The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in cooperation with the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) observed the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction 2003 at the UN Conference Centre (UNCC), Bangkok, on Wednesday, 8 October 2003.  Activities included the UNESCAP-ADPC Forum on Disaster Reduction and the UNESCAP Exhibition "Disaster Reduction in UNESCAP Region."  The theme of this year's International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction is "Turning the tide on disasters towards sustainable development: Living with Risk".  The theme is part of the 2003 World Disaster Reduction Campaign to cope with water-related hazards, serving to raise awareness among decision-makers and the public that there is much we can do to reduce the impacts of hazards. While it is widely acknowledged that hydro-meteorological hazards are on the rise due to human activities increasing vulnerabilities, there is still greater attention (and investment) paid to the disasters themselves and the resulting deaths and destruction.  Rather, we should be looking at the longer-term investment of disaster risk reduction strategies - incorporating disaster preparedness, mitigation and prevention - that would in fact in the end significantly reduce their impacts and costs. We need to shift our emphasis: from disaster relief to disaster reduction.