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The ‘built environment’ refers to the human-made environment that provides the setting for human activities, ranging in scale from buildings to cities and beyond. Natural hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods or wildfires can lead to a broad range of consequences, including human and financial losses in the built environment. Compared to other disasters, earthquake disasters are characterized by high mortality, mostly caused by collapsing structures. In recent years, the Emergency Events Database has registered an increase in city damage caused by geo-hazards. To address this issue, UNESCO is working to improve the safety and resilience of our built environment worldwide, because this is essential to save lives.

Natural hazards, including earthquakes, do not recognize geographical borders. The recent major earthquakes in Syria and Türkiye (2023), Afghanistan (2022), Haiti (2021), Indonesia (2018) and Nepal (2015) came as a tragic reminder of the urgent need for nations to make optimum use of knowledge and technology to reduce disaster risk.

Several factors increase the mortality rate of geological disasters, for example, insufficient building compliance regulations; a lack of -or outdated- earthquake-resistant designs; low-quality building materials; and a lack of awareness of the necessity to invest in safer buildings. During a geological hazard, most casualties result from collapsing structures, which makes earthquake-resistant constructions vital.

Building codes and land use regulations have proven to be successful strategies in limiting the impacts of natural hazards as they reduce casualties and insurance costs while either reducing the likelihood of disruption, shortening the period of disturbance or limiting the consequences of natural hazards.

Mitigating disasters requires investing in education, training, and capacity building at all levels, and it calls for a change of mindset, from post-disaster reaction to pre-disaster action. UNESCO positions itself at the forefront of such actions, especially when it comes to the built environment. As part of its efforts on pre-disaster action, UNESCO supports Member States to implement realistic measures to increase the resilience of their communities. Several tools are put in place to improve the safety of the built environment: the construction of safer buildings, improving building codes, land use plans and standard of construction material in the public sector are one aspect. Building expertise and training engineers regarding construction and materials in the private sector is another.

UNESCO further supports Member States build the capacities of their local construction sector through workshops, training and the publications of guidelines about the important role of construction in increasing resilience, and regarding how to avoid the spread of informal construction. As part of its efforts, UNESCO also advocates for stronger and transparent building codes and practices.

The International Platform for Reducing Earthquake Disaster (IPRED) is a network of eleven earthquake-prone countries which promotes international cooperation on seismology and earthquake engineering to strengthen building code practices worldwide. This intergovernmental scientific platform recognizes the importance of improving the safety of buildings and housing as a basic and vital priority to reduce risks globally.

The Platform contributes to UNESCO’s mission to promote the advancement of science and its applications in developing knowledge and capacity, which are key to economic and social progress, and form the basis of peace and sustainable development.

Non-engineered buildings are constructed with little or no intervention by qualified architects and engineers in their design. They are common across the world, and particularly in developing countries. In some moderate to severe seismic zones, more than 90% of the population is still living and working in such buildings, and most of the casualties during earthquakes were caused by their collapse.

Improving the safety of non-engineered buildings is essential to protect people and reduce disaster risks. UNESCO and the International Platform for Reducing of Earthquake Disaster have developed two guides to contribute to this effort.

The Built Environment in Latin America and the Caribbean (BERLAC) project was based in Central and Latin American countries, as well as Small Islands and Developing States. These countries are at risk of disasters caused by both geological and weather-related natural hazards such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods. The human and economic losses after such disasters can be enormous.

UNESCO worked with Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, and Peru to build their capacities for disaster risk reduction in the built environment. Projects such as earthquake-resistant training using three-dimensional printers, applying earthquake resistant guidelines to the local level and performing safety assessments in schools represented UNESCO’s efforts to contribute to a culture of safety.