At the UN’s climate conference in Sharm El-Sheikh last year, governments agreed to provide ‘loss and damage’ funding to vulnerable countries hit by extreme weather events linked to climate change. This funding would allow a country like Afghanistan, for example, to access additional funding to avert, minimize and address the negative impacts of climate change by building resilient communities, protecting livelihoods, and safeguarding ecosystems. 

While the discussions on the fund are underway, it is important to establish a universally endorsed system for recording loss and damage. This will provide an important basis for estimating ‘loss and damage’ and seeking financial resources from the fund to minimize the negative impacts and to enhance transparency. For example, increasing incidence of heat waves, typhoons, droughts and their resulting impacts on people, communities, livelihoods, livestock, agriculture yield, can be better understood if these are recorded systematically and analyzed. 

Fortunately, this doesn’t need to start from scratch! 

Globally, many countries already maintain national disaster loss and damage data management systems which record key statistics on hazardous events and their adverse effects, some of it disaggregated at sub-national levels. 

Analysis of data collected over decades clearly indicates increased incidence and impact of these events. Measures adopted by governments and development partners to mitigate the impacts of disasters begin to show their efficacy and benefits in the data over longer periods of time. For example, we’re able to see the recorded deaths in Cambodia from climate-related hazardous events down to the local level for the past 25 years. Measures to reduce deaths can be monitored and tracked over years to ensure effective implementation of policies and efficient utilization of funds. 

These national data systems have also become an important source for monitoring the national and sub-national disaster risk reduction efforts and reporting for the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the relevant Sustainable Development Goals. 

The designated disaster management agency (DMA) in a country plays a leadership role in consultation with several other ministries and relevant agencies, such as respective national societies and other associations. Under the leadership of the DMA, with technical support from UNDP, a format for data collection could be finalized and the past data collected from agencies covering environment, health, public works, transport, agriculture, statistics, and others at national, provincial, and sub-national entities. 

Finally, UNDP supports analysis of the data to derive useful insights and findings and share these in a national workshop. Using the capacities in place, the DMA continues to collect the data and use the analysis for supporting planning, decision-making and other risk reduction processes, including post-disaster recovery.