When Governments Talk Anticipatory Action: The Silver Bullet for Disaster Risk Reduction, or Just Wishful Thinking?

As global crises grow in frequency and intensity, Anticipatory Action (AA) has emerged as a promising approach to mitigating the impacts of disasters before they escalate. AA aims to shift the focus from traditional, reactive crisis management to a more proactive approach that anticipates and mitigates the effects of potential crises. Governments are increasingly encouraged to integrate AA into their policy frameworks, with the hope that these anticipatory measures will enhance resilience of Food, Land and Water Systems (FLWSs) and reduce the impact on vulnerable populations. The fundamental premise is that by embedding AA into existing government structures and protocols, it will be possible to create more effective and timely responses to emergencies, thereby protecting communities and reducing overall disaster risk.

However, the effectiveness of AA depends not only on its inclusion in policy documents but also on its practical implementation and impact. The real question is whether these anticipatory measures are genuinely being institutionalized within government structures and whether they lead to concrete improvements in disaster risk reduction. This webinar will explore the extent to which governments have integrated AA into their frameworks and whether these policies result in observable changes during actual crises.

The CGIAR Initiative on Fragility, Conflict, and Migration (FCM), with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), leading efforts on anticipatory action and governance, is aware of the challenges in both institutionalizing and implementing AA. In collaboration with the Anticipation Hub’s Anticipatory Action in Conflict Practitioners’ Group, this webinar aims to address these critical issues. We will explore how effectively AA has been incorporated into government structures and whether these policies have led to tangible improvements during actual crises. Case studies from various countries will offer insights into the successes, challenges, and lessons learned in integrating AA into government practices. This exploration aims to determine whether AA is a bold move to disaster risk reduction or a bureaucratic nightmare.