Objectives of the workshop are as follows:

• Introduce risk assessment as an integral component of planning and implementing disaster and climate risk management.
  

  Many countries in the region have begun to take steps towards comprehensive disaster risk reduction (DRR), and these efforts are being supported through various initiatives. Climate risk management is being piloted through the UNDP Central Asia Multi-Country Programme on Climate Risk Management.  Effective targeting of interventions in these areas requires an objective and quantifiable assessment of risks as the basic building block for formulating and developing various components of DRR and CRM. The importance of risk assessment, not just from the point of view of reducing disaster and climate risks but sustaining development gains, needs to be internalized within the public systems and professional discourses.

• Establish a feasible methodology for conducting disaster and climate risk assessment.
  

  Various tools, guidelines, and methodologies are available for risk assessment, which are applied in varying contexts.  Resources for such activities are limited among both governments and donors in ECIS, and thus there is a need to develop and apply methodologies that are cost-effective and replicable.  The workshop would provide an opportunity to discuss the appropriateness of these methodologies, and their relevance for DRR and CRM interventions in the region.  For CRM interventions, the workshop will also explore the development of an integrated approach that draws upon assessment methodologies for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.

• Understand the data requirements for risk assessment.
  In countries where comprehensive DRR and CRM are in the beginning stages, the availability of data related to risks is still limited.  An important priority that emerges is to set up disaster databases and how these could be maintained and applied for relevant interventions.  Thus, the sharing of the national experiences in relation to disaster databases is an important priority of the workshop.  Furthermore, the workshop will explore the ways in which databases can expanded to include other indicators of vulnerability.

The workshop consists of three sessions:

• Risk assessment in Countries of the Region 
• The Global Risk Identification Program (GRIP)
• Risk assessment development – other countries’ experiences