July 2008: This publication, released by Secretariat of the
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR), responds to the need
for comprehensive multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral national coordinating
mechanisms to reduce, prevent and manage the impacts of natural hazards, as
expressed in, inter alia, the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 (HFA) which
emphasized the importance of setting up National Platforms for disaster risk
reduction (DRR).

At the First Consultative Meeting on National Platforms held
in Pretoria, South Africa, in October 2006, national representatives requested
the UN/ISDR Secretariat to document good practices of National Platforms for
DRR. This resulting publication contains nine country cases that illustrate
good practices on how to: engage in international exchange for mutual learning
and improvement of national disaster risk management (DRM) systems (China);
successfully decentralize DRR moving from national to local coordinating
mechanisms (Colombia); mobilize funds for DRR (Costa Rica); serve as the
national knowledge hub and organize international events for DRR (Germany);
establish and implement comprehensive national action plans for DRM (Iran and
Sri Lanka); successfully use National Platforms to prepare for hazardous events
through contingency planning (Madagascar); integrate DRR in national
development plans (Nigeria); and ensure multi-stakeholder coordination and
sustained commitment over a longer period (Switzerland). [The
Publication]