The southern Africa region is vulnerable to a diverse array of hazards, largely linked to environmental causes (such as drought, cyclones and floods); human, animal and plant dis- eases and pests; economic shocks; and in some areas socio-political unrest and insecurity, among others. The region’s risk profile is evolving, with new factors becoming gradually more prominent, including a trend towards increased urbanization, migration and mobility, among others. Natural hazards will be progressively more influenced by trends in climate change. Disasters in the region are often composite and recurrent, and have a dramatic impact on liveli- hoods and on southern African countries’ economy and environ- ment, often undermining growth and hard-won development gains. Increasing the resilience of livelihoods to threats and crises con- stitutes one of the Strategic Objectives of FAO’s Strategic Framework (Strategic Objective 5, or SO5). FAO specifically aims at building resil- ience as it relates to agriculture and food and nutrition security, which are among the sectors most severely affected by natural hazards. The impact of shocks and disasters can be mitigated and recovery can be greatly facilitated if appropriate agricultural practices are put in place; improving the capacity of communities, local authorities and other stakeholders is therefore central to resilience building.