13 May 2014: China has indicated it will support stronger international cooperation to prevent and reduce the impact of disasters in the lead up to the successor agreement to the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) on disaster risk reduction (DRR) to be adopted in 2015. The announcement was made during the 5th National Forum on Comprehensive Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainable Development, which highlighted the need to strengthen international financing mechanisms for DRR, among other things.

The Forum, which convened from 8-9 May 2014, in Beijing, China, brought together government representatives from Austria, Cambodia, China, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore and Switzerland. Participants shared views on progress made and challenges faced in implementing the HFA and providing input for the post-2015 DRR framework. They agreed that institutional arrangements were critical for disaster risk governance, but that no one size fits all.

Participants also underscored: the need for increased investment for financing mechanisms, as well as for an international risk information network to implement the new DRR agreement; the links among the post-2015 development agenda, the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the new DRR framework; the importance of international funds for disaster risk prevention, not only for disaster risk response; and the importance of science and technology and stronger trust between scientists and policymakers .

Margareta Wahlström, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), said the SDGs could not be achieved without managing disaster risk.

The Forum was sponsored by the Expert Committee of National Disaster Reduction Commission and supported by Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) and the China Meteorological Administration (CMA).[UNISDR Press Release] [China Meteorological Administration Press Release]