Incorporation of Potential Climate Change Impacts into Local Disaster Risk Management in Costa Rica

In recent years, Costa Rica has faced various natural hazards and experienced increasing economic loss from numerous small-scale local climate events. This growing trend of losses is triggered by, among other factors, global climate change. In order to meet the challenge of reducing local vulnerabilities, it is necessary to incorporate the potential impacts of climate change into DRM planning. The present study identifies opportunities and challenges for improving incorporation of climate change impacts into DRM planning at the local level in Costa Rica by applying a checklist to 17 municipalities. The study found overall unsatisfactory progress in DRM planning at the municipality level. However, results indicated that local governments' experiences and small actions related to climate change, based on their own needs and taken independently of the national policy priorities, are a key element in improving DRM at the local level. This study also identifies four challenges to further improving local level DRM.