In a disaster prone region like Central Asia, risk reduction is a crucial factor in sustaining poverty reduction and economic development. Moreover, effective disaster prevention strategies would not only save millions of dollars, but also lives. Funds currently spent on intervention and relief could be used to enhance equitable and sustainable development, which would also further reduce disaster risk.
 

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are especially vulnerable because both countries are not only disaster prone but also have limited financial resources and physical resilience. Steep valleys with few trees and towering mountains leave towns and villages extremely prone to the effects of gravity, making regular earthquakes more devastating, and propelling constant landslides, mudflows, floods and avalanches.