Costa Rica launch of the 2011 Global Assesment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction

The 2011 Global Assesment Report, entitled 'Revealing Risk, Redefining Development', is the leading UN publication on the status of global disaster risk today. The relevance of the Global Assessment Report has become painfully clear, against the backdrop of a number of major disasters, such as the Japan earthquake and tsunami in March, and of smaller, recurring events such as last year's floods in Costa Rica.

The Global Assessment Report provides an innovative analysis of the economic cost of such disasters, as well as guidance on how to reduce the significant costs and protect societies. The report was launched globally by the UN Secretary-General during the Global Platform event in May this year and has generated much interest from policy makers and practitioners across the globe. The report has been developed in partnership with a large number of actors, not least national governments and UN agencies, including UNDP, and UNISDR looks forward to a continued close cooperation with them.