14 August 2015: Experts from the Americas have committed to take action to implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) 2015-2030, the 15-year plan agreed in March 2015 that aims to reduce deaths and losses caused by natural and manmade hazards. The 2nd Regional Conference for the Exchange of Information in Civil and Military Operations for Disaster Risk Management aimed to raise the awareness of those attending the conference about the content of the Sendai Framework.

The conference, which was held in Bogotá, Colombia, was chaired by the Colombian Civil Defense. It brought together experts from, inter alia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia and the US, including representatives of the national civil defense organizations and armed forces from Latin American countries, the US Southern Command, the Pacific Disaster Center and the South Carolina National Guard, among others.

Participants adopted a ‘Statement of Agreement,’ emphasizing the commitment to raising awareness and working towards implementation of the Sendai Framework. The Statement seeks to promote work that contributes to reducing disaster impacts, including death, harm to physical and mental health, lost livelihoods, environmental and infrastructure damage, and overall economic, social and institutional impacts. It also spells out a commitment to help meet the expected outcome, scope, purpose, priorities for action, goals and guiding principles of the Sendai Framework. Regional cooperation, as promoted at the Bogotá meeting, will be critical to achieving the goals of the Sendai Framework.

The meeting also underscored that risk reduction must be fully integrated into all areas of policy planning, as must risk’s underlying drivers, such as poverty, disease, climate change, unplanned urbanization, population growth, poor land management, ecosystem destruction, and weak governance and policies. [UNISDR Press Release, 14 August] [UNISDR Press Release, 30 July]