Partners for Resilience: Ethiopia The Strategic Partnership of Partners for Resilience (PfR) is aimed at promoting and improving (attention for) Integrated Risk Management (IRM) in policies, investments and practices of key stakeholders. The ultimate aim is to improve resilience of vulnerable communities who are confronted with disaster risks though better laws and regulations, IRM-proof investments (including screening), and enhanced practices that take better account of their potential to reduce risks. This project focuses on improving resilience in communities in Ethiopia. People world-wide live in disaster-prone areas. Disasters damage the eco-systems they live in and upon which their livelihoods depend. Their vulnerability to disasters is aggrevated by climate change, which increases the frequency, scale and inpredictability of disasters. Eco-systems, if protected and managed well, can play an important role in mitigating the impact of disasters (holding more excess water, sheltering form storms). Partners for Resilience strengthens community resilience by working with civil society organisations on reducing risks and strengthening livelihoods of vulnerable communities, with specific attention for marginalized groups and women. The Integrated Risk Management (IRM) approach bridges time- and spatial scales. It integrates the urgent attention needed for changing risks due to changes in hazards, exposure and vulnerability. IRM includes a specific focus on ecosystem degradation, locally and in the wider landscape, as well as changes in hazards due to climate change (in relation to current risks, nearterm changes and longer-term shifts in climate patterns). IRM thus integrates elements from disaster risk reduction (DRR), climate change adaptation (CCA) and ecosystem management and restoration (EMR). Actions relate to different actors. Four groups are distinguished: Communities, Civil Society organisations (Red Cross, plus PfR partners, other CSOs, organised communities), Government (at various levels), and the private sector. Beneficiaries of the programme are vulnerable communities in disaster-prone conditions. This project focuses on vulnerable communities in Ethiopia.