III. Strategies for Development Policies to Reduce Vulnerability to Disasters 24. Disaster reduction strategies are aimed at enabling societies at risk to become engaged in the conscious management of risk and the reduction of vulnerability. The adoption of appropriate development policies can reduce disaster risk. These policies should be gender sensitive and need the necessary political commitment. They involve the adoption of suitable regulatory and other legal measures, institutional reform, improved analytical and methodological capabilities, financial planning, education and awareness. Risk reduction should be seen as a comprehensive process that goes beyond traditional response to the impact of individual national hazards. This process should be multi-sector and inter-disciplinary in nature and comprise a wide range of interrelated activities at the local, national, regional and international levels.
25. Based on the lessons drawn from the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR, 1990-99),16 four overriding objectives have been identified as the guiding principles of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.17 These overall objectives provide broad guidelines for action by national governments, civil society organizations, regional institutions and international organizations:
