HANDOUT: DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND MANAGEMENT (DRRM) AND CLIMATE CHANGE (CC)

TERMINOLOGIES

The module on DRRM and CC Terminologies presents the definitions according to the
Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010, the 2017 UNISDR Terminology on
Disaster Risk Reduction, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). These terminologies will help the
school personnel in formulating DRRM-CCAM (i.e. climate change adaptation and mitigation) plans for
their respective schools.

Some of the most important definitions in DRRM and CC are listed in the chart below. Most
of these definitions can also be found in the School Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (SDRRM)
Manual of the Department of Education (DepEd).

DRRM Concept/ Terminology Operational Definition

Hazard A process, phenomenon or human activity
that may cause loss of life, injury or other
health impacts, property damage, social
and economic disruption or environmental
degradation.
Disaster A serious disruption of the functioning of a
community or a society at any scale due to
hazardous events interacting with
conditions of exposure, vulnerability and
capacity, leading to one or more of the
following: human, material, economic and
environmental losses and impacts.
Disaster Risk The potential loss of life, injury, or
destroyed or damaged assets which could
occur to a system, society or a community
in a specific period of time, determined
probabilistically as a function of hazard,
exposure, vulnerability and capacity.
Disaster Risk Reduction Disaster risk reduction is aimed at
preventing new and reducing existing
disaster risk and managing residual risk, all
of which contribute to strengthening
resilience and therefore to the achievement
of sustainable development.
Disaster Risk Management Disaster risk management is the application
of disaster risk reduction policies and
strategies to prevent new disaster risk,
reduce existing disaster risk and manage
residual risk, contributing to the
strengthening of resilience and reduction of
disaster losses.
Recovery The restoring or improving of livelihoods
and health, as well as economic, physical,
 social, cultural and environmental assets,
systems and activities, of a disaster-
affected community or society, aligning
with the principles of sustainable
development and “build back better”, to
avoid or reduce future disaster risk.
Preparedness The knowledge and capacities developed by
governments, response and recovery
organizations, communities and individuals
to effectively anticipate, respond to and
recover from the impacts of likely,
imminent or current disasters.
Response Actions taken directly before, during or
immediately after a disaster in order to
save lives, reduce health impacts, ensure
public safety and meet the basic
subsistence needs of the people affected.
Capacity The combination of all the strengths,
attributes and resources available within an
organization, community or society to
manage and reduce disaster risks and
strengthen resilience.

CCA Concept/ Terminology Operational Definitions according the UNFCCC

Climate Change A change of climate which is attributed directly
or indirectly to human activity that alters the
composition of the global atmosphere and
which is in addition to natural climate variability
observed over comparable time periods
(UNFCC).
Greenhouse Gases Gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both
natural and anthropogenic, that absorb and
emit radiation of thermal infrared radiation
emitted by the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere
itself, and by clouds (IPCC).
Adaptation Adaptation is adjustment in natural or human
systems in response to actual or expected
stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm
or exploits benefit opportunities (IPCC).

Adjustments in ecological, social, or economic

systems in response to actual or expected
climatic stimuli and their effects or impacts. It
refers to changes in processes, practices, and
structures to moderate potential damages or to
benefit from opportunities associated with
climate change (UNFCCC).
Mitigation An anthropogenic intervention to reduce the
sources or enhance the sinks of greenhouse
gases (IPCC).

Human interventions to reduce the emissions

of greenhouse gases by sources or enhance
their removal from the atmosphere by “sinks”.
A “sink” refers to forests, vegetation or soils
that can reabsorb CO2 (UNFCCC).