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The
Secretary-General
Message
for the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction 2002
"The theme of this year's International Day
for Disaster Reduction - "disaster reduction for sustainable mountain
development" -- is related to another United Nations observance: the
International Year of Mountains (2002). There is a natural link between
the two.
No community is immune from the threat of natural
disasters, but mountain communities are particularly vulnerable. They are
exposed to extreme climate events such as high rain and snowfalls, and the
landslides and avalanches that result. Poverty has forced people to build
homes on hazard-prone slopes, and demographic pressures have pushed them
to settle at the feet of volcanoes and in other seismically active areas.
Poor land-use planning, environmental mismanagement, the lack of
regulatory mechanisms and other human activities increase the risk that a
disaster will occur, and worsen their effects when they do.
Any community is at risk of natural hazards. But
with people in harm's way as never before, we can and must do better in
responding to this challenge. Early warning and risk reduction measures
are helping to reduce significantly the number of people who lose their
lives to disasters. New planning and forecasting tools are helping to
mitigate the devastation wrought regularly by floods.
Sustainable development in mountain communities
and elsewhere requires more up-front and "upstream" investments in
these and other measures. In implementing the International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction, in building a world of resilient communities and
nations, prevention must be our priority."
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