The Report is the first biennial global assessment of disaster risk reduction prepared in context of the implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR). The ISDR, launched in 2000, provides a framework to coordinate actions to address disaster risks at the local, national, regional and international levels. The Hyogo Framework for Action for Action 2005-2015 (HFA), endorsed by 168 UN member states at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Japan in 2005, urges all countries to make major efforts to reduce their disaster risk by 2015. The Report was coordinated by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) Secretariat, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the ProVention Consortium, the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute and a wide range of other ISDR partners.