Disaster Risk Reduction in Malaysian Urban Planning

Disaster risk reduction (DRR) has become one of the main agenda at the global level. This is reflected in the 'Hyogo Framework for Action (2005- 2015) Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters’ where one of the priority actions that has been agreed is to reduce the risk factors that can induce disasters. In addition, consensus was obtained during the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development which was held in 2012 better known as Rio+20 where disaster risk reduction, resilience and risk resulting from climate change should be taken into account in urban planning. Strengthening the instruments for the implementation of disaster risk reduction and risk assessment is needed to ensure that more sustainable urban planning can be implemented in order to accommodate rapid development that goes hand in hand with rapid urban population growth in the future. This research explores the needs for disaster risk reduction in Malaysian urban planning and also explores the roles of urban planners in disaster risk reduction. Further, this study will briefly discuss on preliminary review on disaster risk reduction agendas that has been incorporated in five stages of development plans and document in Malaysian urban planning practice namely the National Physical Plan (NPP), the State Structure Plan (SSP), the Local Plan (LP), the Special Area Plan (SAP) and the Development Proposal Report (DPR).