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.

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).

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 aggravated by climate change, which increases the frequency, scale and unpredictability 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).

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 (governments, private sector, institutions and others). The ultimate aim is to improve resilience of vulnerable communities who are confronted with disaster risks though better laws and regulations, IRM-proof investments, and enhanced practices that take better account of their potential to reduce risks. This project focuses on improving resilience in vulnerable communities in Mali. The project in Mali is under the lead of Wetlands International, in cooperation with the organisations Mali Red Cross, Netherlands Red Cross, Red Cross Climate Centre, and Care Mali.

This project focuses on vulnerable communities in Mali. General remarks PfR Mali partners work together on all trajectories in the Inner Niger Delta, the Sourou/ Volta River and at national level. In 2018 the partners are starting up trajectories/activities in the Senegal River Basin.