1 Summary

Humanitarian crises are increasing in number and scale, and they are also becoming more complex. In the period from 1990 to 2005, bilateral humanitarian assistance worldwide was increased by a factor of five – from USD 1.4 billion to USD 7.1 billion – according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Norway’s humanitarian assistance has also increased significantly in the same period – from around NOK 1 billion in 1990 to around NOK 4 billion today.

But despite the size of the humanitarian budgets, the resources available are insufficient to meet the dramatically growing needs. In the Government’s view, Norwegian and international development efforts need to be reorganised in order to respond to the following risk factors:

• The climate is changing : 2007 may prove to be the warmest year since systematic records began some 150 years ago. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), environmental and climate change could force 150 million more people to flee their homes by 2050.

• Settlement patterns are changing : By the end of 2007, more people will be living in urban than rural areas. Migration, urbanisation and the growth of slums in already vulnerable areas is increasing the risk of humanitarian crises.

• The nature of crises is changing : Complex crises are increasingly affecting countries where governance and administrative capacity are weak. This is creating a vicious circle and is probably part of the explanation for the increase in the number of fragile states.

These risk factors have contributed to the increase in the number of humanitarian crises and underline the need to think along new lines in both foreign policy and development policy. Long-term measures to reduce vulnerability to humanitarian crises are first and foremost a development policy concern, but there is also an interface with key areas of foreign policy. Norway’s international development cooperation should focus more on risk reduction, including strengthening local emergency response capacity. We must also increase our ability to meet acute humanitarian needs through humanitarian preparedness systems, flexible financial mechanisms and rapid response. It is moreover important to increase the effectiveness of reconstruction efforts in the critical phase following a humanitarian crisis by reducing vulnerability and preventing similar humanitarian consequences in the future. In many countries, we are seeing recurring and, in some cases, chronic humanitarian crises, which underlines the importance of increasing and improving the coordination of risk reduction efforts.

In the Government’s view, we need a more integrated policy for Norway’s efforts to prevent humanitarian crises, based on a three-part strategy:

• We will improve coordination between short- and long-term assistance, with particular focus on the reconstruction phase, cutting across budget lines and divisions of responsibility. Norad will play an important role in these efforts and will be responsible for strengthening Norwegian expertise in this area, in close dialogue with the Ministry and external experts.

• We will establish long-term strategic partnerships with national authorities, the UN system, international financial institutions, NGOs and other expertise on risk reduction measures in the most vulnerable countries, with the clear aim of strengthening the resilience of local communities and vulnerable groups to humanitarian crises.

• We will seek to increase understanding of the importance of risk reduction and to enhance knowledge in this area, including through support for South-South cooperation and exchange of experience between relevant countries, with a view to promoting the dissemination of knowledge at regional level. Although the challenges they face are often similar, we see very different emergency response measures in different countries. Countries such as China, Bangladesh, Cuba and Vietnam have important knowledge and experience of risk reduction in relation to natural disasters that could benefit others.

This white paper examines the global challenges we are facing (Chapter 2), and discusses how Norway can make the most difference through its bilateral development cooperation (Chapter 3), through multilateral institutions (Chapter 4) and through support for South-South cooperation (Chapter 5).

Local risk reduction efforts, local capacity building and active local participation will be the Government’s main priorities in the ongoing efforts in this area.