This report documents in detail the results of two case studies on the costs and benefits of investments in reducing climate-related and other disaster risks—one in Vietnam and one in Nepal—and briefly describes the community based
qualitative cost-benefit analyses (CBAs) of some other disaster risk management (DRM) strategies. The costs and benefits of any disaster risk reduction (DRR) intervention depend heavily on the nature of that intervention and on the local context. The first study focuses on a boat winch project initiated to protect the vessels of small-time Vietnamese fishers from damage and loss during extreme storms. The second study focuses on climate-friendly straw-bale building techniques in urban areas of Nepal and their risk reduction benefits in terms of earthquake safety as well as weather and climate. The third section of the report examines qualitative evaluations derived from a low-cost decision-support methodology that can complement or even substitute for an expensive quantitative CBA. These assess a diverse range of potential interventions for building climate resilience in rural areas of Nepal.