25 October 2012: The 5th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), which was attended by 25 ministers and delegates from 72 countries, concluded with the adoption of the Yogyakarta Declaration on DRR in Asia and the Pacific 2012, which calls for integrating DRR and climate change adaptation (CCA) into local level development planning.

The Conference, which took place from 22-25 October 2012, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, was convened by the Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency and the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), in partnership with the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery. Participants agreed to convene national on the development of a post-2015 framework agreement on DRR.

On integrating local level DRR and climate change adaptation into national development planning, the Declaration calls for the strengthening of laws and regulations, institutional arrangements, and risk governance for DRR and CCA. It also calls for linking national development planning and financing with the local development agenda, and making use of existing regional and sub-regional resources for local capacity building.

The Declaration on DRR also calls for: identification of accountability measures for effective implementation of a post-2015 DRR Framework; political commitment to deliver at all levels; awareness, education and public access to information; improved governance; the promotion of resilient investments; and the allocation of resources to build local capacity. The Declaration also includes annexes comprising statements from: child-centred organizations; civil society organizations; individuals and organizations concerned with disability; individuals and organizations concerned with gender issues; mayors and local government authorities; media; national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies; parliamentarians; the private sector; and scientific, academic and research stakeholders. [Conference Website] [World Bank Press Release] [UNISDR Press Release] [Yogyakarta Declaration]