16 January 2018: An international workshop in India addressed the Sendai Framework’s target on resilient infrastructure. The workshop will provide input to the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) taking place in Mongolia in July 2018.

The International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure took place in New Delhi, India, from 15-16 January 2018, organized by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). Robert Glasser, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for DRR, said the workshop provided an opportunity to examine the Sendai Framework’s target of reducing disaster damage to critical infrastructure and the disruption of basic services by developing their resilience.

Glasser said economic losses in 2017 were the worst in many years, with preliminary figures indicating that 11,000 people lost their lives, and that economic losses in the US alone were over US$300 billion. Glasser added that the pace of urbanization provides an opportunity to avoid creating new risk and to reduce future losses by “embedding resilience” in business planning for new cities and towns.

India hopes to lead a global coalition on reducing damage to critical infrastructure.

India’s Home Minister Rajnath Singh expressed the country’s desire to lead a global coalition on reducing damage to critical infrastructure. He explained that India is investing trillions of dollars to meet the SDGs by 2030, when over 40% of the country’s population will be living in cities. Asia, as a whole, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), will require US$26 trillion in investments from 2016 to 2030 (or US$1.7 trillion per year) to maintain growth, eradicate poverty and respond to climate change.

As Glasser concludes his two-year term at UNISDR, UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Mami Mizutori of Japan to succeed him. The Special Representative plays an important role in supporting the implementation of the Sendai Framework. [UNISDR Press Release] [Workshop Concept Note] [UNISDR Press Release]