INSIDERS | Financial incentives as a strategy for promoting disaster resilience
Financial incentives can play a crucial role in promoting resilience in the building sector. This webinar, co-hosted by NATURANCE and the European Scientific and Technical Advisory Group (E-STAG), established by the UNDRR Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, will take place on the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction. It will explore innovative approaches — from insurance mechanisms to risk-informed planning — that shift the focus from reacting to disasters to preventing them. Despite growing awareness of the urgent need to mitigate disaster risks, the economic damages caused by disasters continue to rise, while investments in disaster risk reduction (DRR) lag behind. The building sector illustrates this challenge vividly: construction and urban development often advance without integrating risk-informed standards, locking in future vulnerabilities.
Investing in resilience requires significant financial resources, which contributes to chronic under-investment. To overcome this, risk-informed incentives at both local and national levels are increasingly seen as key strategies. Such incentives not only support resilience in practice but also create opportunities for financial innovation, particularly through the integration of insurance instruments.
Recent recommendations on strengthening preparedness and recovery financing — such as ensuring predictable and inclusive funding mechanisms — underscore the importance of embedding financial perspectives into DRR strategies. Within this context, this session will explore how financial incentives can catalyze investment in resilient design, retrofitting, and risk-sensitive urban planning. Drawing from best practices, the discussion will highlight the urgent need to shift from reactive disaster response to proactive, risk-informed investments.
Speakers
Jaroslav Mysiak
Principal Scientist at the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change (CMCC). His research spans risk assessment and governance, behavioral responses to risk, transformative social change, environmental economics, sustainable finance, and climate adaptation. He is a member of the UNDRR European Science and Technology Advisory Group (E-STAG) and coordinator of the Horizon Europe project Nature for Insurance, Insurance for Nature (NATURANCE).
Christian Resch
Managing Director of the Disaster Competence Network Austria. With a background as a professional military officer and operational expert for the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team, he bridges science, policy, and practice in disaster research. He holds master’s degrees in military leadership and industrial process safety and is pursuing a PhD at Graz University of Technology.
Dilanthi Amaratunga
Professor of Disaster Risks and Climate Resilience at Loughborough University, UK. An internationally recognized expert on disaster resilience, her work covers preparedness, recovery and reconstruction, early warning, resilient cities, and the built environment dimensions of climate change. She ranks among the top 2% of influential global scientists and serves on multiple advisory groups including the UNDRR European Science & Technology Advisory Group and the MCR2030 Regional Coordination Committee for Europe.
Shavindiree Nissanka
Researcher specializing in financial incentives for disaster-resilient housing, with a PhD from the University of Huddersfield, UK. She was the lead researcher for the EU-funded BEACON project (Built Environment Learning for Climate Adaptation). She has published widely on resilient building codes and sustainable construction and was recognized in 2023 among the Women of the Future 50 Rising Stars in ESG in the UK.