels of Strategic Commitment to DRM or CCA in 2006 and 2011 – Based on sample of 78 countries.
Level Strategic Commitment to DRM
# strategies
# Strategies
% of total
2006
2011
% of total
0 No reference to natural disasters 38 49 12 15
1
Natural disasters recognized as a
challenge/risk to development
37 47 57 73
2 DRM is a cross-cutting issue 18 23 36 46
3 DRM considered a strategic priority 2 3 12 15
Level Strategic Commitment to CCA
# Strategies
# Strategies
% of total
2006
2011
% of total
0 No reference to climate change 74 95 36 46
1
Climate change recognized as a challenge/risk
to development
3 4 36 46
2 CCA is a cross-cutting issue 3 4 27 35
3 CCA considered a strategic priority 1 1 9 12
6. Reflecting that not all countries started on the same level of strategic commitment and that mainstreaming
is a process that takes a different speed in each country, progress was not uniform across the board. Most progress
was demonstrated in CASs where there was initially no reference to natural disasters or climate change. Out of all CASs
showing progress, 5 out of every 10 CASs did not address natural disasters in 2006, but recognized natural disaster as a
risk or challenge (level one) and/or identify DRM as a cross-cutting issue (level two) in 2011. In addition, 8 out of every
10 CASs showing progress did not mention climate change in 2006, but recognized climate change as a risk/ challenge
(level one) and/or identify CCA as a cross-cutting issue (level two) in 2011.
7. The World Bank was also able to deepen the strategic commitment to DRM between 2006 and 2011. On
average, in 3 out 10 CASs showing progress natural disasters were recognized as a risk/challenge in 2006 (level one), the
level of mainstreaming had increased by 2011 to a cross-cutting issue (level two) or as a (co)-pillar (level three).

Graph 1
8. The increase in mainstreaming took place across a
whole spectrum of countries, from low to upper-middle income.
However, the distribution among regions was more varied. The
East Asia Pacific (EAP) and Latin America and Caribbean (LCR)
Regions demonstrated the strongest performance in the
mainstreaming DRM into CASs, while the Middle East and North
Africa (MNA) Region showed most improvement (see graph 1). In
total, 4 out of every 10 CASs which have now mainstreamed DRM
as a (co-)pillar (level three) are located in the LCR Region.
9. In the context of formal World Bank strategies, six years is a short time. Many development issues are competing
for the attention they all deserve, and the nature of institutional mandates and relationships at a country level means
changes in direction come only slowly. Despite this, a number of countries have demonstrated rapid progress in
mainstreaming DRM - see graph 2.
Graph 2

MAINSTREAMING IN OPERATIONS
10. By recognizing country priorities, ensuring alignment with PRSPs and National Development Plans,
increased strategic mainstreaming has allowed the World Bank to establish itself as a major financier of disaster
recovery and reduction. Between FY06 and FY11, the Bank has financed 196 disaster related investment and policy
operations, providing clients countries with US$ 10.8 billion in disaster assistance.
11. During this period the Africa (AFR) and Latin America and Caribbean (LCR) regions took the largest share of
number of operations (both 27 percent of total portfolio). Simultaneously, the South Asia (SAR) region took the largest
amount of disaster related commitments (27 percent) with the highest average operation size (US$ 105 million).
12. During the last five years, the Bank financed 122 disaster
operations (US$ 6.8 billion) with ex-ante activities (anticipating
foreseeable disasters in the future) and 74 disaster operations (US$ 4
billion) with ex-post activities (directly triggered by a disaster). In 4
out of the 6 regions, the Bank financed more ex-ante than ex-post
operations (see graph 3).
Graph 3
Graph 4
13. All World Bank operations are mapped to a specific
sector board (there are currently 20 sector boards), which is
then responsible for oversight and quality. Typically the sector
board corresponds either to the most important theme or sector
assigned to the project. Disaster operations can be found under
various Sector Boards, but the largest share of operations fell
under Urban Development, Agriculture and Rural
Development and Water Sector Boards (71 percent of all
disaster operations approved between FY06-11). See graph 4.

ANNEX
I – Examples of strategic mainstreaming
Mozambique: The FY04-07 CAS for Mozambique acknowledged that the country was prone to natural disasters such as
floods and droughts, and that this was a threat to development. To address these risks, the strategy called for technical
assistance in disaster prevention in regional water resource management and greater investment in social safety nets. This
was already a good case study in DRM mainstreaming, reflecting the serious threat disasters pose to the country and the
shock the country experienced during major flooding in 2000 and 2001. However the upcoming FY12-15 CPS for
Mozambique takes the World Bank’s strategic commitment to DRM onto new levels. The strategy is expected to include a
pillar fully dedicated to vulnerability and resilience, which will call for – among other things – strengthened early warning
and weather information systems in the most vulnerable regions, including modernized weather radars and more weather
stations
Yemen: the FY06-09 CAS made no reference to natural hazards or climate change. The subsequent CAS, for the period
FY10-13, dedicated one strategic priority out of four to “help manage natural resource scarcity and natural risks”. Under
this strategic pillar, the CAS calls for a national early warning system, greater support to disaster recovery and climate
change adaptation efforts. Such a major strategic commitment to DRM, in such a short time frame is testament to the
leadership of the government on the issue resulting from a growing national concern for future impacts of water scarcity
and rainfall variability in particular.
Recognizing Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to natural hazards the FY06-09 CAS committed the Bank to providing
would support to the Government of Bangladesh’s efforts to integrate DRM into all relevant ministries. The current
FY11-14 CAS now recognizes that sustainable growth is dependent upon the reduction of vulnerability to natural disasters
and climate change. The strategy calls for investment in disaster preparedness at all levels and risk mitigation in
infrastructure including shelters and embankments.
II - Examples of Disaster-related Operations approved FY06-11 with GFDRR support
While some operations are fully dedicated to disaster recovery or mitigation, other operations have built-in DRM as a
component of their design or have incorporated DRM activities on sub-component level. In many cases, grant financing
from GFDRR has provided the critical support needed in the project design and early implementation phase.
In Turkey, the World Bank approved additional financing ($150m) to the Istanbul Seismic Risk Mitigation and
Emergency Preparedness Project to improve the city’s earthquake preparedness through establishing institutional and
technical disaster management capacity, strengthening critical public facilities and supporting measures for better
enforcement of building codes and land use plans. GFDRR provided a technical assistance grant ($400k) to on
institutional and legal issues, on identification of at-risk critical infrastructure and on emergency communications systems.
In Haiti, the Reconstruction Fund has supported the Port-au-Prince Neighborhood Housing Reconstruction project
($65m) to help residents affected by the earthquake return to their communities by supporting them to repair and/or
reconstruct houses and improving basic community infrastructure. GFDRR provided grants for a structural assessment
($1.3m) and multi-hazard assessment ($990k) to promote sustainable, disaster resilient reconstruction.
A new Central Asia Hydrometeorology Modernization Project ($27.7m) will improve the accuracy and timeliness of
hydro-met services in Central Asia, with particular focus on Kyrgyz Republic and Republic of Tajikistan. GFDRR
provided a technical assistance grant ($200k) to establish the feasibility and scope of the project, which will drastically
improve the capacity of the region to forecast extreme weather events and plan accordingly.