The Global Assessment Report (GAR) 2025, published by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), offers a sobering yet crucial analysis of the current global landscape of disaster risk. With the theme focused on “Transforming Risk Governance for a Resilient Future,” the report presents a strategic outlook on systemic risks, socioeconomic vulnerabilities, and the institutional shifts required to build disaster resilience in a rapidly changing world.
1. Context and Objectives
The 2025 report continues the GAR tradition of providing policymakers, practitioners, and communities with evidence-based insights and guidance. However, this year’s edition emphasizes that the world is facing a complex risk landscape—not merely from natural hazards, but from the interaction of risks such as pandemics, climate change, economic fragility, technological disruptions, and social inequality.
The report’s primary objectives include:
- Assessing the current state of disaster risk worldwide.
- Identifying gaps in risk governance and data.
- Exploring strategies for integrated risk management.
- Highlighting success stories from countries adopting forward-looking policies.
2. The Systemic Nature of Risk
One of the key messages of the GAR 2025 is the systemic nature of risk. The report explains that hazards can no longer be treated in isolation. Instead, risks are increasingly interlinked, cascading across sectors and borders, amplifying their consequences.
For example:
- A flood can trigger infrastructure failure, disrupt supply chains, and spread diseases.
- Climate change exacerbates the frequency and intensity of extreme events.
- Social vulnerability—such as poverty or poor governance—turns hazards into disasters.
Thus, the report advocates a paradigm shift from siloed risk approaches to systemic risk governance, recognizing the interconnectedness of risks across domains.
3. Key Trends in Global Disaster Risk
A. Climate Change and Environmental Degradation
The report stresses that climate-related disasters have grown in both frequency and intensity. Droughts, wildfires, floods, and storms are increasingly becoming unmanageable, especially in countries with weak governance and underfunded public infrastructure. Sea-level rise and coastal erosion pose existential threats to low-lying nations.
B. Urbanization and Infrastructure Exposure
Urban areas—particularly in the Global South—are rapidly expanding without adequate planning. This has led to the concentration of people and assets in high-risk zones, often with inadequate access to early warning systems, healthcare, or insurance. Informal settlements in floodplains and landslide-prone areas are particularly vulnerable.
C. Inequality and Social Vulnerability
Vulnerable populations—including women, children, the elderly, disabled, indigenous communities, and migrants—are disproportionately affected by disasters. They often lack access to recovery resources and are excluded from decision-making processes. GAR 2025 highlights the need to embed social equity into disaster risk governance.
D. Health Risks and Pandemic Preparedness
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the weaknesses in global preparedness for health-related disasters. GAR 2025 warns that future pandemics, antimicrobial resistance, and heat-related illnesses will require greater investment in healthcare infrastructure, early detection, and risk communication.
4. Data, Science, and Risk Modelling
Accurate and timely risk data is essential for decision-making. However, GAR 2025 identifies significant gaps in data collection, especially at the local level. Key recommendations include:
- Strengthening collaboration between governments, academia, and private tech firms.
- Investing in geospatial technologies and AI-powered risk forecasting.
- Democratizing access to risk data so that local communities and civil society can participate in risk-informed planning.
The report also highlights the role of risk foresight and scenario planning to prepare for emerging risks such as cyber threats, AI-related disruptions, and food insecurity.
5. Governance Challenges and Opportunities
A. Fragmented Institutions
One of the biggest challenges in disaster risk reduction (DRR) is the fragmentation of governance. Agencies handling water, health, housing, and environment often operate in silos. GAR 2025 calls for integrated institutions with shared risk ownership and cross-sectoral coordination.
B. Financing for Risk Reduction
The report notes that funding for disaster preparedness is still a fraction of what is spent on disaster response. GAR 2025 urges governments and international donors to:
- Increase investments in early warning systems and resilient infrastructure.
- Use fiscal instruments like risk pooling, insurance, and catastrophe bonds.
- Embed DRR in national budgets and public procurement systems.
C. Political Will and Accountability
Many governments lack long-term political commitment to disaster resilience. Short-term electoral cycles often undermine sustained investments. GAR 2025 recommends strengthening legal mandates, independent oversight mechanisms, and participatory risk governance that involves communities directly.
6. Emerging Solutions and Innovations
GAR 2025 outlines several forward-looking strategies that can help transform risk governance:
Nature-Based Solutions (NbS)
Natural ecosystems like wetlands, mangroves, and forests provide critical risk mitigation functions by absorbing floods, preventing erosion, and regulating climate. The report advocates scaling up NbS as a cost-effective DRR tool.
Inclusive and Gender-Responsive Approaches
Programs that empower women and marginalized groups have shown better outcomes in risk preparedness and recovery. Gender budgeting, inclusive early warning systems, and community-led planning are highlighted as best practices.
Urban Resilience and Smart Cities
Cities are urged to adopt resilience frameworks like the Sendai Framework and the UN’s Making Cities Resilient 2030 campaign. Smart technologies—such as digital twins, IoT sensors, and mobile-based alerts—can enhance urban disaster readiness.
Education and Risk Literacy
Building a risk-aware society begins with education. GAR 2025 calls for integrating DRR into school curricula, training journalists on risk communication, and engaging youth through innovation labs and gamified learning.
7. Case Studies and Regional Highlights
GAR 2025 presents several success stories:
- Bangladesh: Investments in cyclone shelters and community-based early warning systems have drastically reduced disaster mortality.
- Chile and Japan: Strong building codes and earthquake resilience standards have minimized losses despite high exposure.
- Kenya: A combination of digital insurance (e.g., livestock index insurance) and social safety nets has improved resilience in drought-prone regions.
- Indonesia: The integration of disaster management with village planning has led to better risk mapping and public awareness.
8. The Role of the Private Sector and Insurance
Private actors—including insurers, reinsurers, and businesses—have a critical role in risk reduction. GAR 2025 urges the insurance industry to:
- Expand access to microinsurance and inclusive insurance for vulnerable populations.
- Invest in climate risk modelling and resilience-building.
- Partner with governments in public-private disaster financing mechanisms.
At the same time, the report cautions against over-reliance on market-based mechanisms and calls for safeguards to prevent risk transfer from rich to poor communities.
9. Global Frameworks and Cooperation
The report emphasizes the alignment of disaster risk reduction with global agendas:
- Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction
- Paris Agreement on Climate Change
- 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
- New Urban Agenda
GAR 2025 calls for stronger global solidarity, especially in financing and technology transfer for developing countries. Regional risk pools (e.g., ARC in Africa, CCRIF in the Caribbean) and South-South cooperation are highlighted as effective multilateral tools.
10. Strategic Recommendations for 2025–2030
To ensure a risk-informed and resilient future, GAR 2025 outlines the following strategic recommendations:
- Adopt Whole-of-Society Risk Governance – Break silos across government, civil society, and business.
- Invest in Prevention and Preparedness – Prioritize risk reduction in national development plans.
- Enable Local Action – Empower municipalities with funding, data, and decision-making authority.
- Use Data for Decision-Making – Build accessible and interoperable risk data systems.
- Foster Innovation and Knowledge Sharing – Create global platforms for sharing best practices and technological innovations.
- Enhance Risk Literacy and Inclusion – Put people at the center of DRR through education, participation, and transparency.
Conclusion
The GAR 2025 delivers a clear message: disaster risk is not a natural inevitability, but a product of decisions made across time and systems. By transforming risk governance—through data, finance, equity, and political will—the global community can prevent the escalation of future disasters. The report serves as a call to action for all stakeholders to collaboratively build a safer, fairer, and more resilient world by 2030 and beyond.
