Advancing Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in Complex Adaptive Systems: Legal Challenges and Emerging Solutions

Abstract

This chapter discusses the importance of disaster risk reduction and resilience (DRRR) planning as a precondition for advancing sustainable development in complex, interconnected, and adaptive systems, such as water, energy, and food systems. It examines the law and governance dimensions of enhancing DRRR planning in the face of growing complexity, the key legal challenges that stifle the overall effectiveness of DRRR planning in local contexts, and the legal pathways for addressing those challenges. While the rise of DRRR planning has provided some positive success stories, it also raises fundamental questions of law and practice. For example, lack of clear and comprehensive DRRR legislation; gaps in data collection and sharing with respect to disasters and risks; inadequate cross-sectoral coordination among institutional actors; and resource limitations all limit the practical application and implementation of DRRR governance frameworks. Drawing examples from the Middle East and North Africa region, an arid and disaster-prone region, the chapter discusses intersectional challenges to DRRR planning, and the legal pathways for addressing those challenges.