This volume describes the disaster management cycle and its phases: prevention, mitigation, preparedness, relief, recovery and rebuilding. It introduces an integrated approach to assessments that examines biodiversity, ecosystem services, economic valuation and livelihoods. The volume deals with each of the phases of the disaster management cycle, lists steps and introduces questions that must be raised during each phase in order to integrate environmental concerns into disaster management. These steps and questions are designed around the framework of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and its identified threats. It also stresses how critically important it is, therefore, to plan and implement actions to reduce the impact of natural disasters during pre-disaster phases to minimize impacts after a disaster. The end result should be that environmental safeguards are incorporated into every stage of the disaster management cycle, as well as into general development.