ADB’s Response to Natural Disasters and Disaster Risks

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) was the first regional multilateral development bank to adopt a disaster and emergency assistance policy in 1987, with focus largely on the disaster recovery approach to be applied to Pacific countries. Post-disaster support became available to all ADB developing member countries (DMCs) through a broader 1989 policy that also began to incorporate elements of reduction of disaster risks. The Disaster and Emergency Assistance Policy (DEAP) (2004), which is still in force, took the elements of risk reduction of the impact of future disasters fully into account and signaled ADB’s shift to a more proactive response to disasters.

ADB’s Strategy 2020, approved in April 2008, also addresses natural disasters, noting that ADB will continue to mainstream disaster risk management (DRM) and provide early and medium-term disaster response and support in partnership with specialized aid agencies. ADB also takes part in the 2005 Hyogo Framework for Action, a United Nations global landmark in commitment to disaster reduction that requires concrete action planning. ADB has seen a gradual increase in investment in disaster prevention support to its DMCs. A growing number of projects include a disaster prevention component together with other activities. That said, only 43 projects during 1995–2011 related predominantly to disaster prevention, accounting for one-third of approvals ($2.19 billion) for natural disasters against two-thirds for disaster recovery. Such a distribution seems quite reasonable, given the costly nature of many disaster recovery operations. But the evaluation also finds that most of the ADB country programs have not treated the growing frequency of natural disasters as an endemic risk to economic growth.