South Africa currently holds the presidency of the G20 – the group of 19 of the world’s largest economies and the African Union. It has set up a Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group to find concrete solutions for countries experiencing climate-induced disasters that are made worse by poverty and inequality. Disaster risk management specialists Olivia Kunguma and Johannes Belle discuss what’s needed from the G20 this year to make a difference.

What are the biggest obstacles to reducing the risks that disasters pose?

There have been multiple disasters in South Africa over the past year. All of these confirm the urgent need to put improved disaster risk reduction plans in place. For example, in 2024, a foodborne disease outbreak claimed over 22 lives and led to more than 3,000 reported cases nationwide.

Also in 2024, several people died due to extreme cold weather, and a national disaster was declared in seven of South Africa’s nine provinces because of thunderstorms, floods, high winds and hailstorms.

Read more: Why are floods in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal so devastating? Urban planning expert explains

In February 2025, severe flooding resulted in 22 fatalities and caused approximately R3 billion (US$170.4 million) worth of damage. Most recently, a catastrophic flood claimed over 100 lives and caused an estimated R5.1 billion (US$289.7 million) in infrastructure damage.

Our research has identified many problems with South Africa’s approach to reducing the risks posed by climate change-related disasters. For example, disaster management centres are placed as a line function within government departments. As a line function of a department, their powers are limited. Their abilities to co-ordinate disaster responses across government departments and with external agencies are also curtailed.

Read more: Cyclone Idai shows why long-term disaster resilience is so crucial

Another problem is that the Disaster Management Act says that a national disaster framework must facilitate the involvement of the private sector, non-governmental organisations, traditional leaders, technical experts, communities and volunteers in disaster management. However, what each should do when disaster strikes is unclear.

Hazards like drought and flooding are not well managed either. For example, wetlands which regulate and buffer water flow during flooding are in a poor condition because of a lack of maintenance. Government does not strategically plan to include wetlands in disaster risk reduction efforts.

Read more: Why aren't people in Accra better prepared for floods? The key is in communication

Development is not risk-informed. For example, nature-based solutions, such as forest conservation or urban gardens, can protect against disaster. Yet, they are underappreciated and under-used in development planning. Also, rural development continues without recurring threats being factored in to planning.

Systems thinking and geospatial analysis are not being used optimally. For example, most local government long term development plans don’t map hazards and use this for climate adaptation planning.

What are the focus areas of action that could make a difference?

South Africa’s G20 presidency has the theme of “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability”, drawing inspiration from the African philosophy of ubuntu. This emphasises collective action and the interconnectedness of humanity. The G20 has a Disaster Risk Reduction working group which is currently working on six key areas:

  • Promoting the participation of communities that are vulnerable to disaster. Community-driven strategies can reduce the risk of these catastrophes.

  • Setting up early warning systems for all – the working group has committed to delivering plans or checklists that will help with a rollout of hazard alerts via cellphones (early warnings of looming disaster delivered direct to people’s phones).

Read more: Early warnings for floods in South Africa: engineering for future climate change

  • Promoting building infrastructure in a way that makes it resilient to climate change and less likely to crumble when disaster strikes. This will reduce disruptions of essential services.

The G20 working group has committed to developing case studies of flood-resistant housing and cyclone-proof facilities. These will incorporate climate-resilient design principles. They will also research how traditional housing designs which incorporate natural cooling techniques suited to local climates could work well in times of climate change.

Read more: Southern Africa must brace itself for more tropical cyclones in future

  • Developing financing frameworks for reducing the risk of disaster and recovering afterwards. The G20 working group has looked at how funds can be raised for this from governments and the private sector. It has been tasked to come up with a list of high-level principles for financing disaster risk reduction. These will then be considered by the G20 member states.

  • Disaster recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction. This is the fifth priority. It promotes rebuilding after disasters in a way that increases resilience and addresses inequalities. The working group is coming up with a Recovery Readiness Assessment Framework which will include developing training modules on how to use climate resilient local materials in rebuilding. This will need to run a pilot project before the end of 2025 to show that it can succeed.

Read more: Urban greening in Africa will help to build climate resilience -- planners and governments need to work with nature

  • Ecosystem-based approaches for disaster risk reduction. These include nature-based solutions or ways to use natural ecosystems to minimise disasters and adapt to climate change. The working group is researching case studies of where this has worked best. The working group will also come up with an analysis of what kind of policies governments can put in place to secure investment in natural ways to prevent disasters – for example, subsidies, tax benefits, and climate finance from the public and private sector.

What action needs to be taken?

The G20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group is aware that they need to manage complex and interlinked risks. This is key to boosting South Africa’s resilience to climate change disasters. The work on enhancing community resilience and localised risk responses aims to reduce the vulnerability of communities at risk of experiencing climate disasters. It also promotes climate adaptation that is most suitable for women, in line with the goal of “leaving no one behind”.

Data-driven risk analysis, climate-smart planning and anticipatory action are research efforts that help bridge the gap between science, policy and action. They aim to promote inclusive and locally led disaster risk reduction, and support collaboration between all the different groups tasked with disaster risk reduction.

Read more: Cyclones in southern Africa: five essential reads

Going forward, the national, provincial and local disaster management centres and other relevant government and private institutions must incorporate the six key priority areas in their disaster risk management activities. This will help achieve the G20’s goals.

The G20 working groups should encourage community-based groups to lead disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation initiatives at the local level. This will make the process more inclusive. For example, community-based groups could encourage the construction of climate-resilient housing, set up nature-based solutions and champion fire detector programmes. Other local projects can all be risk-informed in their design.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Olivia Kunguma, University of the Free State and Johannes Belle, University of the Free State

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The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.